Getting to Victoria
Provided by CNS’ local Canadian- Lifetime member, Dave Rosen.
Travelling to/from Victoria
So, you’ve decided to go to CNS – yeah! Now you just have to figure out how to get there – argh!
As you plan your trip, here are a few details that might help you.
First, the really confusing part. The conference is being held in downtown Victoria, right on the harbour, which is located on Vancouver Island. Yes, Victoria is the capitol of the province of British Columbia, but the larger city of Vancouver is not on the island of Vancouver. Damn 18th century explorers naming everything in sight the same.
So, you need to get to the Vancouver Island, the key word being “island”. More on that later.
Arriving via Victoria International Airport
The good news is that Victoria has an international airport (code = YYJ), although travelling there may require a transfer in some airport along the way. However, you are still going to face the basic problem that, similar to all CNS sites, the airport isn’t right in the city of Victoria. So, let’s explore some options for getting you to downtown Victoria from the airport.
Victoria Airport to Downtown Victoria via Bus: The cheapest option is a city bus that goes from the airport to the downtown (eventually). The airport is about 90 min trip by public bus to the downtown. From the airport, take bus 87/88/88a (direction Sidney) and get off at McTavish Exchange. Then transfer to 70/72 (direction Downtown) to Legislature Exchange. From the legislature, walk westbound on Quebec St. to the hotel. Google Maps or the Transit app are helpful for up-to-date routing. There is also an online transit route planner here: https://www.bctransit.com/victoria/
Fares on Victoria Regional Transit are $3 cash for a one-way trip, or $6 cash for a day trip (remember we use our own currency). Note, drivers do not give change, so you’ll need a combination of loonies ($1 coin) and a toonie ($2 coin). If you prefer to stay cashless, the Umo App is available for download where you can purchase fare options. Unfortunately, credit cards are not accepted on busses in Victoria!
Victoria Airport to Downtown Victoria – other options: In addition to the public bus service, Victoria airport is also served by taxis and Ubers. Way more expensive than the bus ($65-100 depending on time of day), but more straightforward (particularly with luggage).
There are also, of course, car rentals, that may be even cheaper for groups. YYJ has the usual assortment of companies. One word of warning – although parking on Victoria streets is pretty civilized, overnight parking is limited, and hotels generally charge a premium for parking privileges. Victoria itself is well-served by public buses, so consider carefully if you need a car.
But I want to visit Vancouver!
Good for you – Vancouver is a beautiful city! But as the conference is in Victoria, there are additional travel considerations.
First, getting to/from Vancouver International airport (YVR) from your home is probably easier in some ways as it is a more major international airport. And once you have landed, your options for getting downtown are also simpler and cheaper as YVR is located in essentially a suburb of Vancouver proper.
The public rapid transit (our equivalent of a subway is called the Skytrain as it is partly above ground) goes directly to/from the airport (you have to pay a second fare though when leaving the airport – sorry). Connecting buses/Skytrains do not require a separate fare to transfer. It’s a pretty good transit system, and while it does not take cash it does take credit cards (opposite to Victoria)! Google or Apple maps work just as well as the system’s special transit app.
But now I need to get from Vancouver to Victoria (or the other way around)
In that case, you are blessed with several options.
1. Take public transit/taxi back to YVR and fly to YYJ – then see above!
2. Take the ferry. Remember I mentioned Victoria was on an island? That means boats!
Good news: there are ferries that go almost hourly between Tsawwassen ferry terminal (Vancouver side) and Schwartz Bay ferry terminal (Victoria side). Bad news: neither ferry terminal is in the respective city.
Bad news: In summer the ferries are super busy, so you better make a reservation well in advance if you are planning on taking a car on board. Good news: it’s way cheaper and easier to do a “walk on”.
If you are driving, note that they are super strict about arriving to the terminal between 30-60 minutes before departure to honour your reservation. And traffic getting from Vancouver to the terminal can be a bit slow, especially getting through what we affectionately call The Tunnel.
You can buy tickets to walk on up to 15 minutes before a sailing (hint: you can push this a few minutes by buying at the counter instead of the electronic kiosk). But if you are walking on, you have to get to/from ferry terminals first.
Fortunately, there are normal city buses that run on both sides of the ferry. Slower, but cheaper. On the Vancouver side, you want take the Canada Line SkyTrain to Bridgeport Station and then transfer to the 620 bus which goes to Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Once on the Victoria side (Swartz Bay ferry terminal) take the BC Transit Route 70 (Express) or Route 72 buses, which depart from the right side of the terminal parking lot after you disembark. That bus journey takes approximately 75 minutes, and note the previous warning about needing $3 cash for the bus (no credit cards).
There is also a more expensive (~$70) downtown to downtown bus service (several dedicated stops along the way): https://bcfconnector.com/
And yes, you can also Uber/taxi on either side of the ferry, but it will be pricey given the distance. 3. You can also fly downtown to downtown! This is super helpful if you are staying in Vancouver proper. There is another service that flies small commuter planes from Vancouver Harbour downtown to Victoria Harbour downtown (the conference hotel is just a few blocks around the harbour). This is the website: https://harbourair.com/
But what is I want to go from YVR to the ferry terminal?
Not sure what circumstances would result in this but … To get from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, the fastest options are taxi or ride-hailing (25–35 min, CA$70–$90), although direct private shuttles are also available. Public transit is the most economical, taking about 1 hour via the Canada Line SkyTrain to Bridgeport Station and transferring to the 620 bus.
Then see advice above for getting from Swartz Bay ferry terminal to downtown Victoria.
For those strange folks coming via Seattle
One other option you might want to consider is the ferry service between Seattle harbour and Victoria harbour: https://www.clippervacations.com/seattle-victoria-ferry/. But note that this is a passenger only ferry.