Getting to Vancouver Island, which is better Ferry or Plane?

So far we’ve covered way to many flight reviews, a few train reviews. But realizing that about 71% of the world is covered by water, I decided to try out my private yacht. Guess which one it is.

If you guessed none of the above, this correct. In this episode, I will be comparing two for most common ways to get to Victoria: the Nanaimo to Vancouver ferry and the Vancouver to Victoria flight.

Ferry: Departure Bay (Nanaimo) to Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver)

Cost: $130, including 1 small car for 3 people

Type: The Coastal Renaissance

The ship we were sailing on was one of the largest double-ended ferries at the time of construction in the mid 2000’s - cars, trucks and other cargo could roll on and off the ferry from both ends, increasing sailing potential and efficiency. This particular vessel can carry just over 1,600 passengers and can sail at 43KM an hour (or 23 seal lengths, for navy people). Note that while we booked a couple days in advance, there are sailings at least desirable times for up to $49, one way.

We departed at departure bay

Boarding:

Despite our sailing time at 8:30PM, we needed to arrive a minimum of 30 minutes earlier to give the ferry personnel time to count passengers. And there are, rightfully, strict on this - my friend was 31 minutes early once to his sailing time, and almost missed his sailing. After showing our ticket, we were directed into the traffic line

Straightforward signs

Bored while waiting for the ferry, I explored the surrounding area, only to find there wasn’t much to do except for a few shops. Which likely was the intention, given the exorbitant prices being charged (more on that later).

I hope people realized Vancouver is in Canada too…

It was almost $3 for a bottle of coke

Boarding the ferry was quite easy: everyone entered into their cars, and drove up the ramp, and parked where the attendant told them to. I did manage to snap a picture of another ferry (or maybe the one we were going on).

Majestic, but slow

The ferry was slower than the plane, taking about an hour and 40 minutes to traverse the Strait of Georgia. Unfortunately, there was no wifi, which actually forced me to actually get some work done as opposed to procrastinating on Reddit. And while there amenities are limited and a bit basic, there were more than sufficient for such a short ride.

As the ferry was reaching it’s 15th birthday, decor was a tad dated, with lots of plain brown, yellow and green colors.

Yes I am aware the floor is blue

As a young boy, I would take these ferries off to Sunshine Coast to camp with my scout group. However, I was always excited by the gift shop (named Passages) for some reason. All I can saw was that I was a weird kid - the shop contained souvenirs, confectionary and lots of reading material.

Now as an advanced child (not adult), I am excited to see semi-proper workstations (apologies, the photo was grainy, but rest assured, there are places to earn your money).

But not all is lost: I did walk past the arcade room, and see many youngsters enjoying the pay to play video games. The players change, but never the game.

Fun Times

For those even younger, there was a mini daycare, though it was empty late at night.

Despite the fact it was close to 9pm, the Coastal café was buzzing. While the food is overpriced and small, this was partially due the incredible logistical challenges needed to cook on a moving vessel. Pro tip: Grab some food in Nanaimo proper beforehand (shout out to Sushi Hama).

Have a break, take a ferry ride

Hot food is back on CIVD-19, and is a presented in partnership with White Spot, a Vancouver based chain with a slightly goofy, pirate theme menu. Full menu here. Interestingly enough, White Spot actually has several Hong Kong locations, along with their ~60 Vancouver locations. Controversial opinion: I think White Spot is not that bad. Before I started university, I had a meeting at a few friends at White Spot, and our group chat is still going strong a few years post university.

Arrrr, pirate pack

Another interesting artifact was a wall of coupons and additional promotional materials. There was one wall for Nanaimo, another for Vancouver. Don Draper would be proud.

For those who haven’t been on the ferry before, the top of the deck is particularly windy. Especially if it is already and windy outside, as the ferry does not cancel out the direction of the wind.

Once we we descended, sorry meandered slowly into the bay, the attendants told us to return to our cars. A couple minutes later, we slowly proceed off onto the highway and to our eager beds. I mean eagerly awaited beds, you can seem I’m getting tired.

