Victoria - City MUST DO?

We will be in port 2:00-9:00pm so we were thinking of just walking around the city. I don't think we will have enough time to do the Butchart Gardens the way I would like. Can you give me the Must Do things to see? We like nature, flowers, good seafood, excellent chocolate, etc.. Don't care about breweries or alcohol. Thanks!

I love Rogers chocolates (there is the great chocolate debate on CC about Victoria, so you may have other people suggest a different chocolate establishment.... to each to their own in love and chocolate LOL) they are on Government Street and to get there you will end up passing by the BC Parliament Buildings right on the water which are really pretty then they get all lit up at dusk. The Empress Hotel is there as well which is a land mark building. You can check out Beacon Hill Park. Here also is a walking map that shows the cruise terminal to downtown and the park:

https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1680&bih=920&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=beacon+hill+park+cruise+terminal+&oq=beacon+hill+park+cruise+terminal+&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4640.7653.0.7820.17.16.0.0.0.0.134.1580.10j6.16.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.3.259...0j0i67k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0PwhLPHCWlw#imgrc=hp09BvkfZJknHM:

Well, there are lots of threads on beautiful Victoria but most of them are on the Canada board (link below). There is lots to do without going to the Gardens, although with that time frame you certainly could do so and still be back in good time. Would you be willing to reconsider? Just asking. If your ship docks at 2, you'll probably be cleared by 2:30 and you'll need to be back for at least 8 or 8:30. In my opinion, the Gardens are very do-able. Just a thought.

Yes, Rogers Chocolates! Go and indulge! My mouth waters. :p

If you decide not to leave the downtown core, the best fish and chips lunch is at a favorite local spot called "Red Fish Blue Fish" and it is to die for. The chowder will send you to the moon. I had a cod tacone and was rendered speechless. SO GOOD! Long line on a busy day, though just so you know. Here is that link:

http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39 <--- Canada board with many Victoria threads, click here

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Love the gardens! That is a must do IMO.

I second Coral on Butchart Gardens as a must-do. You will have plenty of time to see them slowly, as they are meant to be enjoyed. My husband, who is not a garden enthusiast, went absolutely nuts for the place.

Hmmm maybe I will have to reconsider that then. Looking at the ships excursion (which we hardly ever do) it only allows 1.45 hours at the gardens. Is that enough time? I heard with the fireworks at night getting back can be a challenge.

I would go to the gardens on a ship's tour. I think you'll enjoy it. We spent two nights near Victoria and also enjoyed touring the Parliament and the little shops near the port area. We had tea at the gardens, so we did not do it at the Empress.

Forget the ship's tour - which is only worth taking on evening when the gardens are otherwise shut or our port time is very tight. Ludicrously overpriced.

Instead, with 7 hours in hand - and having to be back onboard long before the fireworks even begin therefore no issue with traffic leaving Butchart - get yourself onto a CVS shuttle bus. For ~CAD$75pp it's a hefty discount over ships tours AND a superior service in that you can stay as late as you like (well, within the hours that the shuttles run - I think it's hourly until 6pm then on the even hours IIRC). Even if you played it safe with a 6pm return bus, you could have longer than the ship's tour on-site and a hefty chunk of change that might pay for e.g. afternoon tea in the gardens.

If you were back downtown on the 6pm bus you'd also have time for shopping - the touristy stores along Gov't street tend to stay open in the evenings in high season so with your cruise being early Aug you'll have ample chance to sample choccies even if you don't want to try what Victoria does best IMO - beer;-)

If you decide to skip B/G take a cab to Craigdarock Castle and tour. Then walk to Government House and go through the free gardens. Then walk back to ship (it is a walk but all downhill) and walk past Empress back side gardens. We also enjoyed the Japanese Secret Gardens but you may not have time to squeeze them in. Check web sites of each for more info and prices.

sightcrr.

Hmmm maybe I will have to reconsider that then. Looking at the ships excursion (which we hardly ever do) it only allows 1.45 hours at the gardens. Is that enough time? I heard with the fireworks at night getting back can be a challenge.

With your schedule, fireworks wouldn't enter into it. The fireworks are only on Saturday night. Also, they don't start until 8:45 or later (time depends on when sunset falls, the start at 10:15 for the first show in July and 8:45 is for the last show in Sept. Even if you are visiting in September, you will be back at your ship for the 9 PM departure before the fireworks start.

Not sure which month you are going - but I have missed Victoria 2x due to winds. I would be hesitant to pre-book anything that wouldn't be refundable if your ship misses Victoria.

Locals can probably tell you more but I think May and September often have missed visits due to weather.

So, logistics here. Assuming I can get off the ship right at 2:30 when they dock (unlikely??), I have to hoof it to Empress hotel to make the 3:00 CSV shuttle. Arrive about 3:40 and take the 6:00 shuttle back. Or take the 4:00 shuttle and take the 8:00 shuttle back. The ship leaves at 9:30. Would this be cutting it close? Viator has a good deal for $55 but it looks like their last shuttle back is 6:15.

