Victoria: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: Victoria sits inside the 'rain shadow' of Washington's Olympic Mountains so it receives less than half the annual rainfall of Vancouver, you should always reserve vehicle space on BC Ferries in advance (foot passengers usually do not need one), and a BC Transit DayPASS covers your round-trip double-decker bus to both the ferry terminal and The Butchart Gardens.

1. Why Victoria Is So Much Sunnier & Drier Than Vancouver or Seattle

Look across the 30-kilometre-wide Juan de Fuca Strait from Victoria's waterfront and you see a massive wall of snow-capped peaks in Washington State: the 2,400-metre Olympic Mountains! Those mountains act as a giant natural umbrella (the Olympic Rain Shadow) that blocks Pacific storm clouds before they reach southern Vancouver Island—giving Victoria 2,183 hours of sunshine a year, half the rainfall of Vancouver (600mm vs 1,200mm+), and winters so mild that pink cherry and plum blossoms bloom in mid-February!

2. Three Essential Logistical Tips Before You Arrive

1. Vancouver Is NOT on Vancouver Island! It sounds obvious, yet thousands of international visitors every year book a hotel in Vancouver thinking they can drive to Victoria in 20 minutes! City of Vancouver sits on the BC mainland; City of Victoria sits on Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia—requiring a 95-minute BC Ferries crossing (3.5 hours total city-centre to city-centre) or a 35-minute Harbour Air seaplane flight!
2. Skip Expensive Tour Buses to Butchart Gardens — Use BC Transit Bus #75: instead of paying for a tour shuttle to The Butchart Gardens, hop onto public BC Transit Bus #75 right on Douglas Street in downtown Victoria: a DayPASS (bought on the Umo app or with cash on board) covers your entire round-trip ride right to the garden gates!
3. Book Empress Tea & Summer Whale Boats Ahead: both Afternoon Tea at the Empress and afternoon whale-watching boats sell out days ahead from June to September.