Transportation for 5 from port to downtown

[geovet]

We will be in Victoria for the evening and would like to find a reasonable way to go downtown.

 

Thanks

[martincath]

Can't beat the price, or the views, of just walking!

 

A very leisurely pace, around the waterside as much as possible via fisherman's wharf to the inner harbour is maybe 45mins including a photo stop or two? Cut straight up through the pleasant suburbs to Government Street and you shave off at least 10mins, albeit without as much stuff to oooh and aaaaah at one the way - but I'd recommend coming back this way as you can then conveniently stop in the James Bay Thifty Mart to snag all the Canadian foodie-goodies that are extortionately imported into the US or just plain illegal (be sure to eat your Kinder Eggs before heading back to the US, they're genuinely more tightly controlled than importing firearms!!!)

 

If your whole party cannot manage a mile-and-a-half on foot, 5 people in one vehicle is a bit tricky - it's trivially easy to get a cab from the pier on cruise days as the drivers know there are fares so cabs roll in constantly BUT you really have to get lucky as there are only a few minivan cabs in Victoria which are not converted to wheelchair-accessible (i.e. actually seat up to 6 people rather than 4 seats and a wheelchair tiedown). If one of your five is actually in a chair or scooter, great - call any cab firm and tell them you need an accessible cab (or just wait for one in the rank outside the pier, it's about one in every six cabs on average). Just paying for two cabs, or younger fitter folks walking and sending just the folks who can't walk far by cab would be easy enough if you want to just get going ASAP.

 

You could also try local Uber-equivalent Kabu to specifically request a larger vehicle (at a higher cost). Ballpark cab fare is $10 on the meter, you'll pay a bit more than that for a Kabu Plus but you'll know you're getting it - the cab apps only guarantee a 4-seater unless you call and state you have a wheelchair user, and the VAST majority of the local fleet are this size just like in Vancouver so two cabs will generally be needed if you're all able-bodied - cruise days are busy days and frankly the local cab firms might find it just too much hassle to bother with trying to get a rare 6-seater to the pier for tourists!

 

There will also be hugely overpriced cruise shuttles - US$13pp does not equate well compared to two $10 cab rides, even 2 people save money unless they tip hella well, and 5 folks even in two cabs will definitely save cash.

[geovet]

We do have a son who has some challenges with a walk that distance. We will look for a taxi or two if needed. Will we find them outside the port area?
 

Thanks

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

46 minutes ago, geovet said:

We do have a son who has some challenges with a walk that distance. We will look for a taxi or two if needed. Will we find them outside the port area?
 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

The walk from the ship to the terminal is very short.  There will be a line of taxis right outside the terminal. There also will be the shuttles taking folks to the downtown area.  All very organized and the signage will be very clear.

[martincath]

^What N A said - if you zoom in on the google maps I linked you'll see a few unnamed roads right by the two cruise piers (Ogden Point A and B). Turn on the 'satellite photo' layer and everything gets super obvious in terms of the where the taxi ranks are in relation to each pier.

 

If your son can walk a bit, rest, repeat then even the waterfront route might still be feasible; the signage is really good, given how many port stops are just 4ish hours Victoria goes all out to encourage folks to come downtown. Sometimes the pickleboats add a stop next to Ogden for cruisers to take tours of the harbour from the water - it's about the price of a cab for each person, so it's not a super-practical 'just get downtown' service but as AK cruise excursions go it's pretty good value and fun! You can get off at any of their stops and then maybe come back by a boring regular cab (Chinatown is pretty much perfect, as that's as far as most folks bother touring in downtown Victoria anyway, and there should be lots of flaggable cabs driving past on Pandora turning onto Government that are heading the right way.