Transfer from Vancouver to Victoria Island

[sirvegetables]

Does anyone know if HAL will book a transfer package from Vancouver port to Victoria island following an Alaska cruise?  Or has anyone done it on their own?

Edited September 1, 2019 by sirvegetables

[*Miss G*]

Harbour Air is right next to Canada Place and is a great way to get to Victoria.

[sirvegetables]

Thanks, good to know.  If I do it on my own I'll probably rent a car.  I was wondering if HAL had any sort of post cruise package to get you there, book you in a hotel and then on to the airport a couple days later.  Probably not.  Second option would be to rent a car.  

 

[morechances]

13 minutes ago, sirvegetables said:

Does anyone know if HAL will book a transfer package from Vancouver port to Victoria island following an Alaska cruise?  Or has anyone done it on their own?

It is actually called Vancouver Island. 

[sirvegetables]

Good to know, its been 30 years since ive been. But anyway, so yeah, from Vancouver to Vancouver island, specifically the town of Victoria. 

[Ineke]

When my sister does it, who lives on Vancouver Island, they use the HAL transfer to the airport, where they catch an express bus to the ferry terminal. Taking Canada Line to the airport is less costly and more flexible.   Renting a car is an excellent option as you will then have transportation on Vancouver Island as well.  Also, a Harbour Air flight is an efficient, quick way to get there, well worth investigating as you can walk one block and be at the terminal. 

[morechances]

It really depends on how much time you have and what you want to do. Renting a car and taking the ferry is an option, but it depends on how quickly you want to get there, and if you want to take another boat.

Harbourair is nice, if you like small planes. Great views.

[threebluestars]

Helijet is also close to the port (helicopter rather than float planes).

[Galley Slave]

There is a new Salish Sea boat that goes between Vancouver and Victoria.  V2V Vacations.

https://www.v2vvacations.com/cruises/

 

We saw this service last summer.

[Schooner-ca]

Victoria is not a town it is a city. If you book your transfer though HAL be prepared to pay big $$$$. Transportation and hotels at all prices are available and simple 

[twodjs]

B. C. Ferries connector offers a seasonal large bus service directly from the Canada Place cruise terminal to downtown Victoria next to the Empress Hotel. They load your luggage at the cruise ferminal, the bus gets on the ferry to Vancouver Island and takes you to Victoria with no luggage hassles. Victoria has really good local bus service, if you choose not to rent a car. Then you can take the Victoria Clipper (a people only ferry) directly to Seattle when you are ready. From the terminal at Seattle, if you don't want to tour, you can take Uber, a taxi or the light rail about a half hour to get to Seatac airport. We have done this before. Easy - the only issue is you must get off the ship first thing in Vancouver to get on the bus - it leaves at 9:15 in order to make the ferry connection. Probably a lot cheaper than a seaplane and without the weight restriction. 

[VMax1700]

15 hours ago, Galley Slave said:

There is a new Salish Sea boat that goes between Vancouver and Victoria.  V2V Vacations.

https://www.v2vvacations.com/cruises/

 

We saw this service last summer.

 

Thanks for that link!  Going to Vancouver next week for 10 days and not hiring a car, so that is a great way to travel to the Island.

[sirvegetables]

13 hours ago, twodjs said:

B. C. Ferries connector offers a seasonal large bus service directly from the Canada Place cruise terminal to downtown Victoria next to the Empress Hotel. They load your luggage at the cruise ferminal, the bus gets on the ferry to Vancouver Island and takes you to Victoria with no luggage hassles. Victoria has really good local bus service, if you choose not to rent a car. Then you can take the Victoria Clipper (a people only ferry) directly to Seattle when you are ready. From the terminal at Seattle, if you don't want to tour, you can take Uber, a taxi or the light rail about a half hour to get to Seatac airport. We have done this before. Easy - the only issue is you must get off the ship first thing in Vancouver to get on the bus - it leaves at 9:15 in order to make the ferry connection. Probably a lot cheaper than a seaplane and without the weight restriction. 

I believe what you've written above but having a hard time finding the service you mention in the BC Ferries website.  I can't find the service that leaves from Canada Place.  Perhaps I'm on the wrong link.  If you have a moment and can reply with the link of the information on the service you mention above that would be great!  thanks!

