Pay at Horseshoe Bay and the trip back from Langdale is already covered: BC Ferries charges nothing eastbound on Route 3. From 13 October to 16 December 2026 the timetable is the same every day, eight departures from each terminal, all non-stop and scheduled at 40 minutes.
BC Ferries seasonal schedules 8 Sep – 12 Oct 2026 and 13 Oct – 16 Dec 2026 (next period 17 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 already published), cross-checked against the printable versions; checked 9 October 2026 BC Ferries – Seasonal schedule, Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) – Sunshine Coast (Langdale) · 2026-10-09
Buy one ticket, and buy it in West Vancouver. On the Horseshoe Bay–Langdale route BC Ferries collects the fare in one direction only: the passenger and vehicle prices in its fare guide apply westbound, and the return from Langdale is listed at $0.00. A foot passenger pays $16.45 for the round trip at the booth; a car costs $58.40, with the driver paying the passenger fare on top.
Then pick a sailing, which this autumn is simple. From Tuesday 13 October to Wednesday 16 December 2026 the timetable has no weekday variations: eight departures from Horseshoe Bay between 07:30 and 23:30, and eight from Langdale between 06:20 and 21:35. Not one of them stops in between, and all are timetabled at 40 minutes. The busier pattern of the September period, with ten boats a day, ends with the Thanksgiving weekend.
Finally, give the terminals some slack. Horseshoe Bay's rebuild has moved the vehicle lanes and closed the walkway to the boats, and Langdale's main berth starts months of repairs; no cancellations are planned, but queues and boarding routes change.
Route 3 is one of the BC Ferries routes where a single payment covers both directions. The fare guide prices the westbound trip from Horseshoe Bay and lists every fare from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay as $0.00. If you are heading the other way first, starting on the Sunshine Coast, you board free and pay when you come back across from the Vancouver side.
As on the Victoria run, the vehicle fare does not include anyone in it: $58.40 for a standard vehicle no longer than 20 feet, plus $16.45 for the driver, which is the $74.85 "car and driver" figure BC Ferries quotes for paying at the booth. Everything is charged in Canadian dollars, and a 5% fuel surcharge is added when you pay, on everything except the stowage fee.
| Adult, 12 and over | $ 16.45 |
| Child, 5 to 11 | $ 8.20 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| BC senior, Monday to Thursday except statutory holidays (documentation required) | Free |
| Standard vehicle up to 20 ft (6.1 m) | $ 58.40 |
| Each extra foot over 20 ft | $ 6.95 |
| Motorcycle | $ 29.20 |
| Car and driver together | $ 74.85 |
| Reservation Only booking fee (fare then paid at the terminal) | $ 20 |
| Stowage | $ 2 |
BC Ferries fare guide effective 16 June 2026 (version 26-05) and the Sunshine Coast fare-choice page, read 9 October 2026 BC Ferries – Fares effective June 16, 2026 (fare guide, Route 3 pages) · 2026-10-09
Horseshoe Bay lies at the western tip of West Vancouver, where the Trans-Canada Highway runs out at the terminal. The boats head west across Howe Sound and land at Langdale, on the Port Mellon Highway north of Gibsons, with 40 minutes allowed from berth to berth. Langdale is also the jumping-off point for Gambier and Keats, two islands in the Sound reached only by a small passenger boat.
The route number is 3 in BC Ferries' fare guide. On 9 October 2026 the departures board showed two ships taking turns on the crossing, the Queen of Surrey and the Queen of Oak Bay.
Langdale traffic shares this terminal with the Nanaimo and Bowen Island boats, so the lane number printed on your ticket matters more than the signs you remember from past trips: BC Ferries has rearranged all of its staging lanes during the current construction. Without a booking, tickets for Langdale stop selling 10 minutes before departure, for cars and walk-ons alike; with one, check in between 60 and 30 minutes ahead.
Walk-on passengers face a detour this autumn: the Skywalk to berths 1 and 2 is closed, comes out between 19 and 24 October 2026 and is due back in late November, so follow the signs or the boarding point printed on your ticket.
Langdale sits about ten minutes by car from Gibsons, the nearest town. Besides the Horseshoe Bay run it is the departure point for the small passenger boat to Gambier Island and Keats Island, which has its own timetable and fares, so make sure you are in the right line on foot.
Leaving Langdale you buy nothing: the Route 3 fare was collected on the way over. Booked passengers still check in 60 to 30 minutes before the sailing, and unbooked ones can arrive until 5 minutes before departure. BC Transit, the Sunshine Coast Connector and local taxi firms meet the boats.
BC Ferries does not accept Assured Loading between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale. Book, or arrive early; sailings shown online as sold out for reservations may still have drive-up space.
With an extremely high or low tide, buses, motorhomes, low-bed trailers and very low cars may be held for a later boat at either terminal.
Life-extension work on Langdale's Berth 1 starts on 14 October 2026 and runs to 31 March 2027, in daytime and overnight shifts around the sailings, with a pause from 18 December to 5 January. BC Ferries plans no cancellations for it.
Berth 1 closes completely for three weeks. Boats will use Berth 2, which only loads one car deck, so two vessels will share the route until 19:00, every sailing will be bookable and space for drivers without a reservation will be limited.
Horseshoe Bay also loads for Departure Bay, and that route works the other way round: drivers heading to Nanaimo must now book and prepay, whereas Langdale traffic can still turn up and buy at the booth. If Vancouver Island rather than the Sunshine Coast is the goal, see the Horseshoe Bay–Nanaimo ferry before setting off.
BC Ferries' main Victoria run, the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay ferry, also bills driver and vehicle separately, but charges in both directions.
No. BC Ferries lists every fare from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay as $0.00; the westbound fare paid at Horseshoe Bay covers the round trip.
$74.85 at the Horseshoe Bay booth: $58.40 for a standard vehicle up to 20 feet plus the $16.45 adult fare for the driver. The 5% fuel surcharge is added at payment.
06:20, every day until 16 December 2026, arriving at Horseshoe Bay at 07:00. The next ones leave at 08:40 and 11:00.
The 23:30, which lands at Langdale at 00:10. It runs every night of the 13 October – 16 December period.
No. BC Ferries states that Assured Loading is not available on this route; book ahead or arrive early.
Ticket sales and check-in close 10 minutes before the sailing for both cars and foot passengers. At Langdale the cut-off for travellers without a booking is 5 minutes.
From 3 to 23 February 2027 sailings use Berth 2, which loads a single deck. BC Ferries will run two vessels until 19:00, make every sailing bookable and keep only limited space for drivers without a reservation.