Moon Vancouver

by Carolyn B. Heller

  If you’re coming from farther away, you can fly to Victoria International Airport (YYJ, 1640 Electra Blvd., Sidney, 250/953-7533, www.victoriaairport.com), which is north of downtown, from a number of U.S. and Canadian cities. Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) flies between Victoria and Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, or San Francisco. WestJet (www.westjet.com) has flights between Victoria and Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna (B.C.), Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Alaska Air (www.alaskaair.com) makes the quick hop between Victoria and Seattle.

  CAR AND FERRY

  BC Ferries (888/223-3779, www.bcferries.com) provides frequent service between the Vancouver metropolitan area on the mainland and Vancouver Island. Ferries transport foot passengers, bicycles, cars, trucks, and recreational vehicles. Reservations ($15 at least 7 days in advance, $18.50 1-6 days in advance, $22 same-day travel) are recommended for vehicles, particularly if you’re traveling on summer weekends or during holiday periods. Reservations are not available for walk-on passengers or bicycles.

  Metropolitan Vancouver has two ferry docks, which are both outside the city center. The Tsawwassen Terminal (1 Ferry Causeway, Delta), 24 miles (38 kilometers) south of Vancouver, is the departure point for ferries to Victoria. The Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay Ferry (one-way adults $17.20, ages 5-11 $8.60, cars $56.45, bikes $2) takes you between the mainland and Victoria in one hour and 35 minutes.

  To drive from Vancouver to Tsawwassen, head south on Oak Street, following the signs for Highway 99 south, and cross the Oak Street Bridge into Richmond. Stay on Highway 99 through the George Massey Tunnel. Exit onto Highway 17 south toward the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Allow about 45 minutes to drive from downtown Vancouver to Tsawwassen, with extra time during the morning and evening rush hours.

  From late June through early September, ferries between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay generally run every hour between 7am and 9pm daily, and every two hours the rest of the year; however, there are frequent variations, so check the B.C. Ferries website (www.bcferries.com) for the schedule before you travel.

  The Swartz Bay Terminal (Highway 17) is 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Victoria at the end of Highway 17, about a 30-minute drive. After you exit the ferry at Swartz Bay, follow Highway 17 south, which goes directly into downtown Victoria, where it becomes Blanshard Street.

  DIRECT BUS AND FERRY

  To travel between Vancouver to Victoria without your own car (and without splurging on a flight), the easiest option is to take a direct bus service that picks up passengers at several points downtown, takes you onto the ferry, and continues into downtown Victoria.

  BC Ferries Connector (604/428-9474 or 888/788-8840, www.bcfconnector.com; one-way bus adults $47.50, seniors or B.C. resident adults $35.60, students $28.50, ages 5-11 $23.75), operated by Wilson’s Transportation, transports passengers between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria. The bus takes you to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and drives onto the ferry. At Swartz Bay, you reboard the bus and travel to downtown Victoria. Trips depart several times daily in each direction, and reservations are required; the entire trip takes about four hours.

  In Vancouver, the BC Ferries Connector bus originates at Pacific Central Station (1150 Station St.). For a slightly higher fare (one-way bus adults $52.50, seniors or B.C. resident adults $39.40, students $31.50, ages 5-11 $26.25), you can schedule a pickup from many downtown Vancouver hotels. In Victoria, the coach takes you to the Capital City Station (721 Douglas St.), behind the Fairmont Empress Hotel, one block from the Inner Harbour.

  The BC Ferries Connector fare does not include a ferry ticket (one-way adults $17.20, ages 5-11 $8.60), which you must purchase in addition to your bus ticket.

  DIRECT FERRY

  As this book went to press, V2V Vacations was slated to begin operating a direct ferry service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria. Launching in 2017, the V2V Empress (250/590-9154 or 855/554-4679, www.v2vvacations.com, one-way adults $120, ages 12 and under $60), a high-speed, 300-passenger catamaran, will make one daily trip in each direction between the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (1055 Canada Pl., behind the Vancouver Centre) and the Victoria Steamship Terminal (470 Belleville St.) on the Inner Harbour. Travel time is 3.5 hours.

  PUBLIC TRANSIT

  If you don’t have a lot of luggage, it’s possible to take public transit between downtown Vancouver and the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and from the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal to downtown Victoria. It’s much cheaper than the BC Ferries Connector option, but it takes a little longer.

  In Vancouver, take the Canada Line to Bridgeport Station, where you change to bus 620 for Tsawwassen Ferry (www.translink.ca; one-way adults $5.60, seniors, students, and ages 5-13 $3.80). The total trip takes about an hour.

