Our staff and crew are ready to help you on your way this spring season. To make your travel experience more comfortable, follow the tips below to ensure you are prepared and ready to sail:
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Our top 10 tips for travel on BC's coast this spring are:
We've introduced a virtual waiting room that will help our website perform at its best when an extremely high number of customers are making a booking on bcferries.com. During these times, some customers will be placed in a first-in, first-out waiting room that displays their place in the queue and an estimated wait time. This will not impact customers using the website to access sailing schedules, current conditions or other information which will be available to everyone, at all times. Virtual waiting rooms are a common tool used to prevent slow website performance and outages during periods of high traffic. Find more information on the virtual waiting room here.
High traffic volumes can be stressful for both customers and employees. We do not tolerate any abuse, including verbal abuse, towards employees. Our employees are doing their best to meet everyone’s needs and we take this matter seriously. We will deny service to any customer who abuses an employee.
For more information view our conditions of carriage, policies and regulations.Nobody likes to wait at the terminal and our staff and crew will do their best to get you to your destination as safely and efficiently as possible. Here are some tips for you to reduce the chances of experiencing sailing waits. Region-specific travel tips are also available below.
Sailing waits are most common during peak travel periods and especially over holiday weekends. If bookings are sold out, plan to travel during less busy times to avoid sailing waits. Less busy times are typically during the week and early morning or late evening sailings.
Arrive at the terminal 45-60 minutes before your scheduled departure if you have a vehicle booking and arrive at least 45 minutes before your scheduled departure if you have a foot passenger booking. Have your booking reference number ready at the ticket booth and tap to pay to for a faster check-in.
As a courtesy to crew, other passengers and their pets, consider not activating your vehicle alarm while on board the ferry. Thank you in advance.
Uncontained oil & vehicle fluid leaks can reach rivers, streams, lakes and the marine environment, potentially harming fish, wildlife & degrading habitat.
Checking your vehicle for oil & other fluid leaks prevents leaks and spills and protects BC's coast when you travel.
Complimentary BC Ferries Wi-Fi is available at 21 terminals. Wi-Fi on board vessels is not available due to the unreliability of the ship-to-shore networks.
Metro Vancouver
Southern Gulf Islands
We strongly recommend to book in advance on the following routes:
If no bookings are available on these routes, consider booking travel between Vancouver (Tsawwassen) and Nanaimo (Duke Point) or travel during less busy times.
The most popular travel times are usually Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with lots of travellers departing from Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay terminals.
Passengers in vehicles on enclosed lower vehicle decks must leave their vehicles during the sailing to comply with Transport Canada’s safety regulation.
Parking lots fill up quickly, especially on holiday weekends. Check parking percentage availability at major south coast terminals with current conditions.
The BC Ferries Connector bus operates between the downtown Vancouver bus terminal (Pacific Central Station) to the downtown Victoria terminal (Capital City Station). View schedule.
If bookings are sold out for sailings to the Gulf Islands you can add yourself to a waitlist online. If we can confirm your booking prior to departure, we will contact you with the details. If we have not confirmed your booking within 24 hours of the scheduled departure, consider travelling via a thru fare that connects through Victoria (Swartz Bay).
To check if a sailing is sold out, select the Southern Gulf Islands route and dates you want to travel here, enter your passenger and vehicle information, then continue. If a sailing is full, you will see "Reservations sold out" and an option to add yourself to the waitlist. Select "Add yourself to waitlist" and complete the form to get on the waitlist.
You can book vehicle and foot passenger travel in advance from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to:
Note: Sailings departing from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) provide service to Swartz Bay (Victoria), Duke Point (Nanaimo) and the Southern Gulf Islands.
Thru fares provide more sailing options for customers travelling to the Southern Gulf Islands. With a thru fare, you can travel between Vancouver (Tsawwassen) and the Southern Gulf Islands via a connection at Victoria (Swartz Bay) for the same price. This is a good option when direct sailings are sold out. Learn more about thru fares.
When you arrive at the terminal, follow signage and park in the first available vehicle lane. Some lanes at terminals are designated based on your vehicle type. You will be loaded on the next available sailing based on space on board.
Help us keep the communities we serve safe. Obey speed limits, watch for pedestrians and cyclists and maintain a safe distance. During popular times to travel there may be vehicles queuing on roads approaching terminals.
If you need to exit your vehicle, watch for oncoming traffic and cyclists. Please care for the community you’re in by leaving space around driveways, disposing of litter and respecting private property.
