GoNanaimo.com

Nanaimo Airport (YCD) is beside the Island Highway, 18 kilometers south of downtown Nanaimo and five kilometers north of Ladysmith. Air Canada Jazz has five or six flights a day from Vancouver International Airport, while BC West Air has flights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from Boundary Bay (Vancouver) and Abbotsford.

There is no regular bus service to or from the airport. The Nanaimo Airport Shuttle (tel. 250-758-2133) charges $19 for the first person, plus $5 per additional passenger, to the same address in downtown Nanaimo. This service should be booked in advance as they aren't always there. A taxi to Nanaimo will cost around $35 for the car.

Some local Greyhound buses plying between Victoria and Nanaimo will drop off or pick up passengers at the corner of Timberlands Road and Island Highway about 500 meters from the airport terminal. Only buses marked Cassidy on the schedule will stop here (the express buses will not). Because only three or four buses a day stop at Cassidy, this tactic is more useful as a way of getting from Nanaimo to the airport ($5) than the other way around.

It's quite easy to hitchhike north or south from the traffic lights on the highway a short walk from the terminal. Cars rented through Hertz, Budget, and National can be picked up at the airport. Airport parking is $1 an hour or $8 a day. For airport information, call tel. 250-245-2157.

Arriving in Nanaimo Harbour by seaplane is a lot more convenient and fun than landing at the airport on a fixed wing aircraft. Both West Coast Air and Harbour Air Seaplanes use wharves near their offices on the Waterfront Promenade downtown, while Seair Seaplanes, Tofino Air, and Kenmore Air have bases off Zorkin Road near the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal, about three kilometers north of downtown. (Amigo Airways and Baxter Aviation are no longer in business.)

At Vancouver International Airport, the seaplane terminal is on the Fraser River, a couple of kilometers from the main airport passenger terminals. The companies claim to offer a free shuttle between the terminals but the vans carry only six passengers and seats are sometimes unavailable. Ask about this when booking as a taxi will cost $15.

All seaplane flights operate during daylight hours only. Pay attention to the baggage limits when booking. West Coast Air and Kenmore Air allow only 11 kilograms of free baggage on their flights, whereas Harbour Air Seaplanes allows 22 kilos from Vancouver International Airport but only 11 kilos from downtown Vancouver. Seair Seaplanes allows just under 16 kilos on all flights. Overweight baggage is about $2 a kilo, if available. Ask about free parking at the terminals, if required.

BC Ferries has three routes to Nanaimo:

All ferries operate every couple of hours daily yearround, with the last sailing from Horseshoe Bay at 9 pm and from Tsawwassen at 10:45 pm. Walk-on passengers pay around $12 one way to/from Vancouver and reservations are not required. Cars are carried on all routes and the vehicle decks do fill up on summer weekends and holidays. It's possible to reserve vehicle space for an additional fee. The scenic crossing takes about two hours.

Downtown Vancouver is connected to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal by frequent transit buses. Walk-on passengers should be careful not to use the Tsawwassen to Duke Point route as there is no public transportation other than expensive taxis from Duke Point to Nanaimo, a distance of 12 kilometers. The Departure Bay Ferry Terminal is only three kilometers north of downtown Nanaimo via the pleasant Harbourfront Walkway. Nanaimo city bus No. 2 stops in front of the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal once or twice an hour, heading south into town or north to the Woodgrove Centre.

The historic Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway first reached Nanaimo over the Malahat Pass from Victoria in 1886. Today VIA RailCanada (tel. 888-842-7245) operates a railcar from Victoria to Nanaimo and Courtenay once a day, leaving Victoria at 8:15 am Monday to Saturday and at noon on Sunday. From Courtenay, the departure is at 1:30 pm Monday to Saturday and at 5:15 on Sunday. No food is available during the two-hour ride.

The fare to Nanaimo is around $20 with substantial discounts if you purchase your ticket five days in advance. Seniors aged 60 and up get another 10 percent off. In Nanaimo, the railway station is at 321 Selby St. in the Old City Quarter. From the station it's just a 10-minute walk down Fitzwilliam St. to the heart of the city.

Nanaimo's Bus Terminal (tel. 250-753-4371) is hidden behind the Howard Johnson Harbourside Hotel off Comox Road, a 10-minute walk from downtown. If you've only come to Nanaimo for a day of sightseeing, go down the hill to the river on the north side of the bus station and follow the footpath under the bridge to Maffeo-Sutton Park where you can join our Waterfront Walking Tour.

Greyhound Canada has buses to Nanaimo from Victoria ($19) six times a day, from Campbell River ($27) three times a day, from Port Hardy ($65) once a day, and from Vancouver ($27) via Horseshoe Bay seven times a day.

The Tofino Bus (tel. 866-986-3466) arrives in Nanaimo from Port Alberni ($18) three times a day and from Tofino ($38) and Ucluelet daily.

Tofino Bus tickets can be purchased at any Greyhound ticket office but Greyhound's Discovery Pass and some other discounted Greyhound fares are not valid for Tofino. In summer reservations are recommended on Tofino Bus routes but Greyhound routes cannot be reserved at all. Eating and drinking anything other than water is prohibited on all buses. Large coin lockers are available in the Nanaimo Bus Terminal at $2 a day.

Backpackers should be aware that hitchhiking is not allowed on the Nanaimo Parkway or large portions of the Island Highway between Victoria and Campbell River. It is allowed on the access ramps and is often possible at traffic lights. Coming from Victoria or Duncan, don't accept a ride headed for the Duke Point Ferry Terminal unless that's where you want to go as you'll be dropped on a highspeed section of highway far from anything.

To hitchhike north out of Nanaimo, take any city bus to the Woodgrove Centre and wait on Island Highway North a bit beyond Canadian Tire. If you're headed for Tofino, try to get a ride going at least as far as Qualicum Beach as the Parksville cars may drop you in a no-hitchhiking zone. Intercity Connector bus No. 90 runs from the Woodgrove Centre to Parksville and Qualicum Beach every couple of hours for the regular fare of $2.25. Southbound, take Nanaimo city buses Nos. 8 or 9 to the South Parkway Plaza (also known as the Southgate Shopping Centre) and walk a bit south toward the lights. Hitching beyond the overpass is prohibited.