It’s finally time for turkey and pumpkin pie but if you plan to travelling on a ferry this Thanksgiving weekend, you may want to give yourself some extra time.
BC Ferries is expecting a sharp increase in passengers and has added 85 extra sailings for the long weekend.
“More than 420,000 passengers and 160,000 vehicles are expected to travel across the system from Thursday through Tuesday,” BC Ferries staff said in a release.
Between Thursday, Oct. 6 and Tuesday, Oct. 11, BC Ferries is adding:
- 66 extra sailings on the Vancouver – Victoria route (Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay), the most popular route in the fleet, including 6:00 a.m. departures from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen on October 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11
- 12 extra sailings on the West Vancouver – Nanaimo route (Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay)
- 7 extra sailings on the West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast route (Horseshoe Bay – Langdale)
Thanksgiving weekend is typically one of the busiest times of the year for walk-on travellers. Passengers are being warned that there may be extra-long wait times.
BC Ferries also advises to book spots ahead of time or arrive during non-peak times, like early morning or late night to avoid long sailing waits.
And as always, potential BC Ferries’ passengers are encouraged to to check sailings, conditions, and the most up-to-date information on BC Ferries twitter and website pages.
Two Coastal Inspiration sailings have been cancelled “due to crew availability” for Friday evening.
The sailings departing at 6 p.m. from Swartz Bay (Victoria) and 8 p.m. departing Tsawwassen have been cancelled.
Six more sailings have also now been cancelled due to crew availability on the Quinsam:
- 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m. departing Vesuvius Bay
- 9 p.m., 10 p.m., 11 p.m. departing Crofton
“A 11 passenger water taxi has been sourced and will provide complimentary service on the same schedule as the cancelled sailings,” said BC Ferries staff.