The Bowen Island ferry crosses from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Snug Cove in about 20 minutes, carries cars and foot passengers, and cannot be booked. BC Ferries lists the Queen of Capilano on every departure, and a return adult fare is $12.45 under the fare index effective June 16, 2026.
How the crossing works
Boarding is first come, first served. BC Ferries says travel without a booking follows your order of arrival at the terminal, and ticket sales and check-in close 10 minutes before departure for both foot passengers and vehicles. Arrive earlier than that, especially with a car on a busy day, because a full sailing means waiting for the next one with space.
Sailing times change by season and day of the week, so this page does not reproduce a timetable. Use the BC Ferries schedule for your date, and open the current conditions page on the day. It shows whether sailings are running and how much vehicle deck space is left.
The route page also carries service notices. At the time of writing one covers a ramp rehabilitation project at Snug Cove, listed for October 29, 2026 to March 1, 2027. Read it before planning a trip in that period, since schedules or loading can differ.
Fares as BC Ferries publishes them
The Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove fare is paid once and covers the return trip. The table shows the figures from the fare index effective June 16, 2026. A 5% fuel surcharge is added at the time of payment on top of these amounts.
| Passenger or vehicle | Return fare |
|---|---|
| Adult or youth, 12 and older | $12.45 |
| Child, 5 to 11 | $6.25 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| Standard vehicle up to 20 feet (6.1 m), driver and passengers extra | $35.55 |
| Extra vehicle length over 20 feet, per foot | $3.55 |
| Motorcycle | $17.80 |
Seniors travel free from Monday to Thursday, statutory holidays excluded. Reduced accessible and personal attendant fares exist, and BC Ferries Experience Card holders pay less than the standard fare. Fares are non-refundable after travel. Terminals take cash, debit cards and Experience Cards, plus Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Bicycles travel free on BC Ferries, so a cyclist pays only the passenger fare. E-bikes are allowed, but charging them at terminals or on board is not permitted, so arrive with a full battery.
Getting to Horseshoe Bay
The terminal is at 6750 Keith Road in West Vancouver, at the west end of the Trans-Canada Highway. BC Ferries puts the drive from downtown Vancouver at about 25 minutes. Its terminal page lists TransLink, the West Vancouver Blue Bus, a taxi stand, North Shore Taxi, Lyft and Uber as ways to arrive.
For the bus, BC Ferries has pointed Bowen travellers to TransLink’s 257 Vancouver Express between downtown Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay. Confirm the current stop and frequency in the TransLink trip planner first, and note that the terminal page warns public transit may not be available for later sailings.
With luggage, or when coming from the airport, one car ride can be simpler than two bus transfers. Our airport taxi guide covers pickups at YVR, and the ferry terminal taxi page explains how rides to BC Ferries terminals usually work. For Vancouver companies and their phone numbers, see taxis in Vancouver.
Parking at Horseshoe Bay
Parking is run by Impark, independently of BC Ferries. The lot has 598 spaces, 138 short term and 460 long term. Pay at a meter with coins (no change given) or a credit card, or use the PayByPhone or hangTag apps. Parking is tied to your licence plate, and parking in the aisles is not permitted.
If you are visiting for the day, leaving the car and walking on avoids the vehicle fare and the wait for deck space. Walk-on passengers still pay the passenger fare and still need to be at the booth 10 minutes before departure.
At the Horseshoe Bay terminal
Inside there is a waiting room, washrooms, Wi-Fi, a bike rack, a vending machine, a water bottle fill station and an ATM. A restaurant, shops and a gas station are nearby, and public washrooms are at Horseshoe Bay Park on the shore walk.
For accessibility, BC Ferries lists accessible parking, wheelchairs for boarding, boarding assistance, wheelchair access to the vessel and an elevator. Ask at the customer service desk if you need help.
What to do at Snug Cove
Snug Cove is where the ferry docks, and the island’s commercial sector sits mainly here and at Artisan Square. Bowen Island had 4,256 residents at the 2021 census, so the village is small and easy to cover on foot.
Crippen Regional Park starts at the cove. Metro Vancouver describes the Killarney Lake Loop Trail as about 4 km around the lake, and says walking from the ferry adds roughly 5 km for the trip there and back. Dogs must be on a leash on all park trails, with a leash-optional area near Killarney Meadows. The lake is not recommended for swimming or wading because it is very shallow and has leeches.
The park has picnic areas at Snug Cove and Killarney Lake, with drinking water at the Snug Cove picnic area. Washrooms in the park are pit toilets, and Metro Vancouver notes that none is fully accessible. Bring food and water if you plan to hike beyond the cove.
Getting around Bowen Island
Three TransLink community bus routes serve the island. The 280 Bluewater runs from Snug Cove to the western side of the island and turns around at Spyglass Road. The 281 Eagle Cliff runs along the eastern side to Hood Point and back. The 282 Mt. Gardner runs on weekends only.
The municipality says buses generally arrive at and leave Snug Cove with the ferry, but schedules can change when BC Ferries adjusts its sailings, so check TransLink for your day. You can pay with a Compass Card or a credit or debit card. If you use a mobility device or a stroller, or need extra time to board, call 604-574-9396 to arrange it with the driver.
The municipality’s transportation page does not list a taxi company, and we found no Bowen Island taxi in the directories we checked. Do not count on a cab waiting at the dock. Plan the island leg around the bus, walking or a pre-arranged ride, and confirm that any ride-hail app works on the island before relying on it.
The water taxi option
Cormorant Marine runs a foot-passenger water taxi in Howe Sound and takes charters. Its website offers online booking for scheduled routes from Horseshoe Bay and Sunset Marina to several other Howe Sound points, and sends other requests to dispatch at 604-250-2630. The page we read gave no Snug Cove times or fares, so ask dispatch directly. The municipality also warns that dock repairs at Snug Cove in 2026 can affect water taxi operations.
Practical tips
- Check current conditions before leaving. A sailing can be cancelled for weather or dock problems: in February 2025 a storm shifted the Snug Cove dock out of position and stopped sailings for several days, with water taxis carrying foot passengers.
- Walk on if you are visiting for the day. You skip the vehicle fare and the deck space queue.
- Look up the last return sailing from Snug Cove before you leave Horseshoe Bay, and plan the evening around it.
- Travel off peak with a vehicle when you can. Busy days are when a car is most likely to miss a sailing.
If you are comparing the ferry with a car ride for the first leg, our fare estimator gives a rough taxi price from your pickup to Horseshoe Bay. Treat it as an estimate and ask the company for the real figure.