We don't take Duke Point Ferry Terminal often. Duke Point (Nanaimo) goes to Tsawwassen. This is one…read moreof the more quieter ferry terminal and probably it's due to the limitation that it only goes one place.

On a recent trip to Victoria from Seattle, we decided to take the long way home and drive from…read moreVictoria to Nanaimo, ride the ferry to Vancouver, and spend the day there before returning home. I recommend taking Highway 1A and driving through the little towns of Chemainus (stop here if you have time, otherwise admire the many murals from your car), Saltair, and Ladysmith. 1A will take you to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal, or you can spend some time in Nanaimo and find the best Nanaimo bar (look up the Nanaimo Bar Trail and you'll find many suggestions for who sells them). Situated on a windy finger of land that shares Jack Point and Biggs Park, the ferry terminal itself is well organized and about 20+ lanes across. Buy your tickets online to save time and make sure you get to there an hour before departure. At the window, you can pay your fare or the agent will scan the prepaid barcode In your email. You are then assigned a lane. You can wait in your car or get out and walk around, grab a snack, use the restroom, take in the view, or pose with two orca statues flanking the walkway to the terminal. On the day we were there, two tents were set up with local arts and crafts. A large digital sign gave sailing information and PSAs about COVID safety. When it was time for everyone to board, an announcement was made asking us to return to our vehicles. About 10 or 15 minutes later, attendants guided us to the awaiting ferry. Everything was orderly and well organized, and I can't wait to come back.

Departure Bay is located north side of Nanaimo. It only has one berth and it only goes to Horseshoe…read moreBay. I was surprised that this ferry terminal has a food court and gift shops. It is a much more convenient location for us in terms of heading home or getting to Nanaimo. We usually take Swartz Bay or Dupoint. Only complain about this terminal is that you have to drive into Nanaimo and the traffic is not always the best.

Departed from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. PROTIP- if you're taking car onto ferry you must enter from…read morehighway (for those who are staying in Horseshoe Bay). Arrive 1hr to 30m earlier than departure time. You'll end up waiting on long car line to enter ferry. You are allowed to exit your car after you enter line- so u can get coffee or use the bathroom. You have to get back to your car 20/30m before departure time. Then you drive to enter ferry. Park. And go up to enjoy the views, cafe and gift shop. We were lucky to see Orcas and enjoy a big brekkie for CAD$18.49. Starbucks for $2.50! Cruise is 1.5 hours with lots of indoor and outdoor scenic views. Staff and peeps were super nice and helpful. Pets ok to transport too! There's a little kids play room as well.

Posting same review here because had same fantastic service both ways!!…read more I don't know quite why people seem to dislike this ferry service so much...we absolutely loved every minute of our experience to and from Nanaimo - Horseshoe bay! Both ferries left within 5 minutes of scheduled leaving time. They loaded exactly when they said they would and despite waiting 1 hour the way to Vancouver Island...the way back we made the ferry exactly on time and loaded straight away. Despite having our pooch Irie with us and being confined to car dock 4 we absolutely adored the view and thoroughly enjoyed walking around to all angles of the ship stickin our heads out the open large windows with the cold ocean air spraying our faces. The only annoying thing is the ship's movement sometimes caused some very sensitive car alarms to continuously go off kinda breaking the peaceful sea voyage but other than that spectacular friendly amazing service! Thanx for showing us Quebecers a spectacular view!

What can you say. This is a service that runs between the mainland of vancouver and the outlying…read moreislands. They can be very busy, and you should where at all possible to make reservations in advance.

I like this port. Duke Point (Nanaimo) is less busy compared to Victoria. On top, the ride is also…read moresmoother. Pickup is less chaotic. On the ferry to and from Nanaimo, you can get white spot food which is nice. Plenty of parking at this port.

Ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver [British Columbia]…read more We booked a reservation for an early departure to guarantee a spot in the ferry. Sailings depart from Duke Point to Vancouver (Tsawwassen). We had to arrive at the terminal between 30-mins to an hour prior to our scheduled departure. Sailing time was about 2 hours. Amenities inside the ferry included a snack and coffee kiosks, vending machines, ATM, waiting area, lots of seating. Positive experience. Review #3178

We took the BC Ferry over to Vancouver Island with a car and booked our tickets online with zero…read moreissues. From start to finish--ticket purchase, boarding, departure, and arrival--the whole experience was seamless and well organized. The ferry itself is spacious with plenty of seating, both indoor and outdoor areas, so it never felt cramped. There's room to walk around, relax, enjoy the views, grab a bite to eat, and even browse a small gift shop. It felt more like part of the journey than just transportation. Food options onboard were okay--nothing memorable, but decent enough if you need something during the crossing. Overall, a comfortable, stress-free way to travel and a great start to a Victoria Island getaway.

