Victoria & Butchart Gardens Tour with Ferry from Vancouver
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Vancouver, Canada
- 13 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enjoy round-trip travel from Vancouver to Victoria, and discover top attractions in British Columbia on this Victoria and Butchart Gardens day trip from Victoria. Take the ferry to Vancouver Island, and enjoy fine views over the beautiful Gulf Islands. Dock in Swartz Bay, and visit the famous Butchart Gardens, exploring the grounds at your leisure. Then, enjoy free time to explore the city, perhaps walking through Chinatown and the Inner Harbour, before returning to Vancouver by ferry.
- Take a day from Vancouver to Victoria by ferry
- Explore Butchart Gardens, with included entrance ticket
- Enjoy free time to explore downtown Victoria
- Transportation between sites is included
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Driver/guide
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
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End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:15 am
Itinerary
Your two-in-one, full-day excursion from Vancouver begins early in the morning. Meet your vehicle from one of several central departure points, hop aboard, and head beyond city limits. With all transit, including round-trip ferries, included, this experience makes getting to Vancouver Island a breeze.
After admiring views of the Gulf Islands aboard the ferry, you’ll arrive at your first stop on the island: the always-popular Butchart Gardens. Thanks to the included tickets, you’ll head right in. Over the course of two hours, explore at your own pace, enjoying the tranquility of the landmark without the crowds.
Next, return to your vehicle and head to the charming city of Victoria. With more than one hour of additional independent sightseeing time, you have the freedom to visit the neighborhoods and landmarks that interest you most.
Finally, return to your original departure point in the evening, where this experience ends.
After admiring views of the Gulf Islands aboard the ferry, you’ll arrive at your first stop on the island: the always-popular Butchart Gardens. Thanks to the included tickets, you’ll head right in. Over the course of two hours, explore at your own pace, enjoying the tranquility of the landmark without the crowds.
Next, return to your vehicle and head to the charming city of Victoria. With more than one hour of additional independent sightseeing time, you have the freedom to visit the neighborhoods and landmarks that interest you most.
Finally, return to your original departure point in the evening, where this experience ends.
1
Vancouver Downtown
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
BC Ferries
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
The Butchart Gardens
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
4
Inner Harbour
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Victoria (Swartz Bay) Ferry Terminal
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- English only
- Washroom on board
- Luggage storage on board
- Pets are not permitted on our tour buses
- Foldable Wheelchairs permitted
- Air conditioned vehicle
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Gail_C
Our trip with driver & guide Dan was great! He was informative and entertaining. We viewed parts of Vancouver following our hotel pickup on our way to the ferry. Ferry crossing was easy. But chart Gardens were so beautiful. Also had tine in Victoria to see a few things and dine along the water front.
I was a bit confused by the pickup time at the arranged hotel. (I think just my problem as everyone else in that group was on time). I thought the pickup time was 9:00 am as stated when I made the booking. But Viatour updates I was getting that morning said 9:15. That is the time the tour starts at the final pickup location. My mistake, but it was confusing. So…be alert.
Highly recommend this tour. It’s a long day, but well worth it!!
Reviews
4.7
based on 608 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Randi_K, Jul 2026
Mark was an excellent tour guide. He kept the commentary and stories flowing, while showing us everything there was to see. He also explained a lot about Vancouver and Victoria. Bouchard Gardens was beautiful and the time allotted adequate. The ferry was delayed so se started a little later than expected but made up time during the day. I highly recommend this trip. It was a very long day, but well worth it.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks for your review. We're so glad you enjoyed your day with Mark. It's great to hear that he made the experience even more enjoyable.
We're also pleased that you had enough time to explore Butchart Gardens. Ferry schedules are occasionally outside our control, but we're happy everything came together.
Thank you for your recommendation. We hope to welcome you back on another tour in the future.
Rose_Y, Jul 2026
You need to schedule more than two hours!
Unfortunately we were on a tour with a group from Vancouver BC but the package only allowed us 2 hours. Your gardens are absolutely exquisite. I will return, stay in Victoria and spend the whole day enjoying your stunning gardens. Love your gardens and can’t wait to return
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your kind words! We're so glad you loved the gardens and plan to return. As this is a day trip from Vancouver and already a long day, we do our best to maximize the time at each stop while keeping the tour on schedule. We appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again in the future!
GALE_J, Jul 2026
It was beautiful, even though it rained at the gardens the whole time, they provided free umbrellas for everyone!
