Departure Bay Ferry Terminal

All the glorious sights on Vancouver Island, and I'm waxing on about a ferry terminal? Yes, indeed. I'm a native Islander. Spend a few hundred hours of your life at ferry terminals and anyone can come to sing the praises of a good one. Departure Bay ranks among the prettier and fuller featured terminals. While I wait for the venerable Queen of Cowichan or the Coastal Renaissance chug around Newcastle Island, it's hard not to admire the glorious view of Uplands and the serene stretch of water. During the summer, boats dot the water and the odd eagle perches on snags in the nearby Newcastle Provincial Park. A walk close to the rough breakwater is a good way to get some fresh air and a whiff of diesel, at the right time. The holding pen for vehicles isn't much to write home about but the passenger lounge has improved by leaps since the days when a vending machine and a clean washroom were the best a passenger could hope for. The terminal features those same vending machines stocked with the same prepackaged standbys, but also a respectable food court that doles out coffees, hot chocolates, pop, and light snacks for inflated prices. Hey, it's BC Ferries, expect prices no less than Whole Foods. A cup of soup and a tasty muffin on a rainy day definitely evokes fond memories, though. Departure Bay has a better layout for foot passenger traffic and vehicles than Duke Point, the other Nanaimo terminal. Several lanes line up for various Horseshoe Bay runs. The long-term parking lot is a squashed, busy nightmare to leave when the ferry gets in. Have a foot passenger? Tell them to meet you in the lot for faster departure. Otherwise get a drink and wait around a bit for the first mass crush to leave. Note: The overflow parking lot is on the other side of the old cement factory in a derelict little shopping mall off Brechin Avenue.

Food is overpriced. Remember to bring your own food or stop at Tim's or Mac's before head to Departure Bay terminal.

Very unsatisfied with the ferry service. We arrived at 4:30 pm having driven already 3 or so hours from Tofino. We didn't have reservations as we did not know how long we were going to be in Tofino nor how long the construction delays were. We arrived only to be directed to the back of the line which was on the main highway. We had to sit in our car for 2 hours on the highway before getting to the ticket booth. The most annoying part was that the ferry app said the ferry was 75% full, but it does not account for all the cars on the highway that can't even get in lol! So now we may be getting on either the 8 pm or the 10 pm and my child has school tomorrow. For the price you pay to get across the service should be better than this. It is faster to take a plane across the country. So ridiculous.

Come visit the island Check out terminal. see the sites. enjoy the people . Nanaimo has to offer many friendly. stops

Over priced for motor homes !!! cars trucks !! waiting for 2 hours !!! parking lot is all fenced around cannot even walk to the water !!! sit in you vehicle twiddle your thumbs Bullshit!!! SHAME ON YOU Ferry's