About this crossing
Low-slung vehicles need to watch the tide here. BC Ferries advises drivers with long overhangs, low hitches, low or long trailers or receiver-mounted bike racks to avoid sailings when the tide at Nanaimo Harbour is below 1.5 m or above 3.7 m, as the loading ramps can catch them; stricter limits apply to low-bed commercial loads. The terminal is on Front Street in downtown Nanaimo, separate from Departure Bay and Duke Point, where the mainland ferries dock, and when traffic backs up the ticket line must be joined from the south. The fare bought here also pays for the return from Gabriola.