  After taking the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay Ferry (www.bcferries.com; 1 hour and 35 minutes; one-way adults $17.20, ages 5-11 $8.60), catch B.C. Transit bus 70 for Swartz Bay/Downtown Express (www.bctransit.com/victoria; 50 minutes; one-way $2.50 pp) to downtown Victoria.

  GETTING AROUND

  Victoria’s Inner Harbour is compact and walkable, easy to navigate without a car. It’s possible to reach sights outside the city center on the region’s public buses, although to explore farther afield on Vancouver Island, having your own vehicle is more convenient.

  BUS

  B.C. Transit (250/382-6161, http://bctransit.com/victoria; one-way $2.50) runs buses around Victoria, to Butchart Gardens, and to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Hours vary by bus route, but major routes typically begin service between 6am and 7am and stop service between 11pm and midnight. Service to the Swartz Bay ferry begins at 5:30am Monday through Saturday and 6:30am on Sunday.

  FERRY

  Victoria Harbour Ferry (250/708-0201, www.victoriaharbourferry.com; 11am-5pm daily Mar. and Oct., 11am-7pm daily Apr.-mid-May, 10am-9pm daily mid-May-mid-Sept.) can take you around the Inner Harbour in their cute colorful boats, stopping at Fisherman’s Wharf, the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort, and many other waterside points. Fares vary by distance; a basic one-zone trip is $6 per person.

  TAXI

  You can usually find taxis near the Inner Harbour and the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Victoria taxi rates start at $3.30, plus $1.93 per kilometer. Local cab companies include Bluebird Cabs (250/382-2222, www.taxicab.com) and Yellow Cab of Victoria (250/381-2222, www.yellowcabvictoria.com).

  CAR

  Victoria’s downtown sights are all clustered around the Inner Harbour, so if you’ve driven downtown, park your car and do your exploring on foot. Having a car is handy to visit attractions outside downtown or on the Saanich Peninsula.

  Parking

  Pay for downtown on-street parking (Mon.-Sat. 9am-6pm $1.50-3 per hour) at the nearby pay stations with coins or credit cards. Parking is free in the evenings and on Sunday.

  The city has five centrally located public parking garages (first hour free, subsequent hours $2 per hour, $12 per day, $14 per day at Bastion Square) open 24 hours daily: Bastion Square Parkade (575 Yates St.), Broughton Street Parkade (745 Broughton St., below the Central Library), Centennial Square Parkade (645 Fisgard St.), Johnson Street Parkade (750 Johnson St.), and View Street Parkade (743 View St.). Rates are in effect 8am-6pm Monday-Saturday; parking is free in the evenings and on Sunday.

  You can also park in these city-run surface lots ($2.25 per hour, $13.50 per day): 900 Wharf Street (near the Harbour Air terminal) and 820 Courtney Street. There’s no free parking in these lots; pay rates are in effect 24 hours daily.

  Car Rentals

  Avis (800/879-2847, www.avis.ca), Budget (250/953-5300 or 800/668-9833, www.budget.ca), Hertz (800/263-0600, www.hertz.ca), and National (250/656-2541 or 800/227-7368, www.nationalcar.ca) have rental desks at Victoria International Airport. Enterprise (250/655-7368, www.enterprise.com) has a nearby off-airport location. Both Budget and National also have rental offices downtown, near the Inner Harbour.

  BICYCLE

  Victoria is a bike-friendly city. Among the scenic routes for visitors on bikes are Dallas Road, w
hich skirts the seashore on the city’s southern edge, and Fairfield Road, which passes Ross Bay Cemetery.

  Running along a former rail line, the 35-mile (55-kilometer) Galloping Goose Trail takes you from Victoria west to the town of Sooke. You can follow the 18-mile (29-kilometer) Lochside Regional Trail, another rail trail, between Swartz Bay and Victoria.

  The Pedaler (321 Belleville St., 778/265-7433, http://thepedaler.ca; 9am-6pm daily May-Sept., call for off-season hours) has a fleet of modern bikes for rent (1 hour $10, 2 hours $16, full-day $30). They also run fun guided cycling tours, including the two-hour Castles, Hoods & Legends (adults $49, youth $45), a short tour of Victoria’s major sights; the four-hour Eat.Drink.Pedal ($109), which takes you through several Victoria neighborhoods with stops for pizza, ice cream, and other treats; and the three-hour Hoppy Hour Ride ($89), sampling Victoria’s craft breweries.

