Canada Guide
Vancouver Island
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The Inside Passage
One of Canada's great trips, the Inside Passage aboard BC Ferries' Queen of the North, between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert on the British Columbia mainland, is a cheap way of getting what people on the big cruise ships are getting: 274 nautical miles of mountains, islands, waterfalls, glaciers, sea lions, whales, eagles and some of the grandest coastal scenery on the continent. By linking up with the Greyhound bus network or the VIA Rail terminal at Prince Rupert, it also makes a good leg in any number of convenient itineraries around British Columbia. Some travellers will have come from Washington State, others will want to press on from Prince Rupert to Skagway by boat and then head north into Alaska and the Yukon. A lot of people simply treat it as a cruise, and sail north one day and return south to Port Hardy the next. If nothing else, the trip's a good way of meeting fellow travellers and taking a break from the interminable trees of the BC interior.
The boat carries 750 passengers and 160 cars and runs every two days, departing at 7.30am on odd-numbered days in Aug, even-numbered days in June, July, Sept and the first half of Oct. The journey takes around fifteen hours, arriving in Prince Rupert about 10.30pm, sometimes with a stop at Bella Bella. On board there are cafeterias, restaurants and a shop (among other services); at the last, pick up the cheap and interesting BC Ferries Guide to the Inside Passage for more on the trip.
The cost from mid-June to mid-Sep (peak) is $116 single for a foot passenger (May & Oct $83; Nov– April $62), $275 for a car (May & Oct $193; Nov– April $146); reservations are essential throughout the summer season if you're taking a car or want a cabin. Bookings can be made by phone or online ( 
1-888/223-3779 toll-free in BC, 250/386-3431 from elsewhere, 
www.bcferries.com ), or by post to BC Ferry Corporation, 1112 Fort St, Victoria, BC, V8V 4V2.