droots

We'll be cruising w/ a stop in Vancouver in Mid-June. Does anyone know if cabs are readily available at the docks and what it might cost to get to the Gardens? My thanks for any help.

GaryA

The Butchard Gardens are in Victoria not Vancouver. If your ship is stopping in Vancouver and money is no object you can charter a seaplane from the dock just next to the Cruise Ship terminal and be there in 40 minutes. It would cost a few hundred dollars, (Canadian), but if you got another couple it would work out to less than $75CAN per person.

If you're a little confused and are stopping in Victoria then the Gardens are about a $40+CAN Taxi ride each way from the Cruise Ship terminal. However I'm sure the ship would have a package to the gardens as it's one of Victoria's most famous attractions.

droots

Thanks Gary...as you surmised, I was a little confused. We do dock in Victoria. There is a ship excursion, but it is our last day and we think we may just want to explore on our own. Your info is very helpful, so thanks again.

April

Cabs should be readily available. One company told me the charge should be $30-35 one way.

Or, you could take a cab or walk from Ogden Point where your ship docks to the bus depot beside the Empress Hotel and take a Greyline bus for about $45.50 per person return (a bit less before June 15). I'm not sure which schedule they'd be on. Now they leave the depot at 10:00, noon and 2:00 but in the summer run hourly from 9:00 to 3:00. That fee includes entry to the gardens.

So, for two, if the round-trip taxi cost $80 with tip and then you had to pay approx. $20 each to get into the gardens, you'd be looking at about $120 in total as compared to $90 for the Greyline bus (plus perhaps a bit extra to get from Ogden Pt to the bus depot if you didn't want to walk).

Maybe it would be just as well to take ship's tour?

There is another option. For a few bucks each way you could simply take a city bus. (There are also city buses running around the Ogden Point area that you could catch into town.) Garden entry fee and bus fare would probably total less than $30.

droots

Thanks April, good info. The cost is not the real issue. The problem with a ship's excursion is that they tour the city with little time for exploring the gardens. The gardens sound so wonderful, we just think we'd like to spend our afternoon there.

April

Ah, I see. I should have mentioned that there are also double-decker buses stationed in front of the Empress Hotel, but my impression is that they are very expensive and may meander out to Butchart's.

The city bus schedule to Butchart's is limited this time of year, as you can see here:
http://www.bctransit.com/regions/vic...m?line=75&