1 hour 35 minutes, terminal to terminal, on every sailing BC Ferries lists between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay. Until Thanksgiving Monday there are up to 16 departures a day in each direction; from 14 October 2026 the timetable drops to between 9 and 12. At the terminal a car costs $89.00 and its driver pays the $21.00 passenger fare on top.
BC Ferries seasonal timetables 8 Sep – 13 Oct 2026 and 14 Oct – 11 Nov 2026 (later periods to 31 March 2027 also published), cross-checked against the dated daily schedules; checked 2 October 2026 BC Ferries – Seasonal schedule, Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria (Swartz Bay) · 2026-10-02
95 minutes is the figure that never changes on this route. Every Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay sailing in the BC Ferries timetable, in either direction, is non-stop and scheduled at 1 hour 35 minutes, and departures leave on the hour, so arrival is always 35 minutes past. What changes is how many hours have a boat. Through the Thanksgiving fortnight, up to Tuesday 13 October 2026, the busiest days run hourly from 06:00 to 21:00; from Wednesday 14 October the timetable thins to 9, 10 or 12 departures each way depending on the weekday.
The second number to know is $89.00. That is the standard vehicle fare at the terminal, and BC Ferries states plainly that the driver is not included: the person at the wheel pays the $21.00 adult fare, and so does each additional adult travelling with them. Booking ahead online can bring the car and driver down to between $49 and $99 on selected sailings.
This is Route 1 of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., the main link between Metro Vancouver and the provincial capital. It runs from the end of Highway 17 in Delta to the end of Highway 17 on the Saanich Peninsula, and on 2 October 2026 the boats rotating on it were the Spirit of British Columbia, the Spirit of Vancouver Island, the Coastal Celebration and the Queen of New Westminster.
BC Ferries charges the vehicle and the people in it separately. The standard vehicle fare excludes the driver and passengers, so a car up to 20 feet long is $89.00 plus $21.00 for the driver: the $110 "car and driver" figure the company quotes at the terminal. Each extra adult adds another $21.00, children from 5 to 11 add $10.50, and under-fives ride free.
Fares are in Canadian dollars and include applicable taxes, but BC Ferries adds a 5% fuel surcharge at the moment of payment to the net fares below. Saver fares are sold online only, in advance, on selected sailings: between $34 and $84 for the vehicle, which BC Ferries advertises as $49 to $99 with the driver, and $15 instead of $21 for an adult passenger.
| Adult, 12 and over | $ 21 |
| Child, 5 to 11 | $ 10.50 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| BC senior, Monday to Thursday except statutory holidays (documentation required) | Free |
| Adult, 12 and over | $ 15 |
| Child, 5 to 11 | $ 7.50 |
| Standard vehicle up to 20 ft (6.1 m), At Terminal or Prepaid | $ 89 |
| Each extra foot over 20 ft, At Terminal or Prepaid | $ 8 |
| Each extra foot over 20 ft, Saver | $ 7 |
| Motorcycle, At Terminal | $ 44.50 |
| Reservation-only booking fee (fare then paid at the terminal) | $ 20 |
| Change to a Saver or Prepaid vehicle booking | $ 5 |
BC Ferries fare guide effective 16 June 2026 (version 26-05) and the Vancouver–Vancouver Island fare page, read 2 October 2026 BC Ferries – Fares effective June 16, 2026 (PDF fare guide) · 2026-10-02
The route links the two ends of Highway 17: the Tsawwassen causeway in Delta, south of the Fraser River, and Swartz Bay, where the Saanich Peninsula ends on Vancouver Island. Neither terminal is in a city centre. Tsawwassen is 36 km from downtown Vancouver by BC Ferries' count, and Swartz Bay lies north of Victoria, beyond Sidney, so the 95 minutes on the water are only part of a Vancouver-to-Victoria trip.
Tsawwassen sits on a causeway at the southwest end of Highway 17 in Delta, which BC Ferries puts at a 36 km drive from downtown Vancouver. The same terminal also loads for Duke Point near Nanaimo and for the Southern Gulf Islands, so follow the lane signs for Victoria (Swartz Bay) as you approach the booths.
Without a car, TransLink buses and the BC Ferries Connector coach serve the terminal, and there is a taxi stand. Long-stay parking is on site; a separate Park & Go lot in Tsawwassen is run independently of BC Ferries. Shops and food are in the Tsawwassen Quay building.
Swartz Bay is at the far end of Highway 17 on the Saanich Peninsula, north of Victoria rather than in it, so allow for the drive or bus ride into the city after you land. The terminal also runs the boats to Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring Island and to the Southern Gulf Islands.
BC Transit buses and the BC Ferries Connector coach call here, along with several taxi firms. There is a car park, and Lands End Café is the food stop inside the terminal.
Booked vehicles and foot passengers check in between 60 and 30 minutes before departure at both terminals. Arrive earlier or later and the booking is not honoured: you are loaded by arrival order instead.
Foot passengers can buy tickets until 10 minutes before sailing, and vehicles until 5 minutes before. Unbooked cars board after booked ones, so on busy afternoons a sailing wait is likely.
Miss your booked boat and a Saver or Prepaid ticket still works that day, on a later sailing heading the same way, once reserved vehicles are aboard and if space remains. If you booked a Saver fare, you pay the difference to the terminal price.
The 5% fuel surcharge is applied when you pay, on top of the net fares in the table; the bag-storage (stowage) fee is the only charge it skips.
BC Ferries publishes this route as a chain of seasonal periods, already out to 31 March 2027, with new periods starting on 12 November, 17 December, 31 December, 11 February, 17 February and 24 March. Dates inside each period gain or lose sailings, so look up the official schedule for anything after 11 November.
For a sea crossing into Victoria that lands downtown rather than at Swartz Bay, the alternative is the Coho ferry from Port Angeles, which docks in the Inner Harbour but crosses from Washington State and charges in US dollars. Horseshoe Bay, on Vancouver's North Shore, has two more routes of its own: over to Departure Bay in Nanaimo and across Howe Sound to Langdale, where the fare is only collected on the westbound trip.
No. The standard vehicle fare excludes the driver and passengers. The driver pays the $21.00 adult fare, so car and driver come to $110.00 at the terminal, before the 5% fuel surcharge.
From 14 October to 11 November 2026: nine on most Tuesdays and Wednesdays, ten on Mondays and Saturdays, and twelve on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a handful of dated exceptions such as Saturday 31 October (eight).
The 21:00, which reaches Tsawwassen at 22:35. It appears on every date from 14 October to 11 November.
No. From 14 October the first departure from both terminals is 07:00. The 06:00 boats only appear on certain days up to 13 October.
Saver fares for a standard vehicle and driver range from $49 to $99 one way, sold online in advance on selected sailings only; extra adult passengers on a Saver booking pay $15.
No. BC Ferries' fare guide says the fares include applicable taxes. The separate charge is the 5% fuel surcharge, applied at payment.
Between 60 and 30 minutes before the sailing. Outside that window the booking is not honoured and you are loaded by arrival order.