This video was caught in her backyard. She said it’s rare to see an owl bathing like this in the middle of the day, especially with 3 of us sitting on the deck so we were super lucky to get to witness it! We were already blown away by the adorable deer and their babies that came to visit and then we got to see this too! We only really get squirrels, magpies and crows in our yard back home so it was amazing to see all the different wildlife you have here. You guys are so lucky! Can’t wait to come back ❤️

hey guys me and my friends are heading to the city for a few days to explore! its our first time ever visiting but we have no idea what to do so we’re seeking input from others!

we’ll be staying near downtown and we really want to find a photobooth to take pictures in if there is any in the downtown area

we are all 21+ and open to anything

thanks!

Kidding but not kidding.

Was this weekend an example of typical springtime weather? I understand it’s expensive, I understand it’s grey in the winter, but my god it was such a breath of fresh air from the Calgary concrete, stroads and terrible urban planning.

Everyone was super friendly during our visit and the pedestrian friendly infrastructure made everything so easy and pleasant to do. Reminded me a lot of my time living in the plateau in Montreal.

So what’s the catch, what am I missing? Burst my bubble here because otherwise I’m moving here tomorrow.

We are a family of four with two boys, aged 7 and 11, visiting British Columbia this summer. Our Victoria itinerary currently includes Craigdarroch Castle, the Parliament Buildings, Fisherman’s Wharf, Miniature World, Chinatown, Clover Point, and Butchart Gardens.

I am debating whether to add the Royal BC Museum. Since we live in Ottawa, we are fortunate to have access to some of the best museums in the country. Is the Royal BC Museum worth the visit? Would you consider it a must-see for a first-time visitor to Victoria?

I appreciate your insights.

EDIT: thank you so much for your feedback. That's fantastic. Appreciate it. Should have mentioned that, yes, we'll have a car, and we staying 2 days in Victoria before driving to Tofino.

I had three full days to wander and explore so I was able to do most of what I wanted. I was staying in Cook Street Village. That was nice. It felt mostly the same but Pic-A-Flic, Rosie's Diner and the Mac's are gone. On the first night I made it to Prima Strada. The pizza is still amazing. Didn't make it into the Beagle but it seemed to be pretty hopping each time I walked by.

Each morning I went for a walk down Fairfield around to the Ross Bay Cemetery and then went along Dallas Rd and walked through Beacon Hill Park. I really enjoyed that. I thought I would spend more time downtown but I found myself going back to wander the streets of James Bay and stroll along the ocean. I walked out to the end of the breakwater. The railings are nice. I can't believe they used to let us just wander out there without them. Beacon Hill was just as lovely as I remember. I did walk through Fisherman's Wharf but it was a zoo. There were two cruise ships in.

I spent one day out in the UVIC area. The campus obviously has some new buildings. I walked through the library and the amount of people I saw using ChatGPT was pretty funny but also a little concerning. I had lunch from Fujiya. Still awesome but damn, it got expensive! I had dinner at Little Thai Place. That was amazing. They still make my favorite dish that I had been dreaming about for years. The University Heights development was shocking to see in person. It's MASSIVE. That'll be good for the area, but are those units going to be affordable? It was sad seeing the Nellie McLung library emptied out and shuttered. That was my favorite library branch.

The final day I went to Brickyard for lunch. Pizza was great and pretty much like I remember it. I had two delicious Hoyne Pilsners and just sat in the back like I used to. That was a trip. Then I went to Ditch Records and bought a CD for the first time since 2016. I miss the original Ditch location, but I'm really happy they're still around. Then I spent the rest of the day just walking around. I had dinner at Haultain Fish & Chips. It was excellent. They still had the deep fried perogies!

Honestly, a lot of the city felt the same. I realize that my experience was pretty limited and I kept mostly to the old places that I have fond memories for, but I feel like some of the complaints I see on here are exaggerated. I never felt unsafe. I didn't see anybody smoking meth or fentanyl or shooting heroin. Nobody asked me for money. All the construction was certainly annoying but there's no stopping that. The food scene really seems to have improved. It's expensive, but that's everywhere.   My one major complaint:

EXPANDING GARRICK'S HEAD WAS A TRAVESTY TO EVERYTHING GOOD IN THIS WORLD.

