VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 187

Services
In a medical emergency, call 911 or contact Victoria General Hospital (1 Hospital Way,
250/727-4212). For nonurgent cases, a handy facility is James Bay Medical Treatment
Centre (230 Menzies St., 250/388-9934). For dental care, try the Cresta Dental Centre
(3170 Tillicum Rd., at Burnside St., 250/384-7711). You can fill prescriptions at Shopper's
Drug Mart (1222 Douglas St., 250/381-4321, 7am-7pm daily).
The main post office is on the corner of Yates and Douglas Streets. All of Victoria's
downtown accommodations have in-room wireless Internet access. As a general rule, the
least expensive lodgings offer wireless access for free, while upscale properties like the
Fairmont Empress charge a fee. A good option for travelers on the run is the small café on
the lower level of the Hotel Grand Pacific (463 Belleville St., 7am-7pm daily), where pub-
lic Internet access is free with a purchase.
Libraries
The central branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library (735 Broughton St., at the
corner of Courtney St., 250/382-7241, www.gvpl.ca , 9am-6pm Mon.-Sat., until 9pm Tues.-
Thurs., 1pm-5pm Sun., closed Sun. in summer) has a special collection focusing on the his-
tory and peoples of Vancouver Island.
GETTING THERE
Air
Air Canada (604/688-5515 or 888/247-2262, www.aircanada.ca ), Pacific Coastal (604/
273-8666 or 800/663-2872, www.pacificcoastal.com ), and WestJet (604/606-5525 or 800/
538-5696, www.westjet.com ) have scheduled flights between Vancouver and Victoria, but
the flight is so short that the attendants don't even have time to throw a bag of peanuts in
your lap.
Victoria International Airport ( www.victoriaairport.com ) is on the Saanich Peninsula,
20 kilometers (12.4 miles) north of Victoria's city center. Once you've collected your bag-
gage from the carousels, it's impossible to miss the rental car outlets (Avis, Budget, Hertz,
and National) across the room, where you'll also find a currency exchange and informa-
tion booth. Outside is a taxi stand and ticket booth for AKAL Airport Shuttle Bus (250/
386-2525 or 877/386-2525, www.victoriaairportshuttle.com , adult $21, child $13 each way
to downtown). A taxi costs approximately $70 to downtown.
Several companies operate seaplanes between downtown Vancouver and downtown
Victoria. From Coal Harbour, on Burrard Inlet, Harbour Air (604/274-1277 or 800/