I am planning a 7-day trip to Vancouver in late October/early November. It will be the first time in Cananda for me and my husband, and we will celebrate our anniversary.
We would like to spend some time in Victoria as well, but are not sure if we can take a day trip or book a lodging there. We are debating between Four Seasons Vancouver, St. Regis, or Fairmont Pacific Rim. If it's better for us to book a hotel in Victoria for our sightseeing, please give us some suggestions. What's the best way to travel to Victoria from Vancouver? by ferry or by bus?
Also, if you can give us some suggestions on what to do/where to go/eat, I would really appreciate it. I'm bit worried that it may be too cold. Thank you.

You are rolling the dice (randomly) with regard to October/November weather in the lower mainland area of BC. It isn't likely to be "warm" by anybody's definition, but it could easily be colder than you wish.

IMO, a "day trip" from Vancouver to Victoria isn't fair to yourselves or to Victoria. I read here recently that it takes "3 1/2 hours" to get to Victoria from Vancouver, one-way.

If you are not inclined to have a rental car during your time in Vancouver, it is probably just as easy to take the bus from central Vancouver to Victoria.

I don't have a sense of where you're from, in order to project just HOW chilled you might be, but alas it is always possible that your fears result from stereotyped images of Canada than from concern over the actual temperature range likely to be in effect when you're there.

Maybe go to weather.com and check the average temps for that window of time??

Yes, I share NorthwestMale's concern. I can see that you've just joined up to Fodors, and it will take you a bit to get accustomed to the most helpful information to give. What type of climate are you accustomed to?

At that time of year, you have the benefit of being past the busy season. So, I'd suggest a night or two in Victoria, to break up your trip. On Priceline we have won the Marriott Inner Harbour, which is very nice. Don't bid less than 4 stars on Priceline. There are also some very nice bed and breakfasts - do a search on this forum, and perhaps some others will weigh in on that. One question - what is your price range? For both Victoria and Vancouver?

Needless to say, there are abundant wonderful restaurants in both locales. My favorites tend to be seafood. This is also on the Pacific Rim, and there are myriad different oriental cuisines. But that is by no means all there is, so give us some parameters.

In closing, about the weather... we were there in late May this year, and it was unseasonably cool and rainy even for Vancouver. Still - this is a maritime type of climate, and if you layer up you will be perfectly fine. Scarves are very popular, knotted around the neck in various functional or decorative ways. The fabric depends on the temperature. I'm guessing you'll find that it is a bit rainy that time of year, but not uncomfortably so.

Anyway - welcome to the group! Looking forward to seeing some more information on here.

the st regis is fine but not in the same category as the four seasons or especially the new fairmont pacific rim, which has some of the most beautiful rooms and bathrooms anywhere.

i agree that an overnight at least is needed for victoria coming from vancouver but you might want to wait and see what the weather is like--you shouldn't have trouble booking something at the last minute that time of year.

it will be cloudy and most likely damp and rainy that time of year--but not truly cold, although as the others have said i suppose it depends on what you're used to.

Thank you all for your feedbacks.
We will be traveling from California, but we lived few years in NYC area before, so we're somewhat used to cold weather. My concern was that it may rain the whole time we are there. If it doesn't hinder the sightseeing, light rain should be okay.
Based on your feedbacks, we will look into book a place in Victoria for couple nights. We are not planning to rent a car during our stay. Is public transportation good in Canada? Is it still better to take a bus than a ferry to Victoria from Vancouver then?
Thank you!

We'll be spending 3 nights in Vancouver in Mid-September and are thinking about a day trip to Whistler by train and/or bus. Have you done any research into that and if so do you think it's worthwhile? We did Victoria on a cruise and it's a very nice town, but not sure it's worth more than one night.

The weather in the northwest is seldom as severe as it gets every year in NYC, so don't worry about that. "Light rain" is the order of the day on m-m-m-m-most days around here, and while it tends to ruin scenic backdrops, most local activities still happen rain or shine.


Indeed it MIGHT "rain the whole time (you) are" in the area - nobody can tell you otherwise at this point.

Public transport is plenty adequate in Canada.

If flying in, you can take the rail from the airport into downtown Vancouver, and nothing is terribly far away once you're there.

You should do reasonably well without a car, and Vancouver's downtown has many ways to occupy your time and you can adjust your itinerary to suit the weather at the moment.

The whole trip sounds great for your anniversary!

I'm a little puzzled by your question about whether to take a bus or a ferry to Victoria. The bus would get awfully wet! It goes on to the ferry, so you can take it from downtown Vancouver into downtown Victoria, but the ferry is definitely a part of the journey. Your alternative would be a plane.

Thank you all. It's a lot easier for us to plan the trip after all your valuable feedbacks!

If you are not renting a car and the weather is decent I would look into taking the float plane or Helijet (helicopter) harbour to harbour Victoria/Vancouver. If the weather is fairly clear it is a great way to see all the islands and wonderful sceanery between the island and mainland from the air. It is a short trip so you fly quite low. You could fly one way and take the ferry (bus to the ferry and then downtown) the other way.

This would also give you more time in Victoria. The fare is around $140 or so each person each way by air and the ferry would be around $42 downtown Van to downtown Vic or vice versa on the bus and ferry.

Hi,
I think the Fairmont would be the best choice in Vancouver. When I went to Victoria, I stayed at Delta Ocean Pointe, and it was absolutely perfect: the staff is extremely nice, you have a wonderful view on Victoria and the restaurant is delicious.
Vancouver and Victoria are two very different cities, and there is a lot to do and to see there.
For Victoria, the must-do are the Butchard Gardens, believe me those are no ordinary gardens, they're just amazing (plan an afternoon to visit them though, they're huge). The Royal British Columbia Museum is also a very good museum.
For Vancouver, I recommend Stanley Park, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology, Gastown and many other places. If you want some more information about Vancouver and things to to there, check out this website http://2vancouverbc.com/tourism/thin...v-things-to-do
it's really useful when you don't know the city!
Hope it helped
Cheers

HI there
As a Native Vancourite, I'd recommend you try the Fairmont Pacific Rim. They have had some great deals on the hotel as it's fairly new hotel.
October/November as others mentioned, can be a bit dodgey for the weather - rain coat is a must and sometimes the days are mild fall but it's hit and miss here. When it rains in Vancouver it can be an 'all day' event but often is misty wet drizzle and not the down pours that warmer climates like CA get.

Personally, I'd fly to Victoria from downtown Vancouver.
Check out http://www.harbour-air.com - I use them flying to Nanaimo all of the time. You do not need a car to rent and you can stay one night in Victoria easily without every having the need to rent a car.

Sight seeing - depends upon your interests really - I'm happy to recommend a few things as well as restaurants if you give me some more feed back.