Money in Victoria

[Beav1279]

Hello all wise CC members! I'll be stopping in Victoria on the Ovation OTS in June. My family and I have booked a private tour with a local, which should be cool. We'll also be having afternoon tea at the Empress. My question - do we need to bring Canadian dollars to spend or is USD pretty well used? If they prefer Canadian dollars, is there a place near the port to exchange money? Thanks!

[Kcbates]

Welcome to Victoria. USD is accepted everywhere, no need to exchange unless you prefer to get a better exchange rate at a bank rather than a merchant. Hope you enjoy our city.

[scottbee]

15 hours ago, Beav1279 said:

Hello all wise CC members! I'll be stopping in Victoria on the Ovation OTS in June. My family and I have booked a private tour with a local, which should be cool. We'll also be having afternoon tea at the Empress. My question - do we need to bring Canadian dollars to spend or is USD pretty well used? If they prefer Canadian dollars, is there a place near the port to exchange money? Thanks!

 

US Dollars are widely accepted, although if you pay with a US$20 for a C$10 item, you will receive change in C$

 

Global major credit cards such as VISA, Mastercard are widely accepted, Amex & JCB slightly less so, but Discover generally isn't accepted (it tends to be a US only thing). Almost all credit card machines in Canada support both chip and tap functionality, although a lot of US cards don't support those yet.

 

 

[Langley Cruisers]

Where is your local tour guide taking you? Merely curious. 😊

[martincath]

What everyone else said, plus a query - how are you paying the guide? If it's a pre-negotiated US $ amount or by credit card, no worries - but if they expect payment in CAD $ cash you will want to hit an ATM, since I can't imagine a private guide running less than triple-digits of dollars. Since ATMS give the best exchange rate by far for cash, you should just add a bit extra if you want to minimise wasted cash on poorer exchange rates in stores.

 

[Beav1279]

2 hours ago, Langley Cruisers said:

Where is your local tour guide taking you? Merely curious. 😊

Not totally sure yet... It's billed as a 3-hour "Highlights of Victoria". She said we can include as much or as little as we want and tailor it to our wants. Some of the possibilities are: Fisherman's Wharf boat community, Empress Hotel, Parliament building, Government Street, LoJo, Chinatown, Beacon Hill Park, Craigdarroch Castle, Oak Bay, Upland Estates, and Mount Tolmie. I still need to do a little research before I decide on our exact itinerary.. but it sounds like we'll have plenty to see in those 3 hours!

[Beav1279]

2 minutes ago, martincath said:

What everyone else said, plus a query - how are you paying the guide? 

 

It's $280 CAD cash. I'll likely just hit the ATM once we arrive... I assume it's less hassle for her so she doesn't have to exchange it herself.

[martincath]

2 minutes ago, Beav1279 said:

It's $280 CAD cash. I'll likely just hit the ATM once we arrive... I assume it's less hassle for her so she doesn't have to exchange it herself.

Yup - although USD is commonly accepted in Victoria (some stores in Inner Harbour area even have 2 cash drawers, so can give change in USD) it's way less hassle to get local currency when it's in bulk.

 

Definitely use a proper Bank ATM though, not the 'for your convenience' private one that's usually installed right at the pier in cruiser season, as a) fees will generally be lower, b) exchange rate almost certainly better as actual Inter-bank rates will apply, c) you may have a reciprocal deal available between your bank and a Canadian one that means no ATM fees or a refund on them. All major Canadian banks have branches in downtown core Victoria, so if you have any agreements your guide will be able to take you to the right one if you don't have time to find it before the tour.

[cruiseryyc]

18 hours ago, Beav1279 said:

Not totally sure yet... It's billed as a 3-hour "Highlights of Victoria". She said we can include as much or as little as we want and tailor it to our wants. Some of the possibilities are: Fisherman's Wharf boat community, Empress Hotel, Parliament building, Government Street, LoJo, Chinatown, Beacon Hill Park, Craigdarroch Castle, Oak Bay, Upland Estates, and Mount Tolmie. I still need to do a little research before I decide on our exact itinerary.. but it sounds like we'll have plenty to see in those 3 hours!

$280 for visiting places you could easily see yourself; some of them are even within walking distance of where the ship docks!

 

While most places will take USD, its always nice if a visitor uses the official currency of the country they are visiting.

[Langley Cruisers]

21 hours ago, Beav1279 said:

... It's billed as a 3-hour "Highlights of Victoria". She said we can include as much or as little as we want and tailor it to our wants. Some of the possibilities are: Fisherman's Wharf boat community, Empress Hotel, Parliament building, Government Street, LoJo, Chinatown, Beacon Hill Park, Craigdarroch Castle, Oak Bay, Upland Estates, and Mount Tolmie....

 

Yes, those would be considered some of the highlights/popular places. Some are actual spots where you will get out and walk around; some are merely neighborhoods which you will drive right through. What are the ages of your family members? Children?

 

2 hours ago, cruiseryyc said:

$280 for visiting places you could easily see yourself; some of them are even within walking distance of where the ship docks!

 

Absolutely agree with you. 

~

OP Beav1279, I am going to offer some un-asked for advice and I hope you are cool with that. One of the wonderful reasons these forums exist and are so popular is that locals can direct you to the top spots/popular places/local hidden treasures. Usually, these places can be visited for a fraction of the price quoted by a private guide or tour bus. Your day in Victoria sounds like one of these circumstances. You could easily rent a car for all of you for a fraction of that cost. As mentioned, some of these spots are easily walkable (if all of you are mobile).

