Things to do in Victoria, BC in 6 hrs

[aim-high]

Just like many would have this question, we are stopping at Victoria, BC through NCL this june and would like to know what to do in Victoria in the 6 hrs we have . we arrive at 6 PM and our ship departs at 11.59 PM.

I see information about tours to Butchart garden. Because of budget constraints, We are thinking of going on our own to the gardens rather than using the tours. I might have some logistical challenges here ( I wud think).

 

Since most of the websites talk about Butchart gardens, we want to spend as much time as possible and not planning to go to any other place in Victoria. I see it is about 15 miles /23 kms from the cruise ship area. Is that true and how long will it take by taxi ?

Secondly, Are there any gardens within the Butchart gardens that are must see (may be we will look at them first ) ?

Hopefully, we can finish looking at all the gardens and come back to ship area by 11.30 PM or so .

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[poolwife]

We just got back from Victoria off of the "Mariner of the Seas" doing a Pacific Northwest cruise. When we got off the ship there was some car rental mini-vans in the parking lot looking for business (such as Avis and Budget). We took Budget to their place in downtown and quickly rented a car and was on our way to Butchart Gardens. I would call the Gardens and confirm that they are open in the evening for the day that you are scheduled to be there. It was very easy to find by car. No problem at all. They give you a map at the car rental place. It was very nice doing it on our own and not with the ship tours. But, then if you are on a ship sponsored tour you don't have to worry about being late to the ship. The ship will always wait for those that may be running late if they are on a ship sponsored tour only. If you are late and miss the ship (and you were touring independently) too bad for you. So, you would really have to figure out the time restraints. There was shuttles running from the ship terminal to town and back every 15 minutes this last week.

 

Be sure and wear comfortable walking shoes as it is alot of walking at the gardens and even in Victoria itself. It is quite a long walk to town from the ship also.

[winddncer]

Just like many would have this question, we are stopping at Victoria, BC through NCL this june and would like to know what to do in Victoria in the 6 hrs we have . we arrive at 6 PM and our ship departs at 11.59 PM.

I see information about tours to Butchart garden. Because of budget constraints, We are thinking of going on our own to the gardens rather than using the tours. I might have some logistical challenges here ( I wud think).

 

Since most of the websites talk about Butchart gardens, we want to spend as much time as possible and not planning to go to any other place in Victoria. I see it is about 15 miles /23 kms from the cruise ship area. Is that true and how long will it take by taxi ?

Secondly, Are there any gardens within the Butchart gardens that are must see (may be we will look at them first ) ?

Hopefully, we can finish looking at all the gardens and come back to ship area by 11.30 PM or so .

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Look into Cruise Victoria - I too, found the ship excursions to be very costly

 

CVS Cruise Victoria is $42 USD Round-trip with city highlights and admissions to BG.

[Johnsdeere]

Taxi to the B. Gardens is $50.00 one way. I would recommend going with CVS, the driver will provide you with information about Victoria and a little history of Canada as you go to the Gardens.

[FloridaAdGuy]

We were on the Zaandam two weeks ago and were suppose to be in Victoria at 6:00pm. We ended up not getting off the ship till 8:15pm and the same was true for last week's passengers. This is a port that, due to it's distance from other ports (like Ketchikan), can be delayed. I'd be very careful about booking a tour that left anywhere close to the time you're suppose to dock. Right now, BG is only open till 10:00pm which would only allow you a quick stroll through the gardens. Best to have a backup plan...of course, that's true for any port on the Alaska intineraries.

[Terrier Girl]

Several years ago we booked a tour through NCL to Butchart Gardens. Our driver, who thought he was doing something nice, gave us a tour of the city, but that delayed our arrival at Butchart. We ended up with about an hour of daylight, so we really couldn't appreciate the beautiful views.

 

That being said, I would strongly suggest booking a Butchart Gardens tour through the ship because of time issues. I didn't want to be worried about getting back to the ship if something happened to my ride! This time, we're planning to take a shuttle into the Inner Harbor area and visit the shops, the Empress, etc.

