Travel advisory: Busy weekend expected View ×

Posted: Thursday, July 30, 2026

Busy weekend expected

BC Day long weekend is the busiest weekend of the year for ferry travel on the coast. Our major routes between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island are expected to be at or near capacity for vehicles during peak times.

Be prepared for sailing waits if a booking has not been made in advance of travel. Depending on when you arrive, there may be limited or no space available for drive-up vehicles. Check Current Conditions before leaving for the terminal for the latest sailing and capacity information, and check Service Notices for operational updates.

If your plans are flexible, consider taking transit and travel as a foot passenger. Walk-on bookings are available on our major routes at no additional cost and are recommended to help secure your preferred sailing. BC Day long weekend travel tips can be found here.

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Route

Victoria (Swartz Bay) to Southern Gulf Islands

Next sailing with vehicle space
The terminal ticket booth is now ticketing the next sailing with available deck space. Estimated space doesn't include vehicles outside the terminal waiting to buy a ticket. Tickets for next day sailings are not available for purchase at the terminal until the day of departure.
Departure

7:00 pm

Sailing duration: 0h 42m Salish Raven
95% Details

Last updated: 4:57 PM Refresh details

to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

Last updated:  4:57 pm Refresh details

Departures Estimated vehicle space available

5:00 am  Departed  5:10 am
Queen of Cumberland

5:00 am  Departed  5:10 am Queen of Cumberland

...

Cancelled due to crew shortage

via Saturna Island (Lyall Harbour), Mayne Island (Village Bay) to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

5:05 am  Departed  5:05 am
Salish Raven

5:05 am  Departed  5:05 am Salish Raven

ETA : Variable
via Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay) to Mayne Island (Village Bay)

8:20 am  Departed  8:25 am
Salish Raven

8:20 am  Departed  8:25 am Salish Raven

ETA : Variable
to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

9:10 am  Departed  9:14 am
Queen of Cumberland

9:10 am  Departed  9:14 am Queen of Cumberland

ETA : Variable
via Saturna Island (Lyall Harbour), Mayne Island (Village Bay) to Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay)

10:25 am  Departed  10:40 am
Salish Raven

10:25 am  Departed  10:40 am Salish Raven

ETA : Variable

We are loading as many vehicles as possible

via Mayne Island (Village Bay), Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay) to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

2:35 pm  Departed  2:48 pm
Salish Raven

2:35 pm  Departed  2:48 pm Salish Raven

ETA : Variable

We are loading as many vehicles as possible

to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

3:30 pm  Departed  3:34 pm
Queen of Cumberland

3:30 pm  Departed  3:34 pm Queen of Cumberland

ETA : Variable
via Saturna Island (Lyall Harbour), Mayne Island (Village Bay) to Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay)

4:40 pm  Departed  4:58 pm
Salish Raven

4:40 pm  Departed  4:58 pm Salish Raven

ETA : Variable

Peak travel. Loading maximum number of vehicles

via Mayne Island (Village Bay) to Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay)

7:00 pm
Salish Raven

7:00 pm Salish Raven

Estimated vehicle space available

95%   Details
to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

7:50 pm
Queen of Cumberland

7:50 pm Queen of Cumberland

100%  
via Mayne Island (Village Bay), Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay) to Saturna Island (Lyall Harbour)

9:00 pm
Salish Raven

9:00 pm Salish Raven

Estimated vehicle space available

100%   Details
to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

5:40 am  (Tomorrow)
Salish Raven

5:40 am  (Tomorrow)
Salish Raven

Estimated vehicle space available

100%    Details
via Galiano Island (Sturdies Bay) to Pender Island (Otter Bay)

6:50 am  (Tomorrow)
Queen of Cumberland

6:50 am  (Tomorrow)
Queen of Cumberland

100%  
via Saturna Island (Lyall Harbour) to Mayne Island (Village Bay)

9:05 am  (Tomorrow)
Salish Raven

9:05 am  (Tomorrow)
Salish Raven

Estimated vehicle space available

100%    Details
via Pender Island (Otter Bay) to Mayne Island (Village Bay)

Webcams

Last updated:  4:57 PM Refresh details

Traffic at the terminal

Traffic to Southern Gulf Islands

Victoria (Swartz Bay)

# 11300 Patricia Bay Hwy, Sidney, V8L 5J4

Get directions

Route fares

Fare calculator

Plan your trip with ease. Add passenger and vehicle details to calculate your fare for this route.

