Van/Victoria - What to do?

[Dumbass17]

headed to Vancouver and Victoria for a few days in July to see a few people (ex-gf, mom and sister) and am looking for ideas on what to do and see. i haven't spent any time in either place for about 20 years. what do you guys suggest to do/see?

[Sugarphreak]

...

[G-ZUS]

Riot? and show them what you got

[DGill]

Have some fun with the ex

[KRyn]

Eat real sushi.

[My_name_is_Rob]

If the weather is nice in victoria, i would suggest renting some scooters and bombing around downtown. Its a great way to explore the downtown area, and not overly expensive.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by KRyn
Eat real sushi.

[Hallowed_point]

In Victoria, go see the Royal BC Museum..seriously I hate most museums but this one is outstanding! & The Undersea Gardens is wicked.

** Go to "Capital Iron" in Victoria, probably the coolest store I've ever been in. Everything from military surplus to camping gear to random weird stuff you wont see anywhere else

[timdog]

for victoria - i love going to the inner harbour and eating some fish tacos at Red Fish Blue Fish (http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/). its a little shack kinda close to the flying otter.. so damn good. I also recommend some of the brewpubs. Canoe brewpub is the least interesting beer-wise but has a pretty sweet patio tucked away from the hustle and bustle, right near the water. Swans is a good time after 9:00pm if you are looking for a good party but aren't into clubs and whatnot.

[Manhattan]

What's the easiest and/or cheapest way to do Victoria on a day trip? Was planning to drive and take a ferry. Any other suggestions?

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Manhattan
What's the easiest and/or cheapest way to do Victoria on a day trip? Was planning to drive and take a ferry. Any other suggestions?

Other than flying, isn't that your only option.

[ExtraSlow]

Too much of a hassle for me to bother doing Victoria on a day trip from Van. Once you fuck around with the ferry, you've killed half your day.

[eglove]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Visit the Vancouver aquarium, Stanley park is right there too which is nice this time of year. If you are up for a challenge, go do the Grouse grind, great views & there is a wild life zoo at the top, then take the gondola back down. Capilano suspension bridge is also interesting. Granville Island is also a nice place to spend some time.

For Victoria, I’d skip the undersea gardens... it always looks cool but frankly it is so outdated I find it a waste of money. Checking out the harbor and government street is always a highlight. Doing afternoon royal tea at the Empress hotel is one of those bucket list things. Chinatown in Victoria is also interesting, I'd recommend spending some time walking through it! Tons of great pubs and restaurants all over the place in that general area. If you are still looking for things to do, the Royal Wax museum can be interesting. If you have time also check out the Butchart Gardens, very interesting during the day and just as spectacular when the sun goes down as the entire place is lit up with accent lights. I am not a big garden person myself, but I was blown away by that place.

Undersea gardens is long gone AFAIK

[revelations]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Too much of a hassle for me to bother doing Victoria on a day trip from Van. Once you fuck around with the ferry, you've killed half your day.

Helijet FTW - the Ferries are a complete and utter joke for quick trips.

[C_Dave45]

Pretty much impossible to do Victoria on a day trip via the Ferries. With nominal waiting lines your over 3 hours one way. (I'm including time spent getting off and into the city as well)
I used to spend all day, on two return trips when I was a kid. Just stay on the same boat the entire day.
If it's hot out, its fun to just people watch, feed the Seagulls out of your hand, and lay on deck suntanning.

[Manhattan]

Figured you could get on a ferry at 8 or 9 am. It's only a 1 hour ferry ride. Leave on the 8 or 9pm ferry.

[roopi]

Originally posted by Manhattan
What's the easiest and/or cheapest way to do Victoria on a day trip? Was planning to drive and take a ferry. Any other suggestions?

Not the cheapest but look into a float plane. Two of the companies are www.seairseaplanes.com and www.harbourair.com but I think there are others.

[eglove]

Originally posted by Manhattan
Figured you could get on a ferry at 8 or 9 am. It's only a 1 hour ferry ride. Leave on the 8 or 9pm ferry.

1hr 40 mins

[ExtraSlow]

Plus you'll need to arrive a minimum of 30 minutes before sailing, and you'll waste 10-15 minutes getting off.

So, two hours each way is optimistic. Budget 2.5 hours each way.
AND, schwartz bay ferry is 45 minutes drive from downtwon victoria. If you are doing "city" stuff, that adds another 1.5 hours.

Tswassen is 45 minutes from Downtown Vancouver as well, anotehr 1.5 hours added.

For me, not worth it at all to kill eight hours of travel, Fuel, plus $180 ferry fare.

[ga16i]

Drove to Victoria back in early April this year for cherry blossoms. Victoria is doable on a day trip from Vancouver if you start and line up early first thing in the morning and pretty much only do one thing e.g., afternoon tea at the Empress, see Butchart Gardens, etc. Duration of ferry ride is roughly 1.5~2hr if I recall correctly from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. Getting to/from the ferry is painful in Victoria too, way too many damn traffic lights. I think it was a good 45min drive to downtown during the day and maybe 15~20 minutes at night when there's no one around and I hit all the greens. You can book a spot online just in case, but if you go early early, you can hop onto the next available. I've heard horror stories where people just sit and wait for 2~3 ferries. That's 2~3 hours just sitting and waiting!

No other suggestion, just start your day early.

Something else interesting to do at the Victoria Fisherman's Wharf is to feed the seals. There's a fish shop right next to it that sells plates of pretty much chum for the seals.
Feeding Fish to Seal by Wilson Hui, on Flickr