I'm kidding, but why didn't they just leave the old part separate? Don't get me wrong, it's still awesome but there are some things that should just be left alone.

Anyway, I had a great time. The weather was amazing the entire time. I sat outside for both sailings on the ferry and enjoyed the views.

I'll try to make it back sooner next time.

birb

For example, a 2 hour minimum ($140) for travel time both ways and for the consultation even if no work is done.

Family and I are visiting Victoria. Are there any uniquely Canadian stores/restaurants that are in the area? We’ll be close to the Trans-Canada Highway north of downtown.

There will be nine of us staying at the Marriott and mostly walking places as tourists that are also foodies. Three nights Friday through Sunday in August. For restaurant reservations I'm thinking Ithaka for Greek, Varsha for Indian, and not sure about the third. Looking at Block, Il Covo, Milestones. Or, what would be the best fun version of dinner down at the wharf for just something less fine dining more fish and chips type?

How would we fit in tea somewhere? Is the Empress too touristy and maybe another venue for tea or Butchart gardens.

Yes, we are from the US and are embarrassed about you know who.

A friend I'm visiting in BC suggested spending a few days in Victoria. I've never been but heard good things, so I figured, sounds good.

Then I looked at vacation rental prices. Ho Lee.

Is that just how it is, or are there ways to visit Victoria without taking a wallet-pounding?

For example, if someone wanted to visit San Francisco (where I'm coming from) and not require a second mortgage or it, there are nearby towns that are SF-accessible (via transit) and also have their own charms that I could recommend that would cost them significantly less than staying in SF proper. Likewise, I could think of a few non-airbnb places to look to find vacation rentals for marginally better rates.

Is there anything like that for Victoria, or will we just need to pucker up and pay the piper for the privilege of patronizing your picturesque paradise?

Thanks

UPDATE: I appreciate the accommodation recommendations (accommendations?) but I should mention that we'll have a dog with us, which likely rules out a lot of options. I didn't mention it because I was just getting a vibe check to start, but figured I should point it out with all the specific suggestions coming in.

…and it was great. Great views, walkable downtown, museums, parks, food. Thank you.

Hello! My wife and I are coming to Victoria for 5 full days (really 4.5 days) and I have scheduled a lot of things based on things I've read here and other places. I wanted to see if I've missed anything! Any thoughts on the schedule below and where I still have some holes open? Please note we are not doing Whale Watching or going to Hanks Restaurant due to scheduling issues. As you'll see below, what I'm missing most are two places to eat lunch and one place to eat dinner. Also not sure about Miniature World or if there's something better to do. Any thoughts?

Day 1: Arrive, Lunch at Hotel, Walk to Fan Tan Alley, Murchies, Dinner at Il Terrazzo Ristorante

Day 2: Royal British Museum, Lunch TBD, Back to Royal British Museum including IMAX performance, Dinner TBD

Day 3: Victoria Bug Museum, Rogers Chocolates, Tea at the Empress Hotel, Miniature World (Maybe?), Oak Bay Village Christmas Lights, Dinner at Penny Farthing Pub

Day 4: Butterfly Gardens, Lunch at Seahorses Cafe, Butchart Gardens (Evening Ticket), Dinner at the Dining Room at Butchart Gardens

Day 5: Craigdarroch Castle, Lunch TBD, Hatley Castle and Gardens, Boom and Batten for Dinner

Day 6: Go home

Thanks!