Review #2 for 2026…read more We used the ferry to take a day trip to Victoria while in Vancouver. The ferry is big! You can even drive your own car on the ferry! There is plenty of seating!! No need to rush on board to be one of the first ones seated. Unless you plan on sleeping the entire trip, you will most likely be changing seats at some point. We sure did! We went to different places to get different views. There is both inside and outside seating. Sitting outside can get very cold and windy depending on the season. We went during mid-May and it was very cold and windy outside. Only went out for a little bit to look around and take pictures. They have a cafe inside and the prices are actually pretty decent. Food is premade, so I do not think you can customize very much. They just scoop it like at a cafeteria. The ferry itself is very affordable. I think it converted to about $25 round trip per person for the ferry. If you bring a car, it believe it does cost significantly more. If you get there early, like we did, you can also ask to board an earlier ferry as to not wait around. We were not thinking properly and refused to pay the few bucks to get on the earlier ferry and instead waited around for about an hour. They also tell you to get there and check in an hour before your ferry. Trust me, that is not necessary. There was other people who go there early like we did and we had to wait in the check in area. You were not allowed to go past the entrance to the inside waiting area until it was close to boarding time, like 15 minutes before. The inside waiting area has bathrooms and a store like cafe with snacks and coffee. After waiting, we regretted not paying the extra few bucks to just board on an earlier ferry so we could get going and have more time in Victoria! The trip takes about 1.5 hours each way. I do not know how much parking is here as we took an uber (expensive ~$90 EACH way) from downtown Vancouver. Know that this place is pretty far from downtown Vancouver and takes nearly an hour to get to!! They also have public transit that comes here for a fraction of the cost, but we had a group and a 14 month old so we did not want to navigate public transit and deal with transfers to get here. However, once you get to Victoria, there is a public bus you can take for a few dollars that will take you directly downtown and is way cheaper than a $60 uber ride. It will take about 45 minutes from the ferry station to downtown Victoria when you arrive. Next time we will rent our own car in Vancouver, ubers are expensive in Vancouver. Anyways, the ferry ride itself is pretty smooth. I have read that some people spotted whales, but there were no whales spotted during our ferry ride. Would I go on this ferry again? Yes! I plan on coming back to Vancouver in the future and I do plan on going back to Victoria as we did not have enough time to explore the island. I think the ferry is the only way to get here unless you arrive by certain cruise ships that stop in Victoria. However, the ferry is a very affordable way to get to Victoria. It is also very easy to navigate. It is just far from downtown Vancouver.

This experience was the best part of our trip! The pilots were exceptional and very professional…read more It was so enthralling to fly from Victoria to Vancouver and back again. Going to Victoria we flew a single-engine plane, which may have been older, but was so exciting. This trip took longer so we had more time to savor the beauty of the water and islands speckled throughout the landscape. On the way back, we flew a twin-engine which was faster but almost as exciting. The representatives were a little officious but they could not damper the excitement of these flights. We booked the flights and a tour of the Capilano bridge through Harbour Air and could not have been more delighted.

Horrible service! They cancelled our flight with almost no notice despite deciding to do so hours…read moreearlier. Instead of flying to Vancouver from Tofino we got the privilege to ride in a shuttle bus across the island to Nanaimo as there were no other options by the time they told us our flight was cancelled. They sited poor weather yet it looked very clear to us and to Apple weather app across the entire island. Other float planes were landing while stuck waiting for their shuttle. Flying costs 3x the price, yet no compensation was given. Horrible customer service. Think hard before booking with them.

The Swartz Bay terminal is really well organized and labeled. I have used both the vehicle side and…read morethe walk-in side many many times. For walk-on, the waiting area is very close to the entrance to the terminal and so you can arrive quite late and still make it on to the ferry. There is a free luggage check-in service from Swartz Bay to Tsawassen that I use all the time. Just weigh the bag, attach a heavy tag if necessary and slide it down the baggage slide! I love it as I don't have to carry luggage onto the ferry. Luggage arriving from Vancouver get put on the carousel outside - it can sometimes take awhile to arrive. From the vehicle side, it's very easy to get on with a ferry reservation. If arriving early enough, there is very little lines to get in and service is very fast. There is a small cafe once in the waiting area to use the washroom and grab snacks. The terminal staff are all very nice and informative. Everything is well labeled so visitors won't get lost. It is also pretty clean considering how many people travel through each day. On holidays and weekends, it can be crowded. There are two bus lines that go to downtown which are very slow and get crowded quickly. Sometimes it won't even be able to fit everyone and people have to wait at least an hour for the next one. There are taxis that typically wait outside the terminal, but there are usually very few so be sure to get outside quickly.

