Victoria BC excursions

Hello. We are cruising in early June and will be arriving in Victoria on the return part around 6PM. The cruise line doesn't offer many excursions. One is a 2 hour stroll that we were sort of interested in because of the good reviews it recd. Apparently a tour guide named IAN gets very high marks.

Another is an evening in Butchart Gardens.

Can anyone offer suggestions as what to do in Victoria? I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

Hello. We are cruising in early June and will be arriving in Victoria on the return part around 6PM. The cruise line doesn't offer many excursions. One is a 2 hour stroll that we were sort of interested in because of the good reviews it recd. Apparently a tour guide named IAN gets very high marks.

Another is an evening in Butchart Gardens.

 

Can anyone offer suggestions as what to do in Victoria? I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

Butchart is very popular - and an evening stop like yours is one of the few occasions when cruiseline excursions become strongly advisable (other options for getting there are expensive, or very time-consuming and at high risk of missing the ship).

In general these late-arriving, short stops to satisfy PVSA are far from ideal. The excellent museum, tours of parliament, many other fun attractions around downtown are closed by the time you get off the ship so can't be visited.

Personally Victoria is all about the beer for me in the evenings. Since you're from Milwaukee, you could compare & contrast local beers with your own at Swans Brewpub, or one of many bars dotted around Government Street.

Victoria is a great city to just walk around in - in June sunset will be very late so you'll have three hours plus of good light after you get off the ship. Compare the walking tour carefully with others available locally (tripadvisor has listings) as it's probably jacked-up in price and with a larger group than normal for such things. A 2 hour tour is usually about CAN$15pp, $30 if it's a pub crawl with included samples. Unless the cruiseline is offering a very close match in price - NB: exchange rate! - even if you want a guided tour I'd be inclined to contact some local guides independently...

Here's a vid to get some ideas.... Yep Butchart is the highlight for Victoria, along with the inner harbor... You are lucky to be going in June for the longer daylight.

[YOUTUBE]DXGMBuyRWoE[/YOUTUBE]

The gardens are beautiful - I strongly recommend it unless you think you will be back in Victoria in the near future and can spend more time there. It is sort of difficult to get there, so being on a cruise ship makes that opportunity a good option.

Go with the ship's excursion for it.

Hello. We are cruising in early June and will be arriving in Victoria on the return part around 6PM. The cruise line doesn't offer many excursions. One is a 2 hour stroll that we were sort of interested in because of the good reviews it recd. Apparently a tour guide named IAN gets very high marks.

Another is an evening in Butchart Gardens.

 

Can anyone offer suggestions as what to do in Victoria? I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

What types of things do you enjoy? Active? Not very active? Food? Drink? Shopping? I can try and think of a few other suggestions. So far...

It's a pretty nice stroll on your own from the cruise ship terminal into the inner harbour/downtown area. There's a walkway that runs all along the water after Fisherman's Wharf which allows you to watch the seaplanes come and go, plus it's the prettiest.

Once in the harbour area, the Royal BC Museum may start the late hours in June, I'm not totally sure when those begin but I love that museum so always recommend it.

Someone else mentioned breweries/brewpubs - we have lots! Swans is a pretty location and one of the originals, Spinnakers is a little further a field but the original micro brewery in Victoria. My personal favourite is Moon Under Water, which is less scenic and would need a cab ride to reach but their beers are better. The Churchill & Garricks Head are on Government Street have great tap selection (55+ each), some local, some not as does The Drake (on Pandora, across the road from Swans actually).

If they're running, the Ghostly Walks are really cool - get your history lesson and ghost stories all in one. They meet at the Tourist info at the North end of the inner harbour and are a walking tour around downtown.

Beacon Hill Park is pretty easy to access and it's a beautiful park too.

The Butchart Gardens but I would only do that as a cruise tour if your ship is leaving at 11:00 PM.

Another option is simply to walk around the beautiful downtown area of Victoria on your own and have dinner there.

Keith

Another vote for Butchart Gardens! We were there last May - absolutely incredible!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is! Even the guys in our group were stunned. LOL! Our ship arrived in Victoria around 6:00 or so - we were supposed to arrive earlier, but we were greatly delayed out of San Francisco due to engine trouble. Anyway, we picked up the gardens shuttle (CVS Sightseeing) in front of the Fairmont Express. It was quite a hike from the ship, so you might want to take a cab or I think there is a shuttle from the pier that will take you there? We weren't aware of one at the time - hindsight is 20/20! Anyway, once on the shuttle from the Fairmont, it was about a 45 minute drive to the gardens I think. We still had plenty of time to thoroughly enjoy the gardens due to the long hours of daylight that time of year. We are stopping there again in May during our Alaskan cruise. Not sure if we'll do the gardens again or walk along the waterfront and explore that area. Google Butchart Gardens - their page has a lot of information for arriving cruise ship passengers. I took TONS of pictures, but none of them did the real thing justice!! It's breathtaking!!

