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!

It was our first time traveling to Victoria B.C. and taking the ferry over. We booked through AAA…read morewhich I highly recommend. Booking directly on the Ferry's website was more expensive and the seats weren't great. It sits 2 - 4 - 4 - 2. We got the two-seater window seats. We stayed two nights in Victoria and before the trip I learned Clipper validates parking and the Bell Street Pier 69 Parking Garage. Only cost us $37 to park for 2 nights and 3 full days. We had carryon size luggage and the guy checking us in recommended we check our luggage due to space concerns. That was a mistake. When you check your luggage you place yourself in the 2nd (last) group to disembark because you have to wait for your luggage to be carried off by the crew. It's literally a big waste of time. Once onboard I noticed there was plenty of space in the cabin for us to store our carryon suitcases. I was a little annoyed but lesson learned. On the return, we didn't check our bags and was off the boat in a zip. The bathrooms are like the ones on airplanes. Small and yuck but there are plenty onboard. Food looked good but it was expensive. You can bring your own food, water, and coffee onboard. For an 8a departure that seems like a lot of work but you'll be glad you did once onboard.

Comfortable, on time, and expensive. Like airlines, charging for seat assignments and everything…read moreelse. Day trip for two to Victoria BC was north of $400. On board food was also expensive and was packaged or microwaved. Staff was hit and miss; some cordial and some not. The ride was fun, but not worth the price IMHO. Victoria itself is quaint and scenic and the Gray Line Tour was nice and affordable $114 for two.

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.

It's a good port even though I didn't get to see much of it. It was the start of Summer Solstice on…read morea super windy day. There was still a lot of daylight left at 8:15 pm even though it was very cloudy. Everything was organized. The line for our tour was easy enough to find after asking for assistance. We immediately started our walking tour after getting a shuttle bus stamp on the back of our hand for our return trip. It's a very walkable city. Just head to the pedestrian walkway on Dallas Road as you're leaving Ogden Point. It will eventually take you to Fisherman's Wharf. It's a short walk. There are many transportation options including a water taxi. You don't really need it, but it does take longer if you decide to walk to Chinatown. There is a shuttle bus at the port that can be used for a fee. Our return ride was included in the tour. The walking tours leave you in front of Rogers' Chocolates Heritage Store on Government Street. There is a dedicated cruise ship shuttle bus stop at that location. It initially looked like chaos to me at 11:00 pm at night. There were 4 ships in port, and everyone's departure time was somewhere around 11:59 pm. WTF! The line was wrapped around the building. A little over a block long. Our guide said not to worry as it moves quickly. She was right. The shuttles are these huge high-capacity double-decker BC transport buses. As one pulled out, there was another one close behind it. We only waited about 15 minutes to board the next one. I think the only thing I didn't care for was being on a full bus with every single seat taken. There must have been about 100 people on it. I'm not exaggerating. Call an Uber if you're a germaphobe. Either way, they were efficient in getting all the passengers to the port on time. Everything else went smoothly after that. It was definitely a Bliss-ful (an intentional pun of the ship name) evening for us. Despite the dramatic story of rushing to the cruise ship in the end. I'd probably do it all again. Lol!

I understand why the cruise ships dock away from the main tourist area and appreciate that there…read morewere multiple options for transportation to and from but very much prefer when it is just a short walk away. A 30 minute walk best case scenario is not what I would consider a short walk. While there some individual options, the primary recommendation was a round trip shuttle for $15 per person on double decker buses. When we had to wait for a "shuttle" shortly after arriving at the port, we should have realized that they didn't have enough shuttles running to accommodate the number of people from the cruise ships. Despite arriving at the return stop well before the recommended return time we had to wait in a long line of other cruisers for well over 45 minutes before finally starting our return. This added a significant amount of stress because we were nearing the "gangplank up" time for our ship. After arriving back at the dock there was another very long line of returning passengers. Multiple additional lines were opened at security to help accommodate the hundreds of late arrivals trying to return to their ship. As we were finally reboarding I overheard a crew member saying that one of the excursions had not made it back yet either. While we enjoyed our short time in Victoria, the extended wait and concern for the return trip made it a less enjoyable experience overall.

The Victoria Harbour is about a 1 mile walk from the cruise port but some of the cruislines offer a…read morefree or paid shuttle. The harbour is very nice for walking around, eating at the restaurants and sitting a while to people watch and marine watch. The seaplanes constantly took off and landed in the water throughout the morning hours. On the day I was there, it was the 1st Water Taxi Boat Ballet at 10:40am. It lasted about 20 minutes and was fun to watch. There is also plenty of lodging in the harbour area as it is part of their downtown. I though there was alot to do and an easy way to spend a nice day.

The Harbour is covered in lights in December and is a romantic view. It's a beautiful place to…read morevisit regardless if it's day or night, winter or summer. Great trails and bike paths. Quite walkable.

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.

Small and easy to get in and out of…read more Security lanes were very short and there were no issues getting through. Limited options for dining but that's to be expected. Gate agents were all very friendly.

Great experience flying from Vancouver to Victoria. Waiting for our flight back now. Both of the…read moreseaports are well appointed and comfortable. The checkin process easy. We did change our flight last minute and it was a $25 Canadian charger per person, not terrible and it was nice to be accommodated.

Flying SaltSpring out of Maple Bay to get back to downtown after coming into Nanaimo Harbour via…read moreHarbour Air I offer basically the same review as I did for Harbour: Yes, five stars. Yes, there are still things I could complain about but in general here are the reasons for the five stars: The flights seem to be really on time when the weather is good. I totally understand that wind, fog, rain, etc, can really screw things up but let's forget about that for now. The flight over to island, wherever you are going, is really quite beautiful. If you ask you may get the co-pilot seat and of course they seem to take special preference to those who may have never been on a seaplane before. As to the seaplanes themselves -- yes, they are small, luggage could be a problem (but if it is -- take the ferry), and to my surprise being in a seaplane really felt no different then landing or taking off on land and when the water is as smooth as glass I think this might actually be a smoother experience on both landing and takeoff. Further -- the big point of smoothness comes from this being more like private air than commercial flight. I have no idea what the domestic rules are in Canada but for a person from the US to get on a flight with a generic boarding card, off the island because their name was on a list the pilot was holding, with basically zero TSA screening hassle of any kind is pure joy. This thing might have a propeller and wings but the service feels as simple as a bus. So, no, not much flash to the experience but a whole lot of convenience -- and if you need to make a dash to and from the island without dragging a week's supply of personal items with you this is simply awesome.