On Your Own: 1-Day Trip from Vancouver to Victoria

If you are there in Vancouver for a few days and planning to have a compact 1-day trip on your own to Victoria - assuming your interest in Butchart Garden and Royal BC Museum - Yes, you are at the right place.

Please be mindful that there are 1-Day trip packages are available through a number of service providers there, but I found it expensive and hence, writing this piece to save some hassle for others.

Let's begin!!!

Reaching Victoria

The scheduled services can be one option, but they are quite expensive (~66 CAD one way). 

Below is the relatively cheaper public transport option which I used and found it enjoyable because of the ferry ride and amazing weather. It is divided into three parts and takes around 4 hours to reach (yes, the effort and time is the cost here :P).

Train

Board the Canada Line from say Vancouver City Center station heading towards Richmond Brighthouse/ YVR Airport and board off at Bridgeport station. This will take around 20 minutes. You can buy a compass card day pass ($10) at the station through the vending machine.

Bus

From outside the Bridgeport station transfer to the bus service #620 going towards Tsawwassen (pronounced as Ta-waa-sane) Ferry Terminal. This will take around 35 minutes to reach the terminal.

Ferry Ride

Board a ferry towards Swartz Bay terminal. This will cost around $16.5 one way and takes around 1.5 hours (excluding the waiting time which can be around half an hour). The ferry has eating and shopping joints inside. You can go to the top floor to enjoy the open skies and do some photography. Free wi-fi is available on the ferry.

Bus

From outside the Swartz Bay Terminal, catch a bus #81 or the combination of  #70/72 and #75 for Butchart Garden. You can buy a day pass for $5 (or a single ticket of $2.5) from the driver while boarding. Please keep some change with you or he will make you run to the ferry terminal to get it. This leg of the journey will take around 1 hour. But, you can enjoy some very beautiful gardens and houses on the way.

Butchart Garden

The gardens are really beautiful, however, it doesn't take too long to have a complete look around (say 2 hours at the maximum). The entrance ticket is around $33 and can be bought at the counter near the entrance. The gardens are categorically themed and some parts of it are so picturesque. There are multiple souvenir shops and eating joints.

Royal BC Museum

#75 Bus service will take you to Royal BC Museum which I think shouldn't be missed as they have some really astounding exhibitions available. The Natural and Modern History exhibitions may be covered first to be followed by First Peoples Galleries. The now past exhibitions like Terry Fox, Gold Rush and Family: Bonds and Belonging were very touching.

IMAX

The same precinct also has the IMAX with some always available documentaries and a few latest movies. I watched the documentary Wild Flight: Conquest of the Skies - and it was completely worth it. The combo cost of Museum and IMAX was around $27. There are different shows available at different times - so you might not have many options by the time you reach and pack again to return.

Return Journey from Victoria to Vancouver

This is simply the reverse of the onward journey. Take a bus #50 or #70 towards Swartz Bay Terminal to board a ferry towards Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. From there take #620 towards Bridgeport Stations and then Canada Line towards Waterfront to deboard at Vancouver City Centre Station. Please be careful about the timings of ferries and the connecting buses, though they are synced with each other, the frequency is still limited.

I hope this guide was useful for you. If there are any comments or suggestions, please comment!

Cheers!!!