Hullo: Downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo ferries reveal start date

Hullo Ferries vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority facility. (Hullo Ferries)

In just under one month from now, a new ferry service will be speeding between downtown Vancouver and downtown Nanaimo at regular intervals on a daily basis.

Operators announced today the new Hullo Ferries service will launch on Sunday, August 14, 2023. Online bookings will open starting early next week.

“It’s a tremendously exciting period for us all,” said Alastair Caddick, CEO of Hullo, in a statement. “Our dedicated Hullo crew has been working relentlessly to bring this highly anticipated bi-coastal service to life. We can’t wait to welcome our first guests aboard in just a few short weeks!”

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The service is intended to meet the needs and interests of both regular commuters and tourists. Regular economy fares are set at $39.99 each way for adults and $19.99 each way for children and seniors. Hullo will provide a first-sailing online discount of $10 on the regular adult fare — a one-time $10 discount is applied when a customer creates an online account.

Hullo Ferries vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority facility. (Hullo Ferries)

The service uses two brand-new high-speed, passenger-only catamaran vessels, which will initially make four daily roundtrips, with the first sail departing Vancouver at 8 am and the first sail departing Nanaimo at 6 am.

Shortly after launch, the service will be expanded to its full schedule of seven daily roundtrips. The expanded frequencies will be rolled out over the next two months.

The end-to-end travel time on the service is 70 minutes.

Initial daily sailing schedule starting on August 14, 2023:
- Vancouver to Nanaimo:
  - 8 am
  - Noon
  - 6:30 pm
  - 10:30 pm (may be later subject to special events and occasion timings)
- Nanaimo to Vancouver:
  - 6 am
  - 10 pm
  - 4:30 pm
  - 8:30 pm (may be later subject to special events and occasion timings)
Future full expanded schedule (coming soon after initial launch)
- Vancouver to Nanaimo:
  - 8 am
  - 10 am (coming soon)
  - Noon
  - 3:30 pm (coming soon)
  - 6:30 pm
  - 7:30 pm (coming soon)
  - 10:30 pm (may be later subject to special events and occasion timings)
- Nanaimo to Vancouver:
  - 6 am
  - 8 am (coming soon)
  - 10 am
  - Noon (coming soon)
  - 4:30 pm
  - 5:30 pm (coming soon)
  - 8:30 pm (may be later subject to special events and occasion timings)

The downtown Vancouver terminal is located at Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre — the seaplane terminal in Coal Harbour on the northwest side of Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building.

The Nanaimo Port Authority facility at 100 Port Drive is about a 14-minute walk or three-minute drive south of downtown Nanaimo. While the downtown Vancouver terminal is within close proximity to major public transit services, the accessibility of the downtown Nanaimo terminal will be supported by 350 pay parking stalls.

Hullo Ferries vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority facility. (Hullo Ferries)

After the vessels arrived in Victoria in late June 2023, the crew spent the past few weeks conducting sea trials, vessel familiarization, training drills, and Transport Canada certifications. The remaining few weeks leading up to the launch will be used to conduct additional personnel training, sailing the route between downtown Vancouver and downtown Nanaimo.

The Nanaimo Port Authority doubles as both Hullo’s Vancouver Island terminal and its home base of operations.

Hullo Ferries vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority facility. (Hullo Ferries)

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