Definitely more squiggling needed.  It's a reasonable ride from Anacortes to Bellingham and on to Tsawwassen for BC Ferries and doable from the San Juans to Port Angeles for the Black Ball to Victoria (there's apparently a nasty bit south of Port Townsend where the Olympic Discovery Trail has a gap).

Thanks Again!

Yes, five days is not enough, so we'll call it a taster.

Your suggested route sounds close to what we were thinking. And yes, it would be great to ride out to Horseshoe Bay with you!  That date is probably Wed17 Sept for a morning ferry with time to ride to Cobble Hill.

Thanks for the accommodation offer too. We may stay closer to the city, to give time to organise hire bikes and gear. Planning still a bit vague.

I’ll keep that day clear. Email me when your plans come together. 

Will do. 

Thanks for the info.  I too have been eyeing the San Juan Islands/Vancouver Island for a trip, though I have no idea when.

I have been looking for ferry info from the San Juan's (or Anacortes) to Sydney.   It's shown as a route on google maps but I don't see it listed on the ferry website, which is disappointing because hopping from island to island seems like a fun little trip.

Anyway, thanks again.

We used to take that ferry every couple of years—in fact, we met the Classens in the line to board it in Sidney in 2014.  We are among the large number of Canadians who aren’t travelling to the US just now but hope to in the future when the political situation changes. 

I don't blame you.  :-(

I wrote to Annesa Knowles / San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau @ info@visitsanjuans.com

This was her reply:

Unfortunately, that is correct.  At this time there is no direct ferry to Vancouver Island.  There are normally two operations that do this route, but they are both temporarily suspended.  The Washington State Ferries are looking to have a new boat to take over this route by 2030 and we are hopeful that the San Juan Clipper will come back in to service soon, but they have confirmed they are not running in 2025.

 If you want to go directly to Vancouver Island, the least expensive and quickest trip would be with Kenmore Air (https://www.visitsanjuans.com/account/kenmore-air). They fly seasonally from Friday Harbor to Victoria Inner Harbour or Victoria International Airport.

Please feel free to reach out again if you have any additional questions.

Hi again Karen, See Jackie's response to us.

We too are finding wrinkles on our plan to do a loop through the San Juans and Lower part of Vancouver Island, it might need to change to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands to Vancouver. It seems there are no ferries, from the WSDOT Ferry site  "International service to and from Sidney, B.C. remains suspended until further notice due to continued significant crewing and vessel availability challenges. There will be no service to and from Sidney through at least Spring of 2030."

I found one way to get to Vancouver Island Port Angeles to Victoria on Black Ball Ferry Line | Daily Departures to Victoria and Port Angeles  and then this site but wonder if this is still current. Departures & Arrivals | BC Ferries