From Chilliwack to Saanich, Vancouver Island, by land and sea
On Day 9 of the trip, May 4th, Cathy joined us, and we took a ferry to Vancouver Island to explore for 3-4 weeks.
It takes a while to acclimatize to the busy-ness of the Fraser Valley. Luckily, the traffic was reasonably light except for one jam-up getting on to the Alex Fraser Bridge. Getting from the Valley to YVR used to be a truly awful drive, but the construction of Highway 17 along the Fraser River in Surrey and Delta a few years ago changed that, and it’s not a bad drive at all now. It took an hour and 15 minutes, plus another 15 minutes to go a mile or so to get onto the bridge.
Once I got to YVR, I found a wide shoulder near the cell phone waiting area, and waited for Cathy’s text.
The drive from the airport to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal is easy and quick (about 35 minutes), and we arrived just after 11:00.
I knew that it was much cheaper if we disconnected the Tracker, but there was no place to do that. Luckily the ferry clerk was great – he let me just back up a few feet out of the lane and disconnect. Once that was done, the fare was basically $135.50 for the motorhome, $57.50 for the Tracker, and $17.20 each for Cathy and me. I was really pleased with $220.75 total. I wouldn’t pay that for a weekend, but for a month, no problem.
Once we got in line, we had about 90 minutes to wait for our 1:00 pm sailing. It was a gorgeous day and we were in no hurry.
At 12:45, we started to load. When it was all finished, the ferry was about half full.
The Coastal Renaissance, one of BC’s Ferries’ newer ships, departs for the Island. She was built in 2007, and carries 310 cars.
Although we planned to have lunch on the ferry, we headed for an open deck to watch the departure. The coal port just north of the ferry terminal was a busy place.
Sailing through Active Pass, where the islands on both sides are very close, is both beautiful and interesting.
I’d love to spend a few weeks – or an entire summer – exploring the Gulf Islands. There’s so much to see. That’s the Village Bay ferry terminal on Mayne Island in the photo.
At 2:20, I was back on the car deck in the motorhome and we were about to arrive at Swartz Bay. Our RV park was so close that Cathy just followed me there.
We were soon set up in a prime spot at the Oceanside RV Resort. I’ll show and tell you more about it, but the summary for now is that this is the nicest RV park we’ve stayed at yet.
One of our criteria when picking RV parks is having a good place to run the dogs. A short drive from the RV park is Island View Beach Regional Park, which we’re taking the kids to a couple of times a day. It is absolutely perfect.
The view of James Island from Island View Beach.
We’re here for 4 nights, so this is our base for exploring Victoria and area.
About The Author