  The Pedaler rents bikes and runs cycling tours.

  Nanaimo

  This city of 85,000 on Vancouver Island’s east coast, 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Victoria, is an alternate ferry port between the city of Vancouver and the island, convenient if you’re traveling to Tofino on the island’s west coast. British Columbia’s third oldest city, Nanaimo is worth a stop for its pretty waterfront, historic sites, and a unique adventure: snorkeling with a colony of seals who live near the harbor. Be sure to sample a Nanaimo bar, the local signature sweet.

  SIGHTS AND RECREATION

  NANAIMO MUSEUM

  The modern Nanaimo Museum (100 Museum Way, 250/753-1821, www.nanaimomuseum.ca; 10am-5pm daily mid-May-early Sept., 10am-5pm Mon.-Sat. early Sept.-mid-May; adults $2, seniors and students $1.75, ages 5-12 $0.75) tells the stories of the city’s development, from its First Nations communities to its days as a mining hub, when the Hudson’s Bay Company established a coal mine nearby. Other exhibits focus on the city’s quirkier traditions, like its annual summer bathtub race.

  THE BASTION

  Built in 1853 by the Hudson’s Bay Company, The Bastion (95 Front St.), on the Nanaimo waterfront, is the city’s oldest structure and North America’s only original wooden bastion (fortified tower). The first-floor exhibit area talks about the Hudson’s Bay Company and its trading activities; the upper floors illustrate the building’s military uses.

  Outside the Bastion, stop to watch the midday cannon firing ceremony (noon daily mid-May-early Sept.), with a local bagpiper and a really big bang.

  S SNORKELING WITH SEALS

  Looking for a unique adventure? A colony of harbor seals lives around Snake Island, a rock outcropping located 15 minutes by boat from Nanaimo harbor. Sundown Diving (22 Esplanade Rd., 250/753-1880, www.sundowndiving.com) runs half-day tours ($100 pp) to the island, where you can snorkel with the seals.

  The tour starts at the company’s downtown shop, where you’re outfitted with a wetsuit, hood, booties, gloves, and snorkeling gear. Your guide will take you to the harbor, where you board the motorboat to Snake Island. Scoot into the water to swim alongside these marine creatures, which are surprisingly graceful as they glide through the sea.

  Bring a bathing suit, towel, and water bottle. You don’t need snorkeling experience, but you should be comfortable swimming in deep water.

  ON THE NANAIMO BAR TRAIL

  The city of Nanaimo has its own namesake dessert: the Nanaimo bar. This sweet treat, which became popular in the 1950s, has three layers: a nutty base of coconut, cocoa, and graham cracker crumbs, with a custard filling and a thick dark chocolate coating on top. You can find Nanaimo bars at bakeries all around town.

  You can get more adventurous with your Nanaimo bars, too, if you follow the city’s Nanaimo bar trail. At more than 30 stops, you can sample numerous variations on the Nanaimo bar theme. There’s a rich, creamy vegan version at Powerhouse Living Foods (200 Commercial St., 250/571-7873, www.powerhouseliving.ca) and a whipped cream-slathered deep-fried wonder at Pirate Chips (1-75 Front St., 250/753-2447). Several watering holes, including the Modern Café (221 Commercial St., 250/754-5022, www.themoderncafe.ca), even serve a Nanaimo bar martini.

  deep-fried Nanaimo bars at Pirate Chips

  Get a guide to the Nanaimo bar trail on the website of Tourism Nanaimo (www.tourismnanaimo.com) or pick up a copy at the Nanaimo Visitor Centre.

  FOOD

  Start your day with pastries and coffee from Mon Petit Choux (120 Commercial St., 250/753-6002, www.monpetitchoux.ca; 8am-5pm Mon.-Sat., 9am-5pm Sun.; $6-11), a sunny French-style café downtown. Beyond the sweets, they serve breakfasts (including scrambled eggs with smoked salmon or a croque-madame on house-made brioche) and light lunches, from quiche to sandwiches on their own baguettes.

  Despite its name, the Modern Café (221 Commercial St., 250/754-5022, www.themoderncafe.ca; 11am-11pm Mon.-Wed., 11am-midnight Thurs.-Sat., 10am-11pm Sun.; $14-28) is one of Nanaimo’s oldest restaurants, serving food and drinks in its pub-style space downtown since 1946. Burgers, sandwiches, salads, and several types of macaroni and cheese are the lunchtime draws, while the dinner menu adds heartier plates like maple-glazed ribs or grilled steak. To drink? A Nanaimo bar martini!