 

I appreciate the hard-working local tour guides who show Victoria to visitors. It is a truly magical place and if the day is planned right, you'll have a great time. Having said that, I also shudder to think you are paying that much for something you could easily do yourselves.... we can help you if you want to go that route. Let us know. 😊

[Beav1279]

4 hours ago, Langley Cruisers said:

OP Beav1279, I am going to offer some un-asked for advice and I hope you are cool with that. One of the wonderful reasons these forums exist and are so popular is that locals can direct you to the top spots/popular places/local hidden treasures. Usually, these places can be visited for a fraction of the price quoted by a private guide or tour bus. Your day in Victoria sounds like one of these circumstances. You could easily rent a car for all of you for a fraction of that cost. As mentioned, some of these spots are easily walkable (if all of you are mobile).

 

I appreciate the hard-working local tour guides who show Victoria to visitors. It is a truly magical place and if the day is planned right, you'll have a great time. Having said that, I also shudder to think you are paying that much for something you could easily do yourselves.... we can help you if you want to go that route. Let us know. 😊

 

Thank you so much for your reply! You are awesome 🙂 

 

There are 4 of us cruising - my DH and I and my parents. My mom has a bad knee and can't walk a lot. There will be times when 3 of us get out of the car to walk around and see the sites, but she will stay in the car because of her knee. I figured for less than $75/pp we're getting a local who knows the area and will offer my mom the ability to see a lot without much walking. I was thinking about the rental car route, but I would have to do all the driving (everyone else hates driving) and I just want to be a tourist this time around.

 

Since you're a local, what are some of the "must see" things that weren't on my list? We've made a reservation at the Empress for afternoon tea, but is there somewhere else that is better/cooler/must-do?

[cruiseryyc]

Okay under the circumstances of your travel group, it makes sense to go with the tour guide you booked.  I'm sure you will have a great time.  I am not a great fan of "tea at the Empress" but again with your circumstances it might make the most sense. I can't think of much else to add to the list already provided, it will give you a good overview of Victoria.

 

Hope the "virus" doesn't spoil your travel plans, I see Princess just cancelled all their cruises for the next two months.  It's a new travel world we're living in!

[Langley Cruisers]

I came here to tell OP that "things to do in Victoria" has been discussed here numerous times, and that our own wonderful martincath has provided much of that dialogue. 😊 If she uses the search function, many threads will come up.

 

Additionally, I agree with cruiseryyc about tea at the Empress - it is very expensive and if OP is doing that on top of the private tour guide, it will no doubt be a hefty day.  💲 (I see it costs $82.00 plus tax per person right now, and I imagine it is more expensive in the summer season) But, given the limitations of mom's bad knee, perhaps a private tour would be good. However, I personally think 3 hours is far too long, especially with tea on top of that which can run another 90 minutes. Maybe a 2 hour tour with drop off at the Empress makes more sense.

 

OP, I also hope everything goes well for you for your upcoming cruise. We are also slated to sail Ovation ( in August - a family cruise with our grown kids!). The ship is amazing and there is lots to do.👍

[Langley Cruisers]

Obvious, sad update - OP will not be porting in Victoria. Maybe another time. 🙂

[NorthwestCruiser]

Well, now that we can't do it we can dream.   I boat to Victoria Harbor rather a lot and rather than a land tour, I'd recommend taking tours on the Victoria Harbor ferries.   They are inexpensive, everywhere (cute little green boats), and from them you get an idea of what is really special about Victoria.     Do a little research and in two or three hours you will have a lot more fun than walking or driving around the city, which honestly looks a lot like cities anywhere with traffic, noise, construction, tourists, etc.   (Maybe I'm spoiled).       Real people take these little ferries to interesting places, there are parks and gardens and even places to see that serve lunch but the real reason to go to Victoria is to see the harbor.

 

Unless the weather is unusually bad the water will be flat (aside from boat wakes but there is a speed limit that is somewhat enforced).    

 

If you are on land many people don't know that there is a fine cafeteria in the Parliament building which is as much fun as the Empress, I shouldn't give away all the secrets though.

 

Side note -- except for the clearly marked commercial boats, the boats at the Empress dock and others are private and not there for tourists and should not be boarded or touched in any way.   I have had tourists board my boat, which is definitely not a tour boat!

 

If you are up for it, rent a bike (although you have to be comfortable with hills and cities.)   You can take bikes on the ferry.

 

 

[cruiseryyc]

Hey Northwest Cruiser - the border is now closed for non-essential services, so no US tourists coming into Canada by any means.

[Beav1279]

38 minutes ago, cruiseryyc said:

Hey Northwest Cruiser - the border is now closed for non-essential services, so no US tourists coming into Canada by any means.

He said "we can dream" - I hope that Victoria will open again for next summer!

[cruiseryyc]

1 hour ago, Beav1279 said:

He said "we can dream" - I hope that Victoria will open again for next summer!

ABSOLUTELY!!!!

 

[Blackduck59]

So as a Victoria local I hope you will be able to come to our town when this whole plague has passed. There is plenty to see, some touristy some not. On the list of things you mentioned Craigdarroch is a wonderful mansion from the late 1800s it will take about 45 minutes to tour be aware there are many stairs so that could be a drag with a bum knee. I know the bad knee thing, I have been to Craigdarroch many times but still go at least once a year. Many of the listed things are drive throughs, neighbourhood with nice homes etc. As others have said Tea at the Empress is very expensive and many people will be disappointed that it doesn't have good value. White Heather is a Tiny little tea room with much better value. The gardens at Government house are lovely and free to visit. Beacon hill park is also beautiful.

I hope you are able to come to our town, keep in touch we are happy to help.