Everything you need to know before you head out of Vancouver for the long weekend

The Labour Day long weekend is a great opportunity for a brief getaway.

Whether it's a trip by boat, plane, or car, wait times are bound to be part of the journey so it's best to plan ahead and avoid peak travel times. 

Here is everything you need to know about leaving Vancouver this long weekend.

BC Ferries

BC Ferries is expecting a busy weekend from Sept. 1-5 and encourage travellers to book in advance if they're travelling between Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast. Those travelling without a booking are also encouraged to arrive at the terminal as early as possible and be prepared for sailing waits. 

Foot passengers can also expect significant sailing waits as BC Ferries say they "may reach foot passenger capacity at peak travel times."

Sailings to Vancouver Island are expected to be busiest all day Friday and on Saturday morning, while sailings to the Sunshine Coast are predicted to be busiest all Friday morning, according to BC Ferries. 

Travellers going to the Mainland can expect sailings to be very busy all day Friday, and all day Monday. 

BC Ferries recommends travelling outside of those peak times to avoid sailing waits. 

YVR Airport

Travellers flying out of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) may want to prepare for long wait times as the airport predicts the number of average daily passengers to reach near pre-pandemic levels for Labour Day weekend. 

"For the week of August 29 [to] September 5, YVR is expected to welcome an average of 66,000 passengers per day for a total of 461,713 for the week," YVR airport said. 

Sunday, September 4 is expected to be one of the busiest travel days at the airport. 

"Across any given day, early-to-mid morning will be the heaviest for passenger flow with volume easing late morning and into the afternoon before peaking again in the evening," the airport adds. 

Check-in and security screening peak times are expected to be between 6 a.m. and noon for domestic flights, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for international flights, and 6 to 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. to noon for U.S. flights. 

The airport recommends that passengers arrive up to two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for U.S. and international flights.

Crossing the border

B.C.'s five U.S. border entry points may experience wait times this long weekend. As of late morning on Sept. 2, Pacific Highway and Peace Arch border wait times are the longest with a 30 and 40 minute delay crossing into the U.S. and a one hour and a 46 minute delay crossing into Canada. 

The border wait times to cross into the U.S. and into Canada are continuously updated. 

Don't forget you must fill out the ArriveCan app prior to returning to Canada. Here's everything B.C. travellers need to know about using the app.

Driving B.C.'s highways

For those hitting the road within British Columbia, check for traffic alerts like road closures and significant delays via Drive BC's Twitter feed or highway traffic cams.