Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal

Where the Tsawwassen ferry terminal is

The address is 1 Ferry Causeway, Delta, BC V4M 4G6. The causeway is the only road in and out, so every car, bus, taxi and bike arrives the same way.

Two things trip up first-timers. BC Ferries calls the terminal "Vancouver (Tsawwassen)" in its booking tool and schedules, so look for it under V. And Metro Vancouver has a second big terminal, Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, which sails different routes. Check which one your booking names before you leave home.

Getting to the terminal

By car

Highway 17 ends at the terminal, so every drive finishes the same way: Highway 17, then the causeway.

• From Vancouver or Richmond, take Highway 99 south through the George Massey Tunnel, leave at the Highway 17A exit signed for Ladner and Tsawwassen, and stay on it as it joins Highway 17.
• From Surrey and points east, Highway 17 runs all the way to the terminal.
• From the Peace Arch border crossing, take Highway 99 north to the exit signed 17A and 17 West for Ladner and Tsawwassen.

At the end of the causeway the road divides. One way leads to the ticket booths, for vehicles boarding a ferry. The other is signed for drop-off and parking.

The tunnel is the stretch worth checking before you set out. DriveBC shows what it's doing.

Without a reservation, when you arrive matters more than which way you came. BC Ferries names holiday weekends, Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings, and Sunday afternoons as its busiest times.

By bus: the 620 from Bridgeport Station

TransLink's 620 is the bus to the ferry. It's an express between Bridgeport Station, on the Canada Line in Richmond, and the terminal.

At Bridgeport, head down the main stairs to the bus area and look for the 620. It drops you beside the foot-passenger building, where you buy a ferry ticket at a self-serve kiosk or at the counter.

You pay TransLink with a Compass Card, a contactless credit or debit card, or a Compass Ticket. The ferry fare is separate.

TransLink's 620 timetable has the departure times. Build in a cushion: BC Ferries asks foot passengers to arrive at least 30 minutes before sailing, and it stops selling foot-passenger tickets 10 minutes before departure.

Coming off a ferry and heading into the city, you'll find a Compass Ticket vending machine in the terminal.

From YVR airport

The SkyTrain station is attached to the airport; follow the "Train to city" signs. Take the Canada Line three stops to Bridgeport Station, then the 620.

Trips that start at the airport stations carry an added airport fare on top of the regular one. TransLink's fare page has the current amounts.

By road the terminal is about 30 km from the airport, which makes a taxi or rideshare the direct option.

If you're going all the way to Victoria, look at the BC Ferries Connector. It's a coach from the airport or downtown Vancouver that drives onto the Swartz Bay ferry and carries on to downtown Victoria. The Wilson's Group runs it and sells its own tickets.

From downtown Vancouver

By transit, take the Canada Line south from Waterfront, Vancouver City Centre or Yaletown–Roundhouse to Bridgeport Station. Both branches of the line stop at Bridgeport, so board whichever train comes first. Then it's the 620.

By car it's 36 km: south on Oak Street to Highway 99, then as above.

TransLink's trip planner will time the connection from any address.

Drop-off, taxis and cycling

Pick-up and drop-off bays sit beside the foot-passenger building, with a separate lane for rideshare and a stop for buses and taxis. There's a taxi stand at the terminal, and BC Ferries lists Uber and Lyft among the ways to get here.

Seeing off someone who needs a hand? Pick up a visitor pass at the foot-passenger ticket booth and you can go with them as far as the pre-boarding area. Bring government-issued photo ID.

Cyclists ride in on the designated bike lane along the causeway and check in at the vehicle ticket booths. BC Ferries points bikes to the booth on the left side. From there a marked bike route leads to the berths, where there are racks, and you walk the bike on and off the ferry by the vehicle deck. The current booth and lane numbers are in the terminal notes on BC Ferries' cycling page.

If you'd rather skip the highway, TransLink carries bikes on its buses and on the Canada Line. The limits are on its bikes on transit page.

