Car Rental - Vancouver or Victoria

[TravelResearcher]

We are arriving in Vancouver on June 18 in the morning (six of us on four different flights), all around 10:30 a.m. I rented a minivan for four days through Alamo and made a car reservation on the 1:00 ferry to Victoria after reading about booked ferries on this board.

 

Now I'm second guessing myself after reading additional posts. Would we be better off taking the bus/ferry option and renting a car in Victoria? That was a much more expensive option with six people, and the car rentals are also higher in Victoria.

 

What are the disadvantages besides having to wait for the cars to get off? If we manage to get there early, will we likely get off first? (First on, first off?)

 

Am I allowing enough time (assuming our flights are on time) taking into account getting through customs, getting the car rented, and getting to the dock? We have to be there 45-60 minutes early--any later than 30 minutes before sailing, we lose our reservation.

 

If someone's flight is late, he/she will take the bus/ferry option, and someone will pick him/her up at Swartz Bay. We are a group of 25 who are renting a house together, all coming in at different times.

 

We will be returning on Sunday morning, dropping our van off at the Ballentyne pier and then taking a cruise.

 

Does the above sound doable?

[Putterdude]

We are arriving in Vancouver on June 18 in the morning (six of us on four different flights), all around 10:30 a.m. I rented a minivan for four days through Alamo and made a car reservation on the 1:00 ferry to Victoria after reading about booked ferries on this board.

 

Now I'm second guessing myself after reading additional posts. Would we be better off taking the bus/ferry option and renting a car in Victoria? That was a much more expensive option with six people, and the car rentals are also higher in Victoria.

 

What are the disadvantages besides having to wait for the cars to get off? If we manage to get there early, will we likely get off first? (First on, first off?)

 

Am I allowing enough time (assuming our flights are on time) taking into account getting through customs, getting the car rented, and getting to the dock? We have to be there 45-60 minutes early--any later than 30 minutes before sailing, we lose our reservation.

 

If someone's flight is late, he/she will take the bus/ferry option, and someone will pick him/her up at Swartz Bay. We are a group of 25 who are renting a house together, all coming in at different times.

 

We will be returning on Sunday morning, dropping our van off at the Ballentyne pier and then taking a cruise.

 

Does the above sound doable?

 

With a reservation you will be loaded first and generally will be among the first off loaded. As for your timing, so long as you are away from the airport between 11:30 and 11:45 you should be ok for getting to the ferry terminal before 12:30. However if that is giving you any concern then you can change your reservation to a latter sailing. With the number of people you are talking about it should be cheaper to stay with the rental van and more convenient for you.

[scottbee]

We are arriving in Vancouver on June 18 in the morning (six of us on four different flights), all around 10:30 a.m. I rented a minivan for four days through Alamo and made a car reservation on the 1:00 ferry to Victoria after reading about booked ferries on this board.

 

Now I'm second guessing myself after reading additional posts. Would we be better off taking the bus/ferry option and renting a car in Victoria? That was a much more expensive option with six people, and the car rentals are also higher in Victoria.

 

What are the disadvantages besides having to wait for the cars to get off? If we manage to get there early, will we likely get off first? (First on, first off?)

 

Am I allowing enough time (assuming our flights are on time) taking into account getting through customs, getting the car rented, and getting to the dock? We have to be there 45-60 minutes early--any later than 30 minutes before sailing, we lose our reservation.

 

If someone's flight is late, he/she will take the bus/ferry option, and someone will pick him/her up at Swartz Bay. We are a group of 25 who are renting a house together, all coming in at different times.

 

We will be returning on Sunday morning, dropping our van off at the Ballentyne pier and then taking a cruise.

 

You should be fine. You need to be at Tsawwassen before 12:30, or they will give your reservation away, but YVR to the ferry terminal is a fairly quick drive. If anyone does miss your mini van, Pacific Coach Lines operate buses from YVR to Victoria, it's about $40 including the ferry fare.

 

As for getting there early to be first on, you'd need to be there at 3am, and then there are probably trucks already waiting for the 05:45 to Duke Pt.. During the summer there are probably 25-30 ferries a day from Tsawwassen, (16 to Victoria alone) it's a busy place. Here are a few quick ferry facts;

• the larger ferries to Victoria can carry 375 cars and 2000 people (the smaller ones a mere 275 / 1300)
  
• it's not unusual to be in 'lane 48' of the holding area, the holding area is huge, as it can hold about 4 ferries worth of cars/trucks
  
• they load and unload very quickly as four lanes of cars load/unload simultaneously. A full load/unload takes 25 minutes, and ferry operators from around the world come to see how it's done.

I would get a reservation for that return trip on Sunday as well....