Tofino or Whistler?

Neither is a place for a warm swim, and they fall short in opposite ways. Tofino has the real coastline: Long Beach running about 16km through the national park, Chesterman's sandbar out to Frank Island and the surf at Cox Bay. But the open Pacific stays cold and has rip currents, so you go in to surf rather than to bathe.

Whistler's beaches are lakeshores. Lost Lake, Alta Lake and Alpha Lake have docks, rafts and grassy banks, and in a July heatwave they warm enough for a comfortable dip. It makes a good afternoon after a hike, but the season is short.

The two eat about equally well for small resort towns, but from different larders. Tofino cooks from Clayoquot Sound, with spot prawns, Dungeness crab and oysters, fish tacos from food trucks and a few ambitious West Coast tasting menus.

Whistler's strengths are its BC wine lists and deep cellars, together with the after-ski ritual of nachos and craft beer at the foot of the gondolas. Both run out of new places within a week, and Tofino's choice shrinks further in the wet winter.

Whistler has more for a rainy afternoon. The Audain Art Museum holds Emily Carr paintings and Northwest Coast masks, and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre adds carving, weaving and guided talks. The Olympic venues are a pleasant extra.

In Tofino, culture means Nuu-chah-nulth galleries, carving you may see in progress and the Kwisitis Visitor Centre at Wickaninnish Beach. That fills an afternoon at most.

Whistler is the only one of the two with a night out. After-ski drinks start on the patios as the lifts close, and on winter weekends a handful of clubs and late bars stay loud into the early hours. The crowd is young and beery, though, and outside the ski season the village goes quiet early.

Tofino has a pub or two and a brewery taproom, and nothing stays open late. Most evenings end at a beach fire or in a hot tub before an early start for the tide.

Both are among Canada's great outdoor bases. Whistler edges ahead for scale and variety: two huge mountains joined by the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, a famous downhill bike park, and alpine trails up to the turquoise lakes of Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Tofino's outdoors is the sea and the old-growth forest. It has the boardwalks through giant cedars, Meares Island's ancient trees, kayaking among the islands of the sound, grey whales and sea otters, and winter storms breaking on the headlands. Your choice comes down to mountains or ocean.

Whistler has more within reach. Squamish and its gondola, the Britannia mine museum on the drive south and farming Pemberton to the north all make easy outings, and Vancouver is about two hours away along the Sea to Sky Highway.

From Tofino, quieter Ucluelet with its lighthouse loop is a pleasant half day. Beyond that there is only the long mountain road east, so most outings are boat trips into the sound.

Whistler is the more practical choice with children. It has a car-free village, large ski schools with gentle beginner runs, tubing and sledding, and in summer lake beaches, mini-golf and an adventure park at the base of Blackcomb.

Tofino suits children who are happy outdoors, building driftwood forts, poking around tide pools and taking surf lessons in small wetsuits. It has nothing built for children, though, and on wet days there is little to do indoors.

At Whistler you can leave the car behind. The village is pedestrian-only, the gondolas leave from its edge, free shuttles run along the valley, and the Valley Trail links the lakes for walking or cycling. Most visitors arrive by airport coach from Vancouver.

Tofino's beaches, trailheads and resorts are spread along the highway south of town, so most visitors drive in over the mountains and keep the car. The paved path to the national park is good for cycling, and the best outings go by water taxi or floatplane.

Whistler is better for one thing, gear. Its village is full of ski, board and bike shops with tuning and rental, and a farmers' market runs in summer.

Tofino's best shopping is in its galleries, which sell Nuu-chah-nulth carving, silver jewellery and prints. Otherwise there are surf shops and a few beach boutiques. In both towns, anything more means a trip to a city.

Both are expensive, and in different ways. In Tofino the cost is mostly the room: beds are scarce, summer rates are steep, and food and boat trips carry a premium for the remote location. Campgrounds and the stormy months from November to March bring the cost down.

At Whistler, lift passes, rentals and lessons pile on top of resort lodging, and Christmas and New Year are the dearest weeks. Kitchens, free shuttles and spring or autumn dates help. The cheap seasons fall at opposite ends of the year: winter is the bargain in Tofino and the most expensive time at Whistler.

Neither is a place to plan evenings around a show. Whistler has a little more: free summer concerts in Olympic Plaza, buskers in the village, and local theatre and touring acts at a small community arts centre.

In Tofino, live music means an occasional local band at a pub or brewery and a few community festivals in summer.

Whistler has the stronger spa scene. Its large Nordic-style outdoor spa beside the river has hot pools, saunas and cold plunges among the cedars, kept in silence, and the big hotels and many massage studios cater to sore skiers. Peak winter weekends are noisy, though.

Tofino relaxes you mostly through its pace, with days set by the tides and evenings in a cabin hot tub. Resort spas use seaweed and cedar in their treatments. The special soak is Hot Springs Cove, a full day out by boat or floatplane, with rock pools that run into the sea.