Victoria in one day

[travelnsee]

I will be in Vancouver for two days, I plan to do Stanley park/capilano/grouse mountain etc on first day. Can I do Victoria in one day?

[eh2zed]

You can certainly make trip there and back in a day. It won't leave much more than 5 or 6 hours to see Victoria if you leave Vancouver quite early and return after supper.

[Putterdude]

Certainly it can be done people do it all the time, however it is a bit rushed. You need to be up early and eithier on the first Pacific Coach Lines bus or if driving then on the first ferry and for the ferry I would recommend making a reservation for the ferry during the summer. Part of the adventure of going to Victoria is the lovely scenery as you pass thru the Gulf Islands. In order to make the day complete you want to plan to come back on an evening ferry. If you follow this plan you will will have time to see the Butchart Gardens and spend some time in downtown Victoria. Here are some links for your convenience:)

http://www.bcferries.com/

 

www.pacificcoach.com/

[travelnsee]

Thank very much for your responses. It looks very interesting.I will go through the site and do the booking. I will have car , shall I take it to victoria? and is there anything I could do other than stanely park, grouse mountain and capilano or Lynn canyon bridge on second day? I am not sure how much time each place will take.

[Urban trekker]

Since you have a car - a day trip to Whistler could also be done - it is about 100 miles from downtown to Whistler - lots of scenic attractions along the way - the amount of time that you spend on the ferry - which is 1 hour and 40 minutes you could just about make it to Whistler - with most of the major road work and traffic disruptions finished the drive is a lot more pleasant and if it is a sunny day the views along the Sea to Sky highway and Howe Sound are world class.

 

If I can find it on my blog I will post a link to some photos I took a month ago of the drive up to just south of Whistler Village. Found it - here's a link to the post on my blog:

 

http://yvrcruiser.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-trip-along-sea-to-sky-highway-99.html

 

You can also check out http://www.whistler.com

 

If you are thrill seeker - the peak to peak gondola linking the two mountains Whistler and Blackcomb is now running for the summer.

 

If there are any young or youngish acting people in your group the Mountain Bike park is a blast for all levels of riding ability and one of the mountains will also have Glacier skiing

 

Then before you leave head over to either Lost Lake or Meadow Creek on Alta Lake for a refreshing dip in a mountain lake.

 

You could also bike the entire Village on its bike route and canoe a stream called the River of Golden Dreams to Green Lake.

 

While a trip to Victoria is as PD suggested doable you will spend the better part of your day getting to and from ferry terminals, riding on the ferry - finding places to Park - the ferry is approx $55.00 for a car and driver and $10.00 or so for each additional passanger + if you reserve it is another $15.00 + for the reservations each way.

 

For the price of a tank of gas you can do the Whistler day trip and not have to worry about getting stuck in traffic getting to the ferry terminals.

 

Hope this helps - I find Whistler to be one of the best all round area within a couple of hours drive anywhere on the West Coast - it is the other host of the Olympic Games and all of the venues are complete so you should be able to view them as well.

 

Another thing - at Whistler you are quite likely to see Black Bears near the townsite.

 

Hope this helps and sorry for being so long winded.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

Thank very much for your responses. It looks very interesting.I will go through the site and do the booking. I will have car , shall I take it to victoria? and is there anything I could do other than stanely park, grouse mountain and capilano or Lynn canyon bridge on second day? I am not sure how much time each place will take.

 

I Like Ut's suggestion of Whistler in fact it really is an easier trip then going to Victoria. But to answer your Vancouver questions...Stanley Park at 1000 acres you can burn up a full day and not see it all...allow 4 hrs for sure. Grouse Mountain allow 3 hours minimum and for either of the bridges allow 2 hrs. As for taking the car to Victoria it is going to cost you $45 each way plus the reservation fee of $15 to $17.50 per trip. You may be just as well off to park your car at the Tsawwassen ferry teminal and let the Pacific Coach Line driver do the rest.

[travelnsee]

Thank you experts. I now decided to do Whistler tha Victoria. My 9 yr and 12 yr olds are more inetersted in hiking/trecking and biking. And If I visit seatle some day I could do victoria then but Whistler wont be possible other wise.

[Urban trekker]

There is also zip lining and bungee jumping available as well which I think you kids will enjoy.

 

Just watching some of the younger types doing there bike tricks at the Blackcomb mountain bike park makes me dizzy so your kids should enjoy it.

 

I think you have made a good choice and hope that you enjoy your visit.

 

Anymore questions just ask I will try and answer them for you

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Urban trekker]

I ending up having lunch with a group of touring English teens yesterday - 15 and 16 year old who just got back from 3 days at Whistler so I asked a few questions as to what kids would like to do there - peak to peak - WOW - ziplining - WOW and apparently they have shorter runs for the younger ones - asked about bungee jumping but they said you had to be 18 but since they were traveling with chaperones and not parents their might have been a legal issue as well.

 

Hope this further info will help you kids decide on what to do in Whistler.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis