Ferries from Brentwood Bay

Brentwood Bay is the Saanich Peninsula end of a crossing that avoids the Malahat — and like the terminal opposite, it has no parking and takes cash only on board. Two constraints that decide the trip before you reach the water.

The crossing

Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay takes about 25 minutes across the Saanich Inlet, with 9 sailings and 18 across the terminal in both directions. Operated by BC Ferries.

⚠ The Malahat is the alternative, and it is the point

Without this ferry, getting from the Saanich Peninsula to the Cowichan Valley means driving south into Victoria and back north over the Malahat summit on Highway 1 — a long detour on a road that closes for accidents and snow more often than any other stretch on southern Vancouver Island.

Nine sailings is thin, but when the Malahat is shut this crossing is the only alternative that does not involve a very long day.

Practical constraints

Fares are collected by the crew in cash. There are no reservations and no parking at the terminal. Vehicles must be 40 ft or under and below 8,000 kg; the vessel takes about 19 of them.

Check-in closes 3 minutes before sailing for vehicles and 5 for foot passengers — tighter than most terminals, because the operation is small enough to load quickly.

Where you are

Brentwood Bay village is a few minutes away, Butchart Gardens is close enough to walk from some accommodation, and central Victoria is about half an hour south.

That proximity makes this the rare BC Ferries terminal a visitor might use on a day trip in both directions.

Season

Year round. Summer weekends and Butchart Gardens traffic put more cars on the approach roads than the nineteen-vehicle deck can absorb quickly.