Those travelling in the days leading up to Christmas Day should be sure to pack a little patience.
Air
According to Vancouver International Airport, Dec. 21 and 22 are expected to be the busiest travel days of the season with an anticipated 83,000 passengers passing through the terminal. The week following Christmas will also see similar volumes of passengers.
“While people should expect YVR to be busy, we are well positioned to handle the number of passengers we are forecasting,” said spokeswoman Tess Messmer.
From Dec. 15 until Jan. 3, the airport sees an average of more than 78,000 passengers a day.
While the holidays are a peak travel time at the airport, summer is actually much busier, Messmer said, when the airport can see days with close to 90,000 people passing through.
Air travel tips:
- Allow ample time to check in, clear security and board your flight. Factor in time for traffic congestion, parking and walking to the terminal.
- Winter weather here at home or in other parts of the country could impact flights, so be sure to check the status of your flight at yvr.ca before leaving home.
- Getting to the airport on the Canada Line can be quick, delivering you to the airport in 26 minutes or less, and eliminates the hassle, and cost, of parking.
- When packing, remember that restrictions continue to apply for liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on baggage. Details and a complete list of items not permitted in carry-on baggage, including skis and snowboards, is available at www.catsa.gc.ca.
- Don’t wrap gifts before packing them into your carry-on baggage. Their contents may need to be inspected during the pre-board screening process.
Land
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is advising travellers to prepare for before heading out during the busy winter season.
Between Dec. 1, 2016 and Feb. 28, 2017 the CBSA processed more than 2.44 million people in more than 1.39 million vehicles that entered the country through the five Lower Mainland border crossings — Abbotsford-Huntington (Sumas), Aldergrove (Lynden), Pacific Highway (Blaine), Douglas (Peace Arch) and Boundary Bay (Point Roberts).
There is construction ongoing at the Douglas (Peace Arch) crossing and there are currently only six lanes open (four general traffic and two Nexus) compared to the usual 10 so CBSA is encouraging travellers to use alternative crossings.
Longer wait times usually start early in the day and continue throughout the afternoon with the busiest days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Tips to make crossing the border a little smoother:
- Plan ahead: If possible cross the border outside of the busiest days and times. Information on border wait times can be found online.
- Be prepared: Have your travel documents, proper identification for everyone in the vehicle and receipts for anything purchased outside of Canada ready to present to the border services officer. Be prepared to declare all goods purchased and/or received while outside the country. If you’re crossing the border by bus, have your E311 declaration card completed and signed before arriving at the border.
- Know your exemption limits: If you plan to make purchases or pick up online purchases across the border, be aware of your exemption limits. Check the CBSA’s duty and taxes estimator to calculate taxes on goods purchased in the U.S. and to help you make informed choices when shopping abroad.
- Be honest: To enter into Canada as quickly as possible, the best thing you can do is be open and honest with the border services officer. If you are not sure about what to declare, do not hesitate to ask.
Sea
The BC Ferries website includes a traffic forecast for each of its most popular routes — Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen and Duke Point, Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay, and Horseshoe Bay and Langdale (Sunshine Coast) — highlighting the busiest travel days. Popular sailings will be busiest between Dec. 22 and Jan. 2, and reservations are strongly recommended.
The busiest days of the season vary between routes with Dec. 27 expected to be the busiest travel day of the holidays on many routes.
For more information visit bcferries.com/schedules/busy_times/index.html.
To try and help deal with the additional demand during the holidays, BC Ferries has added more than 175 extra sailings on two routes between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. An additional 130 sailings werea added to the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, whch is the busiest of all of BC Ferries's 25 routes. An extra 46 sailings are scheduled for the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route, while an additional eight sailings were added between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale.
Dec. 23 is expected to be the busiest travel day before Christmas. Dec. 26-28 are expected to have the highest volume of traffic post-Christmas with Dec. 27 forecast as the most popular travel day of the season.
Tips for smooth sailing:
- Give yourself lots of extra time. Plan to be at the terminal at least 30 minutes before the scheduled sailing time and even earlier during busy periods.
- Reservations are recommended especially during busy travel times. If you’ve booked a reservation make sure you get to the ticket booth between 30 and 60 minutes prior to the scheduled sailing. And when you arrive at the terminal, tell the ticket agent you have a reservation right away.
- Before you leave home, check service notices and current conditions online for the latest information on the day’s sailings. BC Ferries also tweets updates regularly throughout the day at @BCFerries.
- Travelling as a foot passenger? Whenever possible take public transit or arrange for someone to drop you off at the terminal as parking lots fill up quickly.
- Bringing along a four-legged friend? Remember that most pets need to stay on the car deck and it’s a good idea to bring along some water. Although some of the larger vessels have dedicated pet areas with heat, kennels, seating and access to water. More information is available on the BC Ferries Travel with pets page.
@JessicaEKerr