You didn't indicate your interests or physical ability so it's hard to make suggestions.

Like most towns, Victoria has a web site where you will find lots of ideas:http://www.tourismvictoria.com/things-to-do/

Butchart Gardens is my favorite, but if you're short on time, look at a visit to Fishermans Wharf or Beacon Hill Park, both of which are within a 10-15 minute walk distance of the pier (Ogden Point).

http://fishermanswharfvictoria.com/

http://www.beaconhillpark.ca/

Victoria has a very interesting Chinatown .. diy or with a tour.

http://discoverthepast.com/chinatown-walks/

Otherwise the Inner Harbor is a fun place to spend a few hours ... the Empress Hotel and it's gardens, watching float planes and boats come and go, and usually a piper or 2. You can walk there or take the ship will have a shuttle.

Butchart Gardens is my favorite, but if you're short on time, look at a visit to Fishermans Wharf or Beacon Hill Park, both of which are within a 10-15 minute walk distance of the pier (Ogden Point).

http://fishermanswharfvictoria.com/

http://www.beaconhillpark.ca/

Great info links - thanks! I think we may take in the park and then the wharf area since we didn't get to see those last year. Pardon my ignorance, but is Beacon Hill Park open 24 hours? No admission? The website didn't say.

Great info links - thanks! I think we may take in the park and then the wharf area since we didn't get to see those last year. Pardon my ignorance, but is Beacon Hill Park open 24 hours? No admission? The website didn't say.

No admission charge; the petting zoo asks for donations.

We are both fit and active. Being from Milwaukee we certainly like beer, eating, sightseeing and shopping.

Thanks mapleleaves, etoilefj and lhartwick and ohters for your great suggestions/input. I'll do a little more research and figure out whether it's the 'paid' stroll, a diy stroll or the Butchart gardens.

Appreciate the responses!

You're welcome :) if you have any other/specific feel free to shoot me a message (I'm a local).

Our stop is short also. I think we arrive at 7:30 pm and leave at midnight. I'm thinking we will just do the walk from the cruise port along fisherman's wharf to downtown. We'll want to eat somewhere, preferably with a view and not outrageously expensive. Any suggestions ? :)

Our stop is short also. I think we arrive at 7:30 pm and leave at midnight. I'm thinking we will just do the walk from the cruise port along fisherman's wharf to downtown. We'll want to eat somewhere, preferably with a view and not outrageously expensive. Any suggestions ? :)

Milestone's is right on the inner harbour, right across from the Empress Hotel; it's a chain, good food, $25 entree range. Fisherman's wharf has a few fast food spots and is the most scenic since you're right on the pier. Barb's Place has the best fish and chips. Other view restaurants; the Blue Crab in the Coast Harbourside hotel is pricier but great view. The best view is Vista 18, at the top of the Chateau Victoria hotel. Think the entrees are in the $30+ range, maybe check out their menu online first. The restaurant has views around at almost 360° on the top floor. It's very neat and the food is great.

For other good food, neat ambiance but not scenery, Il Terrazzo is very good.

Try pescatores, great seafood. Also, take a stroll up government st. Sightseeing tour or a carriage ride

So...I assume the pubs, etc., take American money?

Speaking of which, I can never get exchange rates correct. Does using American money go further in Canada...or vice versa?

So...I assume the pubs, etc., take American money?

 

Speaking of which, I can never get exchange rates correct. Does using American money go further in Canada...or vice versa?

Most places will take American cash (your change will be in Canadian dollars though). The exchange rate is currently very much in your favor. Businesses do set their own, generally about the same, at the moment around 30% (so your $1US dollar is $1.30 Canadian).

To get the best and most current exchange rate you're better off using a credit card, provided your card doesn't do an exchange surcharge.

There are a few currency exchanges, one in the Bay Centre mall, just up on Government Street.

So...I assume the pubs, etc., take American money?

 

Speaking of which, I can never get exchange rates correct. Does using American money go further in Canada...or vice versa?

We have two credit cards which do not charge foreign transactions fees, but we also just use an ATM machine to obtain Canadian currency.

Most places will take American cash (your change will be in Canadian dollars though). The exchange rate is currently very much in your favor. Businesses do set their own, generally about the same, at the moment around 30% (so your $1US dollar is $1.30 Canadian).

 

To get the best and most current exchange rate you're better off using a credit card, provided your card doesn't do an exchange surcharge.

 

There are a few currency exchanges, one in the Bay Centre mall, just up on Government Street.

Thanks for the quick response. Maybe one day I'll get the exchange rate thing down...:D