Victoria

We took our trip to British Columbia in late May & early June of 2025. Our kids were 13, 11 & 6 at the time.

Fisherman’s Wharf

We took the Harbour Ferry to Fisherman’s wharf. We saw a sea plane on the ride. It was fun to see the house boats when we pulled up. Barb’s Fish & Chips had great food. We also enjoyed Jackson’s Ice Cream. I didn’t see much else to do there other than eat.

Walk Government Street

Rogers’ Chocolates

We enjoyed the chocolates we had here.

Souvenir Shops

There were multiple shops with things like shirts, hats, magnets and such.

China Town

We didn’t go to any shops, but we did walk through.

Parliament Building

We liked seeing the Parliament Building from the outside as we walked by it. It had a pretty lawn with a fountain. There was a statue of Queen Victoria too.

Beacon Hill Park

We didn’t find this park all that great. There was a small rose garden, some pretty flowers, and a playground. But along the beaches (mostly rocks and driftwood) we had an amazing view of the mountains in Washington.

Royal British Columbia Museum

We weren’t huge fans of this, but it did have some interesting parts. There was a tide pool replica with sea creatures in it that was fun to see. There was an old town set up that we were able to go into some of the buildings too. There other part that my boys really liked was a ship kind of area. We thought that there was a lot of reading and with 3 kids that just didn’t work well for us. Some people might really like that though. 

Hiking Near Victoria

Niagara Falls-Goldstream Provincial Park

We had planned to hike to Niagara Falls at Goldstream Provincial Park, but the trail was closed, so we didn’t get to do that one. But it was one I had really wanted to do. 

Mary Vine Creek Falls (Penden Lake Trail-near Sooke area)

This trail was not easy to find because I had just written down Mary Vine Creek Falls. We got to the right area, but couldn’t find the trail. We found a map and saw the hike was actually called Penden Lake Trail and Mary Vine Creek Falls is on that hike. Once we actually found it we did the hike just to Mary Vine Creek Falls. It was almost completely dried up (first week of June). There was only a trickle of water. It was a very rocky trail that wasn’t easy on the feet. The kids liked climbing on the dry waterfall. It was made of rock, not just a straight down one. So they had fun with that, but it was disappointing not to see the falls. I am curious what the rest of the trail was like. The pictures of that waterfall, with water, are really cool. We must have gone in the dry season.

China Beach

We went to China Beach on the west coast. It was about 1 hour 15 minutes from Victoria. What I had researched said there was a waterfall. The beach was pretty & it had some black sand and lots of driftwood. We walked around a while before asking someone where the waterfall was. She pointed us to a cliff (if we were looking at the beach, it was to the right of where our trail came onto the beach). I’m not sure if we found the waterfall, but we did find a big cliff where water was dripping down…very little water. So that was another bummer. Perhaps we didn’t really find it or maybe, again, it was just a dry season (first week of June). But the beach was really pretty. 

Sandcut Beach Waterfall-Jordan River Regional Park

On the drive to China Beach I saw a sign for Sandcut Beach Waterfall (Jordan River Regional Park). So we decided to give it a try. There were lots of stairs and tree roots on the trail to the beach. The beach was mostly rocks and then sand closer to the water. We took a left when we got to the beach and walked about 5 minutes. Then we found the coolest double waterfall on to the beach. It was two separate falls and was very pretty. There was a massive driftwood tree a little farther down too. We were the only ones there & we got to spend a good amount of time admiring it. There was lots of drift wood at this beach too. Someone had set up a big driftwood log on another part of a piece of driftwood and made a see-saw. So that was fun too for the kids. 

Hotels & Restaurants I would recommend
Hotel

We stayed at the Embassy Inn (520 Menzies St) in Victoria.

We really liked:

-The location: We didn’t need a car for any of the things we wanted to do in Victoria; only if we left town.

-Our room had 2 rooms connected (great with kids!)  -Each of our rooms had a balcony with a pretty view

-It had a good sized bathroom -Our room had a kitchen even

-When we were there they had a nice breakfast

Restaurants I’d go to again

Barb’s Fish & Chips (Fisherman’s Wharf)

-I am not a huge seafood fan; but my husband and son are. They liked everything they got here. My husband said the chowder was the best chowder he has ever had.

Jackson’s Ice Cream (Fisherman’s Wharf)

-Yum! They even had non-dairy choices!

Irish Times Pub

-We got to sit outside. -I liked the Irish stew and soda bread.