By Air in Victoria and Vancouver Island

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By Air

Victoria International Airport is 25 km (15 mi) north of downtown Victoria, off Highway 17. It's served by Horizon, Pacific Coastal, Skywest Airlines, and WestJet airlines. Air Canada and its regional service, Air Canada Jazz, provide frequent airport-to-airport service from Vancouver to Victoria. Flights take about 25 minutes.

You can also fly directly to the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria. Both West Coast Air and Harbour Air provide daily floatplane service to downtown Victoria from both downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Airport. West Coast Air also flies from Whistler to downtown Victoria between June and September. Kenmore Air operates direct daily floatplane service year-round from Seattle to Victoria's Inner Harbour. Helijet has helicopter service from downtown Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport to downtown Victoria. The Vancouver heliport is near Vancouver's SeaBus terminal.

To drive from the airport to downtown, take Highway 17 south. A taxi ride costs about C$40, plus tip. The Airporter bus service drops off passengers at most major hotels. The fare is C$15 one way. BC Transit bus number 70 runs just six times a day from the airport to downtown Victoria. The one-way fare is C$3.

You can travel by air to and from the Gulf Islands: Harbour Air Seaplanes provides regular service from downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Airport to the southern Gulf Islands. Seair Seaplanes flies from Vancouver Airport to all the Southern Gulf Islands. Kenmore Air Harbor has summer floatplane service from Seattle to Pender Island and Salt Spring Island. At press time, there was no scheduled floatplane service between Victoria and the Gulf Islands.

Contacts and Local Airlines

Airporter (250/386-2525 or 877/386-2525. www.victoriaairporter.com). BC Transit (250/382-6161. www.bctransit.com). Harbour Air (604/274-1277 or 800/665-0212. www.harbour-air.com). Helijet (800/665-4354. www.helijet.com). Horizon Air (800/547-9308. www.horizonair.com). Kenmore Air (425/486-1257 or 800/543-9595. www.kenmoreair.com). Pacific Coastal Airlines (250/655-6411 or 800/663-2872. www.pacific-coastal.com). Seair Seaplanes (604/273-8900 or 800/447-3247. www.seairseaplanes.com). Victoria International Airport (250/953-7500. www.victoriaairport.com). West Coast Air (604/606-6888 or 800/347-2222. www.westcoastair.com).