2006 Western Conference

Travel to Tigh-Na-Mara

You can fly into Vancouver (City) on the BC mainland or to Victoria or Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. If you fly into Vancouver (City), you can connect via bus shuttle and/or ferry to get to Nanaimo, about 30 minutes south of Parksville (where Tigh-Na-Mara is located). Taxi, rental car or Islandlink can get you from Nanaimo to Tigh-Na-Mara.

Rental cars can be picked up if you fly into Seattle, Victoria, Nanaimo or Vancouver (city).

There is a passenger only ferry from Seattle to Victoria, but only one sailing per day. You may take a car and ferry from Anacortes (WA) to Sidney (Victoria), but again, the schedule is limited. For these ferry schedules and fares, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. There is also a car ferry twice a day from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria; go to www.cohoferry.com/reservations.htm. Ferry schedule and fares from Vancouver (city) to Vancouver Island can be found at www.bcferries.com. There are numerous sailings each day, and this appears to be the most flexible option.

There are many options, and the bottom line is that it may take a full day and a number of transfers to get to Tigh-Na-Mara. If you're flying from the U.S., we suggest the following:

If a number of you are traveling together, fly to Seattle, rent a car, and travel to the Tsawwassen ferry just south of Vancouver (city) and ferry across to Duke Point on BC Ferries, then drive to Tigh-Na-Mara. This way you will also have a car to see the sights, but plan on a 3 hour drive from Seattle to Tsawwassen. Flights to Seattle are significantly cheaper than flights to Vancouver right now from the U.S., and would offset the rental car costs.

If you're traveling alone from the U.S., consider flying to Vancouver (city) and hooking up with Islandlink (www islandlinkbus.com or see below). They have three bus/shuttle trips daily from the Vancouver airport or nearby hotels to Tigh-Na-Mara. Total cost each way is $52.25 CAN, including the ferry. Reservations are required.

You may get a good deal from the East Coast driving to a major Canadian city and flying to Vancouver from there.

There are other options for bus service to get around Vancouver and to and from Vancouver Island, the airport and ferry docks. Seaplanes and high speed ferries are also available from Vancouver Harbour. See www.bctravel.com/van/vantran.html.

If you're driving your own car, drive to the Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) or Horseshoe Bay ferry (north of Vancouver) and come across. The Horseshoe Bay ferry is a shorter ferry ride but requires going through the city traffic if you're coming from the south.

Other resources and options:

Taxis: Phone: 250 339 7955 or 250-954 5567
Rental car: Budget has many offices in the Parksville/Nanaimo area: 1-800-472-3325, www.budget.com

The Qualicum Chauffeur
Door to door pre-booked service for passenger traveling to and from areas South of the Comox Valley. Pickup in Nanaimo or Duke Point. Phone: 250 954 9694

E&N Rail
Daily service Courtenay to Victoria. Phone: 1-888-842-7245, www.viarail.ca/trains/en_trai_roch_vico.html

Islandlink Bus Service Ltd.
Current Express Bus scheduled bus routes include daily service between Departure Bay or Duke Point Ferry terminals (Nanaimo) and Parksville/Tigh-Na-Mara and three times per day service to Vancouver International Airport and the Airport area hotels. www islandlinkbus.com for reservations. Phone: 1-877-954-3556

Vancouver Airporter (Phone: 604 946 8866, www.yvrairporter.com)
Greyhound (Phone: 604 482 8747 www.Greyhound.ca)
Cost $12 one way/$18 return from Vancouver International airport to Vancouver Bus Depot (transfer to Greyhound at Bus Depot); Cost $23.00 from Bus depot to Nanaimo (including ferry cost).

Travel times to Tigh-Na-Mara from:

Victoria, 2 hrs.
Nanaimo
    - Cassidy Airport, 45 min.
    - Departure Bay ferry, 30 min.
Vancouver
    - Horseshoe Bay ferry, 2 hrs.
    - Tsawwassen ferry, 2 3/4 hrs.
Seattle via Vancouver/Tsawwassen, 4 1/2 hrs
Seattle via Anacortes/Victoria, 5 1/2 hrs
Parksville, 3 min.
Qualicum Beach Airport, 20 min.