Or, download our complete PDF fare guide.

Parking:  50% Available

50% long term parking available

Parking at Swartz Bay terminal is independently operated and managed by Robbins Parking.

Capacity: 716 spaces
Short term: 172
Long term: 544

Payment options: HONK App and the PayByPhone App (licence plate number required), Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Parking rates:

Meters required exact change or credit card payment.


Short term Licence Plate Number is required to purchase parking.

  • $1.00 for 30 minutes, maximum 2 hours
  • $28.00 for each 24 hour period
  • Multiple day parking allowed

Long term Licence Plate Number is required to purchase parking. Take your ticket with you.

  • $8.00 for 6 hours
  • $18.00 for each 24 hours
  • $9.00 for each additional 12 hour period after the first 24 hours.

Note:

  • Onsite parking meters
    • If paying by credit card, enter your mobile phone number to receive a text notifying you that your parking is about to expire. You can then follow the text instructions to extend your parking up to 24 hours.
  • Cash acceptance
    • Meters accept coins only—no change given.
    • One meter accepts bills/coins and provides change (yellow colour meter) located in long term lot. For long term parking only.

Towing:

Peninsula Towing: 250-655-6911

Learn more about current conditions

What is current conditions?

Current Conditions is a real-time planning tool that helps customers make informed travel decisions. Current Conditions provides information about sailing status, arrival times, departure times and deck space availability by sailing. Current Conditions also displays live web cams at terminals and parking capacity information.

Why do some routes have Current Conditions pages and others do not?

Current Conditions is available at terminals with Traffic Towers. We are looking into adding additional routes where we can install cameras for live traffic tracking.

How do we calculate Estimated Deck Space Available?

Estimated Deck Space Available is the approximate percentage of vehicle deck space that remains available for sale on a particular sailing. It is calculated after counting the number of bookings and the number of drive-up customers already checked in at the terminal. This percentage changes as more vehicles are processed through the ticket booth.

Around 10–20% of customers do not check-in for their bookings. After the booking check-in window closes, which is around 30* minutes before departure, we free up these spaces for drive-up customers.

*Some exceptions apply find and review the check-in and cut-off times at your departure terminal.

What does Now Ticketing mean?

The Now Ticketing section of Current Conditions informs customers of the sailing currently being sold at the ticket booth. It indicates for those customers without a booking in the pre-ticketing area with the sailing they can expect to travel on. As sailings become full during the day, Now Ticketing displays the next sailing with available deck space for non-booked traffic.

Are commercial vehicles calculated as part of Estimated Deck Space Available?

Yes. We calculate all types of vehicle traffic, including commercial vehicles and buses, as part of Mixed Vehicle Deck Space Available calculations. Foot passengers are not calculated as they do not take up vehicle deck space.

Why do the cameras show an empty lot, but Estimated Deck Space Available indicates the sailing is full?

Estimated Deck Space Available includes advanced vehicle bookings. In most cases, these customers can check-in up to 30 minutes* before their sailing. If customers have a booking but haven’t yet arrived, the terminal lot may appear empty.

*Some exceptions apply find and review the check-in and cut-off times at your departure terminal.

How often is Current Conditions updated?

Current Conditions retrieves live data from all terminals every five minutes.

Why does Current Conditions not show a sailing as delayed until after it departs?

There is currently no way for a terminal to update the anticipated departure time without affecting the scheduled sailing time online.

What is displayed when a sailing is cancelled or late departing?

When a sailing is delayed or cancelled, the sailing will display a message that indicates the reason. This will appear on the Departures/Arrivals page under Status.

Why does Estimated Deck Space Available only show departures for today?

Estimated Deck Space Available is built on a 24-hour clock and is designed to be a near-term planning tool that displays real-time conditions at the terminal. We have recently made updates to Deck Space Available that now show the day’s sailings as well as the first three sailings of the next day.

Sailing status by route

Select destination (city)

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