Plan a Weekend in Victoria BC: Part 2

For families living on the west coast of the US, a trip to Victoria BC is a fun and cost effective get-away. In the first part of this hub article series, I recommended great places to stay, and to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. If you haven't read it yet click HERE.

In this half of the article series, I'll be writing about some of the things to do while you're there whether you want a guided tour,hoofing it your own way, or shopping 'till you drop, I've included something for everyone.

Guided tours are a great option for people traveling in large groups or who don't want to do a ton of walking. There are plenty of bus tour companies that run in the downtown area, choosing one will be based on your personal criteria for price, travel route etc. A great website for this is Virtualtourist.com.

If you don't enjoy riding the bus, or if you are traveling alone or with a couple people, you can opt for a Kabuki Kab tour. Just hail a cab as it runs by and hop on in! Kabuki Kabs are similar to rickshaws except your driver isn't running you around on foot, he/she operates the cab by pedaling a attached bike. As you get pedaled around the harbor, downtown, or chinatown, you'll get to hear all the interesting facts about your surroundings.

If you want to opt for something more nostalgic, city-wide horse-drawn carriage tours are available as well. You can find Victoria Carriage Tours right on the corner of Belleville and Menzies St. a short block away from the ferry loading docks. Prices run high however. A thirty-minute tour will run you about $90 (Canadian), so that is something to bear in mind.

Other than walking, the best way to get around town is renting a scooter. Down at the pier there are three or four different businesses that allow you to rent one-or two seater scooters for the day. I did this with my family and it was by far the best way to see Victoria. Cycle BC is a great rental place to check out. They have a great selection of bicycles, scooters and motorcycles to choose from. They are priced really well, and give you the option to rent based on an hourly rate, daily rate, or weekly rate (an insurance cost is added on top of this). The pricing varies by the vehicle you choose but to give you an example, to rent a bicycle it costs around $7 (Canadian) per hour. For a scooter like the Honda Jazz it costs $16 (Canadian) per hour, and a motorcycle (such as the Yamaha FJR 1300) costs $53 (Canadian) per hour. All the vehicles you choose from are in great condition and helmets are provided.

Now that you have your mode of transportation taken care of, here are a few fun places to visit while you're here.

The Royal BC Museum is a great place to start. The museum has wonderful exhibits, including a wildlife exhibit, a National Geographic Theater/IMAX Theater, and the Human History Gallery. My favorite part by far however was the Human history gallery. It is divided into two halves, one dedicated to Pacific Native American History, and the other is a full-scale timeline through post-modern history culminating in a 19th century town complete with a mine, canneries, shops, and a shipwrecked military ship. It is eerily life-like and great fun if you enjoy history or if you are traveling with children.

Outside the main building are two exhibits with strong ties to Victoria's history, the Helmcken House, and St. Ann's Schoolhouse. Both are original buildings of historical significance. The Helmcken House lies unmoved in it's original site since it was built in 1853. As you walk through the two-hundred year old home, you will learn about one of the forefathers of Victoria BC and how the town came to be. Across from the Helmcken House is St Ann's Schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was built in 1843, and was moved to the museum grounds towards present day. Inside you can sit in the original desks and look at original books from the period.

There are also great places to shop in Victoria. Aside from the tourist knick-knacks, that are available everywhere, there are great unique stores (like Baggins' Shoes pictured on the right) to see in the Market Square. In addition to shopping, there are also restaurants and nightclubs you can check out as well. The full list of them all can be found in the Market Square Directory.

The final place to see that should top your list, is China Town. It's not very big compared to some other cities, but it is great to walk around and see all the shops. It's especially great to see at night when all the lights come on. It's a shutter-bug's heaven!