Vancouver

Discover Victoria & Butchart Gardens Tour from Vancouver

Vancouver, Canada

From $204.22

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

13 to 14 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Victoria is a must-visit for travelers to the British Columbian coast. After a ferry ride to Victoria, take a city tour which includes stops at the Inner Harbour, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, Mile 0, and Chinatown. Then enjoy free time to explore Victoria on your own before ending the day with a stroll through Butchart Gardens.

Hassle-free day trip to Victoria: No need to worry about ferry timetables and driving
Includes roundtrip BC Ferries tickets and admission to Butchart Gardens
Get insights into local Victoria history and culture from your guide
Includes free time to explore Victoria at your own pace

What's Included

Experienced, friendly, and fun Driver-Guide
Deluxe coach transportation
Roundtrip Ferry aboard BC Ferries
Onboard entertainment & commentary throughout
Great discount on optional activities
Admission to the Butchart Gardens
All Fees and Taxes

Food and drinks
Gratuity

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Vancouver Cruise Pier
999 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3E1, Canada
Please meet us at the covered benches, in front of the Vancouver Convention Centre, next to the Flyover Canada Ticket Booth, 15 minutes before departure and meet your Discover Canada Tours guide (wearing bright green). Your guide will be guiding you to the correct bus.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Canada Place

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Tsawwassen

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Victoria

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

The Butchart Gardens

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Swartz Bay BC Ferry Terminal

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Canada Place

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Guests 16-18 years of age may travel on the trip without a parent or guardian but MUST have one present on the departure day to sign the waiver forms held by the tour guide.
Anyone 15 or younger must have a parent or guardian travel on the trip with them.
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
No booster seats available.
The tour still operates when it rains and no refunds will be given within the 24 cancellation policy.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

286 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 286 reviews

Beautiful

Donna_B, Oct 2023

Our ferry ride to Victoria and Victoria itself was wonderful. Great scenery and somuc( to see. But hart Gardens are absolutely amazing, just beautiful grounds, gardens, flowers and plants. It is a must when visiting.

Too much in one day.

MikeTaylor, Oct 2023

I think this trip tries and just about succeeds to get the best of Vancouver Island in one day. There is a lot of time spent on the bus, the driver / guide was good and had plenty of information to pass on. The first surprise was that despite being told to meet for a start time of 0800 hrs at the Vancouver cruise pier, on the Waterfront, the ferry service to Vancouver island leaves from the BC Ferry terminal at Tsawwassen a 40 minute drive to the south and dependent on traffic / roadworks, and time to kill/ waste when we got there. The ferry left at 1000hrs and arrived 90 minutes later. There was then another 40 minute drive to get to Victoria our first sightseeing stop at 1230hrs. 2hrs 15 minutes to see the sights and get some lunch was a bit of a push. Once on the coach another 30 -40 mins drive to the Butchart Gardens arriving at 1520hrs to get tickets and stepping off the bus at 1530hrs. Our driver said we had until 1745hrs to explore these beautiful gardens, the problem we all found - the place closes at 1700hrs so all catering and retail outlets were pushing folk out on time. We returned to the car park, our bus was the sole vehicle there. Sadly we were just too late arriving back at ferry terminal to get on the 1800hrs boat and had another wait for our booked service at 1900hrs. More time to kill. It would have been better to have got underway at the start an hour earlier to make the 0900hrs boat. There would have then been more time to enjoy both Victoria and the Gardens. It is an expensive tour and to spend much of it in a bus isn't quite what I was expecting nor had it been advertised as such.

Matthew Paugh was by far...

Lynn_H, Sep 2023

Matthew Paugh was by far the BEST tour guide I have every had, ANYWHERE! We spent at least 12 hours with him on our tour of Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Victoria as well as the famous Butchart Gardens. Matt is a wealth of knowledge and educated us on MANY things throughout the day, from small to big in importance! We had a wonderful time and would HIGHLY recommend this tour and Matthew Paugh, if you could get him as a guide! Kudos to Matt!!

Great day in Victoria

Sherry_L, Sep 2023

The day in Victoria was amazing. Our tour guide, Kim was incredibly knowledgeable about Vancouver Island and provided us with so much information about everywhere we went. We already want to go again.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thank you for your kind review. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your time on tour with Kim! We are looking forward to welcoming you again in the future.

Maybe too much in one day!

Robert_J, Sep 2023

Butchart is truly amazing. Victoria also fun. Long day with a lot of travel time! Slowest moving ferry I’ve ever experienced!

Fun and scenic day in Victoria

Karen_C, Aug 2023

The Gardens were beautiful beginning to end! Victoria is a lovely place. Nice tips from Renee our tour guide who kept us all entertained. The ferry was a fun experience. Long day and very worth it!!

