Victoria & Butchart Gardens Tour with Ferry from Vancouver
Description
Explore the best of Victoria on this full-day guided tour from Vancouver! Travel in comfort through the city, then enjoy a scenic 90-minute BC Ferry ride across the Georgia Strait through the Southern Gulf Islands. Discover the stunning Butchart Gardens, a National Historic Site with over 50 acres of vibrant floral displays. Spend two hours exploring themed gardens like the Sunken and Rose Gardens at your leisure. Then head to downtown Victoria, passing through Canada’s oldest Chinatown and the picturesque Inner Harbour. Enjoy free time to explore historic landmarks like the Empress Hotel or Royal BC Museum, stroll the harbor, or relax at a café. This tour blends natural beauty, cultural sights, and relaxing travel, making it a perfect day trip for visitors to Vancouver.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Departure from Downtown Vancouver with pick up at selected hotels.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery on a 90-minute ferry ride between Vancouver and Victoria as you sail through the Gulf Islands. Take in the breathtaking coastal views from the outdoor decks and keep an eye out for marine wildlife, including eagles, sea lions, and whales.
Explore the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, a National Historic Site of Canada, with two hours of free time. Stroll through the beautifully themed Rose, Japanese, Italian, and Mediterranean Gardens, and marvel at the breathtaking Sunken Garden, the estate's iconic centerpiece.
Discover the charm of Victoria with ample free time to explore as you wish. Admire iconic landmarks such as the Parliament Buildings and the Fairmont Empress Hotel, browse the unique boutiques and restaurants along Government Street and in historic Chinatown, or stroll the picturesque Inner Harbour for stunning ocean views.
Finish your day with a scenic ferry ride back to Vancouver, where you can relax, enjoy the coastal views, and reflect on a wonderful day of exploring.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- English only
- Pets are not permitted on our tour buses
- Foldable Wheelchairs permitted
Reviews(632)
This tour involves a long day and ferry rides are 90 minutes each way. Our guide Dan was very knowledgeable and great with detailed directions.
A lot of time was spent on the bus and ferry to get to the gardens, but they were worth it. The transformation of an old quarry into the gardens is amazing. I would highly recommend the tour. Our driver and guide Senan was exceptional.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re so glad you felt the gardens were worth the journey and enjoyed the tour. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to Senan. We appreciate the recommendation!
The guide was experienced and knowledgeable. The problem is that this tour is 13 hours and you only get to spend 2 hours at Butchart Gardens, the entire reason for this tour. 2 hours is not nearly time to see and enjoy this vast and beautiful property. Such shame.
Pacific Coast Travels hosted our tour and they were wonderful. The coach was comfortable and our guide, Dion, was great. The main word of warning I would share is that the travel from downtown Vancouver and back is very long (ended up being about 10 hours of travel for our particular tour), and so if one is not up to a marathon travel day, I would suggest opting for another way of getting to Victoria, like via sea plane. The Butchart Gardens were beautiful and 2 hours there is more than enough time to walk through them. The 90 minutes in Victoria is nowhere near enough time to see anything. One could take at least 5 to 6 hours if not more exploring downtown Victoria, especially if you plan to have a meal. Total time at the Gardens and downtown was 3 hours, travel time was about 10 hours. While this tour allows you to see two attractions, which sounds good in theory, it’s not enough time in Victoria. This would be the only reason I wouldn’t recommend this particular tour.
Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback. We’re sorry to hear that our tour wasn’t the best fit for your travel plans. Our tour is designed for visitors on a limited timeline who would like to experience both Victoria and Butchart Gardens in a single day. As Victoria is located on Vancouver Island, there is naturally a significant amount of travel time involved when making the trip as a day tour from Vancouver. For guests who would prefer to explore downtown Victoria for the whole day, a guided day tour may not be the best option. That said, we’re very glad to hear you enjoyed the comfort of our coach and had a great experience with Dion.
The experience was really amazing! The flowers , buildings, and walks. There was endless amounts of flowers and endless amounts of pictures to take to! I suggest to go on your vacation.
Thank you for the wonderful review! We’re so glad you had such an amazing time and enjoyed all the beautiful sights. We appreciate the recommendation and hope to welcome you back soon.
It was a long day but our guide Dan made it very enjoyable. He is extremely knowledgeable about everything relating to Vancouver. The only note I would make is to eat before you ride back to Vancouver if possible. The ferry was very busy and the food was not good.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re glad Dan made the day enjoyable and informative. We appreciate your feedback about getting something to eat and hope to welcome you back soon.
This was such an incredible experience. We learned so much from our guide and enjoyed the free time to explore. Definitely worth the cost.
Thank you so much for the kind words! We’re thrilled you had a great time and hope to welcome you back again soon!
Very enjoyable. Dion our driver and tour guide was wonderful. Very informative and a great personality. Really enjoyed Bushart Gardens and Victoria
Thank you for sharing your experience! We're so happy to hear that you had a great time with Dion. We hope to welcome you back soon.
Guide and driver Senan was great. He gave clear instructions in a friendly manner. He was quite personable and entertained us with jokes.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We're happy to hear that you had a great time with Senan and he kept you entertained throughout the day.
GREAT tour! Senan was wonderful, kind, and funny! Gardens were gorgeous and Victoria was fun! The Bard and Banker was great and reasonably priced during happy hour in Victoria. The ferry ride was nice as well!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear you had a great time exploring Victoria and enjoyed the beautiful gardens. It's great to know that Senan made your experience fun and memorable. We appreciate your kind words!
