Transportation to Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC

Does anyone have information on transportation to the Gardens that is less expensive than the $69 offered by Princess?

There are outfits like CVS that offer the same sorts of tours for a little cheaper (and with more flexibility, timewise). Look them up online, or look for them on the street in front of the Empress Hotel.

The cheapest way is to take the public bus #75 for $2.50 each way.

When we went there a few years ago we took the ship shuttle into town and then took the public bus. Very inexpensive and fun. Check it out. I seem to remember going into a store to buy the bus tickets. I think you need to get them before you get on the bus.

Here's a link to the CVS (private bus tour operator) Buchart Gardens tours: >>CLICK HERE<<.

Personally, I wouldn't take the city bus. The Gardens are a bit off the beaten path, and if you get on a non-express / direct route bus you could end up with a lovely (and time consuming) tour of back-woods Greater Victoria.

Cheers,

C.

There are outfits like CVS that offer the same sorts of tours for a little cheaper (and with more flexibility, timewise). Look them up online, or look for them on the street in front of the Empress Hotel.

 

The cheapest way is to take the public bus #75 for $2.50 each way.

We took a tour with a Co right next to the Empress.

I seem to remember going into a store to buy the bus tickets. I think you need to get them before you get on the bus.

Personally, I wouldn't take the city bus. The Gardens are a bit off the beaten path, and if you get on a non-express / direct route bus you could end up with a lovely (and time consuming) tour of back-woods Greater Victoria.

Does Princess offer evening excursions to Butchart Gardens? Our port time is 7:00PM to Midnight. I've heard it's beautiful at night but this short port time seems like it will be kind of rushed. I assume the gardens must close by about 10:00 or earlier.

We were there during the day as part of a land trip in 2005 and loved it.

Does Princess offer evening excursions to Butchart Gardens? Our port time is 7:00PM to Midnight. I've heard it's beautiful at night but this short port time seems like it will be kind of rushed. I assume the gardens must close by about 10:00 or earlier.

 

We were there during the day as part of a land trip in 2005 and loved it.

Yes, Princess offers evening tours. The gardens are lit at night, so they may stay open longer than you think. Also, the gardens, as you know, are stunning, but they can be "done" completely in 2 to 3 hours.

When are you going? Keep in mind that after September 15th they start closing at 5 daily, and during the cruise offseason they close as early as 3:30. I'm going on the last Golden Princess Alaska sailing of the year in a few weeks, and there is no Butchart Gardens tour offered by Princess on that sailing because the gardens close after we arrive at Victoria.

What about taxis? Are they readily available at the port? If so, any idea of cost?

We went to Butchart Gardens off the Golden Princess just last Friday, and I have to tell you, it was a little disappointing. The ship was a little late so we didn't get to the Gardens until about 8:45 and had to be back on the bus at 10:30. It just wasn't enough time and by the time we got there it was completely dark; I was hoping for at least some twilight. Yes, they have lighting but it is completely inadequate for an appreciation of the Gardens--it was actually a bit difficult just to find our way around.

We went to Butchart Gardens off the Golden Princess just last Friday, and I have to tell you, it was a little disappointing. The ship was a little late so we didn't get to the Gardens until about 8:45 and had to be back on the bus at 10:30. It just wasn't enough time and by the time we got there it was completely dark; I was hoping for at least some twilight. Yes, they have lighting but it is completely inadequate for an appreciation of the Gardens--it was actually a bit difficult just to find our way around.

I agree thats hardly worth it. :(

If your in port on a Saturday night, then it is very worth it, as they have fireworks, which are amazing. We docked late in the afternoon, it takes half hour or so to get there, and then we had a couple of hours of good light, then waited for the fireworks, when they were over was a mad dash to get back to the ship.

What about taxis? Are they readily available at the port? If so, any idea of cost?

A taxi would just loooooooove to take you to Butchart and back. Rates are metered so will vary, but all cabs charge the same - pretty accurate rates available here (ballpark to Butchart CAD$60/US$53 each way). Don't forget the entry fee (seasonal, usually CAD$30ish pp in cruise season).

In other words unless you can fill the cab you won't save anything compared to a ship excursion, as you need to pay the $30ish pp entry fee plus $120 for a cab - even with three of you all it takes is a traffic delay leaving the car park because of traffic (e.g. any of the nights that have fireworks on) and you'll spend more to do it yourself. If you're a group of four or five, taking your own cab will almost certainly save a little and of course does add flexibility with timing.

Since many cruise stops are brief, unless you are one of the lucky ones with most of a day to spare I strongly recommend taking ship tours. Traffic on firework nights is brutal - you don't want to miss your ships departure!

I believe the fireworks are only on during the summer months, so if you are coming on a Saturday in September you won't get to see them.

to the op, is your port stop one of the short ones or do you have time during the day?

my son-in-law is one of the pyro guys and I go almost every Saturday in the summer to see the fireworks. lucky me!

the gardens are lovely at night but not as beautiful as during the day. most ships have such a short stop here (7-midnight). hoping the ship docks on time and you zoom to butchart, you can see the gardens in the light. then watch the fireworks and return to the bus. labour day Saturday is the last fireworks show.

it is such a tight time-frame and far from port, I'd take a princess excursion. yes, I could drive you there cheaper. :p but I couldn't get you back as it can take an hour to get out of the parking lot, depending on where you are placed.

as far as public transit, it can take a couple of hours. that works if you have the whole day.

