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Instructions for Getting to Sunshine Coast Retreat House from Vancouver Airport
Before you leave, let us know what time your flight is due to arrive in Vancouver. This will help us to predict approximately what ferry you will be on, so that we can plan to be available to pick you up. If your flight arrives late in the day, it may be advisable to spend the night in Vancouver or Horseshoe Bay, and continue on to the Sunshine Coast the next morning.
Ferries to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast leave from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver every two hours on odd numbered hours, and passengers load about ten past the hour. See the BC Ferries website, www.bcferries.com for more information. A taxi or limo service from the airport to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal costs $70 (or more) depending on traffic conditions.
The simplest bus method is to take the Malaspina Coach Lines bus, which travels from the airport to Powell River, stopping at Gibsons, twice a day. Please check their website, www.malaspinacoach.com for information on where to catch the bus at the airport, fares and schedules, so you can co-ordinate with your flight times. Let us know when you will arrive at the Gibsons Depot and we will arrange to pick you up. The earlier of the two arrival times works best for us.
If that bus method doesn’t work for your flight arrival time, take your preferred form of transportation from the airport to West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver. We recommend the green ‘Airporter’ bus (about $12 one way, less if you purchase a round trip ticket) which stops at major hotels, but there is also a city bus (at less cost), and, of course, taxis (which are more expensive).
If you take the Airporter, ask to be let off at Hotel Vancouver, at 900 West Georgia Street (on the southeast corner). You now need to cross to the northwest corner of the intersection, where you will find a bus stop. Take the #257 bus, called Horseshoe Bay Express (there is another Horseshoe Bay bus, #250, but it is much slower) and the cost is $3.25, for which you must have the exact change. You stay on this bus right to the end of its route, right outside the BC Ferries terminal at Horseshoe Bay.
If you’ve chosen some other form of transportation, the #257 bus makes its first pick-up outside The Bay department store on West Georgia, and will stop to take on passengers at any bus stop on West Georgia (westbound) that has the #257 on it.
At the ferry terminal, buy a ticket to Langdale, which will cost around $10. There is a luggage area, where you can leave any heavy baggage in the area designated for Langdale. It will be loaded onto the ferry on a cart, which will then be off-loaded at Langdale for pick-up. Then head upstairs to the waiting area. When you are in the waiting room, please call us – 1-604-886-3871 – to confirm the time of the ferry you will be on. Someone will then arrange to meet you in the parking/luggage claim area.