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Can I use US dollars on local buses in Victoria, Canada?


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You can probably find a store that sells transit passes and takes USD - here's a list of sales points for transit passes (click the tab 'where to buy' - James Bay is the closest neighbourhood to the pier). Honestly though I'd just ask around the Canadians on your cruise and see if someone will swap you some local funds for USD and then buy on the bus to save walking around just to find tickets!

 

I presume by 'the fort' you mean one of the Castles - be aware that while Hatley at least looks the part (which is why it gets filmed all the time) and also has some excellent gardens on-site, the more famous Craigdarroch does not (and it isn't despite the poorly-chosen name - it's a Scots Baronial Manor house and disappointing to anyone who is expecting a real castle, though it does have a nice period furniture collection and some great stained glass).

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Thanks everyone. We want to go to Fort Rob Hill and lighthouse, that involves a transfer each way so I was thinking a daily pass. I do remember a small kiosk exchanging money on our walk to downtown so a little difference in exchanger rate for such a small denomination is OK. With 6 ships in port and only docking from 10-6, thought this was our best adventure having been there several times.

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Aaaah, of course, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. That's a pretty long bus ride! I'd give serious consideration to taking a cab instead - depending exactly which bus connections you take and how timely they work out to be, you could end up spending 80-100mins each way by bus, whereas in typical traffic a cab would be 30mins or less.

 

That's an awfully big time saving, and if you can find anyone else interesting in dodging the crowds the cost (ballpark CAD$40 each way) can potentially be split between a few people. Pricey compared to a $5 day pass on the bus yes, but still a very cheap shore excursion overall as the park site is <$4pp!

 

Other good news - not as many ships as you fear. I assume you have to be docking Sep 28th, when five ships are listed (the busiest day of the year) - but the first three of those (Ruby, Grand & Star Princesses) leave before or as the last two (Bliss & Eurodam) arrive so the first set of pax will all be back onboard before the next batch get off. It's really only a two-and-a-half ship day in terms of how many fellow cruisers will be roaming the streets of Victoria at once...

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Aaaah, of course, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. That's a pretty long bus ride! I'd give serious consideration to taking a cab instead - depending exactly which bus connections you take and how timely they work out to be, you could end up spending 80-100mins each way by bus, whereas in typical traffic a cab would be 30mins or less.

 

That's an awfully big time saving, and if you can find anyone else interesting in dodging the crowds the cost (ballpark CAD$40 each way) can potentially be split between a few people. Pricey compared to a $5 day pass on the bus yes, but still a very cheap shore excursion overall as the park site is <$4pp!

 

Other good news - not as many ships as you fear. I assume you have to be docking Sep 28th, when five ships are listed (the busiest day of the year) - but the first three of those (Ruby, Grand & Star Princesses) leave before or as the last two (Bliss & Eurodam) arrive so the first set of pax will all be back onboard before the next batch get off. It's really only a two-and-a-half ship day in terms of how many fellow cruisers will be roaming the streets of Victoria at once...

Martin......I am still confused about #of zones to pay for when arriving at YVR airport and taking the Skytrain to Canada Place Waterfront station for Celebrity Solstice on 9/21 to Hawaii. Can we get a senior rate by buying a one time ticket at the sky train terminal in the airport? I know there is a $5cad fee added on but confused as to Zone 1 or 2 zones fare additional. First time to YVR via flying.....thank you for any info. The trainlink website was only confusing to me.

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Martin......I am still confused about #of zones to pay for when arriving at YVR airport and taking the Skytrain to Canada Place Waterfront station for Celebrity Solstice on 9/21 to Hawaii. Can we get a senior rate by buying a one time ticket at the sky train terminal in the airport? I know there is a $5cad fee added on but confused as to Zone 1 or 2 zones fare additional. First time to YVR via flying.....thank you for any info. The trainlink website was only confusing to me.

Happy to answer - but ideally you should ask the Mods to bump this post over to a new thread or one of the existing Vancouver ones as anyone Searching won't find it since you've posted on a Victoria-specific transit thread;-)

 

Since you gave the date, and it's a Friday cruise, that means unfortunately more info is required - on weekends it's all one Zone which makes life really easy, but on weekdays zones apply until 6:30pm. So if you are flying in the day of your cruise, you definitely need a 2 Zone Fare. If you're flying in Thursday or earlier, arriving any time from about 6pm, you'll be able to buy just a 1 Zone fare as by the time you get to SkyTrain platform it will definitely be into the evening 'one zone for everywhere' period.

 

Assuming you are >65, then yes you can buy discounted tickets (the machines refer to them as Concession fares - same discount applies for both Seniors and Students). The Ticket Vending Machines are pretty straightforward - choose the type, number of zones, how many tickets, and pay. So you'll pay either $6.90pp (if after 6:30pm) or $7.90pp (before 6:30pm) for each Senior ticket including the AddFare, whereas any 15-64-year-olds will need to pay $7.95pp or $9.20pp respectively. NB: your credit card should have a Chip, and ideally a PIN in case you are asked to verify the purchase (anecdotally small purchases like a couple of tickets don't need verification, but if you were buying a whole family tickets it might go over an arbitrary limit and ask for a PIN...)

 

Still a bargain compared to even the fixed-rate cab zones for two people - but if you're a larger group I'd suggest that hopping in a cab might be worthwhile paying the extra for (CAD$35 to the pier, plus tip, to avoid any hassles of getting lost, ticket machine confusion, and saving you humphing your bags an extra ~400 yards. If you bump into any fellow cruisers on your flight you could even suggest sharing a cab).

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