Butchart Gardens - using Grayline buses

I have a full day in Victoria. Instead of using the ship's tour, I plan on using Grayline buses. From what I understand, I should take ship's shuttle to downtown Victoria and from there I can buy Grayline bus transfers to Butchart Gardens.

I looked on Grayline's website for Victoria and only came up with tours.

Can someone tell me the following:

1. Where do I pick up the Grayline buses. Near the Empress?

2. How much are their transfers and do they include admission to Butchart Gardens or do I pay for admission once I am there?

3. What times do they run and how often do they run (2x an hour?). I would like to get out there as soon as possible in the morning to see some of the gardens before the crowds show up.

4. Should I bring Canadian money or is Visa/MC good enough?

5. How long is realistic time spending at the gardens? I am trying to figure out how much time I have to walk around Victoria.

I will be there May 19th - I assume the buses will be running then and the gardens will look great then? Safe assumptions?

Thank you for all of your assistance!

As far as I know, Gray Line operates as a tour and includes admission in their

prices. Have a look at http://www.grayline.com/franchise.cfm/action/details/id/66

(Note: this link may not be active right now, they may be updating)

The basic tour takes about 4 hours, which is plenty of time to walk the

gardens and then visit Butterfly World. I have seen the Gray Line double deckers picking up right at the pier but not sure if this is just for the

ship's excursion or not. Other wise, they leave from in front of the Empress

which is easy to get to from the ship. US dollars are accepted everywhere, as are major credit cards. Everything here will be in full swing

on May 19th. and the gardens will be beautiful.

Are there any private drivers or public transportation to the gardens?

When you get off the ship, there is a huge parking lot off the pier. There

are usually dozens of limos, taxis, private tour guides, horse-drawn

caraiges, etc., all waiting to take your money. As far as I know, they are all pretty

reliable and I haven't seen any posts about missing the ship, overcharges,

etc. The only caveat for visiting Butchart Gardens is for the short, evening

arrivals with only 6 hours or so in port. In these cases, the ship's tours are

recommended as they cover you in the event of a delayed return. The Gardens

get pretty busy in the summer months and there can be some traffic delays.