Sue

I will be travelling from Vancouver to Victoria on the morning of Monday 21st June, hopefully on the Tswassassen to Swartz Bay route. I will then return to Vancouver on Wednesday 23rd June on the Nanaimo to Departure Bay(?) route. Should I just turn up for our chosen ferry (allowing extra time to buy tickets) or should I pre-book and reserve a place? The BC Ferries website mentions a charge of $15 each way to pre-book so I wonder what people normally do. <BR>Any help appreciated.

April

Most people just show up. In the summer, ferries run every hour, and although there may be line-ups at times, travelling on weekdays as you are shouldn't be too bad. <BR>

April

Oh, I assume you're driving a car. <BR>

Dave

Mondays are very busy days on the ferry route and the first ferry (7:00am) often leaves cars behind. Ensure that you arrive a minimum of one hour before your planned sailing time - you shouldn't have too much trouble making the 9:00 (or later) sailing.

Bob Brown

I agree. But from Nanaimo to Tsawwassen, we droveon about 11 AM as they were starting to shut the gate.

April

Hi Bob, <BR>That must've been before the pesky no-ticket-selling-five-minutes-before-sailing rule came into effect. (Ten minutes for foot passengers.) You can still pull it off on some of the smaller ferry routes though - such as to Denman Island. <BR>

April

Hi Bob, <BR>That must've been before the pesky no-ticket-selling-five-minutes-before-sailing rule came into effect. (Ten minutes for foot passengers.) You can still pull it off on some of the smaller ferry routes though.. <BR> <BR>

April

Hi Bob, <BR>That must've been before the pesky no-ticket-selling-five-minutes-before-sailing rule came into effect. (Ten minutes for foot passengers.) You can still pull it off on some of the smaller ferry routes though - such as to Denman Island. <BR> <BR>

April

(Here goes my 4th attempt at posting this.) <BR>Hi Bob, <BR>That must've been before the pesky no-ticket-selling-five-minutes-before-sailing rule came into effect. (Ten minutes for foot passengers.) You can still pull it off on some of the smaller ferry routes though. <BR> <BR>

April

That must've been before the pesky no-ticket-selling-five-minutes-before-sailing rule came into effect. (Ten minutes for foot passengers.) You can still pull it off on some of the smaller ferry routes though. <BR> <BR>

BobbyB

Just for the record, the ferry runs from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and not the other places mentioned. Horseshoe Bay is a nice short drive (30-45 minutes) into Vancouver. It is a good idea to take what I call the loop trip. This is the route that you have planned on. That way you will see some of the Island which is very scenic. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip and enjoy <BR>

BobbyB

Just for the record, the ferry runs from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and not the other places mentioned. Horseshoe Bay is a nice short drive (30-45 minutes) into Vancouver. It is a good idea to take what I call the loop trip. This is the route that you have planned on. That way you will see some of the Island which is very scenic. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip and enjoy <BR>

BobbyB

I am going to take one last try at posting my message. Fodor's has one of the hardest forums to post messages to. <BR> <BR>Just for the record, the ferry runs from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and not the other places mentioned. Horseshoe Bay is a nice short drive (30-45 minutes) into Vancouver. It is a good idea to take what I call the loop trip. This is the route that you have planned on. That way you will see some of the Island which is very scenic. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip and enjoy <BR> <BR>

Brian Kilgore

What you questioned as "Departure Bay" is probably Horseshoe Bay, on the mainland,just north and west of Vancouver. <BR>The drive from there to Vancouver is much more interesting if you take the narrow road down as close as possible to the water, rather than the highway part way up the mountain side. <BR>BAK <BR>