Travelling from Vancouver to Victoria by public transit and ferry

I began my journey to Victoria by transit taking the Canada Line from Broadway and Cambie (Broadway City Hall Station) to Bridgeport Station in Richmond. Note that the 620 from Bridgeport to Tsawassen ONLY runs every half hour, so if you miss it, most likely you will have to wait about 30 minutes for the next one (and chances are, you will miss the ferry you actually wanted to take). That happened to me, as I left Broadway and Cambie at 1.40pm and I made it to Bridgeport in time for the 2.27pm bus (as I got to the stop BARELY AFTER 1:57pm, so I missed the bus). And then I had to wait for 2 hours (on top of the 30 minutes I had to wait for the next bus).

There are a number of drawbacks and inconveniences to taking transit to Victoria, and I will outline them in this post. First of all, the 620 only runs every 30 minutes on weekdays. So you need to plan your trip really well (use the Translink trip planner). The second nuisance is that the exit at Bridgeport and the location of the bus stop for the 620 is not clearly marked. As you take the electric stairwell and leave Bridgeport, walk to your LEFT.

While you will find the River Rock Casino at Bridgeport, you will not be able to entertain yourself (unless, of course, you DO like casinos). Since I do not, I searched for nearby coffee shops. None within a short walking distance. Very frustrating. I had to wait at the Bridgeport Canada Line Station. Owners of coffee shops, take note: you should install a shop exactly AT Bridgeport. You would definitely get business from all the people who drive in from and to Richmond and who park their car there to take the Canada Line.

When I got to the Tsawassen ferry terminal I had to wait for 2 hours, so I went to the Tsawassen Quay. Again, the distance is substantial (but I have reserved that for another post). My suggestion: pre-charge both your phone and your laptop. The waiting area at the ferry terminal is not all that bad, but it is not really all that comfy (well, again, depends on what your definition of comfort is – for me, free wireless and comfy couches make my travel easier and more pleasurable).

I did do two things to make my trip more comfortable that you might want to consider. On the ferry, I paid $ 10 to get into the SeaWest Lounge. It is, for me, totally worth it. The chairs are much more comfortable, the lounge is air conditioned and it provides snacks and coffee. Still, it would be nice if one could get wireless on the ferry. The second thing I did is I paid $ 11.50 to get on the PCL (Pacific Coach Line) so that I could bus directly into Victoria (the PCL drops off right at The Fairmont Empress). I did this to avoid having to schlep my luggage and laptop bag on a BC Transit bus.

Admittedly, these two elements of additional comfort cost me $ 22.50 overall (on top of $14.00 for the ferry ride, $ 3.75 for the bus and Canada Line trip, and all of this is one-way). But they were totally worth it. If you are going to Victoria by ferry and public transit, you might want to consider these.