Victoria, B.C. - Getting There

Our First Trip to Victoria Together - September 2009

Victoria has been my favorite local getaway since my first trip in first grade.  It’s like a magical little piece or Europe a few hours away.  I went 2-3 times a year growing up, we’d sail up and stay on the boat.  Their Marina’s are in great locations. 

The first time I took Patrick we were nine months into our relationship.  We took the boat from Bellingham, since we both worked for a hotel in town.  That company allowed you to go for free once a year if you worked in the tourism industry.  We stayed at the Days Inn on the Harbour since we got an employee discount. It was actually really nice for the price, and you can’t beat the location! The only downsides were it didn’t have AC, and it had the worlds tiniest shower. We stayed there a second time when my parents came up with us. I really recommend it to anyone on a budget! We had a great time, and Patrick was hooked.  Now we try to go at least once a year.  

Before I start I feel I should remind you that in Canada most signs, food labels, etc. are in French and English.  There are lots of French Language influences around.  For instance, the Inner Harbour is not Spelled "Harbor" like you spell it in English.  It has a U in it, so no, those aren't typos!

For those of you not from the PNW, Victoria, BC is on an island. You have to fly or take a boat to get there.  It is also in Canada, so you need a passport.  If you are from the State of Washington, and you are going by boat, you can use an Enhanced Driver’s License.  They are about $50 extra on top of your normal license fees.  

Kenmore Air

We have never flown by seaplane, but I’ve heard good reviews.  To me the price doesn’t seem worth it, and those tiny planes freak me out.

Washington State Ferry

They Washington State Ferry is a solid option.  Check the schedule, but it normally only goes one time per day in either direction, and it doesn’t run at all in the winter. If you’re from out of state, and you want to ride a ferry for the tourist aspect, it’s a good way to kill two birds with one stone. You can bring a car on with you.  The ferry departs from Anacortes, and it takes you through the San Jua Islands which are beautiful, and arrives in Sidney, B.C.  The crossing takes about 3 hours, and you can stay in your car if you prefer. Pets have to stay in the car or on the car deck, I believe.

The current cost is $18.75 for Adults, $9.35 for Seniors 65 and over, and $9.35 for children each direction.  Cars with one driver cost $81 round trip.  So for a couple it would be $118.40 round trip. Rates do change year to year, so be sure to check their Fares page.  If you want to make a reservation for your vehicle. Space is usually limited, so you can do reserve a spot for a deposit.  You must arrive 90 minutes ahead if you have a reservation and you are bringing a car. If you are walking on, you do not ever need a reservation, but you will have to pay for parking. Rates vary by Season.

You will need to clear customs once you arrive in Sidney.  On the way back you clear customs in Sidney before you ever get on the boat. There is a waiting area with a little gift shop for the way back, and they have some snacks and ice cream bars.  Sidney itself is a charming town worthy of an afternoon of exploring if you have the time.  To get to Victoria from Sidney it is about a half an hour drive by car or bus.  The bus system is good, and it is easy to navigate.

Pack your own food, the food on board is akin to stadium food of the 1980’s, and it’s way overpriced. There are booths with tables on board, so you can play cards if you get up there quickly and get a table.I haven't been on one in years, but last time I went they didn't have wifi.

Over all it's a good option, and it was great when we lived in Bellingham.  We don't take it anymore, we don't think it's worth it to drive all the way up there anymore.

B.C. Ferries

The B.C. Ferry departs from Tsawwassen and arrives in Swartz Bay. The ferries are much nicer than the Washington State ones.  The crossing is a little faster, but I don’t think it’s as pretty. The boats themselves are much nicer, and they do have Wifi. The terminals are also very nice. The one at Tsawwassen has a lot of dining and shopping options compared to the Washington ones, but they are still a little expensive.  They also have way more sailings per day, and they run year round. The downside is it’s a pain to get to, the drive is boring, and the boarding crossing can be terrible.  I'm a really good road tripper, and that is probably my least favorite drive ever, and it's not even that long! You can check online for which of the board crossings has the shortest wait time. The upside is you can stop at the duty free stores at the border. We would usually grab a bottle to make our own drinks at the hotel on the way in, then stop again to bring some home on the way back in. When we lived in Bellingham we preferred this route over the Washington State Ferry.

The Costs are a little higher than the Washington State Ferries. It is $15.50 per person each way. A car is $51.25 each direction, but it doesn’t include a driver. The total cost for a couple would be $164.50 with a car. Check their fares on their website, they can change seasonally.

Over all it's a good option if you live up north, but not really worth it from Seattle. 

 

The Victoria Clipper

The Victoria Clipper is perhaps the most famous, and well-advertised way to get to Victoria.  It departs from Downtown Seattle, and arrives in the Inner Harbour in Victoria.  It is a Passenger only ferry, but you can bring a bike for an extra fee. You literally can step off of the ferry and be in the heart of everything.

What’s good about it? It’s a very convenient departure location for most people in the Seattle Area.  You have a nice comfy seat for the ride, with a table top.  Prices for food and drinks on board are fairly reasonable and good.  You can buy alcohol on board, and they do have a duty free. Again, we buy a bottle on the way up to make drinks in our room.  They do sell Dramamine for $0.25 a dose, which is nice.  The staff is very friendly and helpful.  They do have duty free on board. They did not have wifi last time we went, but they were working on that. They have negotiated parking rates for $10 a day at a few nearby parking garages, which I think it pretty reasonable for downtown Seattle. The recently changed their ticketing policy.  Your boarding order used to be first come first serve based on what order you checked in. There is no online check in system, so you either had to come down a day early and check in, or get there early.  The issue both your departure and return tickets at the same time, and if you lost one, you were in the back of the line...which is why I am no longer allowed to carry important papers on trips.  Now the check in system is based on when you bought your tickets, which is great news for people like me who plan ahead. Last time we were #16 out of nearly 300.

