Information on Banff

For those of you who are asking for information on Banff, here are some tourism links for you. I'm afraid I don't know too much about this area so I can't be of much help - hopefully these sites will be!

www.banfflakelouise.com/
www.discoverbanff.com/
www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Banff_National_Park/

Downtown Victoria to Downtown Vancouver by BUS (or reversed route)

Option 1: City Bus

Step 1. Victoria #70 City Bus to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal
Fare: $2.75 (exact change required)
Estimated travel time: 1 hour and fifteen minutes. You can catch this bus on Douglas Street at Pandora Avenue.

Step 2. Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen by BC Ferries.

Fare:
Walk-on adults: approx. $10 - $12,
Passenger vehicles $33 - $36 (not including driver or passengers)
Note: Ferry takes cash, Visa and Mastercard but NOT debit cards.

To take your bike it will cost you an extra $2.50.
Estimated crossing time: 1 hour and 35 minutes.

When to be at the terminal: Walk-on passengers should get their tickets at least 10 minutes before sailing time, 30 min utes before sailing if you’re driving, and even earlier during peak summer months & busy periods. If in doubt, give yourself time!

Car reservations can be made via 1-888-BCFERRY (1-888-223-3779) or by website https://welcome.bcferries.com/ Non-refundable, one-way is $15 - $17.50.

Step 3. Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to Downtown Vancouver
Catch the #620 city bus to the Ladner Exchange, change buses to the #601 or #098 to Vancouver (Northbound). Fare: $2.75 - $4.75. Estimated travel time: From ferry terminal to Granville Street is about an hour and a half.

Option 2: The Pacific Coach Lines:
($37 - $40, 3 hrs 40 min)

Fares: One way $37 - $39.50 (includes ferry fare), Roundtrip $76 - $77
Departs: Victoria Bus Depot (700 Douglas Street)

Schedule: http://www.pacificcoach.com
Arrives: Various locations en-route to the final destination, Pacific Central Station (1150 Station Street) located next to the Main Street-Science World Skytrain Station

Info: Toll-free 1-800-661-1725,
Fax (604) 681-4634 / info@pacificcoach.com / http://www.pacificcoach.com/

WARNING! Event in Victoria

The weekend before wedding, (24th and 25th May) a sailboat race is on in Victoria. As a result, Victoria is very busy and hotels are in demand therefore we suggest if you are planning to be in Victoria over this weekend booking hotels well in advance (6 to 9 months) is highly advised to avoid disappointment.

http://www.swiftsure.org/

Fancy a Fanny Facial?

This post will be probably more appropriate to the UK wedding guests in terms of humour.

How do you fancy a "fanny facial"?

Fanny facials are the latest rage in Hollywood,(No pun intended) and it is the hot new thing at Poets Cove Resort & Spa. Something to check out when visiting .......

http://www.poetscove.com/documents/FannyFacials.pdf

Travelling to Victoria from Vancouver or Seattle

From Vancouver to Victoria:

From the BC Ferry Terminal at Tsawwassen (20 minutes north of the American border just off Hwy 99 and 3 hour drive north of Seattle on I5) you will take the ferry traveling to Swartz Bay. This is a car and passenger ferry, it leaves frequently and can be busy during the summer months so make reservations by phone or on line. http://www.bcferries.com/

From the Vancouver Airport, you can book an Air Canada commuter flight to Victoria's airport (a 35 minute flight). http://http://www.aircanada.ca/


Additionally, you can take a Pacific Coach Line bus that takes you on to the Tsawwassen / Swartz Bay ferry and then to downtown Victoria (3.5 hour very scenic trip). This bus service will take you from downtown Vancouver or Vancouver International Airport to the ferry and ultimately downtown Victoria. You can choose to only take part of the trip with them. http://www.pacificcoach.com/


Another option is to fly from downtown Vancouver to Victoria's harbour downtown by float plane.
WestCoast Air http://www.westcoastair.com/
Harbour Air http://www.harbourair.com/
Helijet helicopter http://www.helijet.com/



From Seattle to Victoria:

The Clipper Navigation (1-800-888-2535) Passenger Ferry downtown to downtown
http://www.clippervacations.com/

Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air (1-800-547-9308) SEA airport to YYJ (Victoria) airport
http://www.alaskaair.com/

