Vancouver cruise terminal to Victoria

[Katbalou49]

What is the best way to get to Victoria after we disembark from our Royal Cruise?

[martincath]

Best? Depends on many factors around your personal preferences and budget (both time and money)!

 

Possible methods -

1. fly, by floatplane or chopper. Pros: fast (~45mins incl check-in time); great views; many departure times; from harbour to harbour so no extra transport costs on either end unless your Victoria Hotel is far from the landing site; close to cruise pier (walkable even with luggage). Cons: just one really; ka-ching! If you have the budget (absolute minimum $100pp, up to three times that depending exactly which ticket type and time booked at) it's a pretty safe bet this would be 'best' for anyone except folks who freak out in small aircraft. 1.a) You *could* also taxi/SkyTrain ($4-$40) out to YVR, board a bigger plane (still likely a turboprop, still likely ~$100-200) to YYJ, then take a cab into Victoria (~$60) but it rarely saves much if any money, costs a lot more time, and only offers a marginal advantage in terms of luggage being more likely to come on your flight with you (floatplanes sometimes send bags on a different plane, depends how many folks are tourists vs commuters)
2. whalewatch to Victoria. Pros - whalewatching; harbour to harbour service; close to cruise pier ($10 cab ride); nice views all the way; while it takes about the same time as the fancy ferry, it's WAY more efficient as the net 'transportation time' is only about an hour compared to a regular whalewatch (~4hrs vs 3 hrs). Cons - again, ka-ching! $230pp, so about $100 more than a regular whalewatch.
3. the 'fancy ferry' - V2V run a seasonal catamaran. Pros - close to cruise pier; also harbour to harbour; nice views all the way. Cons - terrible schedule (one a day each way, 8am, which is BARELY enough for self-disembarkers to run like the wind from a cruise ship so there's a good chance you'll miss it unless you stay overnight in Vancouver); slow (3hrs 40min from check-in to arrival); ka-ching (cheapest flights actually cheaper than this boat ride - though occasional 2 for 1 deals can make it very comparable with the coach/ferry combo below)
4. the BCFConnector Coach - a 'tour bus' type coach that drives you to Tsawwassen Ferry then from Swartz Bay on the other side into Victoria. Pros - price isn't bad (~$65pp and up); can get a pier pickup (but cheaper to cab to bus station instead!); several departures daily; multiple drop points in Victoria so hopefully one near your hotel. Cons - about as slow as the fancy ferry; views driving to Tsawwassen get really boring from about halfway out of Vancouver
5. car rental and BC Ferries - rent a car downtown, drive it to Tsawwassen (or Horseshoe Bay) and onto the ferry, then onward to Victoria. Pros - very flexible, only way to do a different route than Tsawwassen/Swartz Bay so if you are returning you don't have to duplicate your route; the Island, except for Victoria/Butchart, has pretty poor transit so a car REALLY helps sightsee over there; cost is roughly comparable to BCFC coach, depends on many variables though (one way or return rental, Costco or other membership to score cheaper rates, how many people are splitting car, blind luck). Cons - no faster than buses to the ferry really (time taken to get the car offsets no stops en route).
6. public transit and BC Ferries - SkyTrain, then an express transit bus to Tsawwassen Ferry; walk on passage on BC Ferries; BC Transit bus from Swartz Bay into Victoria. Pros - cheap as mince ($4.20 for Vancouver and $5 for Island transit fares - less if you are Seniors/Kids - and ferry ticket ~$20 with various possible discounts too). Cons - slow (but no slower than BCFC or fancy ferry!); major hassles with luggage (transit buses have no storage, so you really need to cut down to an overnight bag and store your suitcases in Vancouver - which doesn't work at all if you are going just one-way to Victoria then heading elsewhere!)

I think that covers all your potential options! If it's a quickie visit focused on Victoria/Butchart, then flying would be my recommendation of 'best' - but if you have time to actually explore the Island properly, having a car is an advantage whose value simply cannot be overstated so a rental car/ferry would be 'best' IMO.

 

And lastly, Secret Option 7 - don't go at all, spend your post-cruise time in Vancouver instead 😉

[Heidi13]

For Martin's option # 5, if hiring a car and driving on the ferry, if you are travelling at prime times, I suggest making a reservation in advance - can be made online at BC Ferries website. Need to be at terminal 1/2 hr before departure.