Dunno who Viator is reselling in this case - they don't have any of their own tours so it's definitely a local company - but since at best they match the local price it's pointless booking with any reseller in civilized ports. All the pricing I've given is in CAD, ballpark 80cents US so a good saving right off the bat. I usually find if you copy & paste some of the verbiage from the description, then Google Search it, you can find the original seller of Viator products quite easily.

With a 9:30 ship departure time the 8pm shuttle bus back would be safe - there's always that slim chance of some disaster or other, but absolute worst-case you're only a Clipper ride away from Seattle anyway!

I'd take a cab if the timing is tight - while CVS will shuttle you from cruise ships, they charge as much per person for this service as an entire cab does in normal traffic. So two (or three, or four etc) of you will spend ~$10 total on cab fare to the Empress vs. $20 for the shuttle bus (cruiseline shuttles to downtown are usually USD$10pp too). It's a 20min walk if you hustle.

Coral raises a valid point about prebooking and the risk of missing the port - no idea if CVS offer a refund if the port is missed, but if they do it might only be for the cruise-ship-specific version with shuttle bus to the shuttle bus! IIRC you're visiting early Aug so weather is less of a factor than in fall storm season.

One other thing that I only noticed after posting is that the tour page now always includes Butterfly Garden with CVS, whereas they used to offer it as an option with the base tour costing ~$10 less. If you wanted to see the butterflies it's a good deal - separate ticket would be $13 IIRC - but if you didn't then it's a bit pricier than it used to be.

I'm actually going this weekend yay! Still thinking what we will do. Going to talk to hubby tonight and figure it out. Thanks for all the help it's been great!

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Forget the ship's tour - which is only worth taking on evening when the gardens are otherwise shut or our port time is very tight. Ludicrously overpriced.

 

 

 

Instead, with 7 hours in hand - and having to be back onboard long before the fireworks even begin therefore no issue with traffic leaving Butchart - get yourself onto a CVS shuttle bus. For ~CAD$75pp it's a hefty discount over ships tours AND a superior service in that you can stay as late as you like (well, within the hours that the shuttles run - I think it's hourly until 6pm then on the even hours IIRC). Even if you played it safe with a 6pm return bus, you could have longer than the ship's tour on-site and a hefty chunk of change that might pay for e.g. afternoon tea in the gardens.

 

 

 

If you were back downtown on the 6pm bus you'd also have time for shopping - the touristy stores along Gov't street tend to stay open in the evenings in high season so with your cruise being early Aug you'll have ample chance to sample choccies even if you don't want to try what Victoria does best IMO - beer;-)

Martin, the website doesn't specify if it's CAD or USD. When I go to checkout it say $150 will be charged, will it convert to USD when I pay? Also, can we but this coming off the ship or do they not have a kiosk close by?

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Martin, the website doesn't specify if it's CAD or USD. When I go to checkout it say $150 will be charged, will it convert to USD when I pay? Also, can we but this coming off the ship or do they not have a kiosk close by?

You will be charged in CAD, and your credit card issuer will convert it for you.

Martin, the website doesn't specify if it's CAD or USD. When I go to checkout it say $150 will be charged, will it convert to USD when I pay? Also, can we but this coming off the ship or do they not have a kiosk close by?

As Karen said, it's in CAD (as are all prices in Canada unless it's a cross-border service of some sort - and they always specify USD in those cases) and the actual rate you'll pay will depend on your CC provider. Some vendors - no idea if CVS are one - offer to let you pay in the currency of your card and the terminal will say exactly what that amount is. Without exception there's a fee involved though, buried in the exchange rate - mostly 4% in my experience, so worse than almost any credit card. If you have a card with no foreign exchange fee definitely let every transaction on shore happen in CAD!

You can buy as you go to board the bus - the only risk is that the seats are already all gone for departure X. Another alternative is just to take a cab the whole way there and back (don't pay for wait time though, call another!) This is faster than the shuttle bus and even more flexible in timing, but pricier - ballpark $60 on the meter each way. Split it among 4 people and it becomes good value compared to CVS at ~$30 travel cost and $33 garden entry ticket, so even a generous tip to the driver (if e.g. they give you good chat en route, or offer to come back and meet you at X o'clock) you'll end up paying the same or less than you would to CVS.

If you're happy to drive in a foreign land (really the signs and rules are pretty much identical to US driving, just in kilometres) a car rental should be even less - but I don't think any downtown office stays open much beyond 5 or 6pm, so you'd be stuck doing the 'keys through the slot' thing and trusting that the rental minions didn't find 'new damage' or missing fuel next morning though (not a huge risk generally, but you may be more or less trusting than I am!)

Our museum often wins awards as one of the best in North America. Beacon a Hill park is a popular area to just walk around and free.

There's the Empress with their high tea, and tons of shops to wander in and out of. You don't mention what day you'll be here, on Saturday there is a foodie event in one of our market spaces from noon till 4pm. There's fisherman wharf and the harbour taxis. If you have the opportunity to take the ghostly walks tour (not sure if they are offered in the daytime) they are fun and interesting.

My two cents as a local.

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Thank You! I think no matter what we do it will be great! Looking forward to seeing your beautiful city.

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