And our driver Dion was great telling us alot about the neighborhoods and the gardens
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your lovely review! We're so glad you enjoyed the tour despite the rainy weather, and we're happy the complimentary umbrellas helped make your visit to the gardens more comfortable. We'll be sure to pass your kind words along to Dion. We hope to welcome you back again soon!
John_P, Jul 2026
Incredible travel hose. Mark was outstanding. The amount of time at the gardens was much too long. We spent more time in the bus than we had left to spend at Victoria. We spent two hours at the gardens in excessive heat and then less than 90 minutes at Victoria. The balance of the day made it very unpleasant.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words about Mark! As this is a day trip with fixed travel and ferry schedules, we do our best to balance the time between the gardens and Victoria. We know some guests would like more time at the gardens, while others prefer more time exploring the city, so we aim for a balance that works for as many travelers as possible. We hope to welcome you again in the future.
Lisa_F, Jun 2026
The gardens were stunningly beautiful and Victoria did not disappoint. The trip is long so be prepared for that. Our guide Mark provided great history of the gardens and area to keep us entertained. Worth the day but a long day for travel by bus and ferry.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for your lovely review! We're so glad you enjoyed the gardens and your time in Victoria. We're happy to hear Mark's stories and local history helped make the journey more enjoyable. We hope to welcome you on another tour soon!
Karla_J, Jun 2026
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and kept it very interesting! He even recommended a great restaurant!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We're glad you enjoyed your tour and our guide's recommendation.
Pamela_H, Jun 2026
The itinerary was excellent. Our guide was kind and informative. We mistakenly went to the wrong side of the hotel to meet our tour guide. He graciously went into the hotel to connect.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for your kind review. We're happy to hear you enjoyed the itinerary and found your guide informative and welcoming. We're especially pleased that your guide was able to help when there was some confusion about the pickup location and ensured you were able to join the tour without any issues. We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to the driver. Thank you for traveling with us and we hope to see you again soon.
Ginger_P, Jun 2026
It is a full day but so worth it. Our driver, Dan, did a great job with all the information of the area. We also met all time schedules set up for the day. All participants respected the others time. We had wonderful weather too 🤩🤩
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're so glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and felt it was worth the full day. A special thank you for recognizing Dan — he takes great pride in sharing the history, stories, and highlights of the region, and he'll be very happy to hear your kind words.
It's great to hear everything ran smoothly. It always makes for a better experience when everyone is respectful of the group's time, and it sounds like you had a great group to travel with. Of course having beautiful weather certainly doesn't hurt either!
Thank you again for travelling with us, and we hope to welcome you back another time in the future.
Ann_W, Jun 2026
If you have limited time in Vancouver, this is the best way to visit Vancouver island and the Butchart gardens. The pick up, bus trip and ferry crossing was seamless and went according to schedule. The only delay was the slightly late arrival of the ferry into Victoria.
It would be a huge challenge to do this trip on public transport.
It was a very long day but totally worth it.
My other recommendation would be to stay on the island for a few nights, such as beautiful place.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We're so pleased to hear that you found the tour to be a seamless and worthwhile way to experience Vancouver Island and Butchart Gardens, especially when time is limited. We agree that coordinating the journey independently can be quite challenging, which is why we've designed the experience to make the travel as smooth and stress-free as possible.
While it is definitely a full day of sightseeing, we're happy to hear you felt it was worth every minute. Vancouver Island is a really special place and we couldn't agree more with your recommendation to spend a few extra days exploring all that it has to offer. Our guests have the option to go to Victoria with the motorcoach, securely store their luggage onboard for the day, and then depart the tour in Victoria when the bus leaves to return to the ferry.
Thanks for choosing to travel with us and for taking the time to share your experience. We hope to welcome you back again on a future adventure.
Robert_P, May 2026
Highly enjoyable and informative tour. Comfortable transport throughout with a professional and knowledgeable guide / driver.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your kind review. We're glad to hear that you found the tour enjoyable, informative, and comfortable. Our driver-guides take great pride in sharing their knowledge of the region, so we're pleased to know their professionalism helped make your day memorable. We hope to welcome you aboard again soon.
Vipul_K, May 2026
The trip was very well organized and conducted, we really enjoyed the whole tour.
Everything went smoothy and we came back with great memories.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your wonderful review. We're so happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and that everything ran smoothly from start to finish. Creating memorable experiences is what we aim for so it's so nice to hear that you left with great memories. We hope to welcome you on another adventure soon.