[Putterdude]

The travel time in either direction will be about 35 mins ... maybe at bit longer going out as you will be in the tail end of the commute and if you use CVS Cruise Victoria you will need to transfer from the shuttle bus to the bus going to the gardens. I really don't think that you are going to do it any cheaper than with CVS Cruise Victoria...unless there are 4 or more of you then it may make sense to rent a car. There is transit but you really don't have the time to be doing that.

http://www.cvscruisevictoria.com/

[FrogLover215]

We had this same issue except that our port time is 6 AM to 2 PM. I did not want to book through the ship because I knew I could get the tour much cheaper through an independent (saving over $100 for our family). But none of the independents offered tour times that I was confident would get us back to the ship on time! So I bit the bullet and reserved through the ship. Oh well.

[Threes company]

Very good advice I will be there soon w/only6 hours also. Thanks; Mary.

[thorno]

We were just there this past Saturday on NCL. Booked the excursion through the ship to Buchardt Gardens. With the bus tour we had about 2 hours at the garden. Was enough time to see it but would have liked more. Was dusk when we left.

[Disney Girl 202]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but we are in port from 7 am - 3 pm. Do you think it is possible to take the public bus to Butchart Gardens, tour it and have time to tour miniature world? There are 4 of us (2 kids). Thanks so much.

[KAWS]

I just got off the phone with CVS. The gentleman told me that you get a shuttle at the port that goes to downtown. The shuttle leaves every few minutes, he said. They can't come directly to the port; only the cruise sponsored excursions can do that. The price for the shuttle is $6.50 pp round trip CDN$.

 

Once you get downtown, about a block away is the tour bus to take you to Butchart. The last tour bus leaves downtown at 7:30 to go to the gardens. The last bus to come back to downtown leaves Butchart at 9:40 so that gives you 2 hours to see the gardens. Then you grab the shuttle back to the port.

 

It all sounds very easy. The only concern I have is that if we dock at 7 pm and the last tour bus leaves at 7:30, if there's a big line for the shuttle and we don't get on it right away, we could miss that tour bus.

 

For anyone that's done this with a 7 pm port time, what do you think?

[aim-high]

kim

 

I am arriving at Victoria port 2 weeks from now. I have booked tickets for the 7.30 pm tour. My ship arrives at 6.00 PM.

I just got off the phone with the CVS. They said they have their Shuttle service every 5 mins just outside the customs. So it is actually not any other company's shuttle service but rather CVS cruise shuttle. As you had mentioned it is 6.50 Canadian dollars per person round trip. He said the shuttle service is every 5 mins. I definitely think I can make it to the 7.30 pm tour.

 

However, you might be cutting it close for the 7.30 pm if you ships arrives at 7.00 pm. I have never been in a cruise before but I would imagine with so many ppl getting off the ship, I would think that would definitely take sometime and then there would be customs. So the faster you can get off the ship, the sooner you can be in the line at customs.

 

From the port to Downtown, the CVS cruise website says it would take around 8 mins but it might be longer if there is a traffic (this is just my speculation but you never know).

[KAWS]

kim

 

I am arriving at Victoria port 2 weeks from now. I have booked tickets for the 7.30 pm tour. My ship arrives at 6.00 PM.

 

 

However, you might be cutting it close for the 7.30 pm if you ships arrives at 7.00 pm. I have never been in a cruise before but I would imagine with so many ppl getting off the ship, I would think that would definitely take sometime and then there would be customs.

 

Those were my thoughts exactly. I think that we're going to stick with the Princess excursion. I know it's a bit more money, but it's worth it for piece of mind and to make sure we actually do get to see Butchart Gardens. I'd be really upset if I tried to get to the last bus to the gardens and missed it and wound up either missing it entirely or paying twice as much to get a taxi. At least with what I have, it's a sure thing and I don't have to stress it. Who needs that on the last night of your cruise?

 

Thanks for confirming things in my mind though. I do appreciate your thoughts.