Horseshoe Bay - early morning

[Deleted]

Hi! We are planning our trip to Victoria this summer and wondering which morning ferry we should try to make from Horseshoe Bay. Are the ferries often busy on the first sailing (which would be 620am the day we are planning for)? We are hoping to hit the Island the earliest we can but will have two young children with us and hope not to get caught up in a super long wait. Thanks for any tips/advice! We are staying only about an hour away from the bay and hoped it would help up avoid a bit of the traffic on the way there too!

[Mirrlees]

As long as you make a reservation, you should be just fine for the 6:20am. Summer weekends tend to be a little busier than on weekdays. The reservation fee is $15.00 if made more than a week prior to departure otherwise, $17.50 if made within 7 days.

[Deleted]

thanks I haven't been to the Island since 1992 and we had no trouble but that was 20 years ago lol. So I thought I would ask. We were thinking of doing the online reservation thing to be sure, but didnt know what would happen if we ran into trouble and couldnt get there for the 620 one. I will read through the rules again thanks!

[lmtengs]

Honestly, there's no point making a reservation for the 6:20 sailing as long as you arrive more than 45 minutes to an hour before the sailing leaves. Save your money...

I've only used a reservation on a Southern route once, and that was because I HAD to get to Victoria by a certain time, and I had time constraints, so I couldn't be there early. And this is a guy who sails the ferries 20+ times in the average year.

[Scott]

I think it would be a very rare occurance where the 6:20AM sailing actually left cars behind. If it would ever happen, it would probably be a Saturday morning (on the Vancouver side)... but it's just too early for most people.

If you make a reservation, you have to get there half an hour early anyways, so it won't save you any time - if you get there half an hour early without a reservation, I'm pretty certain you'll make it on. If you miss the deadline for the reservation, they'll just put you in with the first-come-first-serve crowd. And they'll keep your reservation fee.

[Dane]

Not only is the 620 not typically full but really the first few sailings are all fine unless it is a long or special weekend of some sort. While this information is three years old now, I used to sail out of Horseshoe Bay two-four times a week in the summer and none of the routes ever had sailing waits. There used to be an extra mid-morning sailing that took the stress off. Not sure if that's still the case on the Nanaimo route.

[Low Light Mike]

I'll ask this:

- If you are going to Victoria, why are you taking the Horseshoe Bay - Departure Bay route ?


Wouldn't it be simpler to take Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ?

[Nickfro]

May 22, 2012 8:41:48 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

I'll ask this:

- If you are going to Victoria, why are you taking the Horseshoe Bay - Departure Bay route ?

Wouldn't it be simpler to take Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ?

I know I'm not the person this question was directed towards, but being a North Shore resident I prefer taking Route 2 when going to and from Victoria for two reasons that are both traffic related. First, Route 2 is typically quieter than Route 1 for the most part. Second, driving from North Shore to Tsawwassen can be a wild card, especially in rush hour periods which can affect getting to the terminal on time for the desired ferry.

[WettCoast]

Depending on where 'kezt777' is starting from in the Vancouver area, I would suggest going via Tsawwassen. I would agree that a reservation is likely a waste of money, though on the Tsawwassen route it might be something to consider (what do others think?).

As far as traffic goes, getting to Tsawwassen ('Route 1') may be a pain, but should be smooth sailing at 6:00 AM heading for the first sailing on Route 1 @ 7:00 AM. Furthermore, if going via Route 2 (Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo), the drive down the island to Victoria can be a pain also. On balance, I would choose Route 1.

Some other reasons to choose route 1:
- You can catch breakfast at the Spirit of BC's Pacific Buffet on the 7:00 AM sailing. On the first sailing of the Q of Oak Bay at 6:20 on route 2 your only choice is cafeteria fare.
- You will be in Victoria a little sooner. You'll get their at about 9:10 AM; via Route 2 will get you to Victoria at about 9:30.
- Route 1 is IMHO more scenic as the ferries pass through the southern Gulf Islands including Active Pass. There is more 'to see'.
- There are more frequent sailings on Route 1 such that if you miss the 7:00 AM sailing there is another one an hour later (versus 2 hours later) on route 2.

I would nevertheless consider returning via route 2. That way you end up with a 'circle route' which I always consider as better than an out & back trip via the same route.

