Tsawwassen Ferry Limo & Terminal Car Service

A Tsawwassen ferry limo is a simple promise: a named chauffeur, a vehicle sized to your party and a pickup time worked backwards from the BC Ferries check-in window. The terminal sits at 1 Ferry Causeway in Delta, at the south-west end of Highway 17, and it is the main mainland departure point for Victoria, Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands.

This page covers the approach roads, the published check-in rules, realistic fare ranges from Vancouver and YVR, and the situations where a bus or taxi genuinely beats a private car.

How far is the Tsawwassen ferry terminal from Vancouver and YVR?

The terminal is reached by a causeway, and BC Ferries is firm that parking is not allowed on it or in the aisles, with vehicles liable to be ticketed or towed. On busy days that makes a driver who is not dropping and leaving a liability, which is one more reason to let a chauffeur handle the approach.

From downtown Vancouver, the usual route follows Highway 99 south and then Highway 17. From YVR, you join the same corridor within minutes of leaving Richmond's airport roads, which is why an airport-to-ferry transfer is faster than people expect and well suited to travellers who land in the morning and sail the same day.

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Tsawwassen terminal at a glance

The details below come from the BC Ferries terminal page for Tsawwassen and are worth confirming before you travel.

You can read the operator's own description on the BC Ferries Tsawwassen terminal page.

Tsawwassen ferry terminal car service fares

These ranges apply the LimousineCanada.ca rate card before tax. Gratuity is at your discretion, and the online booker gives the exact all-in fare for your pickup address.

The distances are planning figures rounded to the nearest kilometre. Per-kilometre pricing is transfer range = distance multiplied by the low and high rate for the vehicle, never below the vehicle's minimum, then rounded to the nearest $5.

Check-in windows at Tsawwassen, and why they set your pickup time

BC Ferries uses different windows depending on the route and whether you hold a booking. These are the figures published on the terminal page.

• Victoria and Nanaimo with a booking: check-in opens 60 minutes before departure and closes 30 minutes before, for foot passengers and vehicles.
• Southern Gulf Islands with a booking: vehicle check-in opens 90 minutes before and closes 40 minutes before; foot passengers open at 60 minutes and close at 30 minutes.
• No booking: travel is in order of arrival. Foot-passenger ticket sales close 10 minutes before departure and vehicle sales close 5 minutes before.
• Assured Loading Card holders: arrive 20 to 60 minutes before departure.

If you arrive before the window opens or after it closes, the booking is not honoured and you travel by arrival order, which on a busy summer day can mean a sailing or two later. That is the single most expensive mistake on this route, and it is why we plan the pickup from the closing time rather than the sailing time.

A practical rule of thumb is to arrive at the terminal between 45 and 60 minutes before a booked Victoria sailing. For a 10:00 departure, that is a car at the curb of your hotel around 8:45 if you are coming from downtown Vancouver and the road is clear.

Which sailing are you taking?

Tsawwassen has four distinct destinations, and each changes how you should plan the day.

Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (Victoria)

BC Ferries lists this crossing at 1 hour 35 minutes, non-stop. It is the route for Victoria, Sidney, Butchart Gardens and the Saanich Peninsula. If you are continuing to Victoria International Airport on arrival, the airport is a short drive from the Swartz Bay terminal. Our Victoria airport limo page covers that end, and the Victoria cruise port page covers Ogden Point.

Tsawwassen to Duke Point and Departure Bay (Nanaimo)

The crossing to Duke Point takes about two hours. BC Ferries has also run a limited direct service from Tsawwassen to Departure Bay, which is a separate route and may not operate on your date, so check before relying on it. The two Nanaimo terminals are in different parts of the city. Departure Bay is central and has bus connections, while BC Ferries notes there is no public transit at Duke Point, which makes a private car more valuable there.

Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands

The Gulf Islands routes use different check-in windows, as above, and many sailings are small and fill early in summer. Travellers with a vehicle should read the Gulf Islands schedule carefully and book where booking is available.

Tsawwassen from YVR: a land-and-sea day

Many guests arrive on an international flight and want to be on Vancouver Island by dinner. The sequence is straightforward: clear customs, meet your chauffeur, load and drive south to the terminal. Our standard allowance is 60 minutes of free wait after landing on an international arrival, and a name-board meet-and-greet inside the arrivals hall is available as an add-on at $100-$150.

