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To clear up a common misconception, Powell River is on the mainland, not on an island. This area of British Columbia is commonly identified as the Sunshine Coast.Yes the road from Vancouver includes two ferry crossings, but the crossings are over fjords that cut deeply into the coastline. It is far more efficient to sail a short distance over the fjords than it is to go around them in mountainous terrain as that would multiply the trip distance many times. View the map!

Click the link to find our location with Google Maps

Click the map (courtesy of BC Ferries) to see the full-sized version.
Dotted blue lines shows the ferry routes.
Pink lines shows the highways.

Avoid surprises! Be sure to click the links to the websites of these transportation services for schedules, fares, and making reservations.

By road - from Vancouver, BC:

Travel north from Vancouver to the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay Terminal at Horseshoe Bay. There you take the ferry to the Langdale Terminal on the Sechelt Peninsula. Be careful as there are also ferries to other destinations, including Vancouver Island, so take the correct ferry. Once on the peninsula drive north, approximately 1.5 hours, along the coast, to Earl's Cove. Earl's Cove doesn't have much in the way of facilities but there is a restaurant there, at the parking lot (try the borscht - yumm). Take the ferry there to Saltery Bay. Only a half-hour drive, along the coast, from there gets you into Powell River. Paved highways all the way (except for the ferry decks). You have to pay for only one ferry, at Horseshoe Bay going north, or Saltery Bay going south, paying only to get on to the Sechelt Peninsula. You get off either end of the peninsula for free. Usually the trip takes approximately four hours, but be sure to check ferry schedules and make sure you catch an early enough ferry to connect with the second ferry. After the last sailing of the day you would be stuck on the peninsula and as there are no hotels in Earl's Cove, you might have to drive south to Sechelt to find lodging for the night.

Point of interest. Just north of Langdale, on the Sechelt Peninsula, you will go past the town of Gibsons. If you want to see "Molly's Reach" cafe where the famous and long-running CBC television series was shot you have to turn off the new highway and take the old highway right into Gibsons.

By road - from Vancouver Island:

Drive to Courtenay (which is about half way up the eastern side of Vancouver Island) and head for the Little River BC Ferries Terminal just out of Comox. There is only one ferry that docks here. Take it to Powell River which you can see across the water. The ferry docks at the Westview Terminal, right in town.

By bus - from Vancouver:

Malaspina Coach Lines, Phone toll free (877) 227-8287. They operate very nice, modern, deluxe buses so it is quite a pleasant ride.

By air:

Pacific Coastal Airlines Ltd. has daily flights (only 30 minutes) between the South Terminal at Vancouver International Airport and Powell River Municipal Airport (right in town).
Toll free 1 (800) 663-2872
Vancouver Office: (604) 273-8666
Powell River Office: (604) 483-2107.

WestJet has a service to Comox on Vancouver Island and is just a short ferry ride away.
Toll Free: 1-888-WESTJET (1-888-937-8538) or 1-800-538-5696