Arrival and Information
Victoria International Airport is 20km north of downtown on Hwy 17. The Akal Airporter shuttle bus heads downtown (where it stops at major hotels) every half-hour between about 4.30am and 1am; a single fare for the 45-minute journey is $13 (tel 386-2525, 386-2526 or 1-877/386-2525, www.akalairporter.travel.bc.ca ). Leaving the city for flights, you should call to arrange pick-ups . Otherwise contact Harbour Air (384-2215 or 1-800/665-0212, www.harbour-air.com ) or West Coast Air (tel 388-4521 or 1-800/347-2222, www.westcoastair.com ), who operate efficient and quick float planes between Vancouver's port and Victoria's downtown Inner Harbour: both companies share terminals in both cities ($89; planes leave roughly hourly; crossing time is 30 minutes). The bus terminal is downtown at 700 Douglas and Belleville, close to the Royal British Columbia Museum; the central VIA Rail station is at 450 Pandora St (tel 1-800/561-8630), about seven blocks north of the Empress Hotel , but you'll only arrive there if you've managed to get a seat on the lone daily train from Courtenay and Nanaimo. Victoria's busy infocentre is at 812 Wharf St, in front of the Empress Hotel on the harbour (daily: May-Sept 8.30am-8pm; Oct-April 9am-5pm; tel 953-2033, for accommodation reservations tel 1-800/663-3883, www.tourismvictoria.com ). It offers help finding accommodation and can book you onto whale-watching and other tours , while its huge range of information - on both Victoria and Vancouver Island as a whole - makes as good a reason as any for starting a tour of the island from the city. There's also a separate desk for concert, theatre and other tickets. Independent travellers will want to check out the notice board at the HI youth hostel , which has lots of current practical information. The best in-town means of transport are the tiny Inner Harbour ferries , worth taking just for the ride: try a $10 evening "mini-cruise" around the harbour (tickets on Inner Harbour or book at the infocentre). You're unlikely to need to take a local bus anywhere, but if you do, most services run from the corner of Douglas and Yates. The fare within the large central zone is $1.75 - tickets and the DayPass ($5.50) are sold at the infocentre, 7-Eleven stores and other marked outlets, or you can pay on board if you have the exact fare. For 24-hour recorded information on city transport, call the Busline (tel 382-6161, www.bctransit.com ). Other potentially useful private bus lines for onward travel from Victoria include Laidlaw (tel 385-4411 or 1-800/318-0818, www.victoriatours.com ) at the bus terminal, responsible for scheduled services across the island to Duncan ($10 one-way), Chemainus ($12.50), Nanaimo ($17.50), Port Alberni ($30), Tofino ($47.50), Ucluelet ($47.50), Courtney ($35), Campbell River ($40), Port Hardy ($84.10) and points in between (no reservations are necessary or taken for Laidlaw services). Also useful are Gray Lines of Seattle for a once-daily service to Seattle inclusive of ferry (leaves 10am; $40; tel 206/626-5208 or 1-800/544-0739). The West Coast Trail Express, 3954 Bow Rd (tel 477-8700 or 1-888/999-2288, www.trailbus.com ), is a high season-only shuttle service (March-Sept) for connections to Port Renfrew and Gordon River (both $30) via French Beach, Jordan River, China Beach and Sooke for the southern trailhead of the West Coast Trail and the newer Juan de Fuca Trail , as well as links to Bamfield and Pachena Bay (both $50): it also runs between these and other destinations, notably between Bamfield and Port Alberni ($22). Book seats in advance during office hours (March-April Mon-Fri 8am-noon; May-Sept 6.30am-1.30pm & 5.30-8pm).
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