Barbara_C, May 2026
The beauty in Butchart Gardens in unmatched.
The Tour was awesome. Highly recommend this Adventure. Dion was an awesome guide.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review! We definitely agree — The Butchart Gardens are unmatched in beauty. We’re so happy you enjoyed the tour and had a great day with Dion. Thank you for the recommendation and for joining us on the adventure.
Peggy_H, May 2026
Our tour guide, Dan, had vast knowledge & he made our experience perfect & magical
We recommend visiting the gardens. They are magnificent.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thanks so much for your wonderful review! We’re hoppy to hear that Dan helped make your experience feel perfect and magical. He is very passionate about sharing his knowledge of Victoria and always tries to create memorable experiences for our guests. Your kind words will mean a lot to him.
Thank you again for traveling with us and for your recommendation!
Thea_S, Jan 2026
The most beautiful gardens I have seen in a while. The great thing is that they have a route very accessible to wheelchair and older people or individuals that use devices to walk.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re so happy to hear you had a great trip and enjoyed having plenty of time at each stop. It sounds like you made the most of your time in Whistler with the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, lunch, and shopping. We truly appreciate you joining us and hope to welcome you again on another adventure soon!
Michael_S, Oct 2025
The only reason this wasn't five stars is because I wish we spent more time in Victoria. But honestly it was a great experience
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your honest feedback! We’re very happy to hear you had a great experience overall and enjoyed your time on the tour. We completely understand wishing for more time in Victoria — it’s such a beautiful city with so much to explore. We truly appreciate you joining us and hope to welcome you again in the future for another visit!
David_H, Oct 2025
Justin did a great job. He didn’t just tell us about the sights, he educated us on the history and current state of life in Vancouver and Victoria. It was a long day but he kept our interest and kept things fresh throughout.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you so much for your kind feedback! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed your day with Justin. He takes great pride in sharing not just the sights, but also the history and local insights that make Vancouver and Victoria so special.
We really appreciate you joining us on such a long tour, and we’re glad he was able to keep it engaging and enjoyable throughout the day. We’ll be sure to pass your comments along to him—it will mean a lot!
We hope to welcome you again on another tour in the future.
Rebeca_N, Oct 2025
It was a long day, but it was incredibly enjoyable. The gardens were beautiful, and we had a great time at the waterfront. Our driver/guide was excellent; they were very knowledgeable and made the trip even more enjoyable.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you for your fantastic review! We’re delighted to hear that you had an enjoyable day exploring the gardens and the waterfront. It’s wonderful that your driver/guide enhanced the experience with their knowledge and made the trip even more memorable. We appreciate your kind words and look forward to welcoming you on another tour in the future!
Lynn_P, Oct 2025
Long way to the gardens, but an adventure, nonetheless. I didn’t read carefully enough about the duration of the trip. It was a pleasant bus ride to the ferry, back on the bus to the gardens. Pick up was 8:50am, made it to the gardens at 1:05 for 2 hours, then back on the bus to the ferry to town arrival at 9pm. Very nice day, and our driver was excellent!
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you for your detailed review! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the adventure, despite the long day. It’s wonderful that the bus ride, gardens visit, and overall experience were pleasant, and that your driver made the day even more enjoyable. We hope to welcome you on another tour in the future!
tnappo, Sep 2025
Exceptional trip, especially thanks to our guide/bus driver Justin! One of the absolute best guides we’ve ever had in our travels…
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that Justin made such a positive impression — it’s fantastic to know he’s one of the best guides you’ve had in your travels. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with him!
KR_C, Sep 2025
We had a wonderful day. Mark is a great guide. Learned and saw so much about the area and it's history.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear you had a wonderful day and enjoyed learning about the area’s history with Mark. We’ll be sure to share your feedback with him.
