 BC Ferries in Active Pass, Tourism BC/Adrian Dorst photo B.C. Ferries provides automobile and foot passenger service on a frequent basis year-round to terminals in Nanaimo and Schwartz Bay (near Victoria). Island visitors from the U.S. often arrive via the Black Ball Ferry (Port Angeles, WA. to Victoria) or Washington State Ferries (Anacortes, WA. to Sidney, B.C.). Public Transportation The Nanaimo Regional Transit System provides regularly scheduled morning, afternoon and early evening service linking the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre with Parksville's Wembley Mall (route 89) and Nanaimo's Woodgrove Centre (route 90).
Bus and Rail Travel  Greyhound Canada delivers passengers to Qualicum Beach twice daily from points north and south. Buses arrive and depart from the Visitor's Centre. The Malahat (train 198 in the VIA Rail passenger fleet) also stops here twice a day: typically in the late morning on its way north to Courtney; and then again in the early afternoon, while returning south through Parksville, Nanaimo, Chemainus and finally Victoria. Short-term visitors can disembark at the Qualicum Beach station and hop back aboard after lunch, shopping or a picnic on the beach (a 20-minute walk from the heritage train station). Volunteer greeters are on hand to direct traffic. Air Travel Orca Airways and KD Air's single-engine planes fly to Qualicum Beach from Vancouver International Airport. The breathtaking 30-minute flights arrive a few times daily in the winter (Nov-April) and several times per day in the summer. Qualicum Beach Airport, a small facility with a single asphalt runway, is located on the southeastern edge of town. Regional flights, mostly from Vancouver, also land at airports in Campbell River, Nanaimo and Comox.
Maps The Oceanside Tourism Association's Pocket Guide, a free publication produced annually, features nine maps that thoroughly cover a region that includes Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanoose, Coombs and Errington. A full street index for these areas is included with the detailed maps. The Pocket Guide can be picked up at the Visitor Centre along with a handy, large-format town map courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce.
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