BlaakLane.com provides chauffeur service in Victoria, British Columbia, for YYJ airport transfers, Swartz Bay ferry connections, Inner Harbour floatplane and fast-ferry arrivals, and Ogden Point cruise days. Enter the pickup, time and vehicle and the booking engine shows a fixed fare before you confirm. A vetted local affiliate drives the trip, and your confirmation names the operator and chauffeur.
Booking a chauffeur in Victoria: what to enter
Victoria is a city people reach by air, by sea and by floatplane, so the booking starts with how you arrive. For a flight, enter the flight number. For a ferry, enter the terminal (Swartz Bay, or the Belleville Street terminal in the Inner Harbour) and the scheduled arrival. For a floatplane or helicopter, enter the harbour terminal and your flight time. Choose the vehicle, and the fixed price shown covers the chauffeur, fuel and the included waiting, with no meter running while a sailing docks late; gratuity and any terminal or airport parking are charged at actual cost and added to the booking.
The Toronto desk dispatches around the clock to an affiliate on Vancouver Island that works to the BlaakLane.com written standard. A group moving between the airport, a conference at the Empress and a winery lunch in the Cowichan Valley is planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing.
Victoria International Airport (YYJ): pickup and drive time
YYJ sits in North Saanich on the Saanich Peninsula, about 25 km north of downtown. It has one terminal, and the standard pickup is at the designated commercial pickup area outside arrivals: the chauffeur texts the vehicle and exact spot once your bags are in hand. A name-board meet and greet in the arrivals hall is an add-on, and add-ons are only available in selected locations.
Flights are tracked, so the chauffeur works to the actual landing. Included waiting is 30 minutes for domestic arrivals such as the short hops from Vancouver, Calgary or Toronto, and 60 minutes for international flights, which clear Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) inside the terminal. Other pickups include 15 minutes, then waiting is charged in 15-minute blocks. The drive into the Inner Harbour runs down the Pat Bay Highway (Highway 17) and usually takes 25 to 35 minutes. Details that apply everywhere are on airport transfers.
BC Ferries from Swartz Bay: timing a car to a sailing
Most mainland drivers and many foot passengers use BC Ferries between Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) and Swartz Bay, a crossing of roughly 95 minutes through the Gulf Islands. Swartz Bay is about 6 km from the airport and 32 km from downtown, so a door-to-door trip between Victoria and a Vancouver address is often car, ferry, car. Book both legs and the chauffeur on the island is timed to the scheduled arrival, then adjusted if the sailing runs late. Summer weekends and holiday Mondays sell out, so reserve the sailing on the BC Ferries site first, then book the cars. On the mainland side, see chauffeur service in Vancouver.
Floatplanes, helicopters and fast ferries in the Inner Harbour
The Inner Harbour is Victoria's front door for travellers in a hurry. Floatplanes land on the water beside the Belleville Street waterfront and fly to the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in Coal Harbour in about 35 minutes; the chauffeur waits on the harbour side, a short walk from the dock. On the Vancouver end, Vancouver Harbour (CXH) covers pickup at the floatplane terminal. Helicopter flights use the heliport on Dallas Road near Ogden Point.
Two passenger routes connect Victoria with Washington State: the FRS Clipper fast ferry from Seattle (about 2 hours 45 minutes) and the Black Ball Ferry Line's MV Coho from Port Angeles (about 90 minutes). Both dock at the Belleville Street terminal, where arriving passengers clear Canadian customs before walking out to the street. Allow for the queue when you set the pickup time.
Ogden Point cruise terminal
Cruise ships berth at Ogden Point in the James Bay neighbourhood, about 2 km from the Fairmont Empress. The season usually runs from April to October, and many Alaska itineraries call in the evening. A chauffeured trip is the practical way to fit Butchart Gardens (about 21 km north in Brentwood Bay, 30 to 40 minutes) or a tour of Oak Bay and the Beacon Hill waterfront into a short port call. Ship times and berth notes are published by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. Group shore programmes are covered on cruise lines and ports.
Drive times around Greater Victoria and up the island
| Route | Distance | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| YYJ to downtown and the Inner Harbour | 25 km | 25-35 min |
| Downtown to Swartz Bay ferry terminal | 32 km | 30-40 min |
| Downtown to Butchart Gardens | 21 km | 30-40 min |
| Downtown to Sooke | 40 km | 40-55 min |
| Downtown to Duncan (Cowichan Valley) | 60 km | 50-65 min |
| Downtown to Nanaimo | 110 km | 1 h 30-1 h 50 |
| Downtown to Tofino | 310 km | 4 h 30-5 h |
The fare is set before the trip, so a slow line of traffic on the Malahat does not change it.
Districts, hotels and venues
Business and government travel centres on downtown and James Bay: the BC Parliament Buildings, the Royal BC Museum and the Victoria Conference Centre, which connects to the Fairmont Empress. Other hotels chauffeurs serve daily include the Hotel Grand Pacific, the Inn at Laurel Point and, in Oak Bay, the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre hosts concerts and hockey. The University of Victoria sits in Saanich, about 20 minutes from downtown, and Esquimalt and CFB Esquimalt lie just west across the harbour mouth. Government delegations and visiting ministers are handled through government and diplomatic travel.
Events worth booking early
- April: the TC10K road race closes downtown streets on its morning.
- May: the Victoria Day parade on the long weekend, and the Swiftsure International Yacht Race out of the Inner Harbour late in the month.
- Summer: peak cruise and ferry traffic; Canada Day on the harbour draws large crowds.
- September: Rifflandia music festival.
- October: the Victoria Marathon, with morning road closures.
- December: the Butchart Gardens holiday lights make evening bookings to Brentwood Bay busy.
Dates and closures are published on Tourism Victoria. Multi-car plans for weddings and events are on event transportation.
Driving realities on Vancouver Island
Traffic drives on the right and there are no toll roads on the island. The Malahat section of Highway 1 is steep and winding and can close for hours after a collision, so trips to Duncan and Nanaimo carry a wider time range. BC requires winter tires or chains on the Malahat from 1 October to 31 March. Downtown streets are compact, parking is scarce around the Inner Harbour, and cruise evenings add traffic to Dallas Road. Your chauffeur knows where a car may legally stop at the Empress and the harbour terminals.
Which vehicle for Victoria?
A Standard Sedan covers one or two people and a couple of suitcases off a Vancouver flight. An executive SUV suits three passengers, golf bags or a winter trip up the Malahat. A Standard Black SUV or Sprinter Van moves a wedding party or a conference team, and minicoaches carry cruise groups. Stretch limousines and Rolls-Royce, Maybach or Bentley cars come from partners. Every car is four model years old or younger; Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Bentley cars are accepted up to seven. See the fleet and what a fare includes on rates.
Children, cancellations and changes
Child seats are free on request. Cancelling more than 72 hours before pickup costs nothing; within 72 hours the charge is 10%, within 48 hours 50%, and within 24 hours or for a no-show 100%. Frequent travellers between Victoria and the mainland can use corporate accounts for monthly invoicing.
Other cities in British Columbia and nearby
Many Victoria trips continue on the mainland: Vancouver, Whistler and the Okanagan via Kelowna. For the Vancouver airport, see YVR.
