Texastea

My friend and I are flying from Dallas to Seattle and then taking the Victoria Clipper to Victoria. After the first day, we intended to rent a car, tour the island and then head for Whistler (for the zip-line tour) and then go to Vancouver for 3-4 days. We were planning to take the rent car with us on the ferry and leave it at the Vancouver airport but the drop fees are outrageous! My question is can we rent a car at a ferry stop (any of them?) and then return it to Vancouver Airport? I've searched the BC Ferries website looking for information on where we could pick up a car and it appears the only place to get one is at the airport in Vancouver. We really wanted to go from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay, bypassing most of Vancouver and then head for Whistler. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated...

NWWanderer

Is there a reason you have to do the zip line tour that day? Why not just take the PCL bus/ferry combo from Victoria to Vancouver, and rent a car to go up to Whistler for a day trip on one of the days you're in Vancouver?

ALF

Is your heart set on the Victoria Clipper? It is certainly a nice ride, but another idea would be to take the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. Rent a car and spend your time in Vancouver, then drive to Whistler. On the way back, take the Horseshoe Bay ferry to Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. From there, it is a nice 2-ish hour drive to Victoria. When leaving Victoria, take the Swartz Bay ferry to Tsawwassen, which is quite close to the Vancouver airport.

Texastea

NWWanderer & ALF,

Thanks so much for the responses. Unfortunately, we have already reserved and paid for the Clipper on that date. I do wish we could have done this trip in reverse but we have to go to Portland first to see a friend and then we will take Amtrak to Seattle and then take the Clipper to Victoria.

It's just hard to fathom that I cannot find any car rental facilities at any of the Ferry stops.

Do 'yall have any other ideas on how to fix the mess I've gotten myself in?

Thanks,

Texastea

yvrcanuck

There aren't any car rentals at all at the ferry terminals.
This is a bit roundabout but you could walk on the ferry in Nanaimo and then take the bus into Vancouver (the express public bus will be waiting and only takes 30 minutes).
The bus will drop you on Georgia St and you can rent another car at the Budget right there on Georgia. Then turn around and drive up to Whistler. Or do Vancouver first and then rent a car go up to Whistler and return it to the airport on your way home.

camelbak

Maybe I am confused....

but why not rent the car in Victoria, drive it to Whistler, and then hand it in in Vancouver when you come back?

You could rent in Victoria, drive to Nanaimo, take the ferry to Horseshoe Bay, drive to Whistler (about 1 1/2 hours), then drive back down to Vancouver and either a) drop the car off, or b) hang on to it until you head to the airport?

Not sure what your plans are when you visit Vancouver - but a car is sometimes handy to have to see the "farther" out sites (i.e., Spanish Banks, Museum of Anthropology, etc.).

Seems the easiest way for me....

NWWanderer

Camelbak--the OP doesn't want to do that because of the large drop fee that would be charged picking up the car in Victoria and dropping it in Vancouver.

I think taking the bus/ferry from Victoria to Vancouver and renting a car there (and driving to Whistler from Vancouver) is your best bet.

If you want to explore outside of Victoria then you could rent a car while you're there and return it in Victoria before leaving for Vancouver.