[martincath]

15 minutes ago, sirvegetables said:

I believe what you've written above but having a hard time finding the service you mention in the BC Ferries website.  I can't find the service that leaves from Canada Place.  Perhaps I'm on the wrong link.  If you have a moment and can reply with the link of the information on the service you mention above that would be great!  thanks!

It's a separate website - the service is franchised out to bidding coach companies (the folks who ran it changed last contract renewal, ~3 years back) so technically not run by or anything to do with BC Ferries directly (i.e. if you hate the bus and complain, it won't blow back on BCF!).

 

Don't take the one from the pier - they charge as much extra per person as cab fare for a carload to the bus station! Check pricing of each departure option - diff charges for pickup at airport too. There are many daily departures from Pacific Central station that meet up with basically every ferry, but fewer that offer the additional connecting services.

 

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

Thanks for that link!  Going to Vancouver next week for 10 days and not hiring a car, so that is a great way to travel to the Island.

NB: that while V2V is certainly an option they have an extraordinarily limited schedule of just one per day each way and are also more expensive than BC Ferries even when you include transportation costs to the other ferries. It can be cheaper to fly than take V2V! And unless you plan to only spend time in Victoria and immediate surroundings, a car is a necessity on the Island - transit sucks outside Victoria's suburbs (plus buses to/from ferry and airport) and there's an awful lot more to see over there than just Butchart and Victoria. Unlike Vancouver, parking is much more accessible and cheaper around Victoria too, so even in town a car can be more convenient than the buses.

[sirvegetables]

53 minutes ago, martincath said:

It's a separate website - the service is franchised out to bidding coach companies (the folks who ran it changed last contract renewal, ~3 years back) so technically not run by or anything to do with BC Ferries directly (i.e. if you hate the bus and complain, it won't blow back on BCF!).

 

Don't take the one from the pier - they charge as much extra per person as cab fare for a carload to the bus station! Check pricing of each departure option - diff charges for pickup at airport too. There are many daily departures from Pacific Central station that meet up with basically every ferry, but fewer that offer the additional connecting services.

 

NB: that while V2V is certainly an option they have an extraordinarily limited schedule of just one per day each way and are also more expensive than BC Ferries even when you include transportation costs to the other ferries. It can be cheaper to fly than take V2V! And unless you plan to only spend time in Victoria and immediate surroundings, a car is a necessity on the Island - transit sucks outside Victoria's suburbs (plus buses to/from ferry and airport) and there's an awful lot more to see over there than just Butchart and Victoria. Unlike Vancouver, parking is much more accessible and cheaper around Victoria too, so even in town a car can be more convenient than the buses.

Thanks for the link and comments- I just looked up the fare and it was about $60 for adult one way.  Seems pretty reasonable.  I think they will also add on the ferry fare to that.  Given I'm traveling with two elderly people who don't want to carry bags or walk or get taxis for everything it seems like a great deal.  Unless I'm missing something.  

[martincath]

50 minutes ago, sirvegetables said:

Thanks for the link and comments- I just looked up the fare and it was about $60 for adult one way.  Seems pretty reasonable.  I think they will also add on the ferry fare to that.  Given I'm traveling with two elderly people who don't want to carry bags or walk or get taxis for everything it seems like a great deal.  Unless I'm missing something.  

It's literally just a cost and flexibility thing - in the same way that cruiseline transfers cost the same per person as a whole cab to the airport, BCFC charges as much to each person as a cab to the bus station. So for a solo, that's always just fine but for 2+ people the convenience of a pier pickup gets worse and worse value compared to a cab to the bus station. Last time I checked the price was ~$80 from the pier, and only available on the 9am bus, but ~$65 from the bus station (all CAD) with departures about every two hours.

 

If the timing works for your plans then there's no additional issue on that front. Oh, and ferry ticket is included in the BCFC price when you ride the whole route (they do offer just pier-city transfers without a ferry ticket to pick you up on the other end if e.g. a friend can drop you at the ferry this end) unless they've totally overhauled how they operate. The overall product is good, it's just that price-gouge for the tiny extra ride which would only cost $3 on transit or ~$12 in a cab that annoys me 😉

 

Edit - having now read all of your posts I see that you were actually considering renting a car. With at least 3 of you (yourself and the 2 elders mentioned) this would actually be already both a better value than BCFC for three as well as by far the most flexible choice for both timing and route. Even with the extra ~$60 to take the car on the ferry, at the 2 person level this can break even or start saving depending what you pay for the rental vehicle - with 3+ it's a total no-brainer in value alone, and the qualitative benefit of having a car on the Island cannot be overstated as it opens up some gorgeous areas to you. Since cars can be rented at the pier you may even end up walking less than if you took the bus.

