Victoria's location allows for a variety of different modes of transportation for arriving in or departing the city. You can go by air, land, or sea! Flying: Get a direct flight from Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg through Air Canada (888-247-2262 or 800-661-3936) or Horizon Air (800-547-9308). Within Canada (and with several new US cities, now, as well), you can take WestJet (888-west-jet), leaving from such cities as Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, and more.

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Take a floatplaneor helicopter that lands in the Inner Harbour through a commuter airline like Harbour Air Sea Planes (250-384-2215 in Victoria) orPacific Spirit Air (aka Tofino Air; 800-665-2359). For a 35 minute flight from Seattle to Victoria or back, try Kenmore Air (800-543-9595) and Helijet Airways (800-665-4354). San Juan Airlines (800-874-4434) connects Victoria with the San Juan Islands, Anacortes, Bellingham, and Seattle.

  • Rental Vehicle: Car rental companies with branches in Victoria are Avis, Budget, Discount, Enterprise, Hertz, Island Auto Rentals, National and Thrifty. True North RV rents recreational vehicles.
  • Train: The E&N Railiner (aka the Malahat) leaves Monday-Saturday at 3:37 p.m. from Nanaimo and gets to Victoria at 6 p.m. On Sundays it leaves Nanaimo at 7:07 pm, and arrives at Victoria at 9:40 pm. The E&N Station in Victoria is at 450 Pandora Ave. (800-561-8630). Fares: one way is C$25 (US$18) for adults, C$22 (US$17) for seniors, C$12 (US$9) for children. Buy tickets in advance for discounts, among other specials. Get info: Via Rail Canada (888-842-7245).
  • Bus: Service between Victoria and Vancouver, a 4-hour trip by road and ferry, is run by Pacific Coach Lines (800-661-1725 in Canada, 604-662-8074). There also are a couple of scheduled bus services that connect Victoria with other towns on Vancouver Island. Tofino Bus connects Victoria with Nanaimo, Tofino and Comox. Laidlaw Coach Lines, a division of Greyhound, operates a bus service to Nanaimo, Port Hardy, Port Alberni and Tofino. Island Coach Lines connects towns throughout Vancouver Island.
  • Taxi: Yellow Cab provides cab service from Victoria Airport to Victoria.
  • Airport Shuttle: AKAL Airport Shuttle operates a shuttle bus service from Victoria Airport to downtown Victoria.
  • Limousine: Pacific Rim 5 Star Shuttle operates a luxury limousine (car and driver) service throughout Vancouver Island.
  • Public Transportation: BC Transit's Bus #70 connects Victoria with Victoria Airport and the BC Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay.
  • Ferry: BC Ferries (888-223-3779 within North America; from outside North America, 250-386-3431) BC Ferries provides regular ferry service between Victoria, Vancouver, and the rest of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. For tourists, ferry reservations can greatly reduce anxiety and stress; keep in mind that, although they usually are on schedule, ferries can be delayed for many reasons. If you are taking an over-height or over-length vehicle (e.g. boat on trailer, or RV), reservations are strongly recommended. Call Black Ball Transport (250-386-2202 in Victoria, 360-457-4491 in Port Angeles) to find out about their 1.5 hour service between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria on the MV Coho. Fares: one-way is US $11.50 for adults, $5.75 children ages 5-11, Children under 5 are free; US $44 for a car (18 ft. and under) and driver. Over 18 ft. is $3.50 for each lineal foot or fraction thereof. In summer there are usually four crossings per day. This ferry can be especially busy during the summer months. Reservations available online for free for walk-on passengers and for a fee for vehicles at Ferry to Victoria. If you are driving from Washington State, another option is the ferry that Washington State Ferries operates from Anacortes, WA to Sidney, BC. From Bellingham, WA you can travel through the San Juan Islands to downtown Victoria with Victoria/San Juan Cruises (800-443-4552) - trip includes an all-you-can-eat Northwest salmon & chicken dinner and wildlife viewing along the way. You can also take a fast, passenger-only catamaran from Seattle to Victoria or back on a 3 hour trip run by Victoria Clipper (800-288-2535). Fares: one-way for an adult is C$85 to C$94 (US$64-US$70), round-trip C$140 to C$153 (US$106-US$116). All four ferry services that connect Washington State and Vancouver Island offer optional reservations. Please note that hotel staff are not a reliable source of ferry schedule information; to avoid frustration, check the ferry company's website or phone them directly.
  • Private Boat (Yacht): Be very cautious if crossing the Strait of Georgia between the mainland and Vancouver Island; make sure you have a recent marine weather report before departing. There are very strong currents in many of the passes in the Gulf Islands; consult your tide and current tables, especially if you decide to dodge ferries in the very narrow (and aptly named) Active Pass. Make sure you have a firm understanding of navigational markers and the right-of-way rules, especially right of way betwen power and sail vessels. And remember that ferries move very fast compared to everything else on the water .
  • Walk! Take the Inner Harbour's pedestrian walkways and streets, which are mostly flatand easy to walk on, and most main attractions in the city are within 30 minutes by foot!
  • If you are going outside of the immediate Victoria area (which, as has already been noted, is best explored by foot), you can rent a car from Avis (1001 Douglas St., 800-879-2847 or 250-386-8468; www.avis.com; bus no. 5 to Broughton St), Budget (757 Douglas St., 800-668-9833 or 250-953-5300; www.budgetvictoria.com), Hertz (655 Douglas St., in the Queen Victoria Inn, 800-654-3131 or 250-360-2822; www.hertz.com), or National (767 Douglas St. 800-227-7368 or 250-386-1213; www.nationalvictoria.com). You can get to those last three via the no. 5 bus to the Convention Centre.
  • Biking is a very convenient and fun way to get around downtown and the beaches. The city is very biker-friendly, with bike lanes in the city, and paved paths at beaches and parks. Rent a bike from Cycle B.C. (747 Douglas St., 866-380-2453 or 250-885-2453; www.cyclebc.ca) at C$5 ( US$3.75) per hour and C$15 ( US$11) per day (including lock and helmet).
  • Tour Bus If biking or walking isn't your thing several local Companies offer Tours of Victoria that can get you around to locations off the beaten path. Victoria is a wonderful city to wander, but you need to know what you want to see and where you want to spend time, a City Tour might just be what you are looking for. CVS Cruise Victoria (250-893-9503 www.cvscruisevictoria.com) offers year round City Tours and Big Bus provides a hop-on - hop-off service. CVS provides a high quality product and the driver does the narration, newer buses means more comfort - Big Bus uses a GPS based tape narration that is pre-recorded and the bus is not as comfortable but it is open air. There has been good feedback on both products.
  • If you need a cab downtown, call ahead, as taxis are known to often ignore people trying to flag them down on the streets (particularly in foul weather). Call Empress Cabs (250-381-2222) or Blue Bird Cabs (250-382-4235), and pay about C$6 for travel in the downtown area (not including tip).
  • An alternative mode of transportation in the city is a pedi-cab, which costs about C$1 per minute. These are two- and four-seat cab bikes pedalled by a strong driver. You can call Kabuki Kabs (250-385-4243; www.kabukikabs.com) for 24-hour pedi-cab service, or look for these funny mobiles at the base of Bastion Square.

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