I feel bad for f-mattox who only got a rushed trip through the gardens in the dark. I'd be disappointed too!

When we went there a few years ago we took the ship shuttle into town and then took the public bus. Very inexpensive and fun. Check it out. I seem to remember going into a store to buy the bus tickets. I think you need to get them before you get on the bus.

If you want to take the public bus to Butchart, you can grab the #31 right outside the cruise terminal (don't cross the street and grab the bus going other other way, it'll just add 10 mins to the total trip); take it as far as "Royal Oak" and then transfer to the #75 which goes to Butchart. One $2.50 ticket gets you all the way. You can buy an all day pass at any local store; but no real need to.

Total travel time is about an hour by bus, vs about 25-30 mins in a taxi

map:

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/southbound+Dallas+NS+Montreal+(%23100116)/The+Butchart+Gardens,+800+Benvenuto+Ave,+Brentwood+Bay,+BC+V8M+1J8/@48.4956671,-123.5167319,12z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f74bb42db1b7b:0xd4fdf1246dada4a8!2m2!1d-123.385076!2d48.416631!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f6c19f8ae33bf:0x6f99f7862811ac04!2m2!1d-123.470626!2d48.563576!3e3?hl=en

note: you can actually change to the #75 at pretty much any point from downtown all the way to Royal Oak in the map link above, not just as Royal Oak, but not all schedules allow that, hence why I suggested Royal Oak

One $2.50 ticket gets you all the way. You can buy an all day pass at any local store; but no real need to.

Thank you one and all for the information. This will allow us to make a decision that will suit us best!

It's worth it if you want to take extra time between buses (longer than the transfer allows), or if you want to stop at the Butterfly Gardens on the way to (or on the way back from) Butchart Gardens. Or if you want to visit anything else around town, maybe on the spur of the moment. You're going to spend $5 anyway round trip, might as well buy a day pass for $5 and ride all you want… (I don't know if there's anywhere to buy one at the cruise terminal, though. We walked into town.)

True enough. There's a corner store on Superior Street @ Montreal St; that sells them, I think that's the closest to the cruise terminal. Saves you the walk all the way into town.

A taxi would just loooooooove to take you to Butchart and back. Rates are metered so will vary, but all cabs charge the same - pretty accurate rates available here (ballpark to Butchart CAD$60/US$53 each way). Don't forget the entry fee (seasonal, usually CAD$30ish pp in cruise season).

 

In other words unless you can fill the cab you won't save anything compared to a ship excursion, as you need to pay the $30ish pp entry fee plus $120 for a cab - even with three of you all it takes is a traffic delay leaving the car park because of traffic (e.g. any of the nights that have fireworks on) and you'll spend more to do it yourself. If you're a group of four or five, taking your own cab will almost certainly save a little and of course does add flexibility with timing.

 

Since many cruise stops are brief, unless you are one of the lucky ones with most of a day to spare I strongly recommend taking ship tours. Traffic on firework nights is brutal - you don't want to miss your ships departure!

Thank you martincath!

When I posted I had not looked at how far it was!:eek:

I think I will look into other means of tranportation.;)

For less than $40US, you can rent a car for the day. Seems like a good idea. Can you get a car rental near the cruise port?

For less than $40US, you can rent a car for the day. Seems like a good idea. Can you get a car rental near the cruise port?

There are downtown locations of all major chains - including Enterprise who will come collect you as a matter of course. Except that everyone who wants to rent a car also wants picked up, and there are only so many staff available to shuttle you back & forth, so you are probably as quick or quicker to just walk the 15-30mins to where the various offices are located.

Other issues to consider - time the rental office closes (often as early as 6pm). You can of course just drop the keys after hours, and trust the local franchisee & staff not to screw you over on fake damage, missing gas, etc. (do some Googling and you'll see why I specifically raise this issue...).

Evening-only Victoria stops are also impractical for car hire because even if they dock on-time, by the time you get off and to the office it's already closed so no car hire for you.

In short - if you have all-day a car rental can be a cheap & flexible thing to do, but double-check your timing (and be aware our gas prices are kinda high compared to the US).

Thanks, martincath, that was exactly what I was looking for. Our cruise arrives on Saturday, May 23, and is in Victoria from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. so the hours available should be just fine. There are 2 couples in our group so we will split the rental cost and gas. A 15 minute walk is certainly not a problem.

If you have any other pertinent information regarding Victoria or any other aspect of our cruise, feel free to let me know.

Thanks again,

Neal

Thanks, martincath, that was exactly what I was looking for. Our cruise arrives on Saturday, May 23, and is in Victoria from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. so the hours available should be just fine. There are 2 couples in our group so we will split the rental cost and gas. A 15 minute walk is certainly not a problem.

If you have any other pertinent information regarding Victoria or any other aspect of our cruise, feel free to let me know.

 

Thanks again,

Neal

8-5 stops are perfect for car rental office hours. I'd suggest perusing the boards - West Coast and even Alaska have many threads about Victoria as well as here on the Canada board - and if there's something you want to know that wasn't covered recently ask a specific Q. If Search is not working for you, as often seems to be the case, use a restricted Google search - just cut & paste Victoria site:cruisecritic.com into the Google search field, then you can sort the results by date etc. with much more flexibility than the built-in search (add restaurant, 'car rental' or other terms for more specific hits - and add '-queen' if you want to avoid mentions of the ship Queen Victoria!).