HaroldHP_S, Sep 2025
From start to finish, just one awe after another until the next awe inspiring moment. All the employees were kind and respectful. Very enjoyable time.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that every moment of your tour was awe-inspiring and that our team made your experience so enjoyable
Chris_J, Sep 2025
Mark was a wonderful tour guide!! It was a long day, but he made it fun. The Buchard Gardens are beautiful. I liked Downtown Victoria best!!!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re so glad to hear that Mark made your long day enjoyable and fun. The Butchart Gardens are truly beautiful, and it’s great that you loved exploring Downtown Victoria. We hope to see you on another tour soon!
jane_E, Sep 2025
Nice trip driver mark was lovely and gave us alot of information on bus
Early starts and alot of travelling on bus and ferry .We then only got 2 hours gardens and 1.5 hours in Victoria which definitely was not enough time
I do think travelling times and how long in each place should be on website
Did not think trip was worth the money for what we got out of it
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed your driver, Mark, and found his commentary informative. We understand that the travel time on the bus and ferry can feel long, and that some guests would like more time at Butchart Gardens and in Victoria. Please note that the itinerary is posted in the information guide prior to booking. Victoria is on an island, so travel there requires a combination of driving and ferry time.
We do our best to balance travel and sightseeing time, but your comments are appreciated and will be considered as we review our itineraries. Thank you again for your feedback.
Jane_A, Sep 2025
We absolutely enjoyed the excursion!Our guide,Dan, was very engaging and gave great commentary -a wealth of insight! Be aware that it was a very long day!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed the excursion and that Dan made the day engaging and informative. We appreciate your note about the length of the day—it’s helpful for future guests to know.
Rima_T, Sep 2025
First of all I want to compliment our driver Dan he was so knowledgeable and very detail oriented. We feel like we knew so much about Vancouver by end of trip. For the trip itself be prepared for a long day much of it on the bus or ferry. Although the ferry ride is part of the scenic trip. The one opportunity for improvement on the trip would be to have more time at the gardens which could have been taken out of the time at Victoria downtown. We felt we did not have enough time at the gardens. We wanted to have the famous tea at the restaurant which when we checked its a 45 min wait to get a table which was not enough time to see the garden and have tea in our allotted 2 hour stop at the gardens. You really need a good 3 hours to enjoy the gardens so you are not rushing through it.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for sharing such detailed feedback! We’re delighted to hear that Dan made your tour so informative and enjoyable. We appreciate your comments regarding the timing at Butchart Gardens and Victoria downtown—your suggestions about allowing more time at the gardens are very helpful, and we’ll certainly take them into consideration. We’re glad you enjoyed the scenic ferry ride and hope to welcome you on another tour in the future!
Pawel_A, Sep 2025
12-13hrs trip just to see two places. Gardens were worth the visit, but i'd trade 30m there for more time in Victoria - 1h15m is hardly enough for a few photos and a quick bite. 5min walking distance at most.
The whole trip was conducted very well though.
The real highlight was the history, background and other commentary by our guide/driver Justin: on-spot, informative and funny!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed the trip overall and that Justin made the day memorable with his knowledge, humor, and informative commentary. We appreciate your thoughts on the timing in Victoria versus the Gardens—while the itinerary is designed to balance travel time and sightseeing, your input is very helpful. We hope to welcome you on another adventure soon!
Suzanne_B, Sep 2025
Well worth the trip to see Butchart gardens and Victoria. Best to do a tour and not try this on your own. Mark, our tour guide, was awesome.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed Butchart Gardens and Victoria, and that Mark made the tour such a great experience. We completely agree—having a guide really makes the day smoother and more enjoyable!
Melinda_C, Sep 2025
This was a great trip. Mark, our driver and guide was on time and took care of everything. We enjoyed his commentary and in all, it was just a great day. Well worth the money
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We’re so glad you had a great day with Mark—he’ll be happy to know his commentary and care made the trip even more enjoyable. Wonderful to hear you found it well worth it, and we’d love to welcome you again on another adventure!
David_R, Sep 2025
Our driver, Mark, was a Vancouver native and provided a lot of information on Vancouver, Butchart Gardens and Victoria along the drive. He was very personable and made the trip a pleasure.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that Mark made your trip such a pleasure with his knowledge and personable approach. As a Vancouver native, he truly enjoys sharing insights about the city, Victoria, and The Butchart Gardens. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with him, and we hope to welcome you on another adventure soon!
Priyanka_N, Sep 2025
Most of the day is spent on the bus and ferry. Total of 3 hours in garden and Victoria. The garden was beautiful but the overall trip was not the best use of time.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
We’re glad you found the gardens beautiful, though we’re sorry the balance of travel time to sightseeing didn’t feel ideal. We know it’s a long day with the bus and ferry, but we hope the views and experiences along the way added to your journey. Since Victoria is on the island, travel time is necessary, and we aim to make the most of the itinerary while staying within our driver’s legal driving limits. Thank you for sharing your experience, and we hope to welcome you again on another adventure!
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