Exploring in Our Own Country - Victoria 2025

Our dollar has been a bit of a disaster against other currencies and I had a flight pass I needed to use up, so we decided to explore our own country for a change. After a bit of research, I thought Victoria looked like a place we would enjoy. And I was right... Mostly uneventful flights, except that Air Canada landed in Toronto and parked in the middle of nowhere and we had to take a bus to the terminal. We pretty much walked straight onto the next plane (without coffee!!!) and off we went. Landed in Victoria late morning. For the first half of our trip, we stayed at the Oswego Hotel. Our room wasn't quite ready yet so we left our bags and wandered off to find some lunch. We landed at Bard & Banker - food was meh, but the service was great, the weather was nice, and we found tasty beverages. Got some caffeine, walked along the harbour some, and got a text our room was ready. Hooray! Our bags were even waiting in our room when we arrived.

The switch from the east coast to all the west coast when you had to be at the airport at 3:30am is a rough one, so we just did another little walk and got some groceries and chilled out on our little balcony to wrap up the day. Not surprisingly, we were up pretty early the next morning, so we found the mandatory coffee and tea and enjoyed a very quiet Victoria first thing in the morning. We walked through Beacon Hill Park, and along by the water to Clover Point (to the point zero marker for the Trans Canada Trail), had a tasty beverage and snack at Peckish Cafe (they make a damn good cookie!), some lunch at Fishhook, and then made our way back to the hotel to chill out for a while. In the evening, we did a beer tour with Canadian Craft Tours. There was only 4 of us on the tour - the other two were American and we all got along just fine. We started at Ile Sauvage - known for sours, which I'm a big fan of, so that was a win. From there, on to Moon Under Water, where the brewer gave us a little tour and we could pick our own flights. We wrapped up at Swift brewing, in their quirky tasting room that looks like grandma's den from 1974. Our driver/guide was a bit of a quirky dude and I mostly got the feeling he didn't want to be there, but the beer and company was otherwise good.

I wanted to try a few different tours while we were in BC (given what I do for a living), so the next day we did a wine and food tour of Cowichan Valley with Island Time Tours. There was about a dozen of us on this tour. Our first stop was Venturi Schulze vineyard, which essentially exists because they needed wine to pay for things while they were making and aging balsamic vinegar. It was fine for a quick tasting, but they don't really have the infrastructure for people to stay and hang out for a while. One of the owners did our tasting and she was fabulous though. Our second stop was Blue Grouse, where we also had a provided picnic. They have a fantastic spot - great tasting room with a huge patio overlooking the vineyards. Wine was fine (I'm not a big wine person), picnic (provided by a local farmers market, Great Greens) was yum! Last stop of the day, Enrico Winery. Another great tasting room with a nice patio overlooking vineyards. We had more wine. Back in Victoria, we had some supper at Garrick's Head Pub - food was meh, lots of cool beer taps though. Walked around some more to stretch our legs in the beautiful weather, and called it a day.

Another early morning exploring Victoria, including popping into the Legislative Assembly and doing their free tour. We had some time to kill before we were meeting a food tour. We stopped for coffee and tea at Bean Around the World in Chinatown for coffee and tea before we started our tour. Our tour was with Off the Eaten Track, just four of us on the tour and our guide Brenda was absolutely fantastic. Our stops were Maiz, Family Bake, Cafe Malabar, Dumpling Drop, Whistle Buoy Brewing, and Block Kitchen and Bar (and one more I can't remember). Great tour - would highly recommend. In the evening, we walked over to Fisherman's Wharf and had some pizza from Pirate Pizza Co, and then over to the breakwater where the cruise ships come in.

Next day, breakfast at a generic place I forget the name of and then we switched hotels to the Inn and Laurel Point. Great view from our room (in the older section), but it was on the ground floor so we were essentially on the walking trail. Our mission for the day was craft beer and street art and we managed to find both. Phillip's Brewing for bevvies and lunch, a little dessert in Chinatown, a bit stop at the Drake for another beverage, ate some more, and did another walk along the ocean.

Our friends Erika and Chris came into Victoria on a cruise ship, so we met up with them for some lunch and a whale watching adventure with 5 Star. We were delayed a few hours because they were having technical problems with the boat, and I'm not sure we ever really got going full speed - but we saw lots of whales (but no orcas - who ironically came in to visit Victoria harbour right near our hotel just after we left to go home). We also saw seals and lots of birds. We had supper at the restaurant in our hotel and then did another evening walk. Watched some fireworks from our room to wrap up our day.

For our last day in Victoria, we decided we should probably go see Butchart Gardens. They are pretty lovely and are worth a quick visit. We had some tea and coffee and basked in the beautiful weather, and then decided we should go find some more craft beer. We went out to Driftwood and had some bites and bevvies, walked around to see some more art. Back to the hotel, found some supper, and walked out to the breakwater one more time to find more art, amazing views, and delicious ice cream at Over Board. And the next morning, sadly, it was time to go home. The Victoria airport is cute but the coffee situation is a bit dire. From there to Toronto and then on to home. Victoria was lovely and has a really similar vibe to where we live - just with way more tourists and flowers. I'd happily go back any time and likely will. Ange out. PS: Go to Victoria! If any of the tours I mentioned sound like something you'd like to do in Victoria, links to them are below. The only one I wouldn't recommend was the whale watching - I'd use a different company if I were to do it again. Hidden Chinatown and Old Town Victoria Food Tour Wine & Food Tour - Cowichan Valley Victoria Craft Brewery Tour