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Booking ahead and arriving at the terminal

Reservations are limited and often sell out on our more popular sailings. We strongly recommend that you book ahead if you plan to travel during popular sailing times, including:
 
  • Holiday weekends
  • Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings
  • Sunday afternoons
Booking in advance secures a spot for your vehicle on board your preferred sailing. Without a booking, vehicles are loaded in order of arrival at the terminal on the next available sailing. 
 

Not all routes can be booked in advance. When you select the route you plan to travel, you will see if it can be booked or not.

The availability of space on a sailing varies based on the time of day, holidays, weather conditions, and more. You can keep an eye on current conditions before you travel to see the space available on our sailings.

Book now  

IMPORTANT: Check-in times

To avoid missing your sailing, find and view the specific check in times for your departure terminal.

  • Check-in time information can be found on terminal pages for foot passengers and all vehicle types, whether travelling with or without a booking

Whether you booked ahead of time or not, your first step upon arriving at the terminal is to check in with a ticket agent.

Paying at the terminal

Our ticket agents can accept these payment options:

  • Debit
  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Google Pay and Apple Pay
  • Cash
  • BC Ferries Experience™ Card

Note: Gift certificates can be used to purchase standard fares at the ticket booths. However, bookings and payment with a gift certificate must be made at the Terminal Administration office in advance of travel.
 

Self-serve payment stations for foot passengers accept debit, credit card and Experience Cards. They are available at these terminals:

When boarding begins, the gate will open and your boarding pass will be collected as you board the ferry.
 

Paying online

You can book online using the following payment options:
The following payment options cannot be used for online bookings:
  • Gift certificates
  • BC Ferries Experience™ Card
  • Travel vouchers
  • Travel Assistance Program (TAP) passes
 
Important
  • Gift certificates cannot be used to pay for fares online. However, bookings and payment can be made with a gift certificate at the Terminal Administration office in advance of travel.
  • To provide you with additional payment protection while booking travel on bcferries.com and our mobile app, we recently introduced a feature called 3-D Secure. Learn more about how it works and check troubleshooting tips.

Loading vehicles during extreme tide conditions


At some of our smaller terminals, vehicles with very low ground clearance or extended overhangs on the rear axle (e.g., buses, RVs, low-bed vehicles) may be asked to wait for a later sailing when the tide is extremely high or low to avoid damage to the vehicle, vessel and environment.

Note: Langdale, Horseshoe Bay and Campbell River terminals are particularly affected by tides.

Check tidal conditions before you travel.

Bookings, cancellations and confirmations

Waitlists

Waitlists are available on bookable Northern and Southern Gulf Island sailings. If a sailing is full, you can request to be added to a waitlist in case of a cancellation. Find more information about waitlists.

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