Suggestions on Vancouver Island

Where were you planing staying? If Victiora then try then Empress Hotel. Likely not too cheap, but it is nice.

rhagfo wrote:
Where were you planing staying? If Victiora then try then Empress Hotel. Likely not too cheap, but it is nice.

Open to suggestions in Sidney ( near the ferry landing ) Victoria or Sooke.... Unless there is some other area someone recommends???

Looking a couple places and it seems about $130-160 USD a night, which is fine.

Victoria is a nice place to spend a day but for me it is too crowded. Duncan is a cool town that you should check out. We also did some geocaching there.

corvettekent wrote:
Victoria is a nice place to spend a day but for me it is too crowded. Duncan is a cool town that you should check out. We also did some geocaching there.

Thank you so much. We are not into crowds either, and like more outdoorsy stuff, and quaint little towns. Will definitely look that up.

Moved from General RV'ing forum.

Dick A wrote:
Moved from General RV'ing forum.

Sorry. I put it in general rv'ing, since we are not taking the coach over there.

I lived in Victoria for over 20 years. Some things that come to mind are below.

It's a lovely city with an old English feel to it and it's often said to be more British than the British. Lots of old buildings and houses and plenty of history. Go see the Craidarroch castle, Fort Rodd Hill, Chinatown, the Royal BC Museum, Butchart Gardens, Christ Church Cathedral and the Empress Hotel. Lots of great shops around the downtown area to see on foot. Lots of interesting neighborhoods to see - James Bay, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, anywhere in Victoria, Saanich. Sidney is okay, but it's small and not a whole lot to see. A country drive from North Saanich through West Saanich over to View Royal is fun. Take in a play at The Belfry Theatre (cool old building). A drive up the Malahat highway to Chemainus would be interesting. I restored 3 1880s houses on Amelia St. in Victoria (1517, 1519 & 121) into offices and got an award in 1990 - just 1 block from City Hall. Had my office in one of them.

Some interesting places to eat are the James Bay Tearoom, Adriennes Tea Garden at Mattick Farm, Pagliaccis, Johns Place Restaurant, Nautical Nellies and The Dining Room at Butchart Gardens. Willows Galley Fish & Chips and Haultain Fish & Chip have superb fish & chips. From the Willows Galley, the beach is only a couple of short blocks away and makes an excellent place to dine out on the fish & chips. If you want to spend big money on a dinner (as in $200-300 for two), go to the restaurant at the Empress hotel or just have High Tea there. A nice dinner or lunch for a decent price is the Old Spaghetti Factory in the old Crystal Gardens building. There are some great pubs in and around Victoria that make for fun entertainment in the evening like Garrick's Head Pub on Government Street.

Not sure why someone would say it's crowded. The Inner Harbour, Government Street and Fort Street and the rest of the downtown area does get busy in the summer tourist season but that is what makes it interesting. The surrounding areas are fine. A stroll along the Inner Harbour is fun on a nice day.

Also not sure about poor hotel reviews, but I haven't lived there for 14 years. The Magnolia Hotel in downtown Victoria is very good. Have stayed there a few times and can vouch for it. If you want to stay in a larger hotel, the Hotel Grand Pacific is good (I helped design and build it). For more economical accomodation, the Scotsmen Motel on Gorge Road is good.

For some interesting reading, get a book about the architect Francis Rattenbury who designed the parliament buildings in the 1800s and learn about his scandalous affair and other goings-on and his eventual murder in England.

You'll barely scratch the surface in a couple of days so choose wisely on what you want to see and do.

Do NOT and I repeat do NOT skip Victoria! It's worth every second and the crowds were not bad when we were there last year. We loved The Oswego hotel. Not waterfront but good location. There's just so much to do in Victoria and it's the most beautiful city I have ever been in.

Victoria Regent and Oak Bay Beach Hotel are good bets. Instead of booking directly with the hotels, contact Golf Central BC. You might be able to get a substantially better rate than booking directly. We use them for our annual golf trip.

Check out Chemainus and Salt Spring Island as side trips. Whale watching is also good.

You might be able to get a substantially better rate than booking directly.

Just make sure if you use a third party booking agency that they will back you up if there's an issue. With sites like Expedia and Hotels.com you are on your own.