Victoria

We spent three lovely days in Victoria on Vancouver Island. It's a beautiful place, and our family really enjoyed our time there. We went on a fantastic whale-watching trip to see orcas one evening, and were very impressed by the Museum of British Columbia - which had extensive cultural collections well displayed. As keen birdwatchers we went out to Swan Lake nature reserve on the edge of the city. I had found out about it via the internet and had discovered that volunteers led walks around the reserve on Sunday mornings (I can't remember if it was every Sunday) so we headed out to join in. There were only a few of us there, and the volunteer was ...  Read the complete review

We first visited Victoria on a whistle stop day trip from Vancouver (which you can reach by helicopter, float plane, normal aircraft or ferry) and our first impressions of the city made us want to go back and stay for a couple of nights to take in a few more of the sights. So last year after a few days in Seattle we took the Victoria Clipper from Seattle downtown right into Victoria Harbour. The harbour is extremely picturesque, and is fairly dominated by the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel. Lots of boats are dotted in the harbour, and the city seems to have more than it's fair share of flowers everywhere, which is where I think the similarity ...  Read the complete review

Have you ever wanted to just lay on a hammock in the back of a new found friends garden looking up and being able to see every single shining star looking back at you? Then Salt Spring Island is the place for you! A truly wonderful small island - about a half hour ferry ride out of Victoria – whether you want to go for a week or stay for your life you won’t be disappointed! I went to Canada to see one of my oldest, closest, and most attractive friends - Jennifer Lyons. As well as seeing a lot of Victoria and Vancouver it was SSI that will always be closest to my heart. The views on the ferry ride alone are enough to make your eyes water! ...  Read the complete review

Victoria, the capital of British Colombia, is on Vancouver Island. A few hours ferry/bus ride from Vancouver.. just about manageable in a day, if you don't mind a lot of travelling. It is a clean and quiet city and very pretty. Particularly, there are some beautiful gardens (Butchart Gardens, most famously) which I would definitely recommend to visit if you are in the area, which also has a fine collection of totem poles from around western North America. The Museum of British Colombia was also excellent. Actually, it was the museum I most enjoyed whilst I was in Canada (and I went to quite a lot of museums!). It is next to the provincial ...  Read the complete review