John Cletheroe's
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Major Car Ferry Routes In The Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Seattle, Vancouver And Vancouver Island Area, Washington State And British Columbia
Introduction
This page lists some of the major car ferry routes in this area. There are many other ferry routes than those listed here, including some passenger-only services.
For more complete information, refer to the relevant ferry company web sites which have full details of routes, timetables, journey times, fares and in some cases even photographs of the boats.
Telephone numbers are within the USA or Canada and have not been checked.
Canadian Mainland - Vancouver Island: BC Ferries
There are no bridges between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Ferry services between the Canadian mainland and Vancouver Island are operated by BC Ferries (external link checked Jan-04). Tel (from within BC only): 1-888-BCFERRY.
A particular problem for visitors to the area is that ferry routes and destinations tend to be specified in timetables and on signs at ferry terminals solely by the name of terminal, not the town. These terminal names are unlikely to be familiar unless you have carefully studied the map beforehand.
It may be worth mentioning that the city of Vancouver is on the Canadian mainland, not on Vancouver Island. The major city on Vancouver Island is Victoria, which is the capital of British Columbia. To add to the confusion there is another city called Vancouver in southwestern Washington State, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.
BC Ferries: Major Car Ferry Terminals
- Departure Bay: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, less than five miles north of Nanaimo.
- Duke Point: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, less than five miles south of Nanaimo.
- Horseshoe Bay: On the mainland, about ten miles northwest of Vancouver.
- Swartz Bay: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, on a peninsula about eighteen miles north of Victoria.
- Tsawwassen: On the mainland, about fifteen miles southwest of Vancouver.
BC Ferries: Some Other Car Ferry Terminals
- Bowen Island (Snug Cove): On the mainland, opposite and about two miles from Horseshoe Bay.
- Brentwood Bay: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, about twelve miles north of Victoria on the southern side of Saanich Inlet.
- Comox (Little River): On the east coast of Vancouver Island, about fifty-five miles northwest of Nanaimo.
- Earls Cove: On the mainland, on the Sechelt Peninsula, opposite Saltery Bay, about fifty miles northwest of Vancouver.
- Gabriola Island: Off the east coast of Vancouver Island, opposite and about seven miles from Nanaimo.
- Langdale: On the mainland, opposite Horseshoe Bay.
- Mill Bay: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, about thirteen miles north of Victoria, on the northern side of Saanich Inlet.
- Powell River: On the mainland, opposite Comox and about seventy-five miles northwest of Vancouver.
- Saltery Bay: On the mainland, about thirteen miles southeast of Powell River.
BC Ferries: Major Car Ferry Routes
Approximate crossing times are given in brackets.
- Departure Bay - Horseshoe Bay (1 hour 35 minutes).
- Duke Point - Tsawwassen (2 hours). In June 1998 we paid CDN$27 for a normal sized car plus CDN$8.50 for the driver and each passenger. These are single prices and exclude sales tax.
- Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen (1 hour 35 minutes).
BC Ferries: Some Other Car Ferry Routes
Approximate crossing times are given in brackets.
- Bowen Island (Snug Cove) - Horseshoe Bay (20 minutes).
- Brentwood Bay - Mill Bay (25 minutes). This route provides a convenient route across Saanich Inlet between Swartz Bay and the road northwards towards Nanaimo, which avoids Victoria city centre.
- Comox (Little River) - Powell River (1 hour 15 minutes).
- Earls Cove - Saltery Bay (50 minutes).
- Gabriola Island - Nanaimo (20 minutes).
- Horseshoe Bay - Langdale (40 minutes).
Numerous additional BC Ferry routes service the various Gulf Islands, the more northerly towns on the mainland and the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, and also the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Olympic Peninsula - Vancouver Island: Coho Ferry (Black Ball Transport)
The Coho car ferry crosses the Strait Of Juan De Fuca, running between Port Angeles on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula and Victoria on Vancouver Island. This ferry is operated by Black Ball Transport (external link checked Nov-97).
Crossing time is about 95 minutes.
Port Angeles is a fairly small town so driving to and from the ferry terminal is relatively simple.
The Coho ferry terminal in Victoria is at the harbour, involving a drive through the city centre.
Since this is an international ferry, all travellers are subject to immigration and customs inspections.
In June 1998 we paid CDN$27.25 for a normal sized car and driver, plus CDN$6.75 per passenger. These are single prices and exclude sales tax.
Victoria Rapid Transit (tel: 1-800-633-1589 in Washington State) also operate the Victoria Express passenger-only ferry on this route.
Seattle, Puget Sound And The San Juan Islands: Washington State Ferries
The Kitsap Peninsula, the Olympic Peninsula and most of the major San Juan Islands are linked to Seattle and the rest of Washington State by road, in some cases via bridges. However, the various ferry services across Puget Sound provide convenient shortcuts to sometimes very lengthy road journeys.
These ferry services are operated by Washington State Ferries (external link checked Nov-97). Tel (from within Washington State only): 1-800-84-FERRY.
Washington State Ferries: Car Ferry Terminals
- Anacortes: On one of the San Juan Islands, south of Bellingham.
- Bainbridge Island: West of Seattle.
- Bremerton: On the east side of the Kitsap Peninsula, west of Seattle.
- Clinton: On one of San Juan Islands, west of Everett.
- Edmonds: North of Seattle.
- Fauntleroy: South of Seattle.
- Friday Harbour: On one of the San Juan Islands, northwest of Anacortes.
- Keystone: One of the San Juan Islands, east of Port Townsend.
- Kingston: Near the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, west of Edmonds.
- Lopez: On one of the San Juan Islands, northwest of Anacortes.
- Mukilteo: South of Everett.
- Orcas: On one of the San Juan Islands, northwest of Anacortes.
- Port Defiance: Near Tacoma.
- Port Townsend: On the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula.
- Seattle.
- Shaw: On one of the San Juan Islands, northwest of Anacortes.
- Sidney: On Vancouver Island, about 16 miles north of Victoria.
- Southworth: On the east side of the Kitsap Peninsula, south of Bremerton.
- Tahlequah: Opposite Port Defiance.
- Vashon: West of Fauntleroy.
Washington State Ferries: Car Ferry Routes
- Anacortes - Lopez - Shaw - Orcas - Friday Harbor - Sidney (various sailings serve different combinations of terminals). Sailings to/from Sidney, which is on Vancouver Island, are international and therefore involve immigration and customs inspections.
- Bainbridge Island - Seattle (35 minutes).
- Bremerton - Seattle (60 minutes).
- Clinton - Mukilteo (20 minutes).
- Edmonds - Kingston (30 minutes).
- Fauntleroy - Southworth (35 minutes).
- Fauntleroy - Vashon (15 minutes).
- Keystone - Port Townsend (30 minutes).
- Port Defiance - Tahlequah (15 minutes).
- Southworth - Vashon (10 minutes).
Washington State Ferries also operate some additional passenger-only ferry routes.
Seattle - Victoria
Victoria Clipper (tel: 1-800-888-2535 outside Seattle area) operate a passenger-only ferry service between Seattle and Victoria. (External link checked Jan-01).
There is no car ferry service on this route.
Alaska
Alaska Marine Highway System (tel: 1-800-642-0066) operate a ferry service between Bellingham and Juneau, Alaska through the Inside Passage, also serving the other major towns in that part of Alaska which extends down the coast of British Columbia (Ketchikan, for example). These services presumably take several days and require some form of overnight accommodation on the ferry.
British Columbia
Washington State
Ferries
Pacific Northwest Geographical Features
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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
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Most recently modified 1-Apr-04