Day Trip to Victoria From Seattle

[jormot]

We are going on an R/T Alaskan cruise next May and have a few days in Seattle prior to leaving. We want to explore Seattle but were thinking of taking the Clipper over to Victoria for the day. Has anyone had experience doing this? Mostly I want to see the gardens and spend a little time in the harbor. I know we have from 7-11pm the last night of our cruise to explore but that seems like such a small amount of time. Thank you for any suggestions or thoughts.

[mapleleaves]

I've taken the Clipper several times ... great trip and very easy. It can be a rough ride in rough seas. Love spending time in Victoria!

 

HOWEVER, in your case it would be more convenient AND cheaper to disembark the ship when you're already in Victoria. No need to stay on the ship all the way to Seattle, only to turn around and go back. When you're ready to return to Seattle, buy a one-way fare on the Clipper.

 

MANY passengers will do this over the course of the summer ... just be sure to alert the crew that you're disembarking.

[jormot]

Ideally we would just disembark in Victoria but we have to catch a flight on Saturday so it won't work to stay in Victoria as I had hoped. We would plan the day visit prior to leaving on the cruise as we have more time then.

[Putterdude]

The Victoria Clipper is about your only option for a day trip from Seattle. it is scenic and used a lot. If you really want to get spendy there is Kenmore Air which offers daily round trip, harbour to harbour, float plane service.

 

http://www.kenmoreair.com/

[jormot]

Has anyone done this as a day trip? It is too much for one day?

[mapleleaves]

I don't think it's too long at all ! I have a good friend who lives there so I make the trip 2-3 times a year.

I've also driven in order to stay longer in Victoria; between the 90 minute ferry ride and 2 hr drive THAT is a long day.

 

I took my mother on the Clipper 2 yrs ago for a day trip to Butchart ; she was 85 and did just fine. We got to Butchart around noon, had lunch there, wandered around for 3 hrs then went back to the harbor to meet my friend for drinks/dinner at the bar. The trip home is very relaxing and quiet; many people sleep.

 

With the Clipper, you're basically spending 3 hrs to get to Victoria, you have about 6 hrs there, then 3 hrs back to Seattle.

[Gardyloo]

Just for a thought experiment, consider taking the early morning train from Seattle up to Vancouver (scenic and inexpensive) and visiting the Queen Elizabeth Park gardens and Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver. In May the gardens (built in a quarry similar to parts of Butchart Gardens near Victoria) will be gorgeous, free as opposed to pricey at Butchart, and located minutes from the train station instead of miles. Visit the gardens, maybe have lunch at the lovely Seasons in the Park restaurant on the grounds, or visit Vancouver's huge Chinatown or Granville Market, then catch the evening train back to Seattle.

 

The train ride is scenic and relaxing, and the cost for the outing, including some taxi rides around Vancouver if you want to bounce around town, will be considerably less than the Clipper to Victoria, bus to Butchart Gardens, and admission cost to the gardens.

 

Then when your cruise stops in Victoria, use that time to wander around the Inner Harbour and all the sights in downtown Victoria, rather than trying to cram in a visit to Butchart Gardens. Nothing against Butchart, but the QE Park gardens in Vancouver are nothing short of sensational on their own, and the price is certainly right.

[zoicca]

If you only have 1 day, the Victoria Clipper is by far the easiest and fasted way to get to Victoria. You leave downtown Seattle and arrive in downtown Victoria... couldn't be easier.

 

To see Butchart Gardens, you'll either need to take a tour, catch the city bus, or rent a car. It's quite a distance from the harbour, so a taxi is not really feasible (probably about $60 each way).

[Gardyloo]

If you only have 1 day, the Victoria Clipper is by far the easiest and fasted way to get to Victoria.

 

No it isn't.

 

http://www.kenmoreair.com