Port Tours

The best way to understand how the port works is to see it, first hand. 

Public Tours

Tours of the Port of Vancouver are provided to the public throughout the year and include a brief overview of the port and a tour of the maritime facilities. Tours last approximately an hour and a half, and allow guests to get a close up look at this publicly-owned facility. 

What you need to know before you take our tour:

• Official photo identification is required from all participants age 18 and over. A few examples include: driver’s licenses, passports, or state-issued identification cards.
• No cameras are allowed on the secure terminals. We ask that you please leave your camera at home.
• Due to high occupancy of our tours, the port is limiting each individual to two tours a year. We have several tours a year that fill to capacity and we want tours to be available to as many people as possible.
• We ask that each tour guest is 13 or older. We do offer special family tours for all ages in the summer. 

Group Tours

Group tours are another way for the public to get a look at port facilities. We often have school groups or local clubs that want to take a tour of the port. To keep these interests from conflicting with public tours, the port works with groups to setup individual tours on a more flexible schedule. Rules for group tours include:

• Group tours are geared for 20 or more people. If your group has less than 20 participants we would encourage you to sign up for a public VIP tour. 
• Groups must provide their own transportation for these tours. This typically involves a bus rental.
• For the sake of staff time, individual groups are limited to one tour per year.
• Identification requirements and our camera policy apply to group tours as well. Please remember photo Identification and please leave cameras at home. 

Washington state law prohibits the Port of Vancouver from conducting tours for private benefit or profit. Individuals may participate in regular VIP port tours, or may contact our marine/marketing department for more information about conducting business with the port. Thank you for your interest in the Port of Vancouver.

Click here to sign up for our email notification list for upcoming port tours.
 

Port Photo Policy

The Port of Vancouver USA is fully cooperative with the media, and intends to provide access for photography whenever possible. However, the port does reserve the right to decline requests if circumstances prevent the port from granting access.
 
Media requests for photography on any and all port property will be reviewed taking into consideration:

• Credentials of news gathering entity
• Availability of qualified escort personnel
• Sensitivity to the media outlet’s deadlines
• Subject of story/photo opportunity request
• Sensitivity of customers, nature of cargo, terminal activities, cargo handling operations, etc.
• Current MARSEC security levels
   

Within its maritime facilities, the Port of Vancouver USA is subject to Department of Homeland Security regulations as enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard and does not grant requests from members of the public, political candidates, or elected officials to take photographs within the  marine terminals at the Port of Vancouver.
 
Photography is also not permitted during the port’s public tours, due to the same security regulations.
 
Media requests for access to the terminals should be directed to the port’s communications office at 360-992-1107. All media requests will be considered by the port’s communications and operations staff before approval is granted.