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Ferry to the mainland from vancouver island


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Just wondering is it better to book the ferry ahead of time? my cruise is July 9, we are landing in Victoria on the 5th and are going to rent a car and drive around the island for a couple days then go to Vancouver and check out some sites and drive up the sea to sky highway, before returning the car on the 8th before getting on the ship. we will likely cross in Nanaimo on the 7th, how far back should i book the ferry? is a day or two before OK? or should it be months in advance. any insight would be helpful thank you.

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Well, I just looked it up and learned something. :p It is cheaper to book a week or more out, like considerably cheaper. Cool. Here is the link to the website for the info.

 

You don't have to reserve, you know, but I think in summer it is probably a good investment, $10.00.

 

Enjoy your trip. :)

 

https://www.bcferries.com/res/visc_faq.html <--click here for reservation info, BC Ferries

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If you have a solid idea of what you're going to see, which route you're taking then booking (enough) in advance ensures you will definitely board on the ship you expect to be on (NB: you do have to arrive early for reserved spots though, it is not a way to cut out hanging around at the terminal as they give your slot away 30min prior IIRC). Time always trumps money IMO, so avoiding a wait of even an hour or two is well worth the reso fee if you know it will be a busy day!

 

Even though it's summer weekend, you are coming the less busy direction. Fri and to a lesser extent Sat are busy going TO the island, while Sun/Mon are busy coming FROM - it's mainlanders visiting the Island rather than Islanders escaping that drives summer ferry capacity. If we're pootling around on the Island we don't bother with a reso, so that we can be more loosey-goosey in exactly what we see and do - but we do avoid Stat hols without resos!

 

So given your plans seem a little vague right now, but it's definitely not on a Stat holiday weekend, I'd be comfortable waiting. If you firm up your plans at least a week in advance, great you may as well hedge your bets with a $10 reso. Worst case if you remain woolly until the day you travel, you have 2 routes from Nanaimo - to Tsawassen and to Horseshoe Bay - so if you don't book at all you can see which is busiest and take the other one.

 

It actually wouldn't surprise me if you could drive up <30min predeparture without a reso on a Saturday coming back to the mainland and get onto the very next ferry... so it could actually be faster than with a reso and their minimum 30mins check-in time. But if you're a more careful traveler, book yourselves a definite departure slot on the latest boat that works for you - and if you get done early, just show up earlier and 'waste' the reso. A $10 'fee' is much better than changing a plane ticket to an earlier one!!!

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You don't need to reserve, however during busy times you may see a one sailing wait (where the next ship is fully and you have to wait). A reservation ensures you get on.

 

If you have a reservation and show up early and want to take the earlier sailing they will move you on to that sailing.

 

Sailing are usually every two hours, however during summer and other peek times sailing are hourly.

 

You may also want to look at BC Ferries Vacation. There are packages that include the hotel and ferry crossing at a discounted rate.

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