The risk is not the drive, it is the sailing you chose. Do not book a ferry that closes check-in 30 minutes after your scheduled landing. Pick one that leaves at least three hours after touchdown for an international arrival, and ideally four if you are checking baggage. Our Vancouver airport limo page lists terminal-by-terminal pickup guidance, and the full airport limo service page explains flight tracking.

Cheapest ways to reach Tsawwassen, compared

Here is an honest comparison of the options that reach the terminal.

The Connector coach is operated by Wilson's Group and can be bought online, by phone or on board select Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay sailings, according to BC Ferries. The bus 620 route is listed on the BC Ferries coach, bus and shuttle page.

When the bus beats the car

Be honest with yourself about the trip. If you are one traveller with a backpack and a flexible afternoon, the Canada Line and bus 620 combination does the job for a fraction of any private fare. If you are going city centre to city centre in Victoria and do not need a car at either end, the Connector coach removes the terminal entirely.

A private car wins when any of the following is true: you have three or more people sharing a fare, you have more luggage than two hands can carry through a transit transfer, your sailing is early enough that buses are thin, or someone in the party has limited mobility and you want a vehicle at the curb. Where a rideshare can be had at short notice for a light trip, it is also a legitimate choice, and our limo versus rideshare page sets out the trade-offs in detail.

Drop-off at Tsawwassen and what to carry

The BC Ferries terminal page does not describe a dedicated passenger drop-off, so your chauffeur will confirm the exact stopping point by message on the day, based on the lane layout and the route you are using. Foot passengers check in on their own, so keep tickets or booking references on your phone and photo ID within reach.

Mind the luggage split. Items you will need on the crossing, such as medication, a laptop and a jacket, belong in a daypack, so that a large bag is never the thing you need mid-sailing. If you are a foot passenger, nobody will carry your bags beyond the curb unless you arrange it.

Cruise guests and hotel stays: reaching the terminal from Canada Place

Many visitors combine a Vancouver cruise with a Vancouver Island add-on. The transfer from the Canada Place pier to Tsawwassen is about 38 km and costs $175-$210 in a sedan or $220-$270 in an SUV. Our Canada Place cruise terminal page covers embarkation day.

Hotel guests in Coal Harbour, Gastown or Yaletown follow the same corridor. If you are leaving a downtown property, give the chauffeur the booking confirmation time for your sailing and the number of bags, and we will recommend a pickup time. For an easy city day before you leave, see our guides to Stanley Park and a luxury weekend in Vancouver.

Beyond the ferry: starting a road trip at Tsawwassen

Tsawwassen is also a convenient place to start a land journey. A transfer to Abbotsford International Airport is about 75 km, and our Abbotsford airport page covers that hub. A run to Whistler is about 155 km, a longer day than the Vancouver version, which we describe on the Vancouver to Whistler page. For a cross-border day, see Vancouver to Seattle, where passports, border waits and US-side pickup rules apply.

Hourly service and wedding parties

For a ferry day that includes errands, a wedding or a corporate shuttle, hourly service can be better value than point-to-point. Our hourly ranges are $135-$165 per hour in an Executive Sedan (two-hour minimum), $175-$210 per hour in a Luxury SUV (two-hour minimum) and $240-$295 per hour in an Executive Sprinter (three-hour minimum). A stretch limousine is priced at $225-$300 per hour (three hours minimum) and a mini-coach at $300-$420 per hour (four hours minimum).

A Sprinter is the practical choice for a wedding party sailing to the island together. It seats 12 to 14 with room for 12 or more bags. Tell us if you intend to bring decorations, garment bags or a cake, and we will size the vehicle accordingly. Browse the fleet and published limo rates for details.

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Parking, Park & Go and leaving a car behind

Some travellers drive to Tsawwassen and then wonder what to do with the car. BC Ferries notes that terminal parking is run by Impark and that Park & Go is an independent operation at Splash Water Park in Tsawwassen, so costs and rules are set by those companies, not by the ferry operator.

A chauffeur transfer removes the parking question altogether, and it also suits one-way journeys where you do not want to return for your car. If your party is split between two vehicles, tell us at booking so both arrive in good time.

Returning from Victoria to Tsawwassen

On the return, the sailing you take decides when your chauffeur should be waiting. Give us the scheduled arrival time of the Swartz Bay sailing, and we plan the pickup for after you have disembarked and collected your bags, with a short cushion for the walk to the pickup point.

For connections to YVR flights, plan to be at the airport at least three hours before an international departure, and allow for the highway between the terminal and the airport. If your flight is the priority, take an earlier sailing than the one that merely fits.