Edited September 2, 2019 by martincath

[VMax1700]

22 hours ago, martincath said:

 

NB: that while V2V is certainly an option they have an extraordinarily limited schedule of just one per day each way and are also more expensive than BC Ferries even when you include transportation costs to the other ferries. It can be cheaper to fly than take V2V! And unless you plan to only spend time in Victoria and immediate surroundings, a car is a necessity on the Island - transit sucks outside Victoria's suburbs (plus buses to/from ferry and airport) and there's an awful lot more to see over there than just Butchart and Victoria. Unlike Vancouver, parking is much more accessible and cheaper around Victoria too, so even in town a car can be more convenient than the buses.

 

Thanks for the pointers.  We are already planning a trip to Okanagan Lake & Valley for a couple of nights and as the main reason for the trip to Vancouver is to visit our son, we may not take time to visit Vancouver Island this trip.  However the trip via V2V does seem an interesting option (specially if we overnight)  compared to the trip back and forward to Tsawwassen  and at the Swartz Bay side.

[martincath]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

Thanks for the pointers.  We are already planning a trip to Okanagan Lake & Valley for a couple of nights and as the main reason for the trip to Vancouver is to visit our son, we may not take time to visit Vancouver Island this trip.  However the trip via V2V does seem an interesting option (specially if we overnight)  compared to the trip back and forward to Tsawwassen  and at the Swartz Bay side.

Yes - if you look at V2V as a scenic cruise, rather than a way to get between Vic & Van, it does seems a much better deal 😉 Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay do have mostly-boring roads to follow, but with your own car you have the option of taking part of the enormously scenic Sea to Sky highway and using the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route. For visiting Cathedral Grove, Telegraph Bay, Tofino or anywhere else in the north of the Island it's much more practical than Swartz Bay.

 

Given you have a kid living here, I'd check with him - he may have spent time in and loved, or wants to go but still hasn't made it yet, to various spots around the area. Okanagan is another area you definitely need a car in (you can fly up there, but transit even in Kelowna, the only town of any size at all, is limited) - so unless your son has a car he can lend you or drive you around in, a rental seems like the only practical option for you regardless of whether you head to the desert or the islands (or both!)

[Former Non-cruiser]

On 9/1/2019 at 2:31 PM, sirvegetables said:

Does anyone know if HAL will book a transfer package from Vancouver port to Victoria island following an Alaska cruise?  Or has anyone done it on their own?

In 2017 I used https://bcfconnector.com/  Very good service direct from Canada Place to Victoria.

[Holidaycraze]

I live in Vancouver and my son lives in victoria 

Ive taken the pacific connector bus many times and its a good service, until i discovered flying Harbour Air ......

Its so fast and economical and absolutely stunning flight.  I fly Vancouver Harbour (close to cruise terminal) to downtown harbour of Victoria.  I have gone one way for 84dollars Canadian depending on which time you can go.

This cheaper or close to the price of a car and one passenger on ferry one way and twenty minutes and you are there.

I didnt read all the responses but hope this helps 

[RobTheGob]

We're cheap - so we usually take BC Transit (Translink & BC Transit Victoria) when we have luggage with us - Vancouver to Victoria is about $25-$30 CAD (cheaper with a Compass Card). You get on a train next to the cruise terminal and make one transfer to a bus, that takes you to the ferry. For us - the BC Ferries Connector doesn't add enough value for the extra cost (YMMV).

 

The Harbour Air service is great (and have great sales) - but luggage is $$$$ (if that matters to you). The V2V ferry looks interesting - but again, at a premium.

[Pondie]

I recommend you try the Victoria/Vancouver Connector - the bus picks you up at Canada Place, takes you and your luggage to the ferry and then right to downtown.  It's the easiest and cheapest way.