Getting On and Off the Island

As we get ready to head off to Alberta next weekend, we are once again reminded that we live on Vancouver Island with no road, bridge or tunnel to get off while driving a vehicle. That's where the B.C. Ferries' fleet of 36 ships comes in. The sheer volume of sailings, and the size of the ferries, makes it pretty easy to get to the mainland, with your vehicle, pretty much anytime you want to go.

A B.C. Ferry can carry 410 vehicles including 34 semi-trailers


For almost 6 months of the year, sailings are scheduled hourly to and from the mainland and during the winter months the sailings are every 2 hours. The busiest routes by far are from Swartz Bay(Victoria) to Tsawwassen(Vancouver) and from Nanaimo to North Vancouver. The Victoria sailing takes 95 minutes while the Nanaimo trip is 2 hours long.

The main B.C. Ferry Routes. Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen is the busiest


We live about halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo, so we have the choice of taking 3 different ferry routes to get over to Vancouver. We can take the sailings from either Swartz Bay, Nanaimo or Duke Point.

The old CPR Princess Marguerite Ferry - discontinued in 1960


The ferries in use for these trips are pretty big. In fact, the newer Spirit class ferries can carry 410 vehicles which includes 34 semi-trailers. There are up to 7 decks on the boats and they have lots of amenities on board to make the short trip quite comfortable. These include a full-scale buffet type restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner; a regular cafeteria; smaller snack and coffeeshops serving Starbuck's coffee as well as a newsstand, video arcades, wifi equipped work areas, pet areas and special play areas for children.

This was our first drive onto the car deck with our truck & 5'er in July 2007


The only real issue for us is the cost of getting on or off with our truck and 5th wheel. There is an extra charge for over-height vehicles and you pay by the foot for anything over the basic 20' allowed. So, for us, with our truck and 5'er, the normal rate would be about $180 one way. So, as you might imagine, going off the island with our rig for just a weekend is pretty much out of the question. Luckily, there are terrific campgrounds right here close to home.

The MV Coho arriving in Victoria from Port Angeles, WA


There is also a car-ferry service between Victoria and Port Angeles in Washington St. There is only one ferry used for this trip - the MV Coho which is operated by Black Ball Ferries. The Coho docks in Victoria's inner harbour right across from the Empress Hotel.

The old Black Ball Ferry Kalakala - "the upside down bathtub"


Probably the most unique ferry to ever carry passengers and vehicles off of Vancouver Island was the MV Kalakala. This old boat, which resembled an upside down bathtub, traveled for years between Victoria and Port Angeles before being replaced by the MV Coho. The Kalakala was definitely a huge tourist attraction as it resembled something out of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the sea.

So, sometime next week as we head for the B.C. Ferry terminal, we'll be reminded again that we are indeed, surrounded by the ocean!