International Travel:Getting There by AirAir Canada serves British Columbia, and many other airlines from worldwide destinations also serve the Province.
Main AirportsVancouver (YVR) (website:
www.yvr.ca) is 15km (9 miles) southwest of the city. It is served by airlines from the USA, Europe and the Far East.
To/from the airport: The journey to the city center takes about 25 minutes.
Facilities: Banks and ATMs, a post office, business center, restaurant,
car parking, garage, car rental, nursery and duty free shop.
Victoria (YYJ) (website:
www.cyyj.ca) is 22km (14 miles) north of Victoria.
To/from the airport: The journey into the city center takes about 30 minutes. Transit bus services, an airport shuttle and taxis are available.
Facilities: ATM, foreign exchange, shops, restaurants and cafes.
Abbotsford (YXX) (website:
www.abbotsfordairport.ca) is 68km (42 miles) east of Vancouver.
To/from the airport: The journey into Vancouver takes about 1 hour.
Kelowna (YLW) (website:
www.kelownaairport.com) is north of Kelowna.
To/from the airport: The journey into Kelowna takes about 20 minutes. Shuttle services are available.
Facilities: Duty-free shopping, restaurant, gift shop, ATMs, car hire and a cappucino bar.
Journey TimesThe following chart gives approximate travel times from
Vancouver (in hours and minutes) to other major cities/towns in British Columbia.
| | Air
| Road | Rail | | Victoria | 0.25 | 3.30 | - | | Kamloops | 0.55 | 4.00 | 9.00 | | Whistler | 0.30 | 2.00 | - | | Prince George | 1.00 | 10.00 | - |
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Getting There by WaterMain ports: Vancouver is an international passenger port, with regular sailings to the Far East and ports on the USA’s northwestern coast.
Ferry services to and from all coastal ports in British Columbia are available. Ferry services link three points on Vancouver Island with Vancouver city’s north (Horseshoe Bay) and south (Tsawwassen) terminals on the mainland. Foot passengers can take coaches which travel from Vancouver city center to Victoria city center.
BC Ferries operates a total of 25 routes between 46 ports of call in coastal British Columbia, including a scenic, luxury, 15-hour, one-way, daylight voyage from Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island along the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, a crossing from Prince Rupert to the Queen Charlotte Islands (see
Top Things to Do), and the Discovery Coast Passage, a summer route between Port Hardy and Bella Coola on the mid-coast mainland that runs either direct in a day or with stops at various inlets.
There is also a high-speed
catamaran from Victoria to Seattle (USA), the
Victoria Clipper, leaving twice a day. The crossing takes 2 hours 30 minutes (website:
www.victoriaclipper.com). For further information on ferries, contact
BC Ferries (tel: (250) 386 3431
or 888 223 3779; website:
www.bcferries.com).
Getting There by RailVIA Rail (website:
www.viarail.ca) train routes to and within British Columbia are: Edmonton to Prince Rupert via Jasper (Alberta); Victoria to Courtenay; Vancouver to Edmonton via Kamloops and Jasper, and on to Toronto three times a week (
Western Transcontinental). The
Whistler Mountaineer (website:
www.whistlermountaineer.com) is a scenic, 3-hour tourist train running between Vancouver and Whistler.
Getting There by RoadThe Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) reaches British Columbia via Calgary, Alberta and continues through the south of the province to Vancouver, over to Nanaimo, and onto Victoria. The other main highways are numbers 3, 5, 16, 37, 95 and 97. Highway 99 runs from the US/Canadian border into Vancouver. Apart from Highway 97 and the remote scenic Highway 37, which run northwards to the Yukon, the province’s road network is concentrated in the south. Road signs are international. There are good roads south to Seattle in the USA.
Bus:
Translink supplies buses to the Greater Vancouver area as part of an integrated public transport service. For timetable details, contact
Translink (tel: (604) 953 3333; website:
www.translink.bc.ca).
BC Transit provides a network of buses to many communities within British Columbia, including the capital, Victoria, and the resort town of Whistler. Timetable details are available (tel: (250) 385 2551; website:
www.bctransit.com).
Malaspina Coachlines provides services from Vancouver International airport to Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast (tel: (877) 227 8287; website:
www.malaspinacoach.com).
Pacific Coachlines provides services from various Vancouver locations to Victoria and Namaimo (tel: 800 661 1725
or (604) 662 7575; website:
www.pacificcoach.com).
Island Coach lines with
Gray Line West provide services on Vancouver Island including sightseeing routes (tel: 800 667 0882
or (250) 388 6539; website:
www.victoriatours.com).
Most of Vancouver’s public transport network is operated by
Translink (tel: (604) 453 4500; website:
www.translink.bc.ca), including buses, commuter rail services between Vancouver and Mission,
SkyTrain between Vancouver and Surrey, and
SeaBuses between Vancouver and North Vancouver. Ferries between the mainland and Vancouver Island are provided by
BC Ferries (see contact details above). Buses in Victoria are run by
BC Transit (see contact details above).
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