Carol

In early July: (1) Leaving Whistler and picking up ferry to Victoria; and (2) after a few days in Victoria, returning to Vancouver. Will have a rental car. Do I need to book the ferry trips in advance? How crazy is it this time of year? Thanks for the help.

Bob Brown

I have made the crossing a couple of times without a reservation. Those ferry boats on the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay run are large ships. They leave hourly from 9 am to 7 PM.
(Noon sailing Thursdays, Friday, Sunday)
The reservation fee is $15 (C) or about $10.00 US.
I think it depends on how much the potential of having to wait an extra hour is worth. If you arrive about 35 minutes before next sailing, chances are you will be able to get on. If not, you will be first in line for the next boat.

I don't think you will run into a Coho Ferry situation. That is the tub that goes from Victoria over to the Port Angeles side. The wait to get to Victoria can be measured in days at times, with people camping in line.

To show that you can often make it onto the boat at the last second, I once sailed impromptu from Nanaimo to Tsawassen. I had planned to take the ferry to Horseshoe Bay from Nainamo, but when I drove up, the crew was still boarding the ferry to Tawassen, so I drove on board. I was the last to board, but there was no problem.

You can read all about it at the web site, www.bcferries.com.

Anne

Hi Bob {if I may piggyback on Carol's question},
To clarify - do I understand correctly that there is a strong potential of super-long waits with the US Port Angeles-Victoria crossing, but not the reverse?
Thanks!

gary

No Anne - the problems occur on both sides. However it should be understood that the problems are for drive on not walk on passengers. people from the Olympics regularly go to Victoria s walk ons and rarely have a problem.

Anne

Thanks, Gary - I'm sure that you have helped many of us avoid an unpleasant situation!

Artemis

Carol, in July there is often a wait of 2-3 hours during the week, and almost *always* on the weekend. If you've got limited time, the $15 reservation fee is well worth it (that's $15 Canadian per car per trip). Bear in mind that when you make a reservation you have to arrive 30 minutes before the ferry leaves. Also, make the reservation as soon as you can finalize your plans: there's a limited # of reservable spaces.

But, if you're on a limited budget, the other option is to not drive over to Victoria at all. Instead, park your car at the terminal and walk on to the ferry. There's never a wait for walk-ons. You can buy a bus ticket to downtown Victoria right on the ferry. And Victoria is one of the best cities to see without a car. (However, this option if really only economically sensibly if you're 1 or 2 people with not a lot of luggage.)

Sara

Carol

I travel BC ferries all the time, usually on long weekends Friday evenings and Sunday evenings are the times when you will have sailing waits. Just get to the ferry terminal 35 - 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled sailing that you would like to sail on and you should be fine without a reservation. If you miss the ferry it is only one hour til the next one. Relax and have fun on your holiday.

Bob Brown

The day I wanted to take the Coho from Port Angeles to Victoria, the wait was all day. I went as a car less passenger both ways. We had only a little time in Victoria before having to catch the boat back. It is more than 90 minutes each way. I had not made overnight reservations, so I returned the same day.
I do not know how long the line was to go back to Port Angeles. But there were plenty of cars there.
I was there in late August, and tourist traffic was heavy.
I would not drive up to the Coho dock and expect to get across any time soon during the summer months.

Carol

Thanks everyone for the help. I think I'll go ahead w/ the reservation. I'm traveling w/ young children and 15CN is cheap compared to the hour plus chorus of "how much longer!!"

Coco

Carol, Have made the crossings many times and have never made reservations, although if you will be ferrying on a busy summer weekend, that may be a different story. I hear that Saturday's can be horrendous during the summer months. Good luck.

Coco

Fred

If we dont want to take the rental car to Victoria, how much does it cost to park the car at the Vancouver ferry terminal?