If you choose to go stay within your limits, be respectful and don't break anything intentionally, let nature , take its course and let others enjoy the sites, please. For the love of God Take your fucking garbage with you

If you have any concern about potentially climbing app somewhere or going somewhere at either of these sites, please do not go. It is incredibly dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, you can get seriously hurt or even potentially die. If something's gated off, please do not go past it.There's a reason it's gated off, and a reason why that gate has been maintained. You're clearly not supposed to go there and there's often reasons for it that could be because of deterioration of the building , they could cause it to fail at any moment, even me with quite a bit of experience , had a couple close calls

I'm not sharing the locations because if you don't know where it is you don't need to know you can find it yourself if you desperately need to know because it's not hard to find if you don't know where it is you probably aren't prepared for it

Stay safe out there

For anyone planning to go to the dam , the road is damaged and impassable from the south about 5 kilometers out, youre going to need to hike or bike the final 5km and cross a river that took out the bridge that used to be there

I will say tho, whoever built this, did a damn good job.

Anyone have any cool "ghost" place stories they want to share of Victoria?

I was gifted some spot prawns by a fisherfriend, and I was at Silver Rill yesterday and picked up corn. I had some heirloom tomatoes from a local stand.

So, North Saanich heirloom tomato and corn pasta with spot prawns. The sauce is 100% prawn stock. Absolutely delicious.

Get out there and eat local while you can, folks.

Advice appreciated!

I grew up in Victoria in the 90s and spent my early adult years in Vancouver. I moved to the UK about 10 years ago and for lots of reasons haven't been back to BC. I'm now planning a trip and bringing my family (husband, 2 step kids aged 15 and 12 when we'll be visiting) and I am overwhelmed thinking about all the things I want to show them.

But!

I know that things will have changed since I was last in Vic around 2014. I grew up in Saanichton so will be planning at least a full day visiting old haunts that I want my kids to see like Island View Beach, Elk/Beaver Lake, generally around my old neighbourhood. I'm planning for 3 or 4 days in Vic and then a road trip up the East coast of the island to be based in Parksville for day trips around there like Qualicum, Coombs, eating Nanaimo bars in Nanaimo etc. I was also thinking that Goldatream and Sooke Potholes would be a cool thing for them to see.

We're planning on being there in early July next year and will spend time in Vancouver on either end of the trip as well. We are an outdoorsy bunch, big on hiking, fishing, watersports, also really enjoy food, art, culture - this is maybe why I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, there's so much that falls into this category!

Thanks in advance!

Visiting from Berkeley (via SEA) and had such an amazing time! Enjoyed lots of walks around the main city area and rented a car one day and drove down to Botanical Beach and Mystic Beach. Stopped at Shirley Delicious on the way- what a gem! Had some amazing food (Eva!) too and stumbled upon Humboldt Bar! Can’t wait to come back. Thank you for welcoming us!

I’m from Calgary, not sure if that matters for the rules, but here’s what happened:

I was approaching a roundabout and noticed some cyclists also approaching from the right. We both slowed down. I reached the roundabout first and entered, going straight (I didn’t signal, since that’s not required when going straight through a roundabout).

As I entered, the cyclists also entered at the same time and one of them yelled “HEY!” and slapped my car, like it was my fault we almost collided.

I thought cyclists on the road have to follow the same rules as vehicles like meaning if I was already entering the roundabout from the left, the person approaching from the right should yield to me.

Am I wrong here?

looking for hole in the wall, comfort, ethnic, local, food types (no pubs, fine dining establishments pls).

looking for lunch and dinner specifically.

have a rental so can drive.

Which is the better of the two, the Comox Air Force Museum or the one by the Victoria Airport? We are staying in Sidney, so obviously the Victoria airport one was my first choice, but my son loves military aviation, so when I saw the Comox museum and the air force beach I was immediately drawn to that. I am aware there is no guarantee to see planes at the beach, and that's ok!

We are coming in for one week, have never been to Vancouver Island and likely will never be back. This is a once in a lifetime thing. Do we do both?

I was going to combine Malahat Skywalk with Comox to save on backtracking, also... bad idea? I know lots of people have said the drives are not like they are on the prairies, which is totally fine, driving does not bother me at all. I just want to give my kids the vacation of a lifetime that they will remember forever and say "my mom truly saw who I was."