My D will be spending some time at an internship this summer near Victoria, British Columbia. She is a recent high school graduate. She has been away from home the past two summers (after 10th and 11th grade), both times on college campuses, and is fairly self-sufficient, especially if neither H nor I am around.
This time, we will travel with her from home to Vancouver (where we will spend a week on vacation) and then drop her off on Vancouver Island, where she will travel to Nanaimo by ferry (or bus, depending on whether we stop at Victoria), then bus to Tofino.
Most likely, we’ll take her all the way to her destination but she wants to do it alone after we finish our vacation in Victoria. H and I are trying to decide whether we can confidently expect her to get from Nanaimo to Tofino, etc. On her return trip, I expect she will reverse the route, but H and I are understandably worried about her traveling alone. Again, she thinks she can manage just fine.
It’s a small program and there has not been much hand-holding from the coordinator.
I would appreciate any information and suggestions about ferry travel in the area and bus travel on Vancouver Island. We are also trying to decide whether she should make reentry at Vancouver or Seattle. Thanks, everyone.
So she’s heading into college, has been on her own but hasn’t done any significant traveling alone? Has she used public transportation before? My BIL lives in Vancouver and when we go up to visit, we park the car and go all over the place by public transportation. Everything is clearly marked, it’s easy to figure out and of course, every version from ferries to bus is online with all the information your D would need. It’s really easy to get from one place to another. I think you should let her find her own way-she’s about to fly away anyhow, so why not start now? Vancouver is a great city to start!
As for reentry, we just drive up there and do customs at the boarder. I don’t know anyone who does it through Seattle other than tourists on the cruise ships, so I can’t really help you there.
If she is not yet 18, make sure that she has a letter of permission from both her parents to cross the border, if she is returning to Seattle on her own. My D travelled from Toronto to California one time without me and US immigration gave her a big hassle at the airport, even though she’s a US citizen. I don’t think she’ll ever let me forget that one.
I second preparing the letter. My impression of Victoria is that it us a relatively safe place; not sure how reliable public transportation in the island is, but in Vancouver city it is great. Which airport is she flying from on the way back? If it is SEA, she can take the “rocket” from Victoria, re-enter the US in Seattle, and then ride the train from downtown to the airport. If you decide on this route, I can provide some more specific guidance. I work downtown and know our local public transit quite well.
She is 18 and has flown extensively and is good with public transportation in big cities. I’m actually more concerned about the backwoods travel that has only one or two travel times each day. Once she leaves the station, she’ll have to make sure she makes all the connections and gets to the airport on time.
@BunsenBurner , thank you for the offer. Once I can get more details from D, I’ll send you a PM. H seems to think that he wants her to come back through Seattle, so I’ll have to ask him why.
I find questions like this ridiculous. My great-grandfathers left their villages, traveled alone across half the world to America, and supported themselves when they got here, at the age of 15. One of them was a deserter who would have been shot or sent to Siberia if anyone got suspicious during the first thousand miles or so of his journey.
Can an 18-year-old not too far outside the range of normal developmental abilities handle travel on unreliable public transportation in a remote area? Of course he or she can. Might there be mistakes? Sure, and your kid will figure out how to deal with them.
Tofino is an absolutely beautiful and peaceful area. How great for your daughter! Not sure what program she’ll be on but I’m jealous.
The beauty of technology these days is its so easy to be connected via smartphones which adds a measure of safety and connectivity. She’ll be fine. Any little snafus are what adds to the adventure. I hope she has a marvelous time!
Kids learn pretty quickly. My daughter studied in Cadiz, Spain for five months last year - she celebrated her 16th birthday while there. She figured out public transportation without any trouble. She grew up so much! And boy, can she speak Spanish now. She’s tiny (5’-3" and 95 pounds), but she’s tough. I wouldn’t worry about her in Vancouver at all.
Well, hopefully she won’t do what my great-grandmother did – a great-grandmother who endured a similar trip as JHS’s great-grandfather at age 16. She basically got scared when she stepped foot into the US, and, within a week, she’d married the first guy she met, probably to get some help with transportation.
I don’t think AttyMom is worried about Vancouver, and she shouldn’t, it’s a safe city that is easy to navigate. They’ll be with her in Vancouver and then take her to Victoria.
@AttorneyMother It’s easy for us to say not to worry but I know, as a mom, that even with my girls who are seasoned world travellers and have been since they were mid-teens, I still worry. It’s what moms do. As to your D, I imagine she will be just fine. Tofino is remote and beautiful and what a wonderful experience for her. There will be people to ask, if she has questions or concerns.
@notteling , I’ll be sure to tell her that if she resorts to that measure, she get a pre-nuptial agreement signed first.
Tofino (as does all of Vancouver Island) looks lovely and she will be without cell phone while at the internship so she will be “roughing it.”
If she gets stuck in Victoria because she misses her connection, I’ll be sure to tell her to check into the Hotel Empress and have the tea service there:
On a serious note, for the return trip, I can almost guarantee she’ll be offered a ride by someone from Tofino to Vancouver or Victoria. Tofino is a very small, very friendly place and there’s a steady stream of cars leaving Tofino bound for those places.
My grandmother is from Nanaimo, bit of a homecoming when we head over to Vancouver Island. The cousins still have a house on the east coast of the island, property that has been in the family for 150 years. I don’t know anything about the buses but we have an account with BC Ferries, good website and a smartphone app with regular updates. It’s very easy to travel by ferry, just busy during the summers.
+1 for what nottelling says, good place for her to hang out for a while.
Not having a cell phone or coverage is a different story. Will she have a computer? If she needs to figure things out (and she will do great if she needs to) what are her options for gathering information? Are there public phones or phones in her housing? If so, make sure she has an international calling card.
Will you be able to call her?
Of course, there will many kind people around and they will be helpful. Nonetheless, all of the ferry, bus and such can be printed out ahead of time. Do know that things can change–so be sure she has the correct time period.
If you are driving a car onto the ferry know that you will need to line up (sorry–cannot remember --but at least 1 hour ahead of time, more in the summer) early.
We have been to Vancouver and Victoria with D, but not in recent years. I doubt that she remembers much.
@oregon101, we are trying to get D to cover most of the possibilities ahead of time for the reason that she will be on the west coast of the island and away from technology. She will have a computer (but no internet for it) and her cell phone (but no service until she gets back to a city). She will have an international calling card. The station is actually within First Nation territory so she will be surrounded by fabulous scenery and have an incredible time. Thanks for your suggestions.
With her computer, and her phone if its a smart phone (even without active service), she can access the internet and therefore pretty much anything at places where wifi is available. Once she’s placed in her internship, she’s with other people so as a mom I wouldn’t be concerned. My guess is your concern is getting to her destination and back. It’s easy to find wifi access these days if needed and readily available in Nanaimo and Tofino and points in between at cafes and coffee shops. Both of you should set up a free skype account ahead of time to communicate and can even consider skype phone service which is a small charge. I have both children abroad right now. The one that is the farthest, over 5,000 miles away, has a clearer connection on skype calls to home than via a Verizon cell phone from her dorm room.
