Victoria Family Travels

Victoria, BC

How to Get There:

There are a number of ways to get to Victoria and if you plan it right, it's a fun family adventure all on it's own. We like to combine it with a trip to Seattle for a few reasons: Seattle is a fun place for a family vaca, you can find great deals on flights and we are lucky enough to have wonderful family to visit.  It seems also relatively easy to get to Victoria from Vancouver but that's a trip I need to plan for the future.

 

Playing games on the Clipper.

View of Seattle as we take off on the Clipper

 The fastest and easiest way to get from Seattle to Victoria is via the Victoria Clipper. The Clipper departs Seattle right near downtown so it's easy to uber or catch a ride to the dock when staying in Seattle. It then takes you right into Victoria where everything is walkable. So no need to worry about a car. If you find you want a car, you can rent one right in Victoria. The Clipper is about a 2.5 hour boat ride which we thought was relatively pleasant. The picture (above) of the kids playing video games on the Clipper was economy class so as you can see we had plenty of room plus the deck was just behind our seats when we were wanting some fresh air. They have a snack bar in case you get hungry and we even booked a ghost tour for our stay in Victoria while we were on the boat with one of the boat staff. I will say all of this comes with a price. It can range roughly between $160 - $200+ per ticket depending on when you go and whether or not you are willing to purchase a non-refundable ticket. It's also worth noting when we booked our ticket through Clipper Vacations we also booked our hotel room. Their package rate for boat and hotel was less than purchasing them individually so definitely take a look. 

Another option is to take one of the Washington State Ferries. For this option you will need a car. The closest location to Seattle to catch the ferry is in Anacortes which is about a 1 hour and 40 minute drive from Seattle. It's really not a bad drive although we have been stuck in some serious rush hour traffic when driving back from Anacortes to Seattle so plan on that possibility for your return. You will also need a car once the ferry arrives as it takes you to Sidney, BC which is an easy 30 min. drive to Victoria. These ferries let you drive the car right on the boat so you can rent a car in Seattle and keep it for your time in Seattle and Victoria. For the ferry the car plus the driver costs about $57. The other adults would then be about $20/adult and about $10/child so it's a much more cost effective way to go than the Clipper but don't forget you need to consider the cost of the car rental and the cost of parking at your hotel in Victoria. This ferry ride takes roughly 2-3 hours depending on if you choose a ferry that makes another stop along the way (you will know this before you book and I highly suggest purchasing tickets in advance). 

Now the actual fastest and probably coolest way to get to Victoria is via sea plane. When I looked for the month of July it ranged from $400 - $600 per ticket on Harbour Air. The flight is only an hour and one option is to take it directly from Lake Union in Seattle to Victoria. It may be worth doing even one way just for the experience. 

Water Taxi in Victoria Harbour

Where to Stay:

There are a lot of great options for hotels in Victoria. My recommendation is to stay somewhere near the harbor so you can walk to everything (or take a cool water taxi as pictured above). 

Our first trip we stayed at the Delta Hotel Victoria. This is a Marriott property which is great if you have or are looking to accumulate Marriott points. It's located on the harbor but opposite of downtown. This isn't an issue as there is a water taxi stop right outside the hotel or a bridge you can walk across to town. The rooms were decent, basic hotel room but clean and updated. The kids loved the indoor pool and hot tub and I enjoyed having access to the gym. The staff here are also exceptionally friendly.

For our second stay we chose Hotel Grand Pacific. We purchased this hotel stay when we booked our ferry ride through Clipper Vacations. This is a great place to stay when taking the Clipper because we literally just walked across the street from the ferry to the hotel. This hotel is also located right in the harbor and next to the Parliament building. It was being renovated while we were there so we got a lovely renovated room while my sister had a not-so updated room. The renovations are a great improvement and they too have a nice gym and indoor pool.

One of the most popular places to stay is the Fairmont Empress. If you are looking to splurge, this is the hotel for you. Since we haven't stayed at the Empress I will say it has been equally as easy to walk around the hotel and enjoy it's surroundings or book the famous Tea at the Empress here without paying top dollar to stay at the hotel. 

What to Do: (click on the links for each item below to get more information)

Feeling fancy sipping her tea at the Empress

Tea at the Empress

Tea at the Empress - Tea at the Fairmont Empress is one of the most popular things to do when visiting Victoria. While tea at the Empress may not be a must for you, tea at one of the resorts or restaurants in Victoria should be. The kids really enjoyed getting dressed up, learning about different flavors of tea, flavoring their tea with different types of sugars and eating little sandwiches/desserts. They have special snacks for kids which was perfect! Now this is a pricey activity and now that we have checked it off our bucket list we will likely not do it again for the price but it really was a fun afternoon. 

