How to get to Victoria, Canada | Victoria travel guides

By Recreational Boat

Victoria is a popular destination for boaters from the U.S.A. as well as the Vancouver area. The trip is a long one; the leg across the Strait of San Juan de Fuca from Puget Sound is over 50km. Because of frequent gales and small craft warnings, the boating trips may be rough, and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has a "no one turned away policy".

Oak Bay Marina

While technically not part of Victoria, this incorporated municipality is on the sea to the east. It is a delightful location and an easy bus/taxi/bicycle ride to downtown Victoria.

By Cruise Ship

Each year, from April through October, over 200 large cruise ships dock at the Ogden Point cruise ship terminal, with berths for three cruise ships and about 2.5km southwest of the downtown inner harbor, and disembark more than one-third million visitors to the greater Victoria area. Ogden Point is a transit port for cruise ships, typically coming from or going to San Francisco or Seattle, i.e., no cruise ship is home ported at Victoria.

To get to downtown Victoria from Ogden Point, cruise ship visitors have many options: take a pleasant 30-minutes walk through the James Bay residential area Dallas St. along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then north on Menzies St., hop on $2.25 the public bus #30 or #31 that runs along Dallas St., use the Cruise Victoria shuttle (http://www.cvscruisevicto...) at the terminal, or hail a taxi/limo lined up at the pier.

By bus

Bus companies travel to Victoria from Vancouver including Vancouver International Airport, Seattle and from other points on Vancouver Island. Buses travelling to Vancouver Island use BC Ferries, so you still get to enjoy the ferry ride. Some bus companies will make announcements on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry inviting foot passengers to purchase bus tickets for the ride into Victoria. This option is faster than the public transit option noted above, but also more expensive.

Pacific Coach

(http://www.pacificcoach.com/) daily bus service from Vancouver or Vancouver International Airport; takes almost 4 hours to get to downtown Victoria, leaves every two hours from YVR, and costs ~$48 adult one way.

Greyhound

(http://www.greyhound.ca/home/) Greyhound travels from various points on Vancouver Island to Victoria.

Tofino Bus

(http://www.tofinobus.com/) daily express service between Victoria, Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino.

By plane

Victoria International Airport IATA: YYJ is located 30 minutes north of Victoria off the Pat Bay Highway, on the way to the ferry terminal. Multiple flights per hour to and from Vancouver. Also from Seattle by Horizon Air (http://www.alaskaair.com/) and with lesser frequency direct from San Francisco United, Calgary Air Canada and WestJet, Edmonton Air Canada and WestJet, and Toronto.

Public transit from Victoria International to the city is not that great routes 79 and 83 go there but infrequently, but the AKAL Airport Shuttle Bus picks you up from the airport and takes you many downtown hotels tel 1-877-386-2525, (http://www.victoriaairportshuttle.com/, 45 minutes one-way, adults $15).

You can also get into Victoria quickly and easily from Vancouver by either helicopter or floatplane. Helicopters into the city operate from Vancouver Harbour or Vancouver International Airport YVR by Helijet (http://www.helijet.com) with prices from $119 each way, this will take you into the center of Victoria. Floatplanes land in Victoria Inner Harbour YWH, just meters from the Fairmont Empress Hotel and the BC Parliament buildings. Canadian floatplane operators include West Coast Air (http://www.westcoastair.com), Harbour Air (http://www.harbour-air.com) and Sea To Sky Air (http://seatoskyair.ca), all of which operate from Vancouver Harbour, with prices at $99-190 each way. There is a new floatplane terminal in operation just outside the Vancouver International Airport YVR with a shuttle service operated by Harbour Air. Harbour Air has also introduced seasonal amphibious service from Langley Municipal Airport to Victoria Inner Harbour. Daily scheduled floatplane service to the Inner Harbour is also available year round from downtown Seattle's Lake Union on Kenmore Air (http://www.kenmoreair.com). Fares, which include complimentary shuttle transfers to/from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport SEA range from $108 to $169 each way. Kenmore Air also provides year-round service to the Pat Bay Seaplane Base, just west of Victoria International Airport YYJ.

By car

While Victoria is on an island, it is accesible from the rest of the island by roads and from the mainland by taking one of the car ferries described in By boat. Victoria is connected to Nanaimo and other northern points by the Trans-Canada Hwy 1. BC-4 connects Victoria to Sooke and Port Renfrew. BC-17 connects Sidney and Vancouver via BC ferries to Victoria. You can also bring your car on the Black Ball ferries to Port Angeles, WA and the Washington state ferries from Sidney to the San Juan Islands and Anacortes, WA.