Ferry To Victoria

[bandit and babycakes]

How close is the ferry to downtown Vancouver and or Canada Place? We are taking the ferry to Victoria for all day tour. Is the ferry a 2 and half hour ride to Victoria?

Thanks

[cruiseryyc]

The ferry terminal is at Tswassen which is about 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver; the actual crossing takes 1.5 hours. The ferry arrives in Sidney which is about 45 minutes from downtown Victoria. Where are you catching your tour? I presume it will be at the Pacific Coach Lines depot in downtown Vancouver so once onboard the bus, it could be 2.5 hours before you arrive in downtown Victoria.

[Putterdude]

The above poster does have the times correct but if you are traveling by car you do need to be at the terminals in plenty of time for the sailing and it can take a full 10 to 15 mins to unload a full ferry, I know I am usually the last off.:). During the summer months it is an good idea to arrive at the terminals at least an hour before the sailing you would like to catch. You can purchase a reservation for an additional cost. It makes for a very long day but it certainly can be done and the sailing through the Gulf Islands is spectacular so sit back and enjoy it.

Here is a link to the BC Ferries website:

 

www.bcferries.com/

[no fuss travel]

You may be picked up right at your hotel. If you are lucky, you will see whales while sailing on the ferry. The pods are quite active now and we saw them at different times this past Easter weekend. The ferry ride is quite scenic, so you will enjoy it.

[scottbee]

How close is the ferry to downtown Vancouver and or Canada Place? We are taking the ferry to Victoria for all day tour. Is the ferry a 2 and half hour ride to Victoria?

Thanks

 

The ferry leaves Tsawwassen, 37km south of Vancouver, and heads to Swartz Bay 32km north of Victoria. The sailing time is 1h35m but there's load/unload time etc etc. Using any mode of transport, expect about 4h15-4h30 downtown to downtown.

 

How were you getting there? Driving? Scheduled tour? Coach? Subway/City Bus?

[bandit and babycakes]

Scottbee

 

We are going on a tour with Victoria Tours. Any other suggestions?

thanks

[Putterdude]

I am not familiar with Victoria Tours nor can I find a website for them. You may care to try these folks, they are excellent tour operators and come highly recommended:

 

http://www.vancouvertours.com/

[scottbee]

Scottbee

 

We are going on a tour with Victoria Tours. Any other suggestions?

thanks

 

What do you plan to do once you're there? A package tour isn't necessarily a bad idea as most people will want to see Butchart gardens (about 10 miles out of town), and some of the touristy things.

 

What kind of things interest you?

Do you want to arrange the travel yourself, or do you want someone else to?

Do you want to drive (not recommended on the ferry as it adds a lot of cost/time)?

 

Getting to the ferry and over to Victoria from downtown is pretty easy, take the Skytrain Canada Line (get a 3 zone, $5 ticket) to "Bridgeport Station", then board a #620 bus which takes you to the ferry terminal, and just walk on the next sailing to Swartz Bay (the Victoria side) for $14. On the Victoria side, the #70 takes you from the ferry to downtown ($2.50). On the Victoria side you can also take a bus from the ferry to Butchart Gardens, I don't remember the number

 

While there are coaches that do it on one bus, you'll pay about double this price, for no real time advantage, and only one coach a day loops through downtown past Canada Place; otherwise you'd need to get to/from the Vancouver bus depot (train station).

 

links:

Vancouver's transit system Skytrain/Bus/Seabus: http://www.translink.ca/

Victoria's bus system: http://bctransit.com/regions/vic/

BC Ferries: http://bcferries.com/

[Sally Forth]

You may be picked up right at your hotel. If you are lucky, you will see whales while sailing on the ferry. The pods are quite active now and we saw them at different times this past Easter weekend. The ferry ride is quite scenic, so you will enjoy it.

 

And if you are on the ferry, make sure you get out on deck for the part through Active Pass. The riptides are quite amazing, as are the sharp turns when other ferries are in the pass. This is the Wikipedia link, but Google it and look at pictures people have posted:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Pass

 

Viv