Butchart Gardens cab fare

[8esther8]

I had originally booked with CVS tours for Butchart, but it looks like they've changed their previous way of having a return bus available every hour.  They recently sent me this schedule for the tour that leaves the Empress at 11:30:

 

Our 11:30 tour will leave the gardens at 14:45.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the tour.

11:30 - Depart the Empress Hotel.
12:05 - Arrive at Butterfly Gardens.
12:35 - Depart Butterfly Gardens and head to Butchart Gardens.
12:45 - Arrive at Butchart Gardens.
2:45 - Depart Butchart Gardens towards Empress Hotel.

 

This looks too rushed to me, especially since we have Afternoon Tea booked at 1:00 at the dining room, and we're not really interested in the butterfly gardens.  How much is a cab, each way, in Canadian dollars?  There will be two of us. Do most people go to an ATM or bank to exchange money on arrival?   Thanks for your help.
 

[Alberta Quilter]

I can’t help you with the cab fare question (cabs will take credit cards, btw) but have you considered renting a car and doing the Gardens on your own?  You would have to take a cab to the car rental agency but it wasn’t much when we did it a few years ago, maybe $10. The cost of the car rental could be high given the current shortage but it would give you a lot more flexibility.  

[westcoasttech]

Rome2Rio app comes up with C$45 to C$60 range (which actually sounds a little low to me, as it's quite a distance), with timing of 26 mins.  A taxi fare calculator app for the area comes up with $45 to $79, depending on traffic.  And traffic could depend on how many ships are in port (presuming the cruise season gets back to "before times" levels), the time and day of the week, and local traffic coming from the ferry.  For the sake of covering all options, there is a local bus which would be in the $3 range, but that takes about an hour and seems to run only hourly, so not good if you are on a schedule!  

 

As said above, taxi's are usually good with credit cards, and MAY take US currency (you would have to check with the driver before you head off but would probably give you a terrible exchange rate), especially in high cruise season.  Best idea is to get some C$ from an ATM before you start exploring!

[martincath]

Cruising along in the countryside is fairly cheap compared to stop & start traffic - but local taxi rate calculators are better than Rome2Rio I find. If you stick four bums on the seats of a cab it's a pretty fair price compared to CVS and does give flexibility - but I'd agree that, if you have at least one willing driver, a rental car is probably an even better deal as you KNOW it will be in the car park waiting for you to come back!

[Alberta Quilter]

OP, how long is your port stop in Victoria?  You could also consider going to Abkhazi Gardens:  https://www.abkhaziteahouse.com.  It’s much smaller than Butchart but still lovely and much closer to the port.  Only open until 5 pm, though.

[8esther8]

Thanks for the replies.  We are there from 11:00am-10:00pm.  Looks like renting a car is about $92.  Seems a little too complicated to us.  I posted to the Roll Call forum to see if anyone is interested in sharing a cab.  If not, I think we're game to try the bus.

[Alberta Quilter]

Oh, for that length of time in port, I would reconsider renting a car.  But it depends on how long you want to tour about.  When we had a long port time in Victoria, we spent five hours at Butchart Gardens, including tea.  We also had time to drive around Victoria to see familiar sights and our old houses from when we used to live there.  Finally, we stopped at a recommended fish & chips place some distance away from the port before returning the car.  We never would have had that flexibility with the schedule you posted earlier.  But, with renting a car, you need to pay the entry fee at Butchart which is not inexpensive), whereas it's included in the bus tour fee.  I'm just concerned that if you're planning on having tea at Butchart, you won't have time to see the gardens!  I think the minimum time needed to see the gardens is two hours which is all you get with the bus tour.  If you go ahead with the bus tour, skip the tea.  (Personally, I think the tea is overrated, anyway. I won't do it again.)

Edited April 8, 2022 by Alberta Quilter

[zestyzorra]

FWIW, I completely disagree that the tea at Buchart Gardens is overrated.  I thought it was one of the best ever, especially if you can sit in the greenhouse portion of the restaurant. I also second the idea of renting a car with 4 people.  Victoria is pretty easy to get around. 

[Blackduck59]

I would say that a cab will take the better part of 40 minutes each way from the port and cost 60-70 CAD each way. If you already have your Butchart Gardens "Tea" booked please do enjoy.

 

[cruiseryyc]

Rent a car, it will be cheaper than a cab both ways.  Also I believe some of the rental companies will bring the car to the pier for you; Enterprise has "Victoria Cruise Port" as one of their pick up locations.  One caveat - rental cars are in short supply so best to get it booked right now!