What it is like
You arrive at the harbour heliport about twenty minutes out, check in at a desk, and wait in a lounge rather than a terminal. There is free Nespresso, beer, wine, soup, and fresh cookies, and two pilots up front. The helicopter lifts off the downtown waterfront, the Strait of Georgia and the Gulf Islands open up below, and you are stepping out at the other end before a ferry would have finished loading. No bag belt, no security, no airport at either side.
Routes and schedule
Helijet runs between the downtown Vancouver harbour heliport and downtown Nanaimo and Victoria, with the heaviest frequency on weekday business hours and lighter service on weekends. The Nanaimo hop is about eighteen minutes, Victoria about thirty-five. Because both ends are downtown, there is no airport transfer to add on. Check current timetables with Helijet, especially for the first and last departures of the day.
What it costs
One-way fares run from roughly $103 to $450, with the higher end on the Victoria route and on last-minute or peak bookings. It is the most expensive way across on the ticket alone. What softens it is parking: leave your car at the heliport and it is free on a return ticket once you register your plate, which is worth real money on a multi-day trip. Run the trade against the other options in the value calculator on the main guide.
Reliability and weather
This is Helijet's quiet advantage. It flies on instruments, so it gets airborne in the rain and low cloud that pin the floatplanes to the dock from November to March. Nothing crossing this water is fully bankable, but if you are travelling in winter or cannot afford to miss a connection, it is the safest bet of the six. Even so, build in slack and avoid pinning a tight mainland connection to the last flight of the day.
Who it is for
Book it if
- Time and certainty matter more than money.
- You are travelling in winter, when the floatplanes get grounded.
- You want downtown-to-downtown with no airport and no security.
Skip it if
- You are travelling with a pet or a service animal: it carries neither.
- You need to bring a car or a lot of gear.
- The fare to Victoria is the deciding factor on a tight budget.
Booking tips
Book ahead for the best fares and for the busy weekday departures. Register your licence plate at check-in to claim the free return parking. Give yourself a buffer on either side if you are connecting to a flight off the mainland, and pack light: this is a small cabin with modest baggage allowances.
How Helijet ranks
Across the nine categories scored on the main guide, Helijet tops the leaderboard. It leads almost everywhere and falls down on exactly one thing: animals.
Where to next
Compare Helijet against every other option, or read up on the alternatives.