How to visit 5 gardens in Victoria BC! (Butchart Gardens + more)

Hi there!

Victoria BC is known as the City of Gardens, and this means that you’ve got several gardens to choose from!

If you have a few hours in Victoria while it’s still light out, then there are some gardens you can visit that are reasonably close to downtown Victoria… and therefore reasonable to go to if you arrive by cruise ship.

The most popular gardens in Victoria may not be reasonable to go to if you’re on a short cruise ship visit, as it’s a bit further away.

Now, I’ve been to Victoria a few times (cruise ship visits and overnights), and here are the gardens I’ve been to in Victoria!

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1. Welcome to Victoria flower garden (Inner Harbour)

When you are in Victoria, the minimum you want to do is go to the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria!

When you are there, you want to look for the flower garden that spells out “Welcome to Victoria”!

From the Inner Harbour, you can also see the iconic parliament buildings across the street, and you can also go walk around it.

Going to the Inner Harbour is something you can do even if it’s dark out. (Although maybe not the best to see the flowers.) See more about Victoria at night.

Victoria cruise port to Inner Harbour

There are paid cruise shuttles that go from the cruise port to downtown Victoria. Otherwise, you can also make it a 30-40 minute walk from the cruise port to the inner harbour. (Or shorter, if you walk directly there through residential neighborhoods.)

You can make a detour by walking by Fishermans Wharf (map) or walking along the Dallas Road waterfront trail (map).

2. Butchart Gardens

The most popular gardens in Victoria are the Butchart Gardens.

The sunken garden of Butchart Gardens is the iconic garden picture of Victoria. This is a National Historic Site of Canada.

The cost of admission is around CAD$40. Confirm current fees.

There are totem poles for you to see at Butchart Gardens too!

👆👆 Walking through the Sunken Garden.

👆👆 Flowers all over!

👆 You can walk through a Japanese garden at Butchart Gardens!

👆 You can see totem poles at Butchart Gardens!

Victoria cruise port to Butchart Gardens

Unfortunately, many (most?) cruise ship visits don’t allow enough time to go to the Butchart Gardens. If you do have time, you’ll see a Butchart Gardens excursion listed on the shore excursions page when you’re logged into your cruise line’s account!

If you are on a cruise ship that has all day in port (I’ve been on those!), then you can totally go to Butchart Gardens on a cruise ship visit!

You can look for the Butchart Gardens excursion through your cruise line, you can look for a Buchart Gardens tour from downtown Victoria, or… you can go on your own!

The cheapest way to get there is by bus. There’s a direct bus from downtown Victoria to Butchart Gardens. You will need to have $6 in Canadian cash for the day pass. See current bus fare. There is an ATM at the cruise port but the lowest bills it will give you is a $20. The currency exchange booth will give you $1 coins and $2 coins if you ask them, along with $5 bills. So if you’re looking to take the bus from the cruise port, probably the best thing to do is have cash to exchange into Canadian currency.

I took the bus to different places in Victoria. I exclusively relied on google maps. It’s a 1 hour bus ride from downtown to Butchart Gardens. (bus route map)

Vancouver to Butchart Gardens

Many people go to Butchart Gardens as a day trip from Vancouver.

You can do it on your own, or you can do a Butchart Gardens tour from Vancouver.

Either way, it’s quite a long day with some logistics but it can be done. You’ll be taking a ferry in both directions.

Once on the Victoria side, you’ll arrive at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. From there, you can get a bus to Butchart Gardens.

I did the Vancouver to Victoria ferry, but not as a day trip, so I had my luggage with me. From Swartz Bay, I took the bus to Butchart Gardens where they have luggage storage. Butchart Gardens is between Swartz Bay and downtown Victoria, so it can be a convenient thing to do on arrival to Swartz Bay.

3. Beacon Hill Park gardens

Beacon Hill Park is a place to go for a nice walk. There are paved trails that go around the park, and there are a few small gardens and flower-lined paths too.

You can also see what’s called the “world’s tallest totem pole” near the gardens in Beacon Hill Park!

It’s free to go to the Beacon Hill Park gardens.

Victoria cruise port to Beacon Hill Park

It’s reasonable to go to Beacon Hill Park if you have a couple of hours in port. You can walk the Dallas Road waterfront Trail to get to Beacon Hill Park. You can then walk around and through Beacon Hill Park and onto downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour. This will probably take you over an hour one way. (map)

4. Government House gardens

The Government House is another place to go for a nice walk. The grounds are open to the public, and there are gardens that you can walk through.

The grounds of the Government House is in a gated area, and the gate is open from dawn to dusk for you to freely walk in. Confirm the hours.

There is no cost to go to the Government House gardens.

See more about the gardens of Government House.

You can also see a totem pole near the gardens in front of the actual Government House building!

Victoria cruise port to Government House gardens

You could walk from the cruise port to Government House, but it’s about an hour walk one way. If you don’t want to walk that much, you can take the bus from near the cruise port. (map)

Or if you take the cruise shuttle to downtown, then from there it becomes a more reasonable walk of 30-40 minutes one way. (map)

A good place to go alongside a visit to the Government House is the Craigdarroch Castle. It’s about a 10 minute walk away. (map)

5. Hatley Park gardens (and castle)

Another castle + garden combo trip you can do is by going to Hatley Castle!

For this one, the gardens are part of the same grounds as the castle.

You’ll want to walk the front and back side of the castle to get different views. And then you’ll come across the Hatley Park gardens too.

Hatley Park is a National Historic Site.

It’s free to go to the Hatley Castle gardens.

Victoria cruise port to Hatley Castle

Hatley Castle is a bit further away. If you have a full day in port, then it’s reasonable to go to Hatley Castle on a cruise ship visit. I went to Hatley Castle by bus from the cruise port. (map)

After Hatley Castle, I went to the Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites. It required a fair bit of walking from the castle (map) and then the bus stop after that.

I checked the uber app when in Victoria, and it did seem like there’s uber in Victoria if you don’t want to bother with the bus.

More gardens

Other gardens I’ve looked into and that seem nice but I haven’t been to are the Gardens at HCP, the Abkhazi Garden, and the Finnerty Gardens.

The ultimate Victoria garden tour is the Butchart Gardens and Gardens at HCP combo tour!

More for your trip!

Make it a totem walk in Victoria! See about totem poles in Victoria.

And more to do: Things to do in Victoria without a car

Extend your trip! There is a ferry between Victoria and Seattle. See about things to do in Seattle without a car!

Extend your trip! There is a ferry between Victoria and Vancouver. See about things to do in Vancouver without a car!

HAPPY GARDEN WALK IN VICTORIA BC!