  The wood-burning oven takes center stage at La Stella Trattoria (321 Wesley St., 778/441-4668, www.lastellatrattoria.com; 5pm-9:30pm Wed.-Sun.; $14-18) in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter, 0.5 mile (800 meters) up the hill from the harbor, turning out crisp-crust pizzas topped with fresh ingredients like arugula, prosciutto, and locally produced bocconcini. Handmade pastas and Italian salads give you options beyond the pies.

  When you pull up to the Westwood Tennis Club, a 15-minute drive west of downtown, you’d never guess that behind the courts is a fine lakeside bistro. Christina’s on the Lake (2367 Arbot Rd., 250/753-2866, www.christinasonthelake.com; 11:30am-2:30pm and 5:30pm-8:30pm Tues.-Sat.; reduced off-season hours; $22-29) serves comfortably creative dishes, like pan-seared salmon with wild mushroom risotto or steak in a red wine jus, in a lovely dining room and patio overlooking peaceful Westwood Lake. Before or after your meal, loop the lake on the 3.5-mile (5.5-kilometer) walking trail.

  ACCOMMODATIONS

  If you’re going to stay over in Nanaimo, the friendly Buccaneer Inn (1577 Stewart Ave., 250/753-1246 or 877/282-6337, www.buccaneerinn.com; $75-200 d) is the closest place to sleep near the Departure Bay ferry terminal. In this basic but well-maintained family-run motel, many of the nautical-themed rooms and suites have kitchens. Rates include parking, Wi-Fi, and local phone calls. The inn is on a busy road, although traffic typically quiets at night.

  The modern 15-story Coast Bastion Hotel (11 Bastion St., 250/753-6601 or 800/716-6199, www.coasthotels.com; $145-290 d) overlooks the harbor downtown, with water vistas from its upper floors; request a corner unit for prime views. The 179 rooms have all the expected amenities, including white linens with colorful accents, air-conditioning, coffeemakers, flat-screen TVs, safes, and included Wi-Fi and local calls. The hotel has a fitness room and spa. Park in the nearby city parkade ($8.50 for 24 hours) or let the hotel valet deal with your car for an additional $8.

  Oh, the views! At MGM Seashore B&B (4950 Fillinger Crescent, 250/729-7249, www.mgmbandb.com; $199-299 d), with three guest rooms in a residential neighborhood north of town, the panoramas stretch across the water, particularly out on the mammoth deck, where you can soak in the hot tub. Owners Marilyn and Glenn McKnight start guests’ stays with a welcome Nanaimo bar, serve a full breakfast, and stock a guest lounge with espresso, tea, books, and movies. The Honeymoon Suite has a whirlpool tub positioned toward the ocean vistas, while the Sunset Room, with a round king bed, opens to the deck. The more basic King Room could accommodate a family, with a king bed and two singles.

  INFORMATION AND SERVICES

  Tourism Nanaimo (www.tourismnanaimo.com) runs the year-round Nanaimo Visitor Centre (2450 Northfield Rd., 250/751-1556 or 800/663-7337; 9am-6pm daily May-mid.-Sept., 9am-5pm Mon.-Sat. mid-Sept.-Apr.), off Highway 19 northwest of the city center, and provides lots of information about the area.

  GETTING THER
E

  AIR

  Harbour Air (604/274-1277 or 800/665-0212, www.harbourair.com; 20 minutes; one-way adults $76-129) flies regularly between the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (1055 Canada Pl., 604/274-1277) and Nanaimo’s Pioneer Waterfront Plaza (90 Front St., 250/714-0900).

  Helijet (800/665-4354, www.helijet.com; 20 minutes; one-way adults $109-139, seniors $97) buzzes across the water Monday through Friday between Vancouver Harbour Heliport (455 Waterfront Rd., near Waterfront Station, 604/688-4646) and Nanaimo Harbour Heliport (Port of Nanaimo Welcome Centre, 100 Port Dr.). One child (ages 2-12) flies free with each adult; additional one-way children’s fares are $79.

  THE ISLAND’S BIGGEST TREES

  Heading west from Nanaimo toward Vancouver Island’s west coast, you’ll pass through a section of old-growth rainforest, with massive trees that began their lives more than 800 years ago.

  In Cathedral Grove, which is part of MacMillan Provincial Park (Hwy. 4, 250/474-1336, www.env.gov.bc.ca; dawn-dusk daily; free), you can follow two short trails through these forests of giants.