Notes on Travel to Nanaimo

Nanaimo is one of Canada’s jewels, but being on Vancouver Island, it’s not always the easiest place to get to. There are, however, a number of options, some longer but more enjoyable than others.

 

Air Canada

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The only national airline has connections to Nanaimo via Air Canada Jazz. It’s the most convenient but often the most expensive. There are direct flights from Toronto to Victoria, which is 90 minutes south of Nanaimo. You can take a bus or drive, but there is mountain driving for a stretch, so you likely don’t want to do it at night if you’re unfamiliar with the roads.

 

West Jet

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Have direct flights from Toronto to Vancouver, often much cheaper than Air Canada. For those on the Prairies, West Jet has a direct flight from Calgary to CFB Comox, which is an hour’s bus ride (or car) north of Nanaimo.

 

American-based Airlines

For those of you travelling from or through the United States, you might compare prices for an American flight to Seattle, and then a connector to Vancouver and/or Nanaimo. Seattle is about 2 hours south of Vancouver, and there also are busses and a train to Vancouver. Alaska Air, United and American Airlines are the carriers.

 

Connections from Vancouver Airport to Nanaimo

There is a spectacular 15 minute seaplane ride from Vancouver Airport to Nanaimo harbour, which is a short walk to the downtown hotels and an 8 minute cab ride to VIU. The airlines are: West Coast Air and Harbour Air Seaplanes. They also leave from downtown Vancouver. The schedule is limited to daylight hours, which should be fairly flexible in May, but you should book well ahead because there are only about 20 seats, although they may be able to book extra flights if there is sufficient demand.

 

BC Ferries

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Our life-line to the rest of Canada. BC Ferries offers two connections to Nanaimo, via Horseshoe Bay and Tsawassen. If you fly into Vancouver, you can get a Grey Coach bus, or city transit, to Tsawassen. If you are spending time in Vancouver, you can get a Grey Coach which will take you onto the boat itself, and then to the bus station in Nanaimo, or pick up the Vancouver transit which stops at Horseshoe Bay, directly across from the ferry entrance.  Tsawassen is closer to the airport, and is a 2 hour ferry ride. Horseshoe Bay is across the Lions Gate Bridge to West Vancouver, and is a 90 minute ride. The ferries have restaurants, a gift shop, etc. and Orca whales have been known to ride the wake.

 

Insider’s Tip

As you would expect, ferries, like planes, don’t always leave on time, since they are subject to the vagaries of weather, mechanical breakdowns and most likely as we move into the summer months, high demand. To ensure that you do not arrive at the ferry terminal, only to find a 3 sailing wait (the boats leave about every 2 hours), you can contact the terminals directly and find out current sailing conditions. To do so, call 1-888-BCFerry 1-888-223-3779, work your way through the menu to Current Conditions, and you can ask a live person which ferry would be better to take. Or if you have your laptop and an internet connection, you can access the BC Ferries website, and under Current Terminal Conditions, you will be informed as to how full the ferry is at that time. This is more of an issue for those bringing cars on the ferry, since there is more room for walk-ons and bus passengers; however, you would be informed about any delays.

 

Once you make it to Nanaimo, there are no line-ups, drivers rarely honk their horns, and there is so little traffic that you barely have time to sip the foam from your latte before the light changes.

 

Bon Voyage!