Butchart Gardens and Victoria Sightseeing Tour from Vancouver

Overview

A full-day sightseeing tour from Vancouver to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. Hotel pickup and drop-off in Vancouver is included. You ride BC Ferries from the mainland through the Gulf Islands to Swartz Bay, then a mini-coach takes you through downtown Victoria and on to Butchart Gardens.

Victoria is known for the Fairmont Empress Hotel, the Parliament buildings, and the gardens. The coach stops at the Inner Harbour, Mile 0, the Empress, and historic Chinatown, including Fan Tan Alley. You get free time downtown before the gardens. The return is the evening sailing back to the mainland, then the coach to where the day began. The tour is about 13 to 14 hours.

• Shared tour with a driver-guide
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted
• Public transportation is available near the Canada Place meeting point
• The tour still runs in the rain

Before you go

• Infants sit on an adult’s lap
• No booster seats
• Guests 16 to 18 may travel without a parent or guardian, but an adult must be there on departure day to sign the waiver with the guide
• Anyone 15 or younger must have a parent or guardian on the trip
• Suitable for all fitness levels, as published by the tour
• Cancel at least 24 hours before the start for a refund. Inside that window, including a rainy day, the published policy does not refund

Itinerary

The order below is the published day from Vancouver. Stop lengths in Victoria depend on the ferry and the free-time window. The coach is back in Vancouver at about 9:30 pm.

Canada Place

Meet the bus and driver-guide at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. Hotel pickup and drop-off is included.

Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal

About a 45-minute drive from downtown Vancouver to the Tsawwassen terminal. While you wait to board, the terminal market is there.

Gulf Islands crossing

A 90-minute sailing to Vancouver Island. After about 40 minutes the ferry enters Active Pass and runs through the Southern Gulf Islands.

Victoria's Inner Harbour

The driving tour covers Mile 0, Ogden Point, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, and historic Chinatown, including Fan Tan Alley — the narrow commercial alley in Canada’s oldest Chinatown. Then free time downtown. The guide can point you to restaurants, breweries, shops, and side streets. Government Street is the main shopping street. Fisherman’s Wharf is the spot for fish and chips. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia faces the harbour.

After free time, meet the guide at the bus. The Empress is a pass-by during that free time, not a scheduled tour inside the hotel.

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site. The published tour describes 55 acres of themed gardens and more than 900 plant species, including the Japanese Garden, the Italian Garden, and the Rose Garden. Garden admission is included.

Back to Vancouver

The evening sailing returns to Tsawwassen. The coach drives off the ferry and back into Vancouver, arriving at about 9:30 pm, with hotel drop-off included.