Victoria Travel Guide (Victoria, Southern British Columbia)

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.

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).