Kenmore Air (1-800-543-9595) downtown to downtown
http://www.kenmoreair.com/

From Port Angeles, WA to Victoria (see map below):

Black Ball Transport (1-206-457-4491) Coho Car Ferry to downtown
http://www.cohoferry.com/

Victoria Express (1-800-633-1589) passenger ferry to inner harbour
http://www.victoriaexpress.com/



















From Anacortes, WA to Sidney:

From this port, a 2 hour drive north of Seattle, this ferry leaves infrequently, but you can make reservations. Washington State Ferries Car Ferry to Sidney
www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

Sidney, BC is a 10 minute drive to Swartz Bay (Victoria Ferry Terminal) for main ferry route to Vancouver. Sidney is about a 25 minute drive to downtown Victoria. Sidney is a quaint seaside town worth stopping for lunch or having breakfast at.
This is also the town from which the water taxi goes to Poets Cove.
http://www.sidney.ca/

How to Get to Poets Cove/Pender Island

Poets Cove Resort & Spa is located at Bedwell Harbour on the southwest side of South Pender Island. It is a 40-minute ferry ride from Victoria, and ferry service is also available from Tsawwassen, just south of Vancouver.

It is also accessible by scheduled and charter float plane service from Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle. The 20 minute flight from downtown Vancouver or Vancouver's South Terminal Airport is a spectacular trip over the Gulf Islands!

Another option from Victoria is "Poets Cruise" water taxi from Port Sidney Marina, which is just a 5 minute taxi from the Victoria International Airport. A 30 minute cruise through the islands brings you to Poets Cove Marina.

See below for specific details...

By ferry (car or passenger) from Vancouver or Victoria-
Travel to Poets Cove via BC Ferries from Vancouver (Tsawwassen Terminal) or Vancouver Island (Swartz Bay Terminal) to Otter Bay terminal on North Pender Island. Reservations in summer and holidays are recommended although they are not available on all routes so please check the website. Check the BC Ferries website for times and fares at http://www.bcferries.com/.

If you don't have a car, the Resort may pick you up from the ferry terminal. This needs to be arranged well in advance. Alternatively, Pender Island Cab http://www.penderislandcab.com/ can take you to the resort. Again, pre-booking is required. Phone number is 250-629-2222 and 2007 costs to the resort are currently $34.75.

If you have a car, check out the driving directions on the right-hand menu which start from the Otter Bay ferry terminal.

Seaplane from Vancouver or Seattle-
Looking for a faster way? Take a spectacular scheduled or chartered seaplane flight from Vancouver Airport (south terminal) or Downtown Vancouver with http://www.harbourair.com/ or Seattle/Lake Union, Washington with http://www.kenmoreair.com/, direct to the dock at Poets Cove in Bedwell Harbour.

Charter service is available from Victoria & Vancouver International Airports and downtown Victoria with Pat Bay Air Limited http://www.patbayair.com/

The seaplane lands directly at the resort so it's only a 100m walk to your first pint with this option! Please note seaplanes are small but are completely worth it for saving time and for the amazing view of flying over the islands. Perhaps one of those once in a lifetime experiences...

Passenger only water taxi from Sidney/Victoria-
Water taxi service is available from Port Sidney Marina direct to our Poet's Cove Marina (approx. 25 minutes each way). The 12 passenger covered boat offers a beautiful cruise through the Gulf Islands from Sidney to Poets Cove. For reservations or more info, call Dan at 250-360-6219 or 250-629-2116. Fares can be found on the resort website under calendar of events. For 2007, it was $20 one-way per adult. Advanced booking required.

This is a good option for those who prefer not to stay overnight on the island on the day of the wedding.

The All Important Question!

I know the ladies out there attending the wedding have only one question on their mind and that is ......

Will the rooms at Poets Cove have a hairdryer???

We can exclusively reveal that all rooms have a hairdryer installed at the Poets Cove Resort! No need to worry. (Phew...)

What are the Taxes in Canada?

There are three levels of taxation that affect visitors to British Columbia. There's a 10% tax charged on accommodation (can vary by city) and liquor. For most other goods and services, there is a 7% provincial sales tax (PST) and the 6% federal goods and services tax (GST.)

Taxes are not included in prices so they will almost always be extra to the price listed.

Check out the following link for more interesting local information for Canada:
http://www.gonorthwest.com/Visitor/planning/Canada_tips.htm