Originally Posted by
sophiegirl
Traveling from Seattle to Victoria with car. Although it appears Anacortes is closer (for ferry transport); I have heard customs lines can be quite timeconsuming as everyone from the ferry is processing through at the same time. Is it worth heading up to Tsawwassen, and catching that ferry. so that one clears customs at the border, separate from the ferry?
Taking the Clipper out of Seattle does not appeal to us....but is the drive north to the ferries scenic at all?
Tough call. The CBP lineups for the WSF at Sidney BC and Anacortes move slowly, but the size is limited to just ferry passengers. The Peace Arch land crossing can vary from 10 minutes to an hour or even longer. The drive up I-5 is pleasant enough once you get past Everett, not particularly scenic unless you take a diversion around the Chuckanut into Bellingham.
The facilites aboard WSF are a bit spartan, the BCF ships are
much nicer and run every hour during the summer. Whichever you pick it's worth getting a reservation.
A third option is the Black Ball (
mv Coho) from Port Angeles to downtown Victoria. Depending where you're coming from in the Seattle area, this can be the quickest option. It's certainly the least stressful IMO.