From downtown Nanaimo to Woodgrove Centre it is about 10 km and 20 minutes by road, so a car or taxi is the quickest choice. A BC Transit bus also serves the area and costs less. Woodgrove Centre is at 6631 Island Highway North.
Driving up the Island Highway
The mall’s address is on the Island Highway in north Nanaimo, which makes it simple to enter into a map app. Give yourself a little more than the 20 minutes if you leave during the afternoon rush, since the northbound traffic builds up around the shopping area. Parking is on site, and the app will route you to the right entrance.
Street by street directions change when roads are closed or reworked, so rely on live navigation on the day.
The bus from downtown
Nanaimo’s buses run under BC Transit. The trip planner on the BC Transit Nanaimo page takes your starting point and Woodgrove Centre and returns the route number, the nearest stop and the next departures. Use it each time, because routes and timetables are adjusted between seasons, and weekends and holidays run differently from weekdays.
The adult cash fare in the Nanaimo system is $2.75 for a single ride, and a day pass is $5.50. Children aged 12 and under ride free. These are the posted fares in the BC Transit Nanaimo fare table, so check it for any change before you travel.
Cycling and walking
Cycling is possible, but the distance is long enough that it suits confident riders who are happy to share busy roads. Walking the whole way is not practical. If you want to ride, look at the cycling layer in a map app and choose quieter streets over the highway.
Taxi from downtown
A taxi takes you from your door to the mall entrance with no stops to plan, which helps with heavy bags or a tight schedule. Nanaimo taxi covers the trip, and the taxi fare estimator shows an approximate figure for the distance before you book. Meter rates and traffic both move the final amount, so treat any estimate as a guide only.
If you plan to come back by taxi too, tell the driver roughly when you will finish. Evenings and weekends are the busier times for pickups from the mall.