Victoria BC/Butchart Garden/Empress Tea

[Jakk]

Hello, has anybody got any advice for me? I want to take my wife to "tea" in Victoria. Has anybody gone to the Empress Hotel? Is it very nice? In Victoria, is the Butchart Gardens worth the $59 Princess is charging for transportation & admission? How about picking up a romantic carriage at the dock, worth it? Or any advice at all? If they only walk you around & don't really show you anything beautiful, it will be disappointing. Help! Thanks.:)

[wolfie11]

I was there last June and thought the whole tea thing at the Empress was a huge rip-off. Something like $40 for tea and snacks. I guess the "experience" is the thing, but I used to live in England....I didn't do the gardens, but I understand there are good bus connections. I just walked around, had lunch at a pub, picked up some of my favorite foods that I can't get in Alaska, took the little boat tour from the harbor, etc. Had a good time and didn't spend very much money.

[Steve H]

Hi Jakk; The tea at the Empress is expensive but you go there for the experience and it is supposed to be very nice. The gardens are a must see and you can get a bus tour through the gray line bus at the station behind the Empress. I would really reccommend the museum it is world class and not to be missed it will give you a idea of what B.C. is all about. You can take a carriage ride if you like they will take you through town and are quite popular. Try the little harbour ferries they go around the local waterways and are worth a try. These are just a few things off the top of my head that you might try I hope it helps I hope you have a nice time in our city.

[cruiseryyc]

Skip the Empress tea, go to Butcharts and if you have the time do afternoon tea out there. If you don't want to spend the money for the Gardens, then there is lots to do around the harbour. Great walking area.

[Budget Queen]

A great deal depends how much time you have in Victoria, plenty of ships only have a couple hours that greatly limits you to ship tours.

 

The Empress Hotel has a very high cost tea, my opinion only, around $40capp. Butchart Gardens is just excellent always a must do for me every trip. You can get there via city bus, but time is needed which as I mention, most cruise ships do not have.

 

Carriage rides go around the inner harbor, plenty of people like them

[SailAways]

Hello, has anybody got any advice for me? I want to take my wife to "tea" in Victoria. Has anybody gone to the Empress Hotel? Is it very nice? In Victoria, is the Butchart Gardens worth the $59 Princess is charging for transportation & admission? How about picking up a romantic carriage at the dock, worth it? Or any advice at all? If they only walk you around & don't really show you anything beautiful, it will be disappointing. Help! Thanks.:)

 

If you can, be sure to see Butchart Gardens.

It is worth admission fee, but I am not sure about the Princess package.

It has been years since we were there, and we did it all, but with your limited time,

and having to make a choice, I surely would opt for the Gardens. A tour to remember - take plenty of pictures.

This is a photo op of grand scale.

We did the tea at the Empress when it was not quite so pricey, but we felt

it was worth whatever we paid then, and probably would do it again.

Yes, the Empress is nice, and aging very well. (We did this about 8 years ago.)

Have a great time on your cruise.

[mii]

I have done all of the above mentioned excursions. Butchart Gardens are a must. Absolutely spectacular and well worth in my opinion the cost through the ships excursion. We have also done the Empress Hotel tea but not on a ships excursion and the experiance and cost was worth it to us.

 

I highly recommend the harbor tours. Right in front of the Express is the harbor. Just walk down until you find Harbor Tours. There are two different routes they take. One is in the Inner Harbor and athe other one you go along a river or inlet. We have done both and I would start with the Inner Harbor one first. I cannot remember the price but it was not expensive. Well worth it.

 

Marilyn

[Kruizefan]

I would really reccommend the museum it is world class and not to be missed it will give you a idea of what B.C. is all about.

 

Hello,

what museum do you think of? Name of it?

Regards

Peter

[cruiseryyc]

The Royal BC Museum. It is located within site of the Inner Harbour.

[bluedevil72]

We were on the NCL Star this past June and because we only in Victoria for six hours we were hesitant to do anything on our own. We booked an excursion through the cruise line for four hours which went to the Gardens and a mini-tour of Victoria. We didn't get to do either one long enough but for the amount of time we were in port, I thought it was well worth the money we paid. We had a great tour guide who had lived in Victoria for several years, so she made that part of the trip very interesting.

[Kruizefan]

The Royal BC Museum. It is located within site of the Inner Harbour.

 

Thank you Cruiseyyc and Steve H,

after cruising to Alaska we will stay for two nights in the Queen Victoria, which I suppose is very close to the BC Museum.

After that we will heading for Tofino, Whistler, Wells Gray Park, Jasper, Banff and then flying home from Calgary.

We really look forward to that itinerary.

Regards

Peter

[Jakk]

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate your advice. Didn't think of the time constraints! We'll hit the gardens for certain, & try to take tea there, instead of Empress! Happy Cruisising! :)

[chismrules]

We don't get in till 6:00pm.- 12. What about with kids. Will they get bored with flowers/gardens. How late does it stay light out in July. Any suggestions about what to do if stayed around the water. What does the water taxi see. Any help, my kids are 10 and 15. I don't know how late we would stay out also. Thanks

[Steve H]

I think the kids will enjoy the small ferry boats , they go around the harbour or up the Gorge waterway. There are lots of street performers around the inner harbour that they might enjoy also., maybe try a carriage ride around town. It is usually light in mid July till 9:00- 9:30.

[travelpeon]

I toured the Garden myself this spring and it took me about 3 hours. The young man at the ticket counter said I could finish it in half a day. It was an expensive 3 hours (I believe admission then was about $26 USD) but it was lovely.

 

Now, this was with some determined leisurely walking as a) The gardens can be really crowded. b) I was hoping to finish in half a day so I could also visit downtown.

 

They have a fireworks program, too, in the summer tourist season. It is only on specific nights.

 

Personally, I think that children might enjoy the garden but it really depends on your mood at that point in time. It might be best not to book the tour in advance and take the Grey Line tour instead of Princess' "day-of". If your kids don't want to go, you could consider going with your wife while they stay on-ship and treat yourselves to some Gelato (which is sold in the Garden) after a leisurely stroll hand-in-hand.

 

This makes for a nice gesture without paying the moon.