[lmtengs]

May 22, 2012 10:55:35 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

Depending on where 'kezt777' is starting from in the Vancouver area, I would suggest going via Tsawwassen. I would agree that a reservation is likely a waste of money, though on the Tsawwassen route it might be something to consider (what do others think?).

As far as traffic goes, getting to Tsawwassen ('Route 1') may be a pain, but should be smooth sailing at 6:00 AM heading for the first sailing on Route 1 @ 7:00 AM. Furthermore, if going via Route 2 (Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo), the drive down the island to Victoria can be a pain also. On balance, I would choose Route 1.

Some other reasons to choose route 1:
- You can catch breakfast at the Spirit of BC's Pacific Buffet on the 7:00 AM sailing. On the first sailing of the Q of Oak Bay at 6:20 on route 2 your only choice is cafeteria fare.
- You will be in Victoria a little sooner. You'll get their at about 9:10 AM; via Route 2 will get you to Victoria at about 9:30.
- Route 1 is IMHO more scenic as the ferries pass through the southern Gulf Islands including Active Pass. There is more 'to see'.
- There are more frequent sailings on Route 1 such that if you miss the 7:00 AM sailing there is another one an hour later (versus 2 hours later) on route 2.

I would nevertheless consider returning via route 2. That way you end up with a 'circle route' which I always consider as better than an out & back trip via the same route.

I'm in Maple Ridge; that's about 50 minutes from HSB in good traffic, and an hour and ten minutes from Tsawwassen in good traffic. Tsawwassen is by far the fastest choice from my place; the drive from Nanaimo to Vic takes over an hour, and the drive from Swartz Bay to Vic is 20-ish minutes. Even when going to Nanaimo, we usually go for the TSA-Duke Pt route.

Just as with the Horseshoe Route, reservations on the Tsawwassen routes are unneeded. We've only ever gotten sailing waits on long weekends, and it's one wait at max, which is fine at Tsawwassen with the quay there to pass the time.

I enjoy route 1 more too, for the same reasons stated in the quoted post. Active Pass is a great place to sightsee and enjoy the sailing.

However, if you're an hour away from Horseshoe Bay up the Sea to Sky Corridor, then definitely go to HSB instead of Tsawwassen. Otherwise, Tsawwassen would be my pick.

[Nickfro]

Quite often my trips over to Victoria occur on a Friday and it's usually the 830am Route 2 ferry that I'll catch. I can leave home no earlier than 745am and be on that sailing without issue. The equivalent Route 1 sailing is the 9am, where I would have to leave home by 7am to get there by 815am. The 1 lane tunnel counterflow lineup (or long detour via Alex Fraser) is uncertain, so is ensuring the 9am sailing isn't full. For all those reasons, and to add that Route 2 is much quieter on board than the kids and tourist bus volume on Route 1, my choice is what it is, and a stress-free one to boot!

[Deleted]

I just popped back in to say thank you for the advice and also to say PHEW! ALL sailings for friday june 29th are 'closed' from horseshoe bay to departure bay EXCEPT for the very first one at 620am, and the very last one at the end of the day. I just checked the schedule again and was shocked. so it's entirely possible that the 620am could end up full as well this time because all of the other times are already booked and closed for that day. Luckily I decided that with 2 little kids in the car, and being canada day weekend, we didnt want to risk having to go standby because while it's an early crossing, once people see that all of the other times are already booked up, they might decide to head for the 620 one or they will have to sail on a different day.

I checked the return times (we are going back over on Tuesday) and so far those are all still available, but for those traveling on Monday, there were only 4 or 5 times not marked 'closed' when I checked a few minutes ago.

So you just never know these days!

[Deleted]

As for Qs about the trip, we do not check into our hotel in Victoria until 4pm so we decided that we would go through nanaimo to spend some time along the route - perhaps Duncan, Goldstream Park, etc. We want to make the most of the day and have a lot of time to kill if we leave early and enjoy some other sites along the way. Going back we might consider route 1, getting us back on the road sooner and a different viewpoint as well. I have not been to Victoria for exactly 20 years this summer and my partner might have been there as a little kid but can't remember lol. We are looking forward to a great stay on the island

Thanks again for the advice!

[Deleted]

oops and I forgot, from where we are staying just outside vancouver, the driving distance/time calculator to both horseshoe bay and tswaassen bay are the same, 6 minutes difference with much more turns and road changes going to route 1 as opposed to route 2