Catching the ferry between Vancouver and Victoria was an educational experience!…read more There are different ferries at different ports and some of them go to different islands. Finding the correct one was the challenge! This is the one to get from Victoria to Vancouver. We didn't have a reservation. We missed the 7pm ferry; paid for the 9pm ferry (2 adults and one undersized vehicle less than 20 feet); and waited to board. We locked the car and used the restroom at the restaurant. There was an announcement that told passengers to get their vehicles ready to board. The process was very organized and the staff waved vehicles into the designated lanes and motioned vehicles to get closer to the car ahead of them. On board, we used the restroom, walked past the cafeteria and restaurant, browsed the gift shop where my niece purchased a magnet, and found seats to wait out the hour and a half trip. Overall, it was a pleasant experience! We probably will do this again some day!

Amazing. These Aquabus things are great. The staff is so…read moreinformative, friendly and resourceful, I rode to multiple stops, checked out places, then jumped back on to cruise around more! And it's extremely reasonable Kudos!

I've been on the Aquabus twice this past summer (& several times over past summers) & only now have…read moreI just realized - it's awesome. What took so long!? What a great way to see different angle views of False Creek. I've had guests staying over from overseas & they just absolutely loved it. The next time you're at Granville Island & have some extra time to kill, I'd highly recommend doing the round trip from Granville Island & back. It costs about $15 return & it's worth it. A day pass is also available for multiple trips as well - I highly recommend this option if you have a few hours to spare. Pay onboard. Do this during a clear blue sky summer day. If it's cloudy or overcast, don't bother. Staff are friendly & helpful. The seating is comfortable & you can get up to take pictures as you move through False Creek. Like I said I experienced the Aquabus twice this summer & found it so relaxing to be on the water after dinner. Kinda had sea legs after my last trip, when I got back & started walking. LOL. It's a great way to see False Creek along the water. Open daily from 7am till 915pm.

A really nice way to get across false creek from one side to the other. The tickets are pretty…read morecheap at a few dollars each depending on where you're going - even if you don't have a particular destination, it's fun to just ride along. It's pretty hard to tell which direction the ferry is going next though unless you're very familiar with the routes, so make sure you ask the driver just in case. I find that the ones I've interacted with all ask you where you're going before letting you on, so at least I haven't taken the wrong boat yet. They have a zone system for ticketing and at first it was a bit confusing for which zone ticket was needed to go where. But they have nice maps at each stop so it wasn't too hard to decipher after awhile. The boat drivers were also pretty nice and were happy to answer questions about tickets. I took the boats during the Big Picnic event at David Lam park. There were other people on the boat but it was not crowded at all. Boats also came all the time and so we didn't have to wait much before ours came. The boat doors were left open when I rode the boats and so it was really nice to be able to take pictures and videos without obstruction from the windows or clear screens. The creek is relatively calm most of the time and the rides are short, so most people probably won't get sea sick.

A fabulous way to get to Granville Island from Vancouver's West End…read more We walked down Thurlow to the corner of Beach and found the False Creek Ferry docked near the aquatic center. They leave every 5 minutes. For a modest sum we ferried across to Granville Island. What a pleasant experience and easy way to go to Granville Island!

We have been using Excel for transport within Vancouver and to/from Whistler for about a decade…read more We've used it for our individual family and a group as large as 24 in a private minibus. The booking process is easy, the manager Howie is responsive and easy to work with. The drivers are always on time and courteous. On our most recent trip, there was a terrible accident on highway 99 which delayed us 7 hrs! We had multiple families traveling on together in a large van, half children under the age of 8. The kids were going stir crazy and so were the parents. The person that was not frazzled at all was our driver Johan. He was with us the whole way, taking us to dinner in Squamish, driving us around town looking for a place to entertain the kids and wait for the roads to reopen. We ended up having to hang out at a Walmart for several hours. By the time we got to Whistler was about midnight, on a 5p planned arrival. Johan never stopped being courteous, kind, and friendly. I can't imagine how tired and frustrating the ordeal must have been for him, yet he never let it showed and it made the journey so much more pleasant despite the circumstances. We've never had a bad experience with Excel.

Excel provided exceptional service--they were punctual. The vehicle was clean and comfortable, they…read moreprovided everyone with bottled water. Andy our driver was very professional, friendly, and incredibly helpful. I highly recommend Excel and will definitely use them again in the future.