Buchart Gardens

Buchart Gardens

Buchart Gardens - If you haven't been you must go. I was a little nervous that we would all be a little bored at the gardens but it was such a fun day for all of us during our first trip that we went back on our second trip. It is absolutely beautiful! The kids loved exploring the different gardens and of course stopping to smell the roses. They would climb up stairs to see the beautiful views and follow the many different trails throughout the gardens. You can take a quick break for some yummy gelato, ride the carousel and then explore some more. They have concerts and fireworks in the evenings throughout the summer months. I do want to point out that this isn't walking distance from Victoria but you have a few options if you don't have a car. There are many tours that will take you to the gardens and back to your hotel (check with your hotel for tour information) or (if you're like us and want to be on your own schedule) you can walk to a rental car location in town and drive to the gardens (and a few other places along the way which I will share). It's roughly a 30 min. drive.
 

Petting Zoo at Beacon Hill Park

Beacon Hill Park - This is a huge park right in Victoria. It's a wonderful place to take a picnic. There are so many large green spaces, trees, playgrounds and even a petting zoo. It's a great place to just let the kids go wild (especially before or after being so proper at tea time). 

Ghostly Walk Tour

Ghostly Walk Tour - I wasn't sure if the kids would love or hate this tour but it ended up being a success! I will say the company did a wonderful job of putting families with young kids together in the same group so the tour could be adjusted to meet our interests and keep the kids entertained. It was a fun way to learn about the history of Victoria and to take a little walking tour of the town. 

Bug Zoo

Victoria Bug Zoo -  This zoo was right in town and I would use the term "zoo" loosely. It is all inside and is a couple of rooms but the bugs you get to see here are pretty cool. There was an employee there who knew more about bugs than I could ever imagine. She went around explaining all the different types of bugs and took them out of their cages for the kids to hold. While it's a small zoo, the kids really enjoyed it. 

 

Parliament Building

Parliament Building - While we didn't do an official tour of the parliament building (they are available we were just nervous the kids would get bored) we did take a walk around and just looking around the building was fascinating. I think one of my husband's favorite things that we did (and not a well-known one) was we had breakfast in the parliament building. It makes you feel so official and we did our best to discuss serious matters over breakfast. 

Near Uplands Park

Uplands Park  - If you have a car definitely drive to the other side of the island to see and explore the many parks and beaches up there. We happened to stop at Uplands Park and enjoyed climbing around on the rocks and of course the kids collected many, many rocks while splashing in the water. It was a beautiful place to take in the scenery and there was a sandy beach right next to where we parked. It would be ideal to bring a picnic or grab a coffee or ice cream and hang out for a bit. 

Niagara Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park

Goldstream Provincial Park  - Located about 20 min. from the center of Victoria this is another fun stop on a day you have a rental car. There are many different hiking options but our favorite was heading to this Niagara Falls. It was only about a 20 min walk/hike from the car and we stayed here for a while. I enjoyed the view, the shade and the sounds of the waterfall. The kids enjoyed climing on the rocks, finding little caves and using logs as balance beams. It was a wonderful afternoon in nature.

Fisherman's Wharf - There are two main reasons to go here. 1, To eat at Barb's fish & chips (or one of the other restaurants on the wharf) and 2. An excuse to take a water taxi. This is a great place to take a water taxi to. You can catch one in front of the Empress or in front of the Delta hotel (if staying there) and cruise over to the Fisherman's wharf to see the colorful buildings and have a bite to eat. Other than that there isn't a whole lot to do at the wharf.

Where to Eat:

Parliamentary Dining Room - You may not see this as the place to eat when looking for restaurants in Victoria but we thought it was the best experience, meal and value around. The breakfast was delicious, you get to eat where the legislators eat and it was extremely reasonably priced. It's also conveniently located next to the Hotel Grand Pacific if you choose to stay there.

Breakfast at Murchie's

 Murchie's - Murchie's is a fun breakfast spot. They have delicious coffees and breakfast sandwiches. It's also worth taking a stroll through the shop within Murchie's. You can find anything and everything tea there and some adorable gifts.

Treats at Hey Happy

 Hey Happy - They kind of had me at the name, especially when I'm on vacation. It's a little coffee shop with decent donuts and delicious coffee. I had my first honey latte here and it was fab!

***If you have another favorite coffee shop in Victoria please comment/share. We love to try new coffee shops and there were so many in Victoria with great reviews to try.   

The view at Red Fish Blue Fish

Red Fish Blue Fish - They often say, "go hungry" but not here. This place is delicious but it's obvious by the long line and wait for food. It's just a little shack on the pier which is a fun setting but there isn't a lot of seating so be prepared. It's worth trying at least once as the fish and chips, fried pickles and tacones are so good (great for your fried food fix). 

Frankie's Modern Diner  - We ate here because it was conveniently located, didn't have a long wait and was kid friendly. I would say the drinks were good, the food was good enough.

Barb's Fish & Chips - This is the place to eat if you head over to Fisherman's Warf. Delicious fish and chips but don't expect to get much else besides fish and chips...why would you anyway?

Crust Bakery - This is a delicious lunch spot. They have great options to satisfy your savory and sweet cravings. The sandwiches were delicious (although they only have a few to choose from but still so good) and so many delicious looking treats to try (I bet you can't try just one).