Departure Bay Ferry Terminal

All the glorious sights on Vancouver Island, and I'm waxing on about a ferry terminal? Yes, indeed. I'm a native Islander. Spend a few hundred hours of your life at ferry terminals and anyone can come to sing the praises of a good one. Departure Bay ranks among the prettier and fuller featured terminals. While I wait for the venerable Queen of Cowichan or the Coastal Renaissance chug around Newcastle Island, it's hard not to admire the glorious view of Uplands and the serene stretch of water. During the summer, boats dot the water and the odd eagle perches on snags in the nearby Newcastle Provincial Park. A walk close to the rough breakwater is a good way to get some fresh air and a whiff of diesel, at the right time. The holding pen for vehicles isn't much to write home about but the passenger lounge has improved by leaps since the days when a vending machine and a clean washroom were the best a passenger could hope for. The terminal features those same vending machines stocked with the same prepackaged standbys, but also a respectable food court that doles out coffees, hot chocolates, pop, and light snacks for inflated prices. Hey, it's BC Ferries, expect prices no less than Whole Foods. A cup of soup and a tasty muffin on a rainy day definitely evokes fond memories, though. Departure Bay has a better layout for foot passenger traffic and vehicles than Duke Point, the other Nanaimo terminal. Several lanes line up for various Horseshoe Bay runs. The long-term parking lot is a squashed, busy nightmare to leave when the ferry gets in. Have a foot passenger? Tell them to meet you in the lot for faster departure. Otherwise get a drink and wait around a bit for the first mass crush to leave. Note: The overflow parking lot is on the other side of the old cement factory in a derelict little shopping mall off Brechin Avenue.

Food is overpriced. Remember to bring your own food or stop at Tim's or Mac's before head to Departure Bay terminal.

Departure Bay is located north side of Nanaimo. It only has one berth and it only goes to Horseshoe Bay. I was surprised that this ferry terminal has a food court and gift shops. It is a much more convenient location for us in terms of heading home or getting to Nanaimo. We usually take Swartz Bay or Dupoint. Only complain about this terminal is that you have to drive into Nanaimo and the traffic is not always the best.

This is on the Nanaimo Side, about 20 minutes away from North Nanaimo (which is where I'm originally from) so pretty convenient for my family to pick me up when I'm in town for a visit. Clean, very well kept terminal, there's a big area on the way to the waiting room with lots of food court type places and some gift stands if you're bored and just want to hang out and look at random stuff. There aren't enough elecitrical outlets aroudn the terminal that's for sure, and the location fo the outlets are in random walls not close to seating so it's kind fo annyoing fi you ened to charge your phone or ipad. And if it's a busy sailing and you're not one fo the first to teh waiting room then you most likely won't even get to use one. They offer free WiFi but it's pretty shotty and disconnects easily. In the summer you can stand outside on the terrace of the waiting room and enjoy some sunshine and breeze while you wait. Washrooms here are ok probably need some work like new tiling or paint but dont' want to see our fares rising more anyways.

Meets the expectations of a Ferry terminal and usually you are running late, so just to get to the ferries is an accomplishment in itself! You can't compare Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay because you get a beach and can walk around but I think it does the JOB!!!