Getting to Nanaimo
There are a number of interesting ways to get to Nanaimo including ferry, helicopter, and float plane as well as Air Canada and Westjet.
- Air Canada - regular daily flights from Vancouver
- Westjet - regular daily flights from Calgary
- BC Ferries - regular daily sailings from Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen
- Helijet - regular weekday flights from Vancouver
- Harbour Air - regular daily flights from downtown Vancouver or Vancouver Airport
- Seair Seaplanes - regular daily flights from downtown Vancouver or Vancouver Airport to Departure Bay
Getting to the Campus
Bus
BC transit schedule - cost is $2.50 per trip
Taxi
AC Taxi - 250.753.1231 Website
Yellow Cab - 250.751.1111 Website
Approximate price for a taxi trip:
- from downtown to VIU is $11
- from airport to VIU is $140
- from Departure Bay Ferry Terminal is $13
Nanaimo Accommodations
There are a few hotel options in and around downtown Nanaimo, which is a quick 5 minute cab ride (or about a 35 minute walk if the day is nice).
- Coast Bastion Hotel - pricing starts at $145
- Best Western Dorchester - pricing starts at $123
- Painted Turtle Guesthouse - price ranges from $28 for a dorm room to $80
- Ramada Inn - pricing starts at $115
There are many other small hotels in the area, so if you are on a tight budget and want to shop around, you’ll find options by looking at Booking.com or TripAdvisor.
AirBnB and HomeAway are good options for some nice accommodations around the area.
Another option is the Vancouver Island University Residences, rooms are available from May - August starting at $55.
Visitor Parking on Campus
There are several parking areas open to guests to VIU. These General Parking areas are indicated in green on this parking map. https://www2.viu.ca/map/. Look for a ticket dispenser kiosk in the area near where you park. VIU is now using a License Plate Recognition parking management system. This means that once you pay the system uses your plate number instead of a parking pass.
Cost for 12 hours of parking is $8. Ticket dispensers in the General parking lots will take $0.25, $1, $2 coins as well as MasterCard and VISA.
The lots most likely to have capacity at any time are A & C, although, depending on the hour of day and time of year, you might find spaces available in other general parking areas.
For more information, please visit Parking info at VIU.
Where to Eat at VIU and in Nanaimo
On Campus
Lower Cafeteria Building 185: Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 2:00 pm, closed during the summer months
Upper Cafeteria Building 300:Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 3:00 pm
Discovery Room: The Discovery Room is VIU's fine dining restaurant run by the Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island. Lunch service is offered from Wednesday to Friday (with the exception of statutory and academic holidays and special events) from mid September to mid June with reservations from 11:30am to 12:30pm. Dinner service is offered on most Thursday and Friday evenings from early October to early April with reservations from 5pm to 6pm. Check out the Discovery Room website for more information or call 250.740.6338 for reservations.
In Nanaimo
There are many lovely restaurants in and around downtown Nanaimo, to name a few:
- Asteras Greek Taverna - 347 Wesley St, Nanaimo
- Le Cafe Francais - 153 Commercial St, Nanaimo
- Marina's Taverna and Pizza - 215 Terminal Ave N, Nanaimo
- Penny's Palapa - 10 Wharf St, Nanaimo
- Troller's Fish and Chips - 104 Front St, Nanaimo
- The Nest Bistro - 77 Skinner St, Nanaimo
- The View Oceanside Grill - 101-1240 Stewart Avenue, Nanaimo
- Crow and Gate Pub - 2313 Yellow Point Rd, Nanaimo
- Nori Japanese Restaurant - 6750 N Island Hwy, North Nanaimo
