Butchart Gardens and Victoria Sightseeing Tour from Vancouver
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Vancouver, Canada
- 13 to 14 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Victoria is a must-visit for travelers to the British Columbian coast. After a ferry ride to Victoria, take a city tour which includes stops at the Inner Harbour, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, Mile 0, and Chinatown. Then enjoy free time to explore Victoria on your own before ending the day with a stroll through Butchart Gardens.
- Hassle-free day trip to Victoria: No need to worry about ferry timetables and driving
- Includes roundtrip BC Ferries tickets and admission to Butchart Gardens
- Get insights into local Victoria history and culture from your guide
- Includes free time to explore Victoria at your own pace
What's Included
- Experienced, friendly, and fun Driver-Guide
- Mini-coach transportation (Max 24 passengers)
- Roundtrip Ferry aboard BC Ferries
- Onboard entertainment & commentary throughout
- Admission to the Butchart Gardens
- All Fees and Taxes
- Food and drinks
- Gratuity
- Hotel Pick up and Drop off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 999 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3E1, Canada
Please meet us at the covered benches, in front of the Vancouver Convention Centre, next to the Flyover Canada Ticket Booth, 15 minutes before departure and meet your Discover Canada Tours guide (wearing bright green). Your guide will be guiding you to the correct bus.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Canada Place
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Tsawwassen
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Inner Harbour
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Empress Hotel National Historic Site of Canada (Pass By)
Fisherman's Wharf (Pass By)
Legislative Assembly Of British Columbia (Pass By)
Government Street (Pass By)
Victoria’s Chinatown National Historic Site (Pass By)
Fan Tan Alley (Pass By)
Royal BC Museum (Pass By)
5
The Butchart Gardens
1 hour 45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Swartz Bay BC Ferry Terminal
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
7
Canada Place
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- Guests 16-18 years of age may travel on the trip without a parent or guardian but MUST have one present on the departure day to sign the waiver forms held by the tour guide.
- Anyone 15 or younger must have a parent or guardian travel on the trip with them.
- No booster seats available.
- The tour still operates when it rains and no refunds will be given within the 24 cancellation policy.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Ursula_R
What a wonderful tour. Super organized and just the right amount of time allocated for each stop. Kim our tour guide was amazing. She knew everything, I learned a lot. Definitely recommend this tour.
Reviews
4.8
based on 608 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Wendy_c, Jul 2026
It is a full day from 8 am - 9:45 pm but it’s all very well-managed and there is plenty of down time on the ferry and in Victoria and Butchart Gardens to do whatever you want.
Hrabri_R, Jul 2026
Great 13.5h day trip. Our guide, Kim, was awesome. She was very knowledgeable, engaging, and helpful.
Elizabeth_C, Jul 2026
Long day. Ferry ride very scenic, comfortable drinks and snacks available. Great guide Kim . Went above and beyond. Very knowledgeable with a sense of humor. Butchart Gardens were breathtaking. Well worth the visit. A great day out.
Gracie_S, Jun 2026
It’s a long trip but WORTH the experience . Our tour guide, RENE , was personable, Knowledgeable, and funny making the ride so much more memorable. Ask for him !
The gardens are stunning and vibrant in color. Each garden is unique and so well manicured . You feel like you are in the land of OZ .
Follow the yellow brick road !
Teresa_T, Jun 2026
Everything about this tour was perfection! Bernie our guide, his knowledge of the area and sites, he went above and beyond. We loved Victoria and hand ample time there. Butchart Gardens was beyond expectations.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Teresa, thank you for this 5 star review! We are delighted that you had a perfect experience on this tour, and I am sure Bernie will be happy to hear this positive feedback. We hope you are able to join us again in the future!
David_R, Jun 2026
Departed our accomodation at 07.30 arrived back 10.00. A long day but very worth it. Very pleasant driver / tour guide.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your review David! We are happy to hear that your experience on our tour made the long day worthwhile.
Diane_N, Jun 2026
For the most part we were dropped off at the locations & wandered around independently- no real explanation of what we were looking at (ie type of plants explanations of areas etc)
Leonard_J, Jun 2026
Cannot provide a review because the operator canceled the tour of the day before due to unforeseen circumstances
Carole_H, Jun 2026
Gardens were spectacular, Victoria was fun & beautiful. Our guide Byron was absolutely great, knowledgeable, funny, & provided excellent recommendation for restaurants & things to do. Loved that we were on a tour but had our own free time to spend it how we wanted!
