Courtenay, Comox and the Comox Valley

Getting around Courtenay, Comox and the Comox Valley the local way

Most visitors drive up-island on Highway 19 from the Nanaimo ferries; the Comox airport and the Comox-Powell River ferry are the two ways in that skip the long drive, and reaching Denman or Hornby Island means one ferry chain of two hops.

1. 01
   Comox (Little River) - Powell River (Westview)ferry

   Comox Little River ferry terminal to Powell River Westview terminal, Sunshine Coast

   Where

   Little River terminal is east of Courtenay; BC Transit route 11 runs there from downtown

   When

   Four round trips daily

   Fare

   Not confirmed for 2026; BC Ferries fares sit behind the Queue-it wall and no fare was found on a page that specifically prices this route

   Takes

   1h 25m crossing

   Season

   Year-round; source gives no separate winter timetable

   Booking

   Vehicle reservations available online; walk-on passengers do not need one

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023-10) · confidence high

2. 02
   Comox-Powell River is the only ferry link, so onward travel doubles the crossingservice status

   Comox Valley to Powell River and the Sunshine Coast

   Where

   n/a - this is a routing fact, not a service to find

   When

   n/a

   Fare

   n/a

   Takes

   n/a

   Season

   n/a

   Booking

   n/a

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023) · confidence medium

3. 03
   Comox Valley Regional Airport (YQQ)scheduled flight

   Comox to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver

   Where

   Terminal is off Knight Road, Comox; BC Transit route 11 connects it to downtown Courtenay

   When

   Daily non-stop flights on the three routes named

   Fare

   Not confirmed

   Takes

   Not confirmed per-route from this source

   Season

   Year-round per airport site; no winter-cancellation data found

   Booking

   Standard airline booking

   Sources: comoxairport.com (2026-09) · confidence high

4. 04
   IslandLink Bus - Comox Valley to Nanaimo and Victoriabus

   Downtown Courtenay to Departure Bay ferry terminal (Nanaimo) and on to Victoria

   Where

   Book at islandlinkbus.com; pickup at the downtown Courtenay stop on Cliffe Avenue

   When

   Not itemised for the Courtenay leg on the pages fetched

   Fare

   Not confirmed for 2026

   Takes

   Not confirmed

   Season

   Year-round, per operator site

   Booking

   Online booking until midnight the day before; cash to the driver space permitting

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023-01) · islandlinkbus.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

5. 05
   Wilson's/Tofino Bus no longer serves the Comox Valleyservice status

   n/a

   Where

   n/a

   When

   n/a

   Fare

   n/a

   Takes

   n/a

   Season

   n/a

   Booking

   n/a

   Sources: viconnector.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

6. 06
   E&N rail corridor - no passenger servicetrain

   Former Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway line through Courtenay

   Where

   n/a - line does not carry passengers

   When

   None

   Fare

   n/a

   Takes

   n/a

   Season

   n/a

   Booking

   n/a

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023) · confidence medium

7. 07
   BC Transit Comox Valley Regional Transit Systembus

   13 routes across Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland, Royston, south to Fanny Bay/Deep Bay, north to Oyster River

   Where

   Main stop is on Cliffe Avenue, downtown Courtenay; live GTFS at bctransit.com

   When

   Varies by route; several run Monday-Saturday only, with limited weekend trips on some

   Fare

   Not confirmed for 2026

   Takes

   n/a - local network

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   None; also runs handyDART for riders needing assistance

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023) · bct.tmix.se (2026-09) · confidence high

8. 08
   BC Transit route 11 - airport and ferry connectorbus

   Downtown Courtenay to Comox Valley Regional Airport and Comox (Little River) ferry terminal

   Where

   Board at the Cliffe Avenue stop or the Anfield Exchange in Courtenay

   When

   Monday to Saturday, a number of trips; GTFS lists roughly two dozen scheduled trips a day on this route id

   Fare

   Not confirmed for 2026

   Takes

   Not itemised

   Season

   Year-round

   Booking

   None

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023) · bct.tmix.se (2026-09) · confidence high

9. 09
   Buckley Bay - Denman Island, then Denman - Hornby Islandcable ferry

   Buckley Bay ferry terminal (south of Courtenay on Hwy 19A) to Denman Island, then cross Denman by road to its east side for the Hornby Island ferry

   Where

   Drive south on Highway 19A to Buckley Bay; the Hornby leg leaves from Denman's east-side terminal, not Buckley Bay

   When

   Daily service on both legs; the summary in the source does not give sailings per day

   Fare

   Not confirmed for 2026

   Takes

   Not itemised in this source

   Season

   Year-round for the ferries; the connecting island bus is summer-only on some days

   Booking

   None; vehicle reservations not offered on these minor routes per general BC Ferries practice

   Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2023) · confidence high

10. 10
    Harbour Air seaplane - Comox to downtown Vancouverseaplane

    Comox Harbour to Vancouver Coal Harbour

    Where

    Terminal at Comox Harbour; book through Harbour Air

    When

    Not itemised on the pages fetched

    Fare

    Not confirmed for 2026

    Takes

    50 minutes per the Wikivoyage listing

    Season

    Seasonal per Wikivoyage; current site confirms the route still exists but does not state which months

    Booking

    Standard Harbour Air online booking

    Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-04) · harbourair.com (2026-09) · confidence medium

Not yet confirmed: No BC Ferries fare was found for the Comox (Little River) - Powell River (Westview) route; bcferries.com sits behind the Queue-it waiting room and bcferriesapi.ca, the documented third-party bypass, does not list this minor route among the ones it mirrors (only BOW, DUK, FUL, HSB, LNG, NAN, SWB, TSA appeared in a live query on 2026-09-29). Ask BC Ferries directly or check the fare PDF at time of travel.; The Island rail corridor's precise status (last passenger run, any restoration funding or feasibility timeline) could not be confirmed: islandrail.ca (Island Corridor Foundation) returned a bot-challenge page under both HTTP/2 and HTTP/1.1 with a browser user agent, so nothing there could be cited. Wikivoyage's Courtenay article only shows that the old CPR station is now disused ('Former Canadian Pacific Railway Station'). Ask the Island Corridor Foundation or check current BC transport ministry news for the corridor's status.; IslandLink Bus fares and schedule specifics for the Courtenay-Nanaimo-Victoria run were not found on the pages fetched; the operator's own site describes the network and history but the schedule/fare pages did not resolve to route-specific data in this session. Check islandlinkbus.com directly when booking.; The brief describes 'Island Link and Wilson's coaches down island' as if both currently serve the Comox Valley. Current sourcing shows only IslandLink does; Wilson's Transportation's corridor brand (viconnector.com, formerly tofinobus.com) lists Nanaimo, Victoria and Campbell River but no Courtenay or Comox stop was found on its site as fetched. This is flagged as a correction to the brief.; Winter storm cancellation rates for the Comox-Powell River ferry and for YQQ flights were not confirmed on any page fetched during this research; no fabricated frequency or rate is included above. Ask BC Ferries or the airport directly, or check a local outlet like the Comox Valley Record for storm-season coverage.; Denman-Hornby ferry sailings-per-day and fares were not itemised in the Wikivoyage source used; check BC Ferries' Buckley Bay-Denman-Hornby schedule directly.; Float plane or other charter operators beyond Harbour Air at Comox Harbour were not checked; only the one route already documented in Wikivoyage was confirmed as still live..

The field note on Courtenay, Comox and the Comox Valley reads this entry in full, one option at a time, with every source beside it.