Help please with ideas in my head for Victoria

[Walt fan]

Fellow CC members; our port stop in Victoria BC for our next cruise is from 9 am -6 pm; plenty of time to do stuff; I have something floating around in my head I cannot seem to find on the boards that is doable; Our group of 5 is as follows: One lone female (me); DH 40-something; DS 21; DS's tag along friend 21; and DS 16; I really think even though I have all this male testosterone going on they would like to see Butchart Gardens but maybe I am wrong; I was hoping I could find a tour guide, maybe a walking tour guide if that is possible, that would maybe include this as a stop, not for long probably; I do not want to do this on my own, for a few reasons, DH likes organization and likes to have everything planned out a head of time; there would be some bickering involved on where to go and what to do that I could avoid with a tour guide in place; I would like to have a tour guide that will fill us in on all the history of Victoria as we tour around the town; and I would like to just hit all the must-see places for a just short time with all these guys around; anyone out there can give me some help here? I can google guides all I want but I rely on fellow CC members to give out their good recommendations; thank you!!!

[c-to-sea]

What you are suggesting is very sensible and doable. Unfortunately, I only live nearby and do not

know of anyone that fits the bill. I am sure that someone does and will come on with a

recommendation for you. However, one thing you might want to think about for the guys

(and you) is a whale-watching trip. Lots of these available and the ones one the

inflatable boats can be quite exciting. There are also a couple of zip-line companies

here - another possibility.

Unless you can get a high level of interest, they might not be keen on Butchart Gardens,

which would be a shame because they have a way of impressing the most disinterested

once they get there.

Whatever you do, I am sure you will all enjoy your visit. Not all cruise ship passengers

get the full day to enjoy the city.

[scottbee]

Whale watching (http://www.princeofwhales.com is well respected). it's a pretty rugged outdoors adventure

 

If they're nerds like myself, the Centre of the Universe located at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory is very interesting.

[alpal1993]

Butchart Gardens is very beautiful.Lovely flowers and landscaping around easily followed pathways. The waterfront area is walkable from the dock and the entertainment is ejoyable as well.

[Walt fan]

Thanks guys; I like to mix up my ports with different things to do, and we are going whale watching in Juneau so that is why I wanted to do something like a walkable tour in Victoria; I googled companies and there are some out there that do this but I am leery because there were absolutely no reviews on them at all; so, I am back to square one!

[eh2zed]

High tea in the afternoon at the Empress - positively civilized. But what would you do with the men!! LOL

[KandCsailing]

A taxi for the 4 of us was $8.50 Can. when we went from the ship at Ogden Point pier to the Empress Hotel downtown on July 4th. Our ship was late getting to Victoria and we only had from 9:00 pm to 11:30 pm to be back on board to sail at Midnight. We just walked around downtown, the Parliament Building and a couple souvenir shops before taking a taxi back to the ship. Not much was open that late, I did buy a small art print from an artist set up by the inner habour. Victoria is very pretty at night, but I can't wait to go back for longer.

 

My Brother in Law and his wife went to Victoria before our cruise and did Butchart Gardens and afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. His favourite thing however was Miniature World which is attached to the Empress Hotel. Sounds cheesy, but if it had been open when we were there he thought we should see it.

[Walt fan]

eh2zed: I am still laughing, thank you very much; can you imagine my group of guys at high tea??? Just to get them to the Gardens would be a miracle in itself; I really need help here, please wrap your head around this poor lonesome female with this age range of manly men; someone somewhere must have used a guide!

[ms35]

We recently did a whale watch in Juneau and saw humpbacks bubble-feeding. I really wanted to see orca, so we decided to do a zodiac trip with Prince of Whales in Victoria. We had a great time and had lots of viewings. It was a bit of an adventure being in the zodiacs and the two whale watching trips were very different from each other. Very pleased with both.

Since you have such a long time in port, you might be able to do the gardens and a whale watch.

[gottagoacruzn]

What you are suggesting is very sensible and doable. Unfortunately, I only live nearby and do not

know of anyone that fits the bill. I am sure that someone does and will come on with a

recommendation for you. However, one thing you might want to think about for the guys

(and you) is a whale-watching trip. Lots of these available and the ones one the

inflatable boats can be quite exciting. There are also a couple of zip-line companies

here - another possibility.

Unless you can get a high level of interest, they might not be keen on Butchart Gardens,

which would be a shame because they have a way of impressing the most disinterested

once they get there.

Whatever you do, I am sure you will all enjoy your visit. Not all cruise ship passengers

get the full day to enjoy the city.

 

I'm on the Sapphire Princess next May and will be in Victoria from 8 a.m. til 11:59 that night. A friend told me to go out to see Butchart Gardens, then the city hilites and high tea, also want to see the Parliament building. Sure hope I can do them all.

[Putterdude]

Victoria's downtown is quite compact and very easy to walk around in. Here is link to several self guided walking tours that you may find interesting.

 

http://www.victoria.ca/visitors/wlkngt.shtml

[ell52]

Just a few thoughts:

Unless you can convince the "guys" to spend a couple of hours at Butchart Gardens, it may not be worth it. Admission at $29pp (+ taxes = $32.48) may be a bit much to spend for just a quick stop.

 

I don't hear of many people hiring private guides in Victoria. Since Victoria is very walkable, most people go it alone, take one of the tour buses or horse-drawn carriages from the Inner Harbour or a combination thereof. Perhaps you could do a narrated bus tour to start, then a walking tour of places that interest you. Or you could try the hop-on hop-off bus and spend time in places that appeal to everyone. I've never been on the HoHo in Victoria, so can't speak to how good it is, but the Double Decker bus tour gives a good historical overview and is about 90 minutes or so long.

 

The link for walking tours PD gave you looks interesting. I'd also recommend you get to Craigdarroch Castle.

[Walt fan]

When I searched on line for walking tours, I saw a tour to the Castle; but it looked like it was a ways out of the town; has anyone on the boards been to it? I will keep this in mind; and the Doubledecker busses look good too; I did not see the tours come up on my search that PD sent the link to; thank you! These look very interesting. I think I will put the Gardens on the back burner for that price; I don't think my guys would like to spend enough time to justify the price; thank you again for the ideas; I am going to go look more into the Castle now; all help is appreciated! Hope everyone had a good weekend; mighty hot where we are right now; it will only be 99 today!

[scottbee]

When I searched on line for walking tours, I saw a tour to the Castle; but it looked like it was a ways out of the town; has anyone on the boards been to it? I will keep this in mind; and the Doubledecker busses look good too; I did not see the tours come up on my search that PD sent the link to; thank you! These look very interesting. I think I will put the Gardens on the back burner for that price; I don't think my guys would like to spend enough time to justify the price; thank you again for the ideas; I am going to go look more into the Castle now; all help is appreciated! Hope everyone had a good weekend; mighty hot where we are right now; it will only be 99 today!

 

Craigdarroch Castle (really just a big old house) is only about a mile from downtown. The more interesting castle (Hatley) is located on the grounds of Royal Roads University (10 mi from downtown), and will be familiar to fans of the Xmen movies.

 

As for double decker buses, the Victoria transit system (BC Transit) operates a number of Dennis Trident double decker buses on regular routes; so they're quite common around town - no need to take a special tour.

 

What kind of things do you like to do?

 

map of downtown Victoria; from a cruise point of view: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212770407613531027445.0004665d7f3e28f06866d&msa=0&ll=48.42154,-123.376894&spn=0.021788,0.055747

[cruiseryyc]

Too bad DS is only 16 as Victoria has a great number of brew pubs that I'm sure the men in your group would like. Unfortunately legal age to drink in BC is 19 so your 16 year old would be left outside - although he could go into the "restaurant" side of the pubs.

