Victoria

[frostypenguin]

If you could only do one of these things in Victoria, which one do you recommend?

 

Victoria Gardens Tour

Empress City Tour

Tour Victoria on your own?

[tetleytea]

Gardens.

[chalky_bertie]

Tour Victoria on your own AND go on a whale watching tour.

[booth22]

I agree with Chalky! Wander over to Beacon Hill park after whale watching. From the boat after whale watching, we walked past the Empress, the Legislative Building, Thunderbird Totem Park, and through Beacon Hill park. It was an easy walk and very pretty. Beacon Hill Park has a garden area, not the same as Buchart, but we aren't much for looking at flowers all day.

[Landlubber54]

If you are into ornamental horticultural, Butchart Gardens is a must-see. If you are more of a generalist and you have time to do some research, tour Victoria on your own.

A comment on responses above:

If you will be on a cruise that includes Juneau and/or goes through Johnstone Straits, you will probably have excellent opportunities to see whales. Victoria is a beautiful small town, so unless you REALLY love whales...

[lenap]

Booth22 just looked at your pics, now I really know why I'm booked to go back again in Sept,2006. Went in 2001, can't wait to go again!!

[Momj47]

I'm not interested in looking at gardens, I really liked the Museum of BC, and walking around downtown. Delightful city. Enjoy

[HelenK]

I thought the gardens were excellent. And when I was in Victoria last time, we were in port for such a short time, that it's all I did, except for some speedy walks to and from town and around the neighborhoods.

 

This time (in a few weeks) I won't be booking anything but just doing whatever I want. I'll be there 10 hours this time though.

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy!!

[bluedevil72]

We were only in port for six hours so were a little hesitant to do anything other that a cruiseline excursion. We did the combination Butchart Gardens and Victoria city tour. It was a four hour tour and obviously not long enough to do either one justice, but in a limited time frame was enough to enjoy both.

[redrobin]

frostypenguin,

Our family was originally booked to do the City/Tea Tour, but with Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway booked full of excursions (which we loved), we opted to cancel and just visit Victoria on our own. By that time in the cruise we were all "excursioned out."

When you get off the ship there are people handing out nice maps of the downtown area. We took the shuttle that takes you downtown and drops you off in front of the Empress Hotel. We walked and shopped along Government Street down as far as Chinatown and then came back and walked inside the Empress and had drinks there before returning to the ship for a late dinner.

There are several things to do on your own in the downtown area, which I didn't realize beforehand, right where the bus drops you off - The Royal BC Museum www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca, the IMAX theater www.imaxvictoria.com, the Undersea Gardens www.pacificunderseagardens.com, and the Royal London Wax Museum www.waxmuseum.bc.ca. The Parliament Buildings are also right there, but I don't believe their tours are offered after 4:30. Craigdarroch Castle www.thecastle.ca is a short distance from downtown. Since I didn't visit any of these places, maybe someone else can tell you whether they are worth doing or not.

Have a friend who is into gardening and had rave reviews for Butchart Gardens, but I don't think it would hold the interest of my family as much as some of the other tours. If it hadn't already been fully booked by the time we decided to cancel our original tour, I would have considered taking the one hour horse-drawn trolley tour before walking downtown on our own.

Have fun doing whatever you pick!

[PNW]

If you could only do one of these things in Victoria, which one do you recommend?

 

Victoria Gardens Tour

Empress City Tour

Tour Victoria on your own?

 

Gardens, then I'd take a horse & buggy sunset tour around the harbor...

[tetleytea]

I'm not a garden fan either, but Butchart Gardens is THE garden as gardens go.

[Steve H]

If you are in Victoria for a short time don't miss the Museum it is world class and will show you the history of B.C. I don't think the Victoria Garden tour is the Butchart tour.

[SantaAna,CA]

This wasn't on your list, but it's a spectacular visit. Actually the Amsterdam got into Victoria late our last night, about 7:30pm or so.....so I did not book a shore excursion. Instead, I stayed one extra day in Seattle and doubled back to Victoria via seaplane, spending several hours at the beautiful Butchart Gardens during the day.

 

But, you can go to Butchart in the evening, they have it lit for night. This is my highest recommendation.

 

Jane :)

[emilygrace]

The Parliament buildings are right on the inner harbor and are very interesting. You can just walk in (not the main entrance in the center, that is for visiting Royalty only) and if you hit it just right you can join a tour that is really great. We've been to Victoria several times and still enjoy walking around in the buildings. There is a small rose garden behind them, and the James Bay Tea Room (kitty-corner from the back side) is a great place to have a bite to eat. Don't spend big $$$ on tea at the Empress.

 

As mentioned, the BC museum is fabulous and the whole downtown area is so walkable, with lots of nice little shops. The ones behind the Empress are touristy, but if you walk up Government Street away from the harbor there are plenty of interesting ones.