How long does it take to get from downtown Vancouver to Butchart Gardens by car? Also does anyone know of a really nice, clean, safe hotel in Vancouver for two women?Thanks!

You'll have to take a ferry from downtown Vancouver to Butchart Gardens. You can drive the car onto the ferry once you get to the ferry terminal if you want, but I never found it necessary to bring a car over to Victoria. There are some buses you can take that will drive you from near your hotel, onto the ferry, and then to Butchard Gardens. The drive from downtown to the ferry terminal is somewhere between 30-60 minutes, you have to get there about 30 minutes ahead of time, then the ferry itself is 90 minutes.

You may want to list your budget and what areas you would like to be close to? Did you want to be in the heart of downtown or near the waterfront? Budget type hotel or luxury?

It's at least a 3 hour trip in each direction. Easiest to do the PCL coach as indicated above.

I know of lots of nice, clean, safe etc hotels in Vancouver ;-). As the previous poster said, more details on what you're looking for would help us give a better recommendation.

We actually overnighted in beautiful Victoria (The Delta Hotel on the water) giving us the luxury of time to visit the gardens instead of having to rush back to Vancouver. We took a coach from Victoria to the gardens and back and didn't have to worry about late night driving. We went at around 5.00pm, walked the gardens to our hearts content and then stayed for the amazing fireworks show that takes place for some summer Saturday evenings (see website). It was absolutely amazing and unusual. It ended at around 11.00pm and the bus brought us back to Victoria. The whole trip was 1 price and we bought tickets at the bus terminal in Victoria, close to the Empress Hotel.

Thanks for your advice. I have found a lovely, if somewhat pricey, hotel. Since it's a special vacation, I thought I would splurge. Unfortunately, we won't be in BC on a Saturday for the fireworks... