The BC Ferries Swartz Bay Terminal is located near Victoria on Vancouver Island (specifically on…read morethe Saanich Peninsula, about 30 minutes north of downtown Victoria).  It forms the island end of the major ferry route connecting Vancouver Island to Tsawwassen, which is the terminal located south of Metro Vancouver.

I've taken this ferry from Victoria to Vancouver a handful of times over the years. This was the…read morefirst time I had reservations. Because of an accident, I had to change my reservation to a day earlier. We needed to get off the island ASAP and get back to the states in case my wife needed to see a doctor or be hospitalized. Customer service was good to work with. They listened to my story and helped me change my reservation a couple of times. No waiving of fees, not that I was hoping for fee waiver. They did their job and was able to make reservations on the ferry that my wife wanted. Car boarding instructions was a little unclear. I wanted to keep my wife in the car as we made our crossing. I was told that we were supposed to go up to the seating area. Later on I found out that she could've stayed in the car. It was a nice ferry ride from Victoria to Vancouver. It was very smooth compared to the Port Angeles to Victoria ferry ride where it was a little rough. Also, the BC Ferry to/from Victoria and Vancouver is scheduled for almost every hour. BC Ferries is like a well oiled machine. I most likely will take it again to make up for what our medical emergency made us miss.

Beautiful ferry terminal here at Tsawwassen. We arrived here unreserved and had to wait out 2…read moreferries before we got on one. But the little play area and the cafe mall kept her 5 year old pretty engaged through the 2 hours of wait time. Lots of food options at the terminal, so no worries about refreshments. and lots of open grass areas for pets to laze and go. Staff make very timely announcements and ensure transparency with delays as quickly as they can. One sincere advice - please make reservations during peak hours, it is so much better. Once abroad, the ride is amazing. Ferries are well maintained and clean.

Call me crazy but the spicy ultimate crunch on the ferry is one of my favourite chicken burgers,…read moreand I eat a lot of chicken burgers. Maybe it's the destination that makes it good, maybe it's that you're usually travelling with family, who knows? The ferry it's self although sometimes annoying to drive on, has been improved lots by the reservation system! Walk on has never been a problem ever. Ferries are nice inside for the amount of traffic they see and perfectly fine for a hour and a half boat ride. Some complain lots about the ferries for some reason? Book in advance and show up 30 minutes before the sailing and it'll be a much more pleasant experience!

Excellent car rental facility, with a friendly staff and clean cars. The rental office is…read moreconveniently located minutes away from the airport. Outside of the airport terminal building, in the rental pick-up area, there is a sign that includes the Enterprise telephone number to request a shuttle pick up. Our driver arrived in less than 10 minutes. Of course, the shuttle is free. Both check-in and check-out are fast and painless. Our vehicle was ready as soon as we entered the facility. We were in and out in roughly 3 minutes. Outstanding! Just as important, we were charged exactly what was quoted, unlike Hertz (in Calgary), which charged close to $100 more than quoted.

The only downside is that they only have shuttle pick-up at the airport. If you arrive at the ferry…read moreterminal, you need to take a taxi.

The Malahat line travels 225 km from downtown Victoria north to Courtenay, passing by beautiful…read moreforest and ocean views and over a dramatic canyon or two during its 4 hour and 45-minute journey one way. The car (or cars - the train travels with 1 or 2) is older and riders are definitely in for a bit of a bone-jarring journey at times, but it's a great way to travel, leisurely and unrushed. It may be a good idea to bring snacks and water - there are no resources on the train. Interesting fact: When they're using a single car, rather than turning the train around, the seats are simply swivelled to face the other direction between every departure. Even the engineer's seat is merely screwed in and he simply unscrews it, wheels it down the car to the other side and screws it in again. The train leaves Victoria each morning and returns from Courtenay each afternoon.

We love trains, so we decided to take the E&N Via Rail trip from Victoria to Courtenay, BC and back…read moreon our last visit to Victoria. We were disappointed that the train didn't travel the coast as much as we were led to expect. We took a picnic as there is nothing on the train. The personnel were friendly and informative, but the constant blasting of the train horn, even when there were no approaching road crossings, got to be VERY annoying. If you go, plan to spend the night some where in Courtenay or environs. Round trip in one day is way too long.

I wouldn't normal write a BIG "rant" but it is only out of disappointment that I feel sharing our…read moreexperience could help others before booking a wine tour. May.27 my work booked a wine tour through Regent Limousine for two of our 30yr retirement friends/co-workers. Tour included 3 wineries and lunch at the second location. Tastings were $5-10 which some places wouldn't charge if you bought wine and each person would pay for their lunches. We each paid our amount for just the bus trip/tour and prepared to pay for our extra's. So. . .. when we got to the first winery they were completely surprised and shocked to see 21 people ready to do tastings. Apparently we were not booked at all. Our poor driver scramble to make contact with his company and to sort it all out. Now the very busy winery had to divide our group to be able to do a tasting, which took a lot longer since they already had another group before us. Of course this puts us behind and our next tour was to include lunch, which again was not booked. Our driver then informed us they have arranged a wonderful lunch at the end of our tastings at the Malahat Chalet. Not one winery had our party booked, and our 10:30-4:30 tour was behind and we arrived for lunch at 3:30. At the restaurant there was a set menu and our office manager asked if this was being paid for by Regent to make up for the mix up with our tour. We were told if we ordered from the set menu it would be paid for, if we ordered from their regular menu it would be the cost for that person. So we were thankful for the good gesture to cover lunch for our tour mishap, until my office manager was later changed for every single lunch, $30 per meal. When she set an email to the company they claim they did not say they were going to pay for it and they didn't charge her for the extra hour it took to get us back to Victoria. I find this completely misleading and a complete let down to such a wonder celebration of our great friends retirement. " As we did not have a reservation for your group on that very busy day and in order to accommodate you on the spot,, I had to split your group up for the tasting, which I normally would not have done, and the tasting was a bit more abbreviated than I usually do. Vigneti Zanatta "It was unfortunate that Regent didn't make the appropriate reservations for your large group on the 27th and I was pleased to hear that Shannon was able to accommodate your group of twenty" 'Unfortunately, the tour was not booked with us ahead of time and we were unaware of your visit which makes it hard on us to give you the proper tasting and time with a Blue Grouse team member. "