Randi rocks

Eric_A, Aug 2023

Our Guide was excellent! RANDI WAS BY HER name!! Gardens good wish it included tea! Lunch at seafood rest !!

Perfect way to spend the day.

Sharon_C, Aug 2023

This was a full day and a wonderful experience. Chris was an awesome guide and always kept us informed, driver was great. Loved the tour well worth the money.

Lots to see with no hassle!

Genevieve_K, Aug 2023

For a one time visitor to Vancouver that wants to see Victoria and the Gardens, this is the way to go. They take all the hassle out of getting to the ferry, the boat trip to the island (which is a real treat) and to downtown Victoria as well as the gardens. Our guide provide some great commentary, a walking map of downtown Victoria and the timing was perfect to experience both. It's a LONG DAY and if you're staying at a hotel, call them to arrange for pickup as that removes any stress, especially when you get back to Vancouver after a long day.

Very enjoyable

Christiane_P, Aug 2023

Kim is a fantastic guide, buzzing with energy and jokes, but also very knowledgeable. Great guide & tour.

Tour was super fun.

Marie_H, Aug 2023

This is a full day tour. Victoria and Burtchart garden were beautiful. Our tour guide Kim is awesome and informative. Our driver Aysha drove safe and we made good time.

A long day for a short time in the gardens.

Herbert_B, Aug 2023

The main purpose of our excursion was to visit the gardens. That being said, we knew there was a lot of time needed to travel from Vancouver via car ferry. But we didn't expect to get dropped off on downtown without some ideas of what we would do there. So we spent some time eating lunch and sitting around waiting for the bus to return. I wish we could have gotten more out of the time. It was a long day (12+ hours) for a short visit to the gardens.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you for your feedback. We will make sure this will go to the right department as we strive for the best experience for all of our customers.

Full day of adventures

Marty_S, Aug 2023

We enjoyed the multiple opportunities on this full day trip with great information from our guide as well as plenty of time for independent exploration. We always felt safe and well informed. The locations we visited were outstanding and well worth the trip.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your tour with your tour guide in Victoria!

Interesting to explore

Stephen_H, Aug 2023

Time to explore downtown, and the incredibly fantastic Butchart gardens. And it took a little research, but found out the story of the Knowledge Totem and what’s in the Bone Player’s hand on the Knowledge totem in front of the government buildings. Interesting tidbit.

Worth it for a day trip

Sherry_P, Jul 2023

I booked this experience for me and my Mom. It took the stress out of figuring the travel logistics to get on/off the island and to the destinations she wanted to check out. I liked this tour because it was a smaller group and bus, there were 18 of us, and the group showed up on-time that we made it early to the ferry and had an extra hour in Victoria on a Sunday since there was less traffic. Our host was Rene who was fantastic with his knowledge of the area, jokes, and friendly nature. He makes a point to get to know everyone and looks out for us when it's time to regroup. He knew how to direct us towards our points of interest. It was a long day but everyone left happy. P.S. I am blind and an amputee and I felt comfortable and included throughout the experience. We also got to do a quick stop at the Terry Fox statue in Victoria which was amazing for me as an amputee which I didn't share at first with Rene! ~Sherry

The overall time, length...

Timothy_S, Jul 2023

The overall time, length of time, for the tour is too long. The gardens were beautiful, but Victoria was just ok. Rene was very good, with a lesser guide this tour would have been a real bummer.

A great day at Victoria and Butchart Gardens

Peter_Y, Jul 2023

Butchart Gardens were the absolute highlight. They are well worth the trip from Vancouver. Victoria is also a lovely place to visit. Rene was a very informative guide who was able to offer a great range of interesting tidbits. A long day but very well worth it.

All in one day trip

Jenny_C, Jul 2023

many wonderful experiences from ocean crossing to sight seeing, history, magnificent view and sunset, charming Butchard garden....

Relaxing trip

Terry_Z, Jun 2023

Having someone else drive took away a lot of stress. Very relaxing stroll thru Victoria and Butchart Gardens.

Excellent tour of Victoria and Butchart Gardens

Barbara_S, Jun 2023

Ian and Natasha made this a fantastic trip! We loved Ian’s knowledge of all things Vancouver and Vancouver Island. So informative. This is the best tour. It’s a smaller group in a comfortable van. They take care of every detail. The day is very long, but worth it. It starts super early and ends after 9 pm because you take a ferry both ways to the island. The ferry ride is long, but he takes the van right onto the ferry then you drive off. But it’s totally worth it! Ian and Natasha communicate well and give lots of suggestions on what to see on your free time exploring. We walked to Chinatown, which was fairly close and fun. We ate on the way back to the van at Sult Pierogi Bar. Great place with good local beers and any kind of pierogi you’d want. Can’t recommend this tour enough! Just be prepared for a long day. But Ian and Natasha made the time go fast. And they ate super friendly and accommodating!

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