Getting Here

DHAMMA MODANA, Vancouver Island Vipassana Association
2359 Calais Rd, Duncan, BC 

New Public BC Transit Bus Routes

Driving Directions from Victoria:

• Take Highway 1 North, 40 km to Duncan.
• Turn right onto Trunk Rd at the first traffic lights after the bridge.
• After 1.1 km Turn left onto Lakes Rd. You will come to a roundabout after 550m, continue straight, along Lakes Rd, for 1.3 km
• Turn left onto Wicks Rd. Continue for 1.3 km
• Turn left onto Calais Rd
• The entrance to the new centre will be on the right

Driving Directions from Nanaimo:

• Go S. on Hwy. 1 about 45km
• Turn left on to Herd Rd, The turn is just past the BC Hydro Switching Station on the left. Continue for 4.1 km
• Turn right onto Lakes Rd
• After 1.4 km, turn right onto Calais Rd
• The entrance to the new centre will be on the right

Directions from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Ferry Terminals on the Mainland: There are three options for catching the ferry to Vancouver Island from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. 1. Horseshoe Bay, North Vancouver to Departure Bay, Nanaimo, 2. Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, Sidney and, 3. Tsawwassen to Duke Point, Nanaimo. Duke Point arrives just south of Nanaimo and is the shortest distance to the center, however, Duke Point terminal does not have an easy public transit bus to Duncan, see below for more details. 

Driving Information from the Ferry Terminals

To get to Dhamma Modana from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, it is MUCH easier to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen to Duke Point than it is to catch the ferry from Tsawassen to Swartz Bay, Sidney. Duke Point is just south of Nanaimo on Hwy. 1.  Dhamma Modana is about 30 mins drive from Duke Point, but 70 minutes drive from Swartz Bay, Sidney. Please look at the ferry schedules and the website frequently, as there are weather and busier times. Reservations for the ferry cost $10 in advance. 

Public Transit to the Center

1. From North Vancouver, you can catch the express bus from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay where you can catch the ferry (1hr & 35mins duration) to Departure Bay, Nanaimo. From Departure Bay there is an express bus IslandLink to Duncan. You can reserve a seat on line. Plus, there is a public bus between Nanaimo and Duncan with BC Transit, the Nanaimo – Cowichan Express (7 runs/daily).
2. From Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal there at 2 options, one ferry to Swartz Bay , Sidney and the other to Duke Point , Nanaimo. Swartz Bay, Sidney has a public bus service from the terminal to Victoria downtown. From Victoria, catch Bus 70 (express) or 72 (not express) to Swartz Bay terminal. To go back to Victoria, do the reverse. The journey, under ideal conditions, takes four hours from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver, including bus, ferry, train and waiting. From downtown Victoria there is an express bus to Duncan, please check the Duncan Connector schedules. 
3. From Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to Duke Point, there is new a bus service that goes from the ferry terminal to Nanaimo, from Nanaimo you can catch a connecting bus on BC Transit. Please check out this bus link.
4. BC Ferries also provides a Connector Bus Service 

Vancouver Island Public Transit: 

• IslandLink bus service runs between Campbell River and Victoria, including stops at the Nanaimo Departure Bay ferry terminal. IslandLink stops in Duncan at the Duncan train station, this is 5 km from the Center. From there, you can access the BC Transit #6 Crofton-Chemainus bus. Get off the bus at Calais Rd. and walk down Calais Rd for about 15 minutes. There is also an express bus from Victoria to Duncan through IslandLink. Some stops have to be booked the day prior on-line for the bus driver to know to stop.  Booking on-line reserves your seat on the bus.
• BC Transit continues to add routes so check their link out, Cowichan BC Transit. There are new routes to Duncan daily.

Victoria, Duncan and Nanaimo have their own regional transit systems, please search online. If you find a new service, please email this information to [email protected]. Currently, Uber services are not available at this time.

Two options for more assistance with travel, either email registration, [email protected], or call, ph. 250.749-4499, the centre and leave a message requesting a call back. 

Taxi Cab Options in Duncan:

Harbour Air – Maple Bay

Dhamma Modana, Vancouver Island Vipassana Association – Map