Just got back from a cruise to Alaska. Myself and two young kids (8 and 10) got a 2hr tour of…read moreVictoria by a wonderful driver called Dave. He was an older gentlemen and very knowledgable about the area. He took us to a great ice cream parlor that was off the beaten track - he took us around various neighborhoods and landmarks. The car was immaculate and we felt like royalty stepping out. Well worth it rather than going on the more expensive, rigid and cheesy cruise excursions. Highly recommended; especially if you have very limited time in port.

Sweet little regional airport. "International" because it has direct flights for the US, which…read moreappear to have their own gates (and probably a US customs, but it's not currently open). The main domestic terminal has 11 gates. There are 2 cafes, a seated restaurant, and a news stand. Not a lot of options. Wash rooms are really, really nice! I'm not confident there's enough terminal seating for everyone if there are delayed flights stacked onto regular departures. The seats are large, which is nice, but the organization of them didn't prioritize capacity. There are only so many flights in, so there are also only so many opportunities to rebook if your flight is delayed. Currently the 6:20a to Vancouver is delayed until 10a, and our 8:20a to Vancouver is fully booked and standby is full. Ferries, however, run on the hour from Sidney to Vancouver. So book flights with awareness that if you get stuck, the airline is limited in getting you where you want to go.

This is a very nice airport. Clean and well managed. Great staff…read more On arrival, customs and immigration was quick and efficient. Leaving was easy too. I got here 90 minutes before my flight to Seattle with no worries. I even ran into a Brother Freemason working security. Lovely man. It's bright, comfortable and pleasant at YYJ.

On a recent visit to Victoria for my nieces wedding I was stuck without a rental car. I was so…read moreworried but I called Terry and he was my hero. Not only did he find me a car, with no notice, but he also came and picked me up at the airport and took me to his office. He was so kind, helpful and understanding. I will now ONLY rent from Terry when I am in Victoria...excellent customer service and Terry is such a great guy! Thanks Terry! Kelly Paladino

After getting stuck in traffic in Vancouver and taking the ferry to Victoria last minute, we landed…read morewith a cancelled car reservation on a Friday afternoon. The airport had none available but luckily the guy behind one of the desks called this place. Terry the owner was most accommodating even though he had a dry sense of humor. He not only picked us up from the airport, but upgraded us to a Jeep at no extra cost. It was perfect for our mountain drive. Despite not having new vehicles, this was more than sufficient and best value for peak season. On our way back, he was very kind enough to drop us off at the ferry. I'd definitely recommend him :) support small businesses.

What a cool experience! It's a ferry that takes you to your destination when traveling around…read moreVictoria Harbour. You can totally see why it's needed just by looking at a map of the city. The harbor is divided into 4 active sections. The cruise ships dock at Ogden Point in the Outer Harbour. The water taxi services the Inner, Upper, and Middle Harbour. It's a great transport option that is more affordable than a standard taxi. There can be a wait time. You may want to book a water taxi ahead of time if you're traveling in a group. The boat can only take up to 12 passengers. Our BC Bites & Sights guide booked it in advance so there was only a 10 minute wait at the Fisherman's Wharf pick up point. We saw a couple of sights along the way. There was a great view of the seaplane port, and the Empress Hotel in the Inner Harbor. We also passed under the Johnson Street Bridge with its beautiful aqua blue lights. We arrived to our destination (Mermaid Wharf) in a matter of minutes. Yes, I know we could have walked to Chinatown. It was already part of the tour, so why not? It would have taken longer to walk, and it was a cold & windy day. Some people in our group said it felt like being near the Great Lakes. The wind around Shoal Point was brutal that evening. I'm sure it's much worse in the Winter. It was fun! I think this is considered to be a Top 10 attraction here, and not just a ferry service. They do offer tours of the Inner Harbour as well as the Gorge Waterway. The latter one would be great for wildlife enthusiasts. That's definitely a tour I'd like to take one day.

Such a delightful way to get around Victoria's waterfront…read more These adorable little ferries are such a fun and scenic way to get around. Whether you're hopping between docks or joining a guided tour, the experience feels personal and relaxed. Boats seat just 11-12 passengers, making it a cozy ride with front-row views of the harbor. Even if you're just catching a lift, one-way fares are available and super easy to pay. QR codes at the docks make it seamless, and for those who are old-school, tickets can be purchased from a few local businesses or directly from the captains onboard. We didn't have time to jump on one of their narrated tours through historic waterways and neighborhoods, but it's definitely on our list for next time.