my husband and i have four nites to visit vancouver and feel, ideally, one of those nights should be in victoria. naturally, the last nite seems most practical, but our flight back to SC leaves vancouver around noon. can we make it back in time? is flying from victoria back to vancouver airport a practical option?

If you want to fly from Victoria to Vancouver International airport, you may want to use this airline:

Pacific Coastal Airlines
http://www.pacific-coastal.com/

For links to other airlines, visit my personal page:
http://www.funlinks.com/funlinks/vic...portation.html

You may also want to take the ferry back to Vancouver from Vancouver Island (www.bcferries.com). The only problem is that sometimes there are long waits to get on the ferries. You should aim to catch the earliest ferry departure time just to be safe.

Katya: You are pinching it for time by going to Victoria on your last day. Victoria is beautiful, though. If it were me, I'd definately opt for a flight and not the ferry. If your flight leaves Vancouver at noon, that means you should be there at check-in no later than 10:30 am. The ferry takes about 3 hours from Swartz Bay to Twawwassen if I recall correctly. And then you'd need to clear the terminal and get a ride to the airport. The bc ferry website can provide the departure times for you. While the ferry ride is a nice touch to your trip, there are too many variables at play that might prevent you arriving timely for your return flight.

Also, Greg's point about waiting lines musn't be overlooked. If you greatly desire to take the ferry on return trip, you MUST make reservations or you take the great chance of watching your ferry depart without you.

"3 hours from Schwartz Bay to Tswassen" Actually the ferry ride is one hour and 35 minutes. Drive time from downtown Vancouver to Schwartz Bay is 30 minutes and again from Tswassen to downtown Victoria is 30 minutes - I guess that could make up most of the three hours, but the actual crossing is only 1.35 hours.

Yeah Vancouver!!! Now I am really psyched. thanks for all the info. i think we will take the ferry over to victoria and then return to vancouver via air canada. that seems like a safer bet considering my time frame.

I've been trying to post this since Sunday! Just wanted to add that the AKAL airport shuttle bus can take you between many Victoria hotels and the airport for about $13 ea. Have you considered, though, making Victoria your first stop? Then you could take the ferry if preferred and you would be on the mainland when it came time to fly out.