Night Stop in Victoria...what to do??

[eyeeye]

We arrive at 5:30 to Victoria. If we depart ship around 7:00, what is the best excursion on our own to take so we can be back in a few hours. Would walking ti Inner Harbour or to see the Empress Hotel be worth it. Would enjoy Buchart Gardens, but I think it would be rushed and stressful on such a short port call.

[grmmybtty]

Its about a 10 minute walk from the cruise terminal to Fisherman's Wharf where you can see the many decorated houseboats and have some fish and chips with wine or beer while you watch the sunset. The Inner Harbour is almost a 30 minute walk, so you really don't have enough time.

[Northern Aurora]

Several times we have walked from the cruise ship terminal to Government Street.  It is a lovely walk, and we have time for a meal at the Bard and Banker pub.

[martincath]

Your wording is a little confusing @eyeeye - I *think* you mean the ship is scheduled to dock at 5:30pm, you want to walk off after dinner at 7ish for some sightseeing, and then you have not specified the planned departure time of the ship... as legally a stop must be a minimum 4 hours to qualify for the PVSA 'foreign port' on a Closed Loop cruise based on years of case law so 7pm ship departure would never be scheduled by any line (bad weather and other out-of-control-of-cruiseline issues they can get away with, but a schedule that was inherently unlawful would get them in real trouble!)

 

Walking to the Inner Harbour does let you see many lit-up historic buildings, but other than restos/bars and some touristy shops almost nothing will be open - maybe the Royal BC Museum, if they do their late-night Fri/Sat closings like they used to do in BeforeTimes summers, but Butchart has confirmed no fireworks this season so that means no late opening - their gates will be shut when you plan to walk off. Possibly a sunset whalewatch might be available, if your cruise is e.g. June with sunset after 9pm in Vic this could be very plausible BUT would need you to get off sharpish, latest departure times for those trips tend to be maybe 6pm...

 

So if wandering around a pretty harbour, or taking a short harbour cruise, or drinking some real ale, or a carriage ride are of interest it's definitely worth getting off - but without knowing when you must be back on-board, hard to advise any long walks or anything else like whale-watching that would take up a lot of time.

 

[suefrankw]

we loved the irish pub and the wharf. Great walking around