Cynthia_W, May 2026
Victoria and Bouchard Gardens are both beautiful places and worth the visit. We stopped for in a lovely little town, Sidney, for a few minutes by the sea. Bernie, our tour guide was caring, informative, and funny. It is a whole day trip but the time is well spent even on the ferry ride.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hello Cynthia, thank you so much for this review! We are delighted to hear that you had a good time on our tour and that Bernie helped making this day even more memorable! We hope to see you soon on another adventure!
Discover Canada Tours Customer Service Team
darouesty, May 2026
This was a very long day but well worth it! Byron our driver and tour guide was excellent providing commentary along the route. It was Victoria Day weekend so there were many people on the ferry and in town as well. He structured the tour so that we hit Victoria first before all the crowds and the restaurants got crowded. We visited the magnificent Butchart Gardens later in the day when the crowds were gone and lucky for us the rain stopped as well. It was a long day 13 1/2 hours but very well spent and Byron dropped us off at our hotels. Glad we took this tour and. Byron was a great tour guide and driver as well….. Highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for this detailed review! We truly appreciate the kind words you have shared for Byron. We are happy to hear that you had a fulfilling and memorable experience on our Victoria tour.
Gwendolen_S, May 2026
Excellent in every way. Ian was so knowledgeable, entertaining & helpful. First in line on & off ferries. Funny stories.
Response from Host, May 2026
We are happy to hear you enjoyed your Victoria Sightseeing tour with Ian. Thank you for your review, and for booking with us!
susan_h, Oct 2025
Excellent, but too much time spent getting to and from. I would suggest hiring a puddle jumper or spending the night to get the most out of you visit.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
We're happy to hear you had an excellent time while visiting Victoria.
Thank you for traveling with us, we hope to welcome you back soon!
Cynthia_M, Oct 2025
Our tour guide, Bernie, was very informative and funny. The only bad thing about the trip was the van, I think it needed new shocks. The ride was very bumpy and the van rattled a lot.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
We appreciate your feedback, we're happy to see you had a great tour.
Thank you for your review!
Shari_B, Sep 2025
Butchart Gardens is spectacular and the town of Victoria is quaint. Do not miss checking out The Empress hotel.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you for your 5-star review!
Cynthia_D, Sep 2025
What a joke! I’m sure the trip was great but we never got to go. I was told by Viator we could be dropped off at our hotel. The company running the trip said they never pick up or drop off anywhere but the port. After several hours both thru email and on the phone, we were never able to reach a resolution so we weren’t able to go. No big deal $200 down the drain!
Kathleen_P, Sep 2025
Kim the guide was exceptional. She was the driver and tour guide. Raised in the area she was very knowledgeable.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
We're happy to hear you had a great time exploring Victoria in company of our lovely guide Kim.
Thank you for your review!
Lisa_N, Sep 2025
The excursion was well worth the money and our tour guide was very knowledgeable.
Just be ready for a long day
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review, we're happy to see you enjoyed your day tour to Victoria!
Joseph_G, Sep 2025
As a tourist visiting Vancouver, I wouldn't know any other way to see Victoria and see The Butchart Gardens other than taking a tour. However, I don't think I would recommend it. It would be better to spend a couple of days in Victoria to enjoy it's charm. If you only have the day from Vancouver, than this might be the only option. The sights in Victoria, the walking tour, and the Gardens were very nice, but as I mentioned there is too much driving and wait time. We left Vancouver at 8am and got to the ferry pier by 8:50, but we were scheduled on the 10am ferry so we killed an hour at the ferry terminal. On the way back, in Victoria, we arrived at the ferry terminal before 6pm, but had to wait for the 7pm ferry. When you add up the travel and wait time, you wind up with 7+ hours of wait, ferry, and drive time, about an hour+ of driving around Victoria, and a few hours to walk Victoria and see the gardens. It was an exhausting day and I wouldn't do it again, but not because of the tour or the guide, but because now that I know, I would spend a couple of days in Victoria instead of the tour.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
While traveling to Victoria is a journey, we're happy to see you got to enjoy the sights in the city, as well as our walking tour and the Butchart Gardens.
A couple of days in this city would give you a more relaxed experience in the Island.
Thank you for your review and sharing your experience, we hope to welcome you back in another adventure.
WaiLong_Y, Sep 2025
Knowledgeable (local) guide, entertaining and very detailed commentary. Learned a lot about the history of the places visited.
Thanks Kim.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We're glad Kim's local knowledge and commentary made your experience even more enjoyable. We'll be sure to pass along your thanks to her, and we hope to welcome you again soon!
