The Hub City–Nanaimo–is home to three ferry routes. Duke Point, south of Nanaimo, serves Tsawwassen, which lies south of Vancouver. This is your best bet if you wish to travel to the Vancouver airport, to the US, or to the southern interior of BC and the Trans-Canada Highway. Departure Bay, central Nanaimo, serves Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. This is what you choose if the city of Vancouver is your destination. And then there is Nanaimo Harbour, where you catch the ferry to Gabriola. Further solidifying its standing as a ferry destination, Nanaimo is also home to the BC Ferries workers union. But it doesn’t stop there. Besides serving the city of Nanaimo and its surroundings, Nanaimo’s ferry routes are the preferred ways to reach the mainland by residents of Western and Northern Vancouver Island. It’s no wonder that Nanaimo’s long ferry lineups on a summer weekend rival no other destination.