About 315 kilometres and four and three-quarter hours without stops. Most people take six with a proper stop at Cathedral Grove and lunch in Port Alberni, and that is the right way to do it. The road is in three distinct parts, and the last one is the reason it takes as long as it does.
The route, in order
- Victoria to Nanaimo on Highway 1, about 1 hour 45. Four lanes to Duncan through the Malahat, a short mountain section with viewpoints over Saanich Inlet, then the Cowichan Valley and Ladysmith.
- Nanaimo to the Highway 4 junction on Highway 19, about 30 minutes. Fast and dull; the exit for Tofino is just past Parksville at Coombs.
- Coombs to Port Alberni on Highway 4, about 45 minutes. Coombs has the goats-on-the-roof market, then Cathedral Grove's roadside old-growth firs, then the descent into Port Alberni at the head of the inlet.
- Port Alberni to the coast, about 2 hours. Sutton Pass, the Kennedy River canyon, Kennedy Lake and the rebuilt Kennedy Hill section, then the junction: Ucluelet is 8 kilometres left, Tofino 33 kilometres right.
Stops that earn their time
Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park is the one stop everyone should make: a ten-minute loop among Douglas firs that were mature before the city of Victoria existed, on both sides of the highway. Parking is a narrow roadside strip that fills mid-morning in summer, so arrive early or late. Port Alberni is the last full-sized town, with the last cheap fuel, supermarkets and the salmon-fishing harbour at the Quay. Between Port Alberni and the coast there is one lookout worth pulling in at, over Kennedy Lake, and otherwise nowhere to stop for a long stretch.
Fuel, phone and food
Fill up in Port Alberni whichever direction you are going. Both Tofino and Ucluelet have fuel but at coast prices, and there is none between. Mobile coverage drops out for most of the Sutton Pass section. Carry water and something to eat: a closure can hold traffic for hours.
Closures and winter rules
Highway 4 is the only road to the coast and it closes. The Kennedy Hill section was rebuilt through a multi-year project and still sees scheduled rock-scaling closures; storms bring rockfall and washouts; the 2023 Cameron Lake wildfire closed the road for weeks. Check DriveBC before you set off and again at Port Alberni, and do not plan a same-day ferry connection on the far side.
From October to spring the province requires winter tires or chains on Highway 4 and on Highway 19 north of Campbell River, marked by signs at the start of each section. The exact end date varies by highway, so check the provincial map. A rental car booked in Victoria will usually come with all-season tires marked M+S, which satisfy the rule; ask when you book.