Parking at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal

The lot beside the terminal is run by Impark, independently of BC Ferries. It has close to 900 stalls, and about 700 of them are long-term.

You pay by licence plate, so there's nothing to leave on the dash. There are three ways to do it:

• at a meter in the lot, with Visa, Mastercard or American Express
• with PayByPhone, in its app or on its website, where you can pay as a guest
• with hangTag, in its app or by scanning a code or sending a text

Short-term and long-term parking use different lot codes. The codes and the current rates are on BC Ferries' terminal page.

The meters take coins but give no change, and only one of them, in the long-term lot, takes bills. A card is easier. Pay at a meter by card, enter a mobile number, and you get a text before your time runs out; reply to it and the stay is extended.

Don't park in the aisles or along the causeway. BC Ferries says vehicles left there are ticketed, towed or both.

The same terminal page shows how full the lot is right now, which is worth a look before a long weekend.

The alternative is Park & Go, a separate business that parks cars at the Tsawwassen RV Resort and runs a shuttle to the terminal. It takes no reservations and sets its own hours and rates.

Arriving and check-in

Driving on

You stop at a ticket booth, where an agent checks you in and assigns you a lane to wait in. With a booking, have the booking reference number ready, or the phone number the booking was made under.

A booking only holds inside BC Ferries' check-in window. For sailings to Swartz Bay and Nanaimo, check-in opens 60 minutes before the scheduled departure and closes 30 minutes before. For vehicles going to the Southern Gulf Islands it opens 90 minutes before and closes 40 minutes before. Turn up before the window opens or after it closes and the booking isn't honoured. You travel in the order you arrived, like everyone without one.

Without a booking you board in order of arrival, on the next sailing with room. Ticket sales for vehicles close 5 minutes before departure, and being in the line for the booth doesn't count. You have to have bought the ticket.

BC Ferries can change these windows, so confirm them on its terminal page when you book.

One rule surprises people on a first crossing. If you're parked on an enclosed lower vehicle deck, you have to leave your vehicle for the sailing. Take what you need up with you.

Walking on

Go in through the foot-passenger entrance and buy a ticket at a self-serve kiosk or from an agent.

You can also book ahead as a foot passenger on all three routes. If you do, redeem the booking for a boarding pass, at a kiosk or with an agent, before you go through to the waiting room. A kiosk redeems bookings for the next sailing only, from 60 to 30 minutes before it leaves. Fares that need ID, such as senior and student discounts, go through an agent.

BC Ferries' advice is to arrive at least 30 minutes before sailing. Foot-passenger ticket sales close 10 minutes before departure.

Large bags can be checked. A baggage service for foot passengers runs on all three routes, with a weigh-in station at the terminal. The limits are on BC Ferries' luggage page.

Tsawwassen Quay Market and what else is on site

Tsawwassen Quay Market is the building in among the vehicle waiting lanes, and it's open to ticketed passengers only. It has places to eat, coffee and a handful of shops. The vendor list and hours are on the market's own site.

BC Ferries' map puts the market about 170 metres from the berths, so give yourself a few minutes to get back to your vehicle before loading starts.

For foot passengers, the terminal building has a waiting room, washrooms, a café and vending machines, Wi-Fi, an ATM, a water bottle filling station, and a customer service desk that handles first aid and lost property.

Outside there's a children's playground, a picnic area and pet areas.

Pets other than guide and service animals stay in your vehicle or in a designated pet area, and dogs need a leash no longer than a metre. Foot passengers travelling with a pet check in with the foot-passenger ticket agent. The rest is on BC Ferries' page about pets.

Routes from Tsawwassen

The terminal has three main routes.

Swartz Bay, for Victoria

The crossing takes 1 hour 35 minutes. Swartz Bay sits at the end of Vancouver Island's own Highway 17, north of Victoria, and BC Transit buses run from the terminal to downtown Victoria. BC Transit fares are separate from TransLink's.

