Victoria B.C. eh?

An amazing asset of living in this town is the incredibly easy access to the Blackball Ferry Line, located in the heart of downtown Port Angeles. We simply parked our vehicle in a paid lot and walked across the street with our luggage in hand. There is the option to drive or walk on the ferry, with a slight price difference. In researching Victoria and the things we wanted to do, it made sense for our crew to leave our car behind and walk. Aboard the M.V. Coho ferry, we crossed the strait of Juan de Fuca and arrived in Victoria in slightly less than 90 minutes.

We booked a package deal that included our hotel and ferry fee, which I highly recommend. We were able to get a phenomenal rate for one of the most spectacular hotels in Victoria, Hotel Grand Pacific. Check out more about our experience at this hotel here!

While in Victoria we had 3 nights and 4 days to explore. We packed it full of all sorts of activities. We wanted to have options of things to do that would interest these kiddos and that Levi and I would enjoy. Here is what we did:

Our first full day in Victoria was spent at Butchart Gardens. This place is truly breathtaking. We easily spent 3 hours here walking around, taking pictures, riding the carousel, having lunch, identifying flowers… Read about our full adventure here!

Right down the road from Butchart Gardens is the Victoria Butterfly Gardens. Here the little ones had butterflies landing on them, saw Flamingos (or Bingos, as our little guy referred to them), touched a plant that closed up,….. A nice little 45-minute pit stop while you are out that way.

The next day was a torrential downpour all-day. (Check out our rainy day itinerary.) Not the cute little sprinkle or misting semi-expected by the water. It was a perfect day spent indoors at the Royal BC Museum. We took in an IMAX about the Great Bear Rainforest. The Natural History portion, small town, and undersea where the fan favorites. There are definite exhibits that the kids were not into, but Levi said he could have stayed there all day. Learn more details here.

Braving a slight break in the rain we made our way about ten blocks to Miniature World. This place was probably one of the most surprising to me. I read about it online before we went in person, and it just doesn’t do it justice. The intricate details of each and every scene were awesome. It could be a place you visit over and over and easily see new things each and every time. Talk about the ultimate game of I Spy. Check out our full adventure here.

On our last day in Victoria we spent the morning at the Bug Zoo. My sweet and thoughtful daughter volunteered me to hold a hissing cock roach after telling the tour group that we used to have them in our home in Texas. She also made sure both Levi and I held a scorpion and tarantula. This place is great for hands on learning. There is a guide in the room taking you from bug to bug sharing facts and taking many of them out for the kiddos or sometimes just the adults to hold. There is no schedule you just show up and join the group. There is also a cute little gift shop where we purchased a strawberry flavored sucker with a real grasshopper inside. The kids kept asking is it really real? or fake? More about our time at the Bug Zoo here.

If you enjoy getting the lay of the land and watching seaplanes take off and land I would highly recommend taking the Victoria Harbour Ferry tour. We took the harbour tour and saw numerous planes land right beside us on the water, so cool. Check out our tour here!

Beacon Hill Children’s Farm was our last venture in Victoria. Every morning (10:10) and evening (5:10) as the volunteers gather the goats they have a goat stampede. Super adorable!! The farm has a little petting zoo with bunnies, miniature donkeys and ponies, alpacas, pigs, ducks, and a few guinea pigs. There are also some mighty proud and gorgeous peacocks running around making their presence known. The farm is located in Beacon Hill Park which is huge. We could have spent way more time here, but it was time to catch our ferry back to the states. We did play on a playground for a bit and saw a waterplay area.

As always we learned a few things on this trip to improve our experience next time. We will find a grocery store first thing next visit. We should have stocked up on little snacks for my purse and adult beverages to keep in the hotel room.

After long days of walking and playing, sitting at a restaurant enjoying dinner and a drink just simply wasn’t happening with these two tired kids.

Swimming, Swimming, and more swimming. Making time to swim before bed was a must. The second morning the kids were riled up so Levi took them for a quick dip while I got ready. GOLD! I was able to have a little respite while the kiddos got to get their morning crazies out playing in the water. This may have to become a tradition: 2 swimming times a day!

Lastly, we ate out a lot, obviously. I did absolutely no research on good kid-friendly restaurants. And by the time we were ready to eat everyone was cranky (again having snacks in my purse would have been super handy) so we walked around crazily looking for a place that looked decent. I feel we missed a chance to have some good downtime.

We ran out of time to take a carriage ride, which the kids were both bummed about. So next time that is of high priority. Is there anywhere you have been or things you have experienced that we should add to our list next time?