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Vancouver cruise terminal to Butchart? With a wheelchair bound person?


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How do I go from the terminal in Vancouver to Butchart Gardens with a wheelchair (manual) bound person? Is it difficult? A long trip? (it looks like it would be from reading the forums, but I'm a bit confused). And do we have to go back to Vancouver airport or is there a closer airport that will get us back to the east coast of US? We're not sailing until 2019 (in case this matters). Would an overnight somewhere before going back home be better? If so, where? I do not think the cruise line is offering this option, but since we're a long way from sailing, maybe the tours aren't listed yet.

 

Thank you in advance!

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Yes, it's a long trip and very difficult for tourists with wheelchairs, unless the person with the chair can walk at least a few paces and climb up a few steps.

 

I'm not sure whether the 'day trip' by bus & ferry option (LandSea) have any wheelchair lift buses or not. I also feel their product is fundamentally poor, with VERY limited time at the gardens. Doing it yourself via floatplane would be challenging - steps up into the plane and no chair lifts. You can take regular transit buses to the ferry which have wheelchair space, but cannot handle luggage so don't work if you wanted to fly home from YYJ on the Island - if you store bags at YVR and return on the ferry it could work though (and is VERY cheap, with $5.50pp fares on the mainland side, $5pp on the Island, and ~$20pp ferry tickets your total travel costs).

 

From YYJ you can get regular planes not just floatplanes - most connections would be to YVR or SEA (and to east coast US, most flights from YVR would involve a connection, so YYJ could be just as convenient). You can also head to Seattle by ferry from Victoria - downtown to downtown service on the Clipper, no car rental needed. From SEA there will be many more non-top flights available to the east coast of the US, and you also open some other airlines as possibilities (e.g. South West).

 

Renting a car and driving yourself onto the ferry to the Island might be the most feasible if you don't want to come back to YVR - it's also by far the best way to actually see the Island. Butchart you can visit from Victoria by shuttle bus, transit bus, or taxi - other parts of the island, including some of the best bits IMO, really need your own car to get to.

 

Personally I'd reach out to local disabled travel resources - e.g. ask BC Tourism, who keep info on disabled access hotels, restos etc. While legislatively wheelchair access is pretty similar in Canada to the US, only public services absolutely have to be compliant - private companies have various loopholes that mean it may not be feasible to expect wheelchair-accessible vehicles will always be available. Public transit both sides will definitely be wheelchair accessible, but any given tour bus or taxi - even if you check in advance with them - can potentially play the 'operational requirements' card and be unable to supply an appropriate vehicle at the time.

 

One potentially-useful service for you is the local accessible transit minibus service - HandyDART - in Vancouver. As long as you send in the paperwork in advance visitors, not just locals, can use the service to take them anywhere in the transit bus area for the regular ticket price with an able-bodied attendant.

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THANK YOU for a very detailed answer. It looks like this aspect of our trip is out. Stupidly, I wasn't even thinking about the luggage that we would have PLUS me pushing the wheelchair.

 

My friend is 82 and wanted to go to these gardens and was all excited about me seeing them too.

 

I will forward your response to her and let her make the decision.

 

Thank you so very much again. You really helped. I think she thought we were in another area of Canada, and I, who knows nothing about Canada at all, had no idea either. Cruise Critic helped and I did a query to Google which showed the length of the trip and map, but not the other smaller aspects of the trek.

 

One last question YYJ is which airport? and the other YVR (Vancouver?) Which is closest to the Vancouver airport - I assume YVR? And YYJ, is that closer to the Gardens? I'll have to look into SEA for her as well, since she likes South West airlines (she lives in a different state than I do).

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THANK YOU for a very detailed answer. It looks like this aspect of our trip is out. Stupidly, I wasn't even thinking about the luggage that we would have PLUS me pushing the wheelchair.

 

My friend is 82 and wanted to go to these gardens and was all excited about me seeing them too.

 

I will forward your response to her and let her make the decision.

 

Thank you so very much again. You really helped. I think she thought we were in another area of Canada, and I, who knows nothing about Canada at all, had no idea either. Cruise Critic helped and I did a query to Google which showed the length of the trip and map, but not the other smaller aspects of the trek.

 

One last question YYJ is which airport? and the other YVR (Vancouver?) Which is closest to the Vancouver airport - I assume YVR? And YYJ, is that closer to the Gardens? I'll have to look into SEA for her as well, since she likes South West airlines (she lives in a different state than I do).

No problem. YYJ is 'Victoria' airport (it's actually pretty far outside the city, very close to the main BC Ferries terminal in Sydney). Being on the island it's closer to Butchart - although if you can manage in floatplanes they actually have a dock for them at the gardens so you can fly directly to & from Butchart (charter - no scheduled flights I'm aware of). YVR is Vancouver (technically in Richmond, a neighbouring city, but well-connected to Vancouver and only <10 miles from the pier in downtown). SEA is Seattle-Tacoma in case you weren't sure about that one either (and it's the only airport I know that has the town it's in actually named after the airport, Seatac!)

 

Butchart is a lovely garden, and has several different 'zones' with very different styles, so it is very much worth a visit - IF you are already on the island! The hassle of getting across from Vancouver though... I try to give folks a big picture explanation by likening it to being in London, England and choosing to go Brussels, Belgium for the day. In fact you can actually do the latter more quickly and easily using Eurostar trains through the Channel Tunnel!

 

There are plenty of beautiful parks & gardens in Vancouver - frankly, some of them are better than the equivalent Butchart zone. For example Queen Elizabeth Park (free!!!) has two quarry gardens, the larger of which is very similar in style to Butchart's main draw - and while not quite as fancy or large overall, the waterfall in QEP is simply outstanding. The biggest problem is trying to get a good view without several bridal parties getting in the way (sunny summer days Ive never seen fewer than three jockeying for good photos!)

 

Stanley Park (also free) has a bigger rose garden than Butchart does, a rhododendron garden, and of course the more natural tree-covered parts. The Seawall is one of the best places to roll wheelchairs around - pancake flat, separated bikes & pedestrians, no cars, and it runs all around the edge of Stanley Park and much of downtown taking you past multiple beaches, museums, ScienceWorld, and several neighbourhoods with quite different characters: Coal Harbour, English Bay, Yaletown, Athletes Village, Granville Island, Kitsilano among others.

Edited by martincath
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Something to research....

  • I wonder if Pacific Coach does wheelchair service. If so, I would use them to get from Vancouver to Victoria. https://www.pacificcoach.com/bus-vancouver-to-whistler/
  • Once in Victoria, check into a hotel for the night and drop your luggage.
  • Catch public transit, CVS, or a cab to Butchart, which is 13 miles away.
  • return to the hotel for the night
  • continue South on the Clipper ferry to Seattle and then onwards to SeaTac

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, EVERYONE!

 

I appreciate your information. I contacted the Gardens, and in the first paragraph they replied that it would be difficult, and offered a few tour names, but I believe other than that first sentence, the remainder of the e-mail was just general directions.

 

I forwarded everyone's info to my friend and am awaiting her response.

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

 

 

One last question YYJ is which airport? and the other YVR (Vancouver?) Which is closest to the Vancouver airport - I assume YVR? And YYJ, is that closer to the Gardens? I'll have to look into SEA for her as well, since she likes South West airlines (she lives in a different state than I do).

 

 

YYJ is Victoria International Airport, it’s about a 15 minute drive from Butchart Gardens (we live 5 minutes from the gardens). Horizon Air (Alaska Airlines) has direct flts from Victoria to Seattle.

YVR is Vancouver International, they have flts serving the globe!

I hope you manage a trip to our beautiful city.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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