What’s not so good? Parking is pretty cheap, but you have to walk several blocks towing your luggage.  To me that always seems a bit awkward.  It’s not the end of the world by any means though.  It can be very crowded on board, and it’s very tight quarters.  The windows are pretty clouded do to years of sea spray, so you don’t get gorgeous picturesque views. The crossing time is about three hours, which is about the same as the Washington State Ferry. I also feel like you feel the waves a lot more on their boats than the ferries or the Coho, which makes sense because it's much smaller. Unless your pet fits in an under the seat carrier, you have to check them.  No thanks!

What is terrible?  Getting off the boat and clearing customs.  Our first time on the Clipper we were the last people off of the boat, and it took us two and half hours to get off of the boat and through the line.  We’ve learned our lesson. We never sit upstairs, and we get as close to the back right corner downstairs if we can on the way there.  On the way back, we try for the back left corner.  Also, don’t check a bag if you can help it. If you don’t have a bag checked you get to get off before anyone with a checked bag.  Your seats lift up if you’re at a table, and you can fit a small size suite case or large back pack fairly easily at the sacrifice of extra leg room.

Coming back into the US and clearing customs wasn’t nearly as bad. Their entire boarding process either direction is terrible though!  They are tiny rooms, or cold outdoor corridors.  They want you there very early, and the wait feels like it takes forever.  You feel like you’re stuffed in a cattle car. The waiting room in Victoria is particularly miserable.  

The pricing is the highest of the ferries that I’m covering. Prices vary widely by season, but they are normally at least $101 per person round trip, plus additional taxes and fees. That is the price for the off season, buying at least 7 days in advance. I think it’s normally about $290 for us as a couple with parking in the off season.  You do get the discount for buying 7 days or more in advance and a lesser discount for buying two days in advance. If you pay day of expect to pay much more.

Overall it’s a good option from the Seattle area.

MV Coho Blackball Ferry

The MV Coho is by far our favorite way to get to Victoria.  We hadn’t tried it until we went up at Christmas this year.  Honestly in my mind Port Angeles was some far away land not worthy of the drive.  I was wrong! 

For us it’s about a two and half hour drive, and you do have to pay to go across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge coming back if you’re going that far.  I swear driving on the peninsula always feels like you’re drowning in trees. You'll go through miles of woods, and then you’ll see maybe a gas station, then miles more of woods. Don’t get me wrong, I love trees, but I do like a little variation in scenery.  At Christmas it was really nice because one of the towns / Indian Reservations that you drive through was done up in amazing Christmas lights.  The crossing time of the Coho is 90 minutes, which is half of what the Clipper and the Washington State Ferries are, but you don't get the scenic trip through the San Juan Islands. I've seen them enough times that I don't mind that.

It may seem like it’s a long drive, but I did the math, and the Coho actually saves us a half an hour between the amount of time it takes to: park and walk to the clipper, check a bag, stand in line to board, and the 3 hour crossing. That doesn’t include the significantly quicker speed for getting off the ferry and clearing customs that we had with the Coho.

The Coho is very much like a plusher and slightly more outdated version of the Washington State Ferries. Outdated sounds bad, it’s actually very well maintained, it’s just more like a charming time Capsule.  The Ferry was launched and has been in use since 1959, it's like stepping back into that era. You can read about the history of the ship here.

Once you get to the ferry parking can vary by season. Supposedly it was $10 a day, but the lot we had was only $6 a day in December.  You can take your car for a pretty reasonable price. The whole process was really smooth, which is something the Clipper is sorely lacking. At no point did I feel like cattle.  Our pleasant experience may be because it was the off season, but Christmas time in Victoria is usually pretty busy.  We’ll see how it goes when I go again this spring and summer. I should also note that they Coho only requests that you be there 15-20 minutes before departure. This was really nice compared to the clipper, there was little to no standing in line!

A bonus of the Coho is that you can bring your pets up to the main deck.  A downside is everything on board is way overpriced.  I got a major headache on the way there and I forgot to pack any Aleve or anything. I paid $3.95 for 4 Advil pills. They do have duty free on board which isn’t overpriced. We didn’t get anything this time though, we were only going to be there for a day.

The Coho Schedule is a little limited in the winter, two runs a day in either direction.  In the Winter we couldn’t get out there on a Friday night because the last ferry leaves well before we’d be able to get up there, even if we left work early. In the summer they have later departures though.

If you love afternoon tea, which a lot of people going to Victoria do, then you may want to break up your drive to Port Angeles by stopping off in Port Orchard.  There is a lovely tea room there called the Victorian Rose Tea Room.  That’s what I plan to do when I take my mom for her Birthday. Speaking of Birthdays, that is another added bonus of the Coho.  You get to ride free if your trip starts on the day of your Birthday. Score!

 

Pricing for the Coho is somewhere between the Government run ferries and the Clipper.  An adult fare is $17 each way.  A Vehicle is $60.50 each way.  If you want to make a reservation, which they highly recommend, it is an additional $16 fee. That fee is not applied towards the cost of your fare like it is with the Washington State Ferries.  So for a couple with a car and a reservation, it is $205. If you aren’t taking a car that’s $68, or $98 with parking for three days.  That is about a third of what the Clipper costs, so to me it’s well worth it!!