You can get from Vancouver to Nanaimo without a car by taking transit or a coach to a BC Ferries terminal, riding the ferry as a foot passenger and finishing the trip in Nanaimo by bus or taxi. Count on most of a day: the crossing alone takes roughly an hour and forty minutes from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay.
Pick your ferry route
BC Ferries has two routes from the Lower Mainland to Nanaimo. Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver goes to Departure Bay, which sits close to downtown Nanaimo and takes about an hour and forty minutes. Tsawwassen goes to Duke Point and takes about two hours, but Duke Point is a longer way from the city and is mainly set up for cars. If you have no vehicle, Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay is the one to choose.
Sailing times, fares and foot passenger reservations change by season, so check the BC Ferries site for the date you plan to travel.
Step by step
- Get to Horseshoe Bay. A transit bus or a coach from downtown Vancouver runs there.
- Board the ferry to Departure Bay as a foot passenger.
- At Departure Bay, take a bus into town or call a taxi. Island Link buses serve the terminal and connect on to Parksville, Qualicum Beach and other towns.
Taxis in Nanaimo
If you arrive tired or with luggage, a taxi is the simplest last stretch. These companies are on our Nanaimo taxi list:
- Yellow Cab, 250-751-1111, with a published tariff of a $3.90 flag fee plus $2.72 per kilometre.
- AC Taxi, 250-753-1231, which lists wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
- Electric Taxi, 250-240-3445.
To see what a short ride from the terminal might cost, try the taxi fare estimator, or look up an Uber price on the Uber estimate calculator. Rideshare cars can be thin on the ground in Nanaimo, so a phone call to a taxi company is often the surer choice.
Going further up the island
From Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach are the next stops north. Our guide to getting around Vancouver Island without a car covers the bus network and the other ferry connections.
Check the sailing schedule before you set out and leave time to spare, since a missed sailing can cost an hour or more.
Going on to Victoria afterwards? See Nanaimo to Victoria without a car.