 

Minimal cost for the reservation and it may save you sitting in a queue at the terminal for 2 to 4 hrs.

[Katbalou49]

Thank you for the information.  We are a group of 6 Seniors and are staying 2days in Victoria and then three days in Vancouver.

[Tara Jane]

Katbalou49 

 We are also a group of 6 seniors, staying one night at YWCA Vancouver thanks to Martincath's recommendation.  

We have booked a stretch limo (a surprise for our group) at the cost of C $153.60 includes tax and tips from YWCA to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.   

On the other side we have again booked a 6 person taxi to take us direct from Swartz bay to Butchart gardens where we will store our luggage and spend the afternoon.

Price wise its about the same as the connector coach and ferry but avoids the hastle of getting ourselves and our luggage to the bus depot.

Origionally we had 2 nights in Victoria prior to flying to Honolulu however our flight was one of the grounded Max 8 and has been cancelled.   We now lose half a day in Vancouver and half a day in Victoria but have an extra day in Honolulu prior to flying home to Australia.   Had to replan the short time in Vancouver/Victoria.  We will either take the public bus or taxi from Butchart to our hotel in Victoria.  

My research tells me there are very few large cabs in Victoria, most used as wheelchair taxis.

I've managed to secure a confirmed booking to Butchart, I just hope they turn up!!!  If not I have the bus schedule but as we already have our time in Victoria shortened will go for taxis when we can.

We travel very light will have 4 medium suitcases and small  hand luggage each for the 6 of us.  If you are 6 passengers with 6 suitcases it will be harder.

Once again Martincath thanks for all your help.

We are now down to one full day in Vancouver possibly doing the hoho bus however its still quite a walk to the totem poles from the nearest hoho stop.   As we are planning a visit to the totem pole park in Ketchiken do you think stanley park is essential or can we give it a miss, thereby having a lot more time in Vancouver itself?

Edited April 17, 2019 by Tara Jane

[martincath]

6 hours ago, Tara Jane said:

Once again Martincath thanks for all your help.

We are now down to one full day in Vancouver possibly doing the hoho bus however its still quite a walk to the totem poles from the nearest hoho stop.   As we are planning a visit to the totem pole park in Ketchiken do you think stanley park is essential or can we give it a miss, thereby having a lot more time in Vancouver itself?

No problem TJ - glad you got a big enough cab on the Island booked, and enjoy the limo ride (a metered cab to the ferry terminal from downtown might end up being just as expensive, so that's very reasonable price for a limo).

 

If you're HOHOing anyway, you really should do Stanley Park - the nearest stop to the totem poles is actually right next to them (P8: Totem Pole stop). Unless you hate the outdoors, it's one of the most definitively-Vancouvery places and one of the finest (and largest) urban parks on the planet. I would suggest that since you have six people, the cost of 6 HOHO tickets (even with a Senior discount) could perhaps instead buy you a customized private tour for about 4 hours - that way you'd avoid all the wasted time waiting for the next HOHO, looping around anywhere you don't want to visit, and generally make your touring as efficient as possible. Unfortunately I can't personally recommend a local tour guide, never used one, but 'Toursbylocals' would be a good place to start (they actually started here in Vancouver, so there are many guides who've been working with them for years and should have plenty of reviews for you to check on).

[Tara Jane]

Thanks as always Martincath.🙂

[martincath]

22 hours ago, Katbalou49 said:

Thank you for the information.  We are a group of 6 Seniors and are staying 2days in Victoria and then three days in Vancouver.

A thought - rather than having to get to Victoria and then back, look at changing your flights home to start in Victoria and spending time in Vancouver after the cruise then heading to the Island. As well as opening up the V2V route and other early ferry departures, which cannot be done the day you arrive, it's more efficient if you don't have to backtrack. Unless you have a nonstop from YVR to home you might find that even the flight time/number of stops does not change at all (many eastbound flights from YVR hop to Seattle first, and there are plenty of flights from YYJ to SEA too). Even if there's a change fee, saving the cost of transport back to Vancouver might offset it...