Jump to Listings Below

Departure Bay is a beautiful oceanside neighbourhood, a bowl-shaped valley rising from a large beach.

It is a highly desirable area owing to its spectacular ocean views, large swimming beach and park, well-kept homes, and central location. Almost anyone who's been to Nanaimo will be familiar with Departure Bay as the large bay where the ferry arrives from Vancouver. (But the ferry terminal is not in the residential area referred to as Departure Bay - it's in the Brechin Hill neighbourhood.)

There are luxury waterfront houses down by the beach of course, but as you go uphill you'll find different types of neighbourhoods. At the southern end are Cilaire and Beach Estates - then further north is the Lynburn neighbourhood, also notable for its mid-century and higher-end postwar homes. There are some strata buildings close to the beach, and then to the north, the land rises as dark basalt bluffs covered in houses of wood and glass. Sherwood Forest is tucked into here (with streets named Prince John Way, Marion Way, Bowstring Close, Nottingham, etc.).

North of Sherwood Forest there is still a lot of undeveloped land (beautiful undulating lands with arbutus and moss and towering firs and hemlock), with multiple ridges rolling back toward the Hammond Bay area. These ridges are still being developed with beautiful newer custom homes, but a large area has also been preserved as hiking trails and protected lakes.

Amenities are very near with several big malls within a 10 min drive. But even closer are the many beaches and rocky shores, most notably Pipers Lagoon and Neck Point, and of course the long sandy Departure Bay Beach, a popular (but seldom crowded) swimming beach with a playground, grassy lawn, driftwood hide-outs and a coffee shop.

Need help buying or selling in Departure Bay? Contact me.

Condos & Townhomes in Departure Bay

Properties for Sale in Departure Bay

Sort by:
New
2562 Departure Bay Rd 425, Nanaimo

$569,900

2562 Departure Bay Rd 425, Nanaimo

3 Beds 2 Baths 1,742 SqFt 0 SqFt Lot Condo Apartment MLS® # 956435

RE/MAX of Nanaimo

New
477 Nottingham Dr, Nanaimo

$1,269,900

477 Nottingham Dr, Nanaimo

5 Beds 4 Baths 2,820 SqFt 13,068 SqFt Lot Single Family Detached MLS® # 956148

eXp Realty

New
2733 Keighley Rd, Nanaimo

$569,000

2733 Keighley Rd, Nanaimo

2 Beds 2 Baths 1,738 SqFt 2,178 SqFt Lot Row/Townhouse MLS® # 955469

eXp Realty

New
2562 Departure Bay Rd 108, Nanaimo

$599,900

2562 Departure Bay Rd 108, Nanaimo

2 Beds 2 Baths 1,161 SqFt 1,307 SqFt Lot Condo Apartment MLS® # 956028

460 Realty Inc. (NA)

New
3745 Elworthy Pl, Nanaimo

$848,000

3745 Elworthy Pl, Nanaimo

3 Beds 2 Baths 1,370 SqFt 8,277 SqFt Lot Single Family Detached MLS® # 955823

eXp Realty

New
2562 Departure Bay Rd 420, Nanaimo

$425,000

2562 Departure Bay Rd 420, Nanaimo

2 Beds 2 Baths 1,246 SqFt 1,307 SqFt Lot Condo Apartment MLS® # 955715

Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty (NanIsHwyN)

New
3213 Point Pl, Nanaimo

$1,089,000

3213 Point Pl, Nanaimo

4 Beds 3 Baths 2,600 SqFt 2,614 SqFt Lot Row/Townhouse MLS® # 955619

Century 21 Harbour Realty Ltd.

2320/2316 Departure Bay Rd, Nanaimo

$1,399,900

2320/2316 Departure Bay Rd, Nanaimo

10 Beds 4 Baths 4,424 SqFt 11,326 SqFt Lot Quadruplex MLS® # 955510

RE/MAX of Nanaimo

2525 Departure Bay Rd, Nanaimo

$1,925,000

↓ $70,000

2525 Departure Bay Rd, Nanaimo

5 Beds 2 Baths 3,198 SqFt 35,720 SqFt Lot Single Family Detached MLS® # 955534

RE/MAX of Nanaimo

3059 Shamrock Pl, Nanaimo

$719,000

3059 Shamrock Pl, Nanaimo

4 Beds 2 Baths 1,926 SqFt 7,841 SqFt Lot Single Family Detached MLS® # 955345

eXp Realty

1217 Manzanita Pl 106, Nanaimo

$1,099,000

1217 Manzanita Pl 106, Nanaimo

4 Beds 4 Baths 1,871 SqFt 0 SqFt Lot Single Family Detached MLS® # 955177

RE/MAX Generation (LD)

3418 Ocean Mist Pl, Nanaimo

$839,900

3418 Ocean Mist Pl, Nanaimo

2 Beds 3 Baths 1,850 SqFt 0 SqFt Lot Row/Townhouse MLS® # 955050

RE/MAX of Nanaimo

View of dozens of Departure Bay homes among the trees

Nearby Schools:

  • Rock City Elementary ; 3741 Departure Bay Rd
  • Departure Bay Elementary ; 3004 Departure Bay Rd
  • Cilaire Elementary ; 25 Cilaire Dr
  • Wellington Secondary ; 3135 Mexicana Rd

Did You Know?

The first telephone line in British Columbia was installed here in the 1880s - it ran from the wharves at Departure Bay up to the coal town of Wellington (now part of Nanaimo, between Diver Lake and Long Lake). One of the mining engineers assembled the telephone system based on instructions he saw in a science magazine.

Back to Nanaimo neighbourhoods

Areas of Departure Bay, Nanaimo