Victoria (British Columbia) by boat · Victoria (British Columbia) by boat
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Victoria (British Columbia) by boat
Victoria (British Columbia) by boat
The main way to get to Vancouver Island and Victoria is via BC Ferries, 1-888-223-3779, which operates a ferry from Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) to Swartz Bay, a half hour drive north of Victoria. Travel costs are currently $47.25 per regular sized passenger vehicle and $14.25 per adult passenger (12 years and over) one way. Children between the ages of 5 and 11 are $7.25. Children under the age of 5 are free.
Payment can be made by cash or credit card, and debit cards can be used at an automatic ticket terminal for foot passengers, but not on the ferry or at the vehicle toll booths. Service runs on the odd hours between 7AM and 9PM during the winter (with extra sailings at busier times) and every hour during the summer. The ferry ride is 1 hour and 35 minutes. Reservations are not required but recommended during peak travel times, including weekends throughout the summer months. There is a $15 charge for reservations made 7 days in advance; $17.50 if less than 7 days. Vehicles without a reservation sometimes have to show up a few hours before they can actually board (there can be multiple sailing waits during peak travel times), so make sure that you check their website to see what the wait is, and make sure that you allow plenty of time to catch your sailing; as the ferry's capacity is usually limited by the amount of space on the car decks, foot passengers can usually get on if they show up 15-20 minutes before their sailing.
Foot passengers can easily take public transit from Vancouver to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal to Victoria:
From Vancouver International Airport, take the SkyTrain to Bridgeport Station and then change to bus number 620. From other locations in Vancouver, catch bus number 620 from either Bridgeport Station or Ladner Exchange. Bus fare is $3.50 from Vancouver International Airport and $5 from Vancouver proper when zone travel is in effect. On evenings after 6:30PM and on weekends and holidays bus fare is $2.50. Exact fare is required. Translink has detailed information about routes and fares.
From the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, board bus numbers 70, 72 or 73 to travel to downtown Victoria. Bus number 70 is an express bus and still takes about an hour to travel from Swartz Bay to Victoria. Buses 72 and 73 stop in Sidney and Saanichton. Bus fare is $2.50; exact change is required. BC Transit's Victoria Regional Transit provides detailed information about routes and fares.
Other ways to get to Victoria by boat:
Pacific Coach Line, 1-800-661-1725, offers an express coach service between Vancouver (downtown, Vancouver Int'l Airport, Cruiseship Terminal) and downtown Victoria. This bus service runs on BC Ferries, and tickets can be purchased onboard for the trip into town. Cost from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria is approx. $43 one way, or approx. $10 for the trip into town.
Victoria Clipper, 1-800-888-2535, operates a modern ultra-fast catamaran ferry from downtown Seattle. Fares $US66-80 less for seniors, half price for children. Service is once a day in the winter and up to 3 times a day in the summer. The sailing time is 2.5 hours.
MV Coho/Black Ball Ferry Line, +1-250 386-2202 CA 1-360-457-4491 US, is a passenger and vehicle ferry running from Port Angeles, Washington across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Crossing time is 90 minutes, and fares are $US57.00 for car and driver and $15.50 per passenger ($7.75 for children under 11 - Free Summer 2011). Service runs all year except for an annual refit for one week in Winter time. In the winter, this ferry runs 2 sailings a day and in the summer up to 4 sailings per day each way are scheduled.
Washington State Ferries, +1-206 464-6400, operates a passenger vehicle ferry between Anacortes and Sidney (about half an hour from Victoria) through the San Juan Islands. Passenger or pedestrian fare is US$16 each way, vehicle fare is $42.95 (increases to $53.70 May-October). This service does not operate during the winter season, generally from the second week of January until the end of March.
Victoria-San Juan cruises, 355 Harris Ave #104, ☎ +1-(360) 738-8099 ( ), . daily May 10th - September 28th, Bellingham-Victoria 9AM - 12PM, Victoria-Bellingham 5PM - 8PM. Summer daily sailing between Bellingham, WA and Victoria, BC, timed to be a plausible day trip or mini-cruise through the San Juans. Dinner included in the Victoria-Bellingham leg in the evening. Bellingham Terminal is the Alaska Ferry Terminal / Bellingham Cruise Terminal at 355 Harris Avenue #104, Bellingham, WA 98225. The Victoria Terminal is Belleville Terminal at 254 Belleville Street (Inner Harbour). Toll-free phone +1-800-443-4552. USD $129 r/t. �
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Victoria (British Columbia) Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
