Victoria Travel Forum

Hello folks,

Needed suggestions for things to do in Victoria, BC for one day -one night on May 15. We are three friends who will arrive at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal around noon and would like to spend the day outdoors only. We are not too keen on visiting museums.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks in advance
Amit

Go for a Hike Up Mt. Finlayson or Mt. Work. Go to Witty's lagon. Walk on the Sea Wall. Visit Ross Bay Cemetary. Take a walking tor or haunted Walking Tour of the City. Visit the Inner Harbour. Take a Horrse drawn Carriage ride. Walk aloing the Galloping goose. Visit one of the many beaches. There are many manyhiking trails and many many beaches. You can go kayaking at canoeing. if it is warm you could go swimming at Thetis lake or have coffee at an outdoor cafe. Thereis always Beacon hill park or Dallas Rd. There is no shortage of outdoor activities in vic.

Near the city center try walking along Dallas Road (from somewhere around Clover Point) back into the city center, then walking along Government Street, then across the blue bridge along Songhees. There are lots of good restaurants along the way, including Spinnakers with great harbour views.

Welcome to Victoria Amit - hope you enjoy your visit.

There are a number of walking tours on offer - some free and some with a cost associated. Check them out at http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/587.asp?type=A00099 . Although you can obviously just wander around on your own sometimes it is more enjoyable to have some knowledge of what you are looking at.

If this is not your cup of tea then I second the suggestions others have made - there are lots of great hikes/walks in Victoria that are scenic and interesting. I would suggest going up through Beacon Hill Park, along to Ross Bay Cemetery (along Dallas Road), swerve in to Fairfield Plaza for some lunch or a coffee then back out and walk along Dallas back towards town. Wander out on to the breakwater at Ogden Point and continue on into town. Then across the blue bridge (Johnson St. Bridge) to West Bay Marina.

Are you going to have a car during your visit?

Susan

Thank you for all your helpful tips.
I will surely do the walking/hiking as per your suggestions. I guess since we only have one day to spend that should pretty much cover it....

Would spending time at Bushart gardens worth the time and effort?

Thanks
Amit

Amit - whether or not Butchart Gardens is worth it depends on how much you like flowers :) . It is also a difficult place to get to if you don't have a car or aren't willing to pay to go on a bus tour (it can be reached by public transit but this is not very efficient or timely). Also the admission charge is pretty high ($21.00 Canadian).

So my recommendation would be to visit some very nice gardens in Victoria itself (Butchart is out by the ferry terminal where you will be arriving). The gardens at Government House are free (http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/gardens/) and Abkhazi Garden, which is a pleasant walk away from Government House, is beautiful (although small) and charges $10 (which I think is a bit high and has certainly increased from what it was a year or two ago - http://www.conservancy.bc.ca/content.asp?sectionid=18&pageid=176). Keep in mind too that Victoria is known as the 'City of Gardens' and you will certainly pass some quite lovely private gardens around people's homes and some of the traffic median plantings done by the various municipalities are exquisite (read about them here - http://www.victoriagardenmall.ca/features/aug0501.jsp).

Hope this is helpful.

Susan

Did you enjoy your visit?