Kevin_G, Sep 2025
Great driver/guide. He was knowledgeable and professional. My only complaint was that I felt the amount of time allowed in Victoria was excessive. Others though, may have desired more time. Over all, it was a very nice day.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for you feedback. We're happy to know that you had a great time. We appreciate your input on the time spent in Victoria, that will help us improve greatly. Thank you again for travelling with us, and hope to welcome you on another tour soon!
Jan_C, Sep 2025
Excellent service and value. Our tour guide Rene is funny, informative and helpful. Will recommend it.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review and your kind words, we hope to welcome you back in Vancouver soon.
Jumana_M, Aug 2025
Our driver/guide Rene was very good and kept us all totally entertained during the long drives. It was a long day
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your 5-star review!
We're happy to hear you had a great time with our lovely driver guide Rene.
Linda_S, Aug 2025
Rene was excellent! Funny, entertaining and very knowledgeable!! The ferry ride was beautiful. Everything was timed and organized brilliantly!,
Response from Host, Sep 2025
In my opinion, the ferry ride is one of the highlights of the tour, especially when you have a nice sunset on the way back.
Thank you for your review, we're happy to hear you had an excellent day with Rene.
Dennis_A, Aug 2025
My wife and I took the tour and we both loved it. Going out on the ferry and back makes for a long day and it’s better to go on a shuttle so 1 can save up some energy. We came back at sunset and got some great pictures of ourselves.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review Dennis!
We're happy to hear you and your wife loved our tour and had a lovely day in Victoria.
Susan_R, Aug 2025
Wonderful way to see Vancouver Island, Victoria and Butchart Gardens. Simple beautiful trip without the hassle of doing it all yourself. Meghan was a wonderful tour host. Very knowledgeable and fun. We had a great time!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We’re so glad you enjoyed exploring Vancouver Island, Victoria, and Butchart Gardens with Meghan. She’ll be delighted to hear your feedback. We hope to welcome you on another tour soon!
Stuart_W, Aug 2025
We were picked up at our hotel, which was great. We started at 8 AM and did not get back to the hotel until approximately 10 PM.
We anticipated a long day, however, we did not anticipate the mode of transportation and how it would affect that day. We were 24 adults crammed into a van that had bad ventilation. It was difficult to feel any air flowing, particularly in the back of the shuttle. If there was air conditioning, it certainly was not working. All participants were complaining, and yet the driver could not do anything about it though he tried. The AC was not functioning. In addition, the vehicle had bad shocks. So there was a lot of loud clunking and banging whenever we drove over anything but level ground. It left the entire group in a very poor mood as the day progressed.
The day is spent in large part on the van and the ferry (approximately 5 hrs total). Because of the condition of the van, it truly gave us a very poor, uncomfortable experience and negative overall impression of our day and how we spent our money.
These vans should definitely be checked out before they are to accompany paying customers.
Our tour guide was very nice, but seemed resigned to the discomfort of the group and really was helpless to do anything about it. It was simply not an enjoyable event. Consensus of those we spoke with in our group was the same. We would not do it again. We have it done several other Viator tour in the past, and this one did not meet the higher caliber we are accustomed to with Viator tours.
Bo_R, Aug 2025
We really enjoyed this trip overall. Our driver, Ian, was delightful very informative and had entertaining stories about Canada especially British Columbia in Vancouver. The amount of time in Victoria is too short, especially if you have lunch. We wish we had planned to spend the night in Victoria to be able to see more of the city. We recommend planning your time in the city before you leave the bus. The time at Buchart Gardens was adequate to enjoy seeing all of the beautiful grounds that are absolutely spectacular.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for your review!
We appreciate your feedback regarding the time in Victoria, we'll take it into consideration for future departures.
We're glad to hear you enjoyed the Butchart Gardens, they are really spectacular, specially in the summer months.
We hope to welcome you back for another adventure!
Jane_B, Aug 2025
Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly! We would highly recommend this tour! Rebecca was top notch!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for your feedback!
Susie_R, Aug 2025
What a wonderful day! Our guide Byron was incredible. From pick up to drop off he was engaged with all of us. Answering questions and offering interesting facts throughout the day. The smaller tour group makes for a much more pleasurable experience. Highly recommend this tour and tour guide!!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you so much for your review.
We're happy to hear you had a great time on tour, from beginning to the end and that our guide Byron was incredible, we'll be sure to pass your lovely feedback to him.
Thank you for booking with us. We hope to welcome back sometime soon!
From $214.07
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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