On 21 May, British Columbia celebrated Victoria Day. Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25; in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to visit the Capital of British Columbia – Victoria. Victoria sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. So, in other words, Victoria, altough it is the Capital city of the provence of British Columbia, is not on the mainlaind, but rather on an island just off the mainlaind. It is a 90-minute ferry ride through the Strait of Georgia from Tsawwassen harbour in Vancouver to Swartz Bay in Victoria.
However, the ferry ride is the middle part of the journey. Our journey from Vancouver to Victoria started with an hour train ride from Coquitlam to downtown Vancouver. From the train station we had to find a Vancouver Island tourist bus which drove us to Tsawwassen harbour. The bus boards the ferry that takes us over the water to Vancouver Island. It is amazing to see this whole operation in action. You cannot begin to imagine the size and the magnitude of the operation of this ferry. It carries trucks, busses, cars and foot passengers over the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island. Below is a short video of the ferry entering the harbour. At this stage we were sitting on the bus watching the ferry dock.
Once on the other side, the bus takes you into Victoria. It is still another hour’s drive from Swartz Bay harbour to Victoria city centre. So the total journey is about 6 hours. Is it worth it? Absolutely!!
Victoria is characterised by abundant parkland and has an array of outdoor activities to pursue.
The city’s British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture.
We ended up staying in a hotel in the scenic Inner Harbour. This is right at the heart of the city and this area is bustling with floatplanes and harbour ferries.
The Inner harbour from a different angle
The city’s most famous historic building is of course the BC Parliament Buildings.
Here you can grab a traditional horse and cart and see a bit of the city this way. It was a bit too expensive for us, but Emma got to pet the horses…
Other famous buildings include the Fairmont Hotel Empress…
…as well as the funky Fisherman’s Wharf, with its resident seals and lemonade stands.
Everyone recommends Barb’s Fish & Chips at Fisherman’s Wharf. But of course, as you can imagine, this means that the queues are endless at Barb’s. We discovered the most amazing fried salmon at The Floating Fish Store. We went back the next day for more. It was delicious!
Another must-try at Fisherman’s Wharf for those with a sweet tooth, is Jackson’s Ice Cream.
Some tips if you are ever able to visit the island:
You can take your car on the ferry, but you need to book well in advance and reserver your spot on BC Ferries. We found taking the bus was less stressful, because it takes the thinking out of it. You just have to get on the bus and the bus driver manages everything else.
If you book your ferry trip on BC Ferries they often have accommodation packages as well, so you could actually book your ferry and your accommodation together and save a lot of money on accommodation. It is more expensive booking seperately. We learned that the hard way.
You don’t really need a car if you are planning to spend your weekend in Victoria. There is lots to see and do and most of it is within walking distance. They also have a hop-on-hop-off tour bus that takes you all over the city, so you can easily get to all the major attractions of the city without needing your own car.
However, if you plan to visit the rest of Vancouver Island, you will probably need a car. So you could either bring your car over on the ferry or rent a car once you are in Victoria. Keep in mind that the ferry also travels to other harbours on Vancouver Island. You could take a ferry to Nanaimo for example – which is located on the east side of Vancouver Island and which is another popular tourist destination.
Eat before you go on the ferry. This allows you to take in the scenery on your way to the island instead of having to stand in the queues at the diner waiting for food. Because we took the 07:00 ferry, we figured we would have breakfast on the ferry. We ended up waiting in line for the whole 90 minutes of the ferry ride and missed out on the trip to the island.
On our way back to Vancouver, we opted to sit outside on the top deck of the ferry. The views from here are breathtaking.
It was a crazy whirlwind weekend, but it was literally the first time we actually felt like we were living in a coastal city. We had so much fun. The 6-hour transit back home is a bit tiring though, so keep that in mind. There is still so much we want to see and do, so despite the schlep of getting there, we will definitely take another trip to Vancouver Island in the near future.