Day 20 - 09.07.2024 Taking the ferry to Vancouver Island - Port Alberni

Since I couldn't convince our family to take the earlier ferry, we decided to take the 13:40 ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. We arrived 2 hours earlier and were told that we would probably only get the one at 4:00. We didn't know you could also make reservations. So we got in line 5 (the last one to board) and waited.

To pass the time, we walked into the village over a bridge. It was hot again and we didn't want to wait in the car the whole time. In the village, we could stroll around a bit, we were at the playground and watched our ferry arrive. Another ice cream until we got to the car and then it was time to hope and wait in the hot car...

We were lucky and still made it onto the ferry. But there wasn't much room left behind us. Phew.

On the ferry, there was everything imaginable. Food, shops, play area... and lots of space to walk around. We could even watch a whale. Simply great :-)

In Port Alberni, we stayed at the Hospitality Inn just outside of downtown. After dinner, we took a walk in the harbor and visited the small lighthouse. The sun was already setting. Total contrast to Whistler. Only a few people around, totally quiet and you could hear the seagulls. In Whistler, on the other hand, there was always hustle and bustle in the evening, all restaurants full and 'party people' out and about ;-)