If bookings are sold out for sailings to the Gulf Islands you can add yourself to a waitlist online. If we can confirm your booking prior to departure, we will contact you with the details. If we have not confirmed your booking within 24 hours of the scheduled departure, consider travelling via a thru fare that connects through Victoria (Swartz Bay).
To add yourself to a waitlist, select the Gulf Islands route and dates you want to travel, enter your passenger information, select "Add yourself to waitlist" under the list of sailings, then complete the waitlist form.
Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) – Sunshine Coast (Langdale) is one of our busiest routes. We strongly recommend booking in advance. If bookings are sold out, we recommend travelling during less busy days and times. These include:
Mid-week days
Early morning or late evening sailings
Find more travel information for routes between Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, and Texada Island here.
During busy travel times, look out for traffic flaggers as you approach the ticket booths at Horseshoe Bay. Let our staff know if you have a booking and they will direct you to the correct lane. Once at the terminal, listen to announcements and follow the direction of our staff who will guide you during boarding.
TransLink offers service between Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay via the 257 Horseshoe Bay Express or 250 Horseshoe Bay routes. Self-serve kiosks are available at the entrance to the departures building to purchase or your ticket or redeem your booking. Cyclists should buy their tickets at the foot passenger ticket office.
During peak travel times the pre-ticketing area can be busy, so arrive expecting a wait. Washrooms facilities are available but long lines can form quickly. Public washrooms are also available at Horseshoe Bay park from 7am to 10pm, a two-minute walk away.
If you arrive at Horseshoe Bay terminal with enough time to spare, you can leave your vehicle in your parking lane and walk into the village. Just remember to wait until your vehicle has been directed to its assigned lane and take your ticket with you.
Passengers travelling between Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) – Sunshine Coast (Langdale) can stay in their vehicle for the duration of the sailing regardless of which deck they're on.
Inform the ticket agent when you arrive at the ticket booth if you are travelling with a Travel Assistance Program (TAP) form, or if you have accessibility requirements like a wheelchair or mobility aid access.
View details on Medical Assured Loading (MAL)
Learn more about accessibility options
Starting January 8, we will be refreshing aging infrastructure at Snug Cove terminal on Bowen Island to maintain safe and reliable operations. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March 2024. We are asking customers to plan ahead for their travel during this time and we will be supporting customers during cancellations and closures with water taxis, shuttle bus service on Bowen Island, and discounted/ complimentary parking at Horseshoe Bay.
During the three month construction phase, most work will take place at night to minimize disruption of service. Modified schedules will be in place for sailings on Tuesday to Sunday which can be viewed here.
The distance from Langdale terminal to Earls Cove terminal is approximately 90 minutes driving time and the duration of the sailing from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay is 50 minutes.
From Saltery Bay, it’s about a 25 minute drive to Powell River and Westview terminal with service to Comox and Texada Island.
View transit options available from your departure and arrival terminal
Our Central and North Coast routes are busiest during the spring and summer months. We strongly recommended you book in advance on these routes during those seasons.
If you have a booking, arrive at the terminal 120 minutes prior to the scheduled departure.
You can book cabins or seats on board the Northern Expedition and cabins on board the Northern Adventure when you book online or over the phone. If cabins are sold out, you can add yourself to a waitlist.
If sailings, cabins or amenities you try to book are sold out, add yourself to the waitlist and we will contact you if space becomes available.
To add yourself to a waitlist, select the Northern route and dates you want to travel, enter your passenger information, select "Add yourself to waitlist" under the list of sailings, then complete the waitlist form. You can also add yourself to a waitlist after you complete your Northern booking online.
If you are still on the waitlist on the day you want to travel, we recommend you try arriving at the terminal a minimum of three hours prior to the scheduled departure time. If customers with confirmed spots don’t arrive for the sailing, we fill their spots with waitlisted customers.
There is no Wi-Fi onboard BC Ferries vessels and due to the region there may be limited cellular coverage, so plan with this in mind. We are currently working on expanding free Wi-Fi to select terminals along the Central and North Coast.
To ensure a safe and comfortable sailing for all passengers, we provide a variety of accessibility options. View accessibility options.
Save when you bundle your ferry travel with hotels and activities.
1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779 Ext. 3)
Toll-free within North America.
More phone options
Visit us at the Vacations Centre, located at 1010 Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.
Know before you go with the help of Destination British Columbia. View current travel restrictions, highway closure info, and other key resources.
Embrace new experiences and support local communities by exploring BC this spring.