Verdict:

For under $50 a person (and even less for a hypothetical family of 4), the ferry was definitely an affordable, clean and safe option. Total travel time, with 45 minutes of wait and 1 hour and 45 minutes of sailing amounted to 2.5 hours total. That being said, Departure Bay and Horsebay have infrequent public transit service if you lack a car. Now, onto the plane!

Plane

While we joke of the Air Canada and Westjet duopoly, the Vancouver to Victoria route (YVR to YYJ for nerds) is serviced not only by another airline called Pacific Coastal Airlines, but also by seaplane as well. Picking the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving, we can see that Pacific Coastal Airlines is the most competitive, likely due to its relatively lower overhead costs and focused on…the Pacific Coast.

The seaplane operator Harbour Air is on the upper end of the price spectrum, through still within range of Air Canada. One thing to keep in mind is that Harbor Air flies directly from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria; getting from YYJ to Victoria city proper takes a minimum of 30 minutes by car, or over an hour by transit. Seaplane also will at maximum have 19 passengers, compared to almost 100 in a traditional plane.

I went with Westjet, as I had chosen a Westjet Vacations package for my…workcation. More on that in another article. Since I flew on the Thursday before the long weekend, my flight cost was $180 for 1 person. I did fly out of YVR, and i noticed it was a bit fuller than before; however, nothing really changed since my last flight out of YVR, and so I will just link you to that flight if you’re curious about the airport.

Flight: WS 3355

Departing: Vancouver (YVR)

Arriving: Victoria (YYJ)

Operated by: Bombardier Dash-8

Cabin: Economy

Another reason I chose Westjet was that I got access to a Priority Pass lounge, which gave out pretty good breakfast - I was thankful for this because I didn’t end up eating lunch until 3pm due to being tied up.

Front was unmanned

Check in was actually at the bar upstairs, which was unfortunately closed. Not likely due to any health precautions, more so given it was 9am.

The food was generic Canadian breakfast food: hash browns, scrambled eggs and pork sausages, along with a selection of cold salads, pastas and treats. Note attendants served passengers - while this wasn’t an issue now, I can see how it might unintentionally be annoying with a more crowded lounge.

While most of the food was acceptable, I thought the pork sausages stood out: just enough grease to make it taste good while maintaining your cholesterol levels. For those interested in the alcohol, I remember it was mid shelf liquor: think Barcardi, Gordons, Alberta Premium.

I don’t think pasta is normally for breakfast

The rest of the Plaza Premium lounge hasn’t changed much: there still are the comfy chairs, workstations and tables. People were respectful of social distancing, and the overall kept to themselves.

Boarding was definitely a surprise, as several flights were taking off from the same area, which unfortunately lead to crowding. I guess many people had the same idea to travel during Canada’s last long weekend with acceptable weather.

Flying on a smaller plane, I was still surprised to be able to walk on the tarmac to my ride. As one of the first to board, I got a taste at the private jet life for…10 seconds.

The lovely plane holds 10 premium passengers, 68 in economy; given this is a 35 minute flight, I don’t really see any point in premium. The seat pitch for economy was 76cm, while for premium it was 79cm.

I’d estimate the plane was about half full, a very different experience from my nearly 100% full Air Canada flight a few weeks ago.

Who flies on a Thursday morning? Besides consultants

My 2nd favorite part of this flight was, given this was 35 minutes, the traditional airline announcements. About 10 minutes in, we got announcement that the plane had stabilized and that we could use the restroom. No sooner did the fight attendant finish that did she launch into the standards “we are descending into Victoria” notice. Very interesting.

My favorite part of the journey was the views: the Dash-8 has a maximum altitude of over 7km, which still allows for some quite pretty views of gorgeous BC. I myself was glued to the window half the time, and will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Verdict

The plane was faster obviously at only taking 1.5 hours as opposed to 2.5 hours for the ferry; however, the price was $60 more. I would only consider taking the plane if you’re one person, or you lack a rental car, as rental car prices are insane these days. The view’s from the plane are significantly better than those of the ferry, though to be fair I did ride the ferry on a cold, windy evening. Overall, both are a great choice for an affordable getaway that can be tacked onto a Vancouver trip.