# Need Vancouver/Nanaimo advice



## bellesgirl (Feb 8, 2012)

This June we are going to Vancouver and Pacific Shores in Nanoose Bay.  The plan right now is to fly in and out of Vancouver.  I thought we would rent a car from the airport and take the ferry to Nanaimo, then drive to the resort.  Then reverse the process back to Vancouver and possibly drop off the car at the airport before going into the city.  We will be in Vancouver for a week and I am not sure we want a car.  How is public transportation?

Another option is to rent the car from the ferry location in Nanaimo and return it there before boarding the ferry.  Is that realistic?  We arrive and depart on Sunday and some locations are not even open on Sunday.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## BevL (Feb 8, 2012)

Public transportation within the downtown core, Granville Island, the north shore in Vancouver is good.  If you want to go further afield, including a drive up to the mountains or anything, you need a car.


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## beejaybeeohio (Feb 9, 2012)

What about taking a ferry into Victoria and renting a car from there?  
We flew from Vancouver to Victoria a few years ago and picked up our car at the airport.  The r/t airfare on Alaska was pretty reasonable as I recall.


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## northpole (Feb 13, 2012)

bellesgirl said:


> This June we are going to Vancouver and Pacific Shores in Nanoose Bay.  The plan right now is to fly in and out of Vancouver.  I thought we would rent a car from the airport and take the ferry to Nanaimo, then drive to the resort.  Then reverse the process back to Vancouver and possibly drop off the car at the airport before going into the city.  We will be in Vancouver for a week and I am not sure we want a car.  How is public transportation?
> 
> Another option is to rent the car from the ferry location in Nanaimo and return it there before boarding the ferry.  Is that realistic?  We arrive and depart on Sunday and some locations are not even open on Sunday.
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated.



Your first idea is the best one (IMO), though you could probably find a way to the ferry terminal (shuttle/taxi) and rent in Nanaimo, but you'll have a much better experience if you rent at the airport, drive to Nanaimo and then drive back... Where will you be staying in Vancouver?  If you're staying downtown (or close to downtown) you won't need a car.  Parking is quite expensive, public transportation is very good and you can quite easily walk most places downtown.

If you would like to do a any daytrips from Vancouver, you could keep the vehicle for the first couple of days, then return it to the airport. There's a train from the airport to downtown, so it'd be pretty easy to drop off the rental vehicle and take the train back downtown.

Possible day trips from Vancouver would be Whistler, White Rock, Harrison Hot Springs to name a few.  

Have a great trip!


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## bellesgirl (Feb 14, 2012)

northpole said:


> Your first idea is the best one (IMO), though you could probably find a way to the ferry terminal (shuttle/taxi) and rent in Nanaimo, but you'll have a much better experience if you rent at the airport, drive to Nanaimo and then drive back... Where will you be staying in Vancouver?  If you're staying downtown (or close to downtown) you won't need a car.  Parking is quite expensive, public transportation is very good and you can quite easily walk most places downtown.
> 
> If you would like to do a any daytrips from Vancouver, you could keep the vehicle for the first couple of days, then return it to the airport. There's a train from the airport to downtown, so it'd be pretty easy to drop off the rental vehicle and take the train back downtown.
> 
> ...


We are staying at the Aviawest in Vancouver.  They say the cost of parking is $12/day - not awful but I am not sure we want the hassle of driving in the city if there is a decent alternative.


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## eal (Feb 14, 2012)

That's not a bad idea, renting a car in Nanaimo after you take the ferry from Vancouver.  Cars cost a lot of $$ to take on the BC ferries system, and foot passengers are much cheaper.  

Here is the address of a National Car Rental office near the Departure Bay ferry terminal that is open on Sunday 8 am - 5 pm:

1602 Northfield Rd
Nanaimo , BC 
V9S 3A7
Phone (250) 758-3509

A cab ride from the Departure Bay ferry terminal to this office would be inexpensive.  You will not miss having a car in Vancouver, and if you want to go to Whistler there are services that will take you there.

However!  Don't take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo! You should take public transportation to Horseshoe Bay, north of downtown Vancouver, in order to catch a ferry that arrives at Departure Bay.  Duke Point is south of town and a long drive from anywhere.

Here is a link to the directions for the skytrain/bus:
http://www.vancouver-travel-tips.com/vancouver-airport-to-horseshoe-bay-bus.html

Have a great trip!


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## northpole (Feb 15, 2012)

*Ferry to Vancouver Island*

If you *do* decide to rent a car at YVR, then you'll want to take the ferry from Tsawwassen, which is south of YVR.  This way you won't have to drive all the way through Vancouver and West Vancouver (YVR is actually in the city of Richmond which is south of Vancouver). 