Duke Point, for Nanaimo

Two hours on the water. Duke Point is south of Nanaimo, a 15 to 20 minute drive from downtown, and no public transit serves it. Foot passengers need a taxi, a rideshare or someone to pick them up.

Nanaimo has a second terminal, Departure Bay, in the middle of town. BC Ferries has also run a direct sailing there from Tsawwassen on some days. It's booked as a separate route, and it has been one-way: nothing sails back from Departure Bay to Tsawwassen. Check the arrival terminal before you pay.

Southern Gulf Islands

This route serves Galiano (Sturdies Bay), Mayne (Village Bay), Pender (Otter Bay), Saturna (Lyall Harbour) and Salt Spring (Long Harbour). How long you're aboard depends on your island and the stops before it. Vehicle check-in closes earlier here than on the other two routes, at 40 minutes before departure.

BC Ferries reports live conditions route by route: Swartz Bay, Duke Point and the Southern Gulf Islands. Each page gives the status of the day's sailings and how full the next ones are. BC Ferries' schedules list every sailing.

Accessibility

BC Ferries lists an elevator, accessible washrooms, accessible parking and boarding assistance at Tsawwassen.

If you're walking on and need a wheelchair to board, book it. The terminal has a limited number of manual wheelchairs, and BC Ferries asks for a call to 1-888-223-3779 at least a day ahead. It also asks anyone using boarding assistance to arrive 60 minutes before the sailing.

If you're driving and need to park near the elevator on the ferry, tell the agent at the ticket booth. They pass it to the loading crew, and you put your hazard lights on once you're directed to board. Spots beside the elevators are limited, and BC Ferries says that when they're taken you may be put on the next sailing.

Guide and service dogs are welcome in all public areas of the terminal and the ferries.

One thing to ask about: BC Ferries' terminal map marks the walkway to Berth 2 as having no elevator past a certain point. If you rely on the elevator, tell the agent when you check in.

Reduced fares for passengers with a permanent disability, and for an attendant, are explained on BC Ferries' accessibility page, along with how much notice it needs for each kind of help.

Questions and answers

What is the address of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal?

1 Ferry Causeway, Delta, BC V4M 4G6. It's at the end of the causeway at the southwest end of Highway 17. BC Ferries lists it as "Vancouver (Tsawwassen)".

How early should I get to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal?

With a vehicle booking, arrive inside BC Ferries' check-in window: 60 to 30 minutes before a sailing to Swartz Bay or Nanaimo, and 90 to 40 minutes before a sailing to the Southern Gulf Islands. On foot, arrive at least 30 minutes before. Without a booking, come earlier on a busy day, because vehicles load in order of arrival.

Can I walk on to the ferry at Tsawwassen?

Yes. Foot passengers have their own entrance, buy a ticket at a kiosk or from an agent, and wait in the terminal building. Foot-passenger ticket sales close 10 minutes before departure.

Is there long-term parking at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal?

Yes. Most of the lot beside the terminal is long-term parking, run by Impark and paid by licence plate. Rates and how full the lot is are on BC Ferries' terminal page.

How do I get from YVR to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal?

Take the Canada Line from the airport three stops to Bridgeport Station, then TransLink's 620 bus to the terminal. By taxi or rideshare it's about 30 km.

Is there food at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal?

Yes. Tsawwassen Quay Market, in among the vehicle waiting lanes, has food and coffee for ticketed passengers, and the foot-passenger building has a café and vending machines.

Does the ferry from Tsawwassen go to Victoria or Nanaimo?

Both. Sailings to Swartz Bay serve Victoria and take 1 hour 35 minutes. Sailings to Duke Point serve Nanaimo and take 2 hours.

Do I need a reservation for the Tsawwassen ferry?

No, but a vehicle without one waits for the next sailing with room. BC Ferries recommends booking for holiday weekends, Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings, and Sunday afternoons. Reservations are made at bcferries.com.

Where do I check whether a sailing is full or running late?

On BC Ferries' current conditions page. It shows the status of each sailing and the deck space left, and it's refreshed every five minutes.