[Walt fan]

Scottbee: Interesting about the castle; I am glad you told me about the best one to go to; on the site I pulled up when I googled they didn't mention this castle; I need to look up their hours; do you have suggestions about how a group of 5 could get there? With 4 guys and 1 lone female we are pretty adventurous; I want to do something to keep the guys happy and from being bored; when we did a private tour in San Juan we had the guide drive us out to the Rainforest, and he provided a great commentary while on the 30-40 minute drive out; we then hiked the Rainforest; the guys swam in a waterfall; and then we had the guide drive us back to Old San Juan and describe sites; and then we walked around for a while and walked back to the port; that was perfect for the guys and myself included; I have a whale watching tour already scheduled for Juneau; so I wanted something different in Victoria; thank you for your help

[ell52]

Scottbee: Interesting about the castle; I am glad you told me about the best one to go to; on the site I pulled up when I googled they didn't mention this castle; I need to look up their hours; do you have suggestions about how a group of 5 could get there? With 4 guys and 1 lone female we are pretty adventurous; I want to do something to keep the guys happy and from being bored; when we did a private tour in San Juan we had the guide drive us out to the Rainforest, and he provided a great commentary while on the 30-40 minute drive out; we then hiked the Rainforest; the guys swam in a waterfall; . . . .

Aah, now I see what you're after.

 

How about kayaking? --> Victoria Kayak Tours

 

Their Day Tour even goes to the castle Scottbee mentions.

 

A friend has researched them and plans on doing a solo day tour with them, including picnic lunch.

[scottbee]

Scottbee: Interesting about the castle; I am glad you told me about the best one to go to; on the site I pulled up when I googled they didn't mention this castle; I need to look up their hours; do you have suggestions about how a group of 5 could get there? With 4 guys and 1 lone female we are pretty adventurous; I want to do something to keep the guys happy and from being bored; when we did a private tour in San Juan we had the guide drive us out to the Rainforest, and he provided a great commentary while on the 30-40 minute drive out; we then hiked the Rainforest; the guys swam in a waterfall; and then we had the guide drive us back to Old San Juan and describe sites; and then we walked around for a while and walked back to the port; that was perfect for the guys and myself included; I have a whale watching tour already scheduled for Juneau; so I wanted something different in Victoria; thank you for your help

 

There's also a zip line adventure out in Sooke that have a shuttle from downtown (and I'm sure the cruise terminal area). Can't remember the name off hand, but I'll bet googling 'zip line' and 'sooke' will get you an answer.

[Walt fan]

Ellen: I went on the web site for the Victoria Kayak tours; I was hoping to see some reviews but didn't find any; when your friend researched them did he know of anyone that actually used this company? Do you know when he/she is going and could they possibly let you know how everything went? I have never done a single kayak before, just a double, but it states "no experience necessary" so, there you go, this sound really interesting; I would love some input from someone who has done the Day Tour; this looks very promising!!!!! And very affordable, considering it also includes lunch. Thank you Ellen!

[ell52]

My friend is going the first week of August. I'll ask her for feedback after she's done it. I don't know how she researched the company, but will ask about this also.

[Walt fan]

Ellen: That would be awesome. Feel free to PM me at ckf@melvinkrenek.com. I also shot an e-mail over to them grilling them:D Between your friend's input and their response it might be our port stop! Thanks again.

[ell52]

Waltfan: It turns out my friend changed her mind and is now going with Kelp Reef. It is a shorter tour (3 hours), but still includes a picnic lunch. It has quite a few positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Their website says the tour starts at 9 a.m. and would be too early for you getting in at 9. Maybe with your group of 5, they would consider a separate tour group. Sorry, for the wrong info - although Victoria Kayak Tours does look very interesting, too.

[Walt fan]

I wish I had good news about Victoria Kayak Tours; but I have yet to receive a response to my e-mail; I am going to dig further; I was very interested in what they had to offer; I googled some more and didn't see anything quite like this; I couldn't find any reviews on them either; thanks for letting me know though!

[Walt fan]

Scottbee and maybe Putterdude: I am not ready to give up yet; have either one of you heard of Victoria Kayak Tours? Their web site states "2005" but I have not received a response to my e-mail; and when I called their number some very confused older gentleman answered the phone and just told me if I had questions to send it again; if you have heard anyone using this company I would appreciate feedback; I do not want to use a company that has a less than desirable reputation, especially with so much to do in Victoria; thank you once again!

[Putterdude]

Sorry, I had never heard of them until Ell52's post. However I believe there is a kayak excursion company that operates out of Fishman's wharf....thats all I know of kayaking.