Presently the ferry from Tsawwassen will take you to Departure Bay in Nanaimo, since the Duke Point ferry terminal near Nanaimo is closed.  I'm not sure when Duke Point will open up again.  But if you have a car, it won't matter, arriving at either Nanaimo ferry terminals won't make much of a difference.

Depending on how many suitcases you have, you may want to take the 2 hour transit option to Horseshoe Bay and walk on the Nanaimo (Departure Bay) ferry.  This will save you money, but it will make for a longer more unpleasant travel day.  

Traveling on the train and bus with multiple suitcases, and then walking on the ferry with multiple suitcases and then taking a cab to the car rental place (again with multiple suitcases) could make for a very long travel day.  If you don't mind the extra $$$, then I'd suggest renting a vehicle at YVR, driving to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and taking the ferry to Nanaimo.


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## eal (Feb 16, 2012)

Yes most definitely if you decide to rent the car at the Vancouver airport take the Tsawwassen ferry to Nanaimo.  The cost is $75.75 one way for a car and two passengers.  The cost for two passangers on foot is $28.50.


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## eal (Feb 17, 2012)

If you take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria and rent a car there (there are numerous car rental iffices in Sidney, near the ferry terminal) it is about 2 hours drive to Pacific Shores.


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## asp (Feb 22, 2012)

bellesgirl said:


> We are staying at the Aviawest in Vancouver.  They say the cost of parking is $12/day - not awful but I am not sure we want the hassle of driving in the city if there is a decent alternative.



I believe the price just went up in Vancouver -there is now a parking tax, which when combined with the HST is almost 25%. There is a Budget rent a car about two blocks away on Georgia -suggest you check them for single day rentals, after you return your car.  

Downtown Vancouver, a car is an expensive nuisance IMHO!  There is an iPhone I-transit app that will tell you the nearest stop, the next buses & where they go.  We often walk one way, and cab or bus back.  Or, you can use the maps app to show you the transit route -all on wifi from the office or mcDonalds across the street -or Starbucks wifi!  

You can take the Seabus ferry to Lonsdale Quay, and one bus to Grose Mtn chairlift -fabulous city views with a 100 person lift car -open year round.  Very close to the Capilano suspension Bridge.

Car rental drop off fees are very high on the island.  The Tswassen ferry can be reached by bus from the airport -but not easily -sky train to Bridgeport, bus to tswassen, ferry, possibly bus or taxi to airport to pick up car.  There is a surcharge to leave the airport by sky train (unless you buy a book of tickets downstairs at 7 11) so you would be best to taxi to Bridgeport -a few miles.  

We take the sky train & buses all the time in this area -but I wouldn't recommend it to a tourist unless you are on a very tight budget & there are only two of you, or unless you are a fanatical environmentalist who prefers public transportation as a matter of principal!


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## Janette (Mar 8, 2012)

We stayed in Vancouver for a week in the Marriott without a car. It is a wonderful walking city. We did buy a two day pass on the pink bus so we could hop on and hop off. We took a bus tour to Whistler with them that was great. By doing this , we didn't have to use our two day pass on consecutive days. We walked all around the sea wall. If we got tired, we would jump on the pink bus. As had flown into Victoria for three nights, got a car at the Vancouver airport and drove to the ice fields and then onto Banff for a timeshare stay. We loved Cananda so much that we are headed to Nova Scotia in July.


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## rundmc (Mar 8, 2012)

*Vancouver*

Janette.

I recall your trip descriptions  -  you had a wonderful few weeks.  I was born in Vancouver and my mother still lives there.

We are off to HHI for golf starting 3/17.  Please request HOT.

David


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## NiciMeyers84 (Mar 26, 2012)

Janette said:


> We stayed in Vancouver for a week in the Marriott without a car. It is a wonderful walking city. We did buy a two day pass on the pink bus so we could hop on and hop off. We took a bus tour to Whistler with them that was great. By doing this , we didn't have to use our two day pass on consecutive days. We walked all around the sea wall. If we got tired, we would jump on the pink bus. As had flown into Victoria for three nights, got a car at the Vancouver airport and drove to the ice fields and then onto Banff for a timeshare stay. We loved Cananda so much that we are headed to Nova Scotia in July.



Completely agree with it being a walking city. When I stayed in downtown Vancouver, I was able to walk to Granville Island, Gas Town, Chinatown, and so forth. I walked to a bike rental at Stanley Park and rented a bicycle to bike the inner and outer trails - absolutely beautiful ride. Took a bus to the botanical gardens and Anthropology Museum at the University of British Columbia - warning, you have quite a walk a head of you if you do this. 

Spent most of my time along the sea wall enjoying the weather in Victoria. As for Nanaimo, always always, buy a nanaimo bar!


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## bellesgirl (May 21, 2012)

eal said:


> Yes most definitely if you decide to rent the car at the Vancouver airport take the Tsawwassen ferry to Nanaimo.  The cost is $75.75 one way for a car and two passengers.  The cost for two passangers on foot is $28.50.


I was looking at the BC Ferries website and the cost for making a reservation is $15 each way.  Do we need to book ahead?.  We would be traveling on June 10 to Nanaimo and back to Vancouver on June 24.  I know weekends can get busy and my tour book says it is a good idea to make reservations.  Is the $30 expense really necessary?


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## qb_bc (May 21, 2012)

bellesgirl said:


> I was looking at the BC Ferries website and the cost for making a reservation is $15 each way.  Do we need to book ahead?.  We would be traveling on June 10 to Nanaimo and back to Vancouver on June 24.  I know weekends can get busy and my tour book says it is a good idea to make reservations.  Is the $30 expense really necessary?



It depends upon how fixed your schedule is. Early morning sailings will usually be ok if you get to the terminal an hour and a half ahead of time. Later in the day you may encounter one sailing waits, but will get on.

You haven't mentioned if your are sailing from Tsawassen or Horseshoe Bay. Horseshoe Bay has more sailings. 

By the way, the Tsawassen sailings are now back into Duke Point terminal, a little further out from Nanaimo. Also less to see and do at the terminal.

So if you have time and don't mind waiting an hour or two if a sailing is full, save the $30. If your schedule is tight, or you don't really want to spend a couple of hours waiting for the ferry, make a reservation.

Also remember these are boats and at times things happen. One boat was out of service on the run to Victoria this weekend and people were delayed. Those that had reservations on the canceled sailings got their money back, but did not receive priority on other sailings.

Welcome to Island life  At our house we live without using the ferries often. Too much to do on the island, and too pricey to go off it unnecessarily.


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## bellesgirl (May 21, 2012)

Since we are flying into Vancouver and returning the car to the airport before going to Vancouver, we were planning on going from/to Tsawassen. Does that make sense?  Our flight gets in at 11am - but it doesn't sound like we could realistically make the 12:45.  I guess our best option is the 3:15pm.  If you reserve the 3:15, can you get on the 12:45 if there is room?


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## qb_bc (May 21, 2012)

bellesgirl said:


> If you reserve the 3:15, can you get on the 12:45 if there is room?



If you are arriving at 11:00 AM, making the 12:45 from Tsawassen would be a tight. Reservations are held until 30 minutes before sailing. I've never tried to catch an earlier ferry than the one I reserved on. They say not to arrive more than 60 minutes before ferry departure, but at Tsawassen on the Duke Point run I can't see why this would be a problem as there are no in between sailings that they need the space for. You can try to get on ealier, and all they can say is "no".

The biggest delay after you land will be clearing immigration and customs. If a number of flights come in at the same time there can be line ups. Also, your baggage will come up before you leave the customs area. Last time I came in, waiting for my bags took the time, about 45 minutes, but that might have just been a hick up.

If it were me, I would book the 3:15 pm sailing. I would then relax as I went through immigration and customs, picked up the rental car and drove to the ferry. I would stop in either Ladner or Tsawassen and have lunch and then go to the ferry. Ferry food is fast food, premade and/or deep fried.

Don't delay going to Ladner or Tsawassen after you get the rental car. The highway that you will take can back up with traffic a bit later in the afternoon with all the commuter traffic, especially near the Massey Tunnel.

I assume that you will be going to Pacific Shores. That is about a half hour to forty five drive from the ferry terminal. There are no stores near Pacific Shores so if you are picking up groceries, you will do it before or after. Good selection in either Parksville or Nanaimo. There is also a store at Nanoose, but it is easy to get turned around finding the way. But, a nice drive if you allow for it. 

Other than the restaurant at Pacific Shores, you will need the car. The nearest other place to eat is the Rocking Horse Pub, not bad the last time I ate there.

Enjoy the Island!


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## eal (May 23, 2012)

There is a grocery store in Red Gap Centre, which is just off Northwest Bay Rd about a mile after the highway turn-off.

There is a restaurant at Pacific Shores called "the Landing"


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