The plan is to have a rental car while in Vancouver (yes, it IS necessary).

Will drive over early in the morning (I know the first departure is at 7:00 AM), spend the day between visiting a friend who lives in Victoria and also once again take in Butchart Gardens. Return to Vancouver very late afternoon/evening.

The date (absolutely fixed) will be Tuesday, 1 June.

Should we make advance reservations or can we "just show up" at the dock on each end? I realize what I'll receive are opinions and that many factors may effect this but am interested in hearing all sides of the story and thanks in advance for your help and consideration.

I probably wouldn't bother. A Tuesday at 7am? I'd show up at 6:15am and wait in line without the reservation. But that would be me.

What if you decided to take the NINE AM????

I'd probably show up at 8am without a reservation if that were the case. Again, that would be the way I'd do it, unless it was absolutely crucial that I make the 9am ferry (in which case, the reservation is simply piece of mind). But even with a reservation, you still have to be there no later than 30 minutes and no earlier than 60 minutes ahead of the sailing time. But I'm just thinking logistically, on a Tuesday morning I can't see it being sold out an hour before the sailing, which is why I'd chance arriving without a reservation.

Usually I like to arrive an hour before my chosen sailing without the reservation, and I'll head over to the little food court for a coffee and muffin. By the time I start to get antsy, I head back to the car, and it's often time to start boarding.

Your explanations have been VERY helpful and thank you so much.

You're welcome! Good luck!

You've had good advice - I agree. I think that I might make a reservation for the late evening return trip, though, just to be on the safe side. It's probably not necessary, but if there have been delays or weird things happening earlier in the evening, there's an outside chance that you might have a problem without a res. I don't think it's truly necessary but whenever we take the last trip out at night, we reserve.

Dukey - for what it's worth I agree with Carmanah. You can always call the BC Ferries a day or so before sailing and ask them for advice. I can't see any real problems with a 7 a.m. sailing on a Tuesday in June. Be sure you arrive at Tsawassen about 60 minutes prior to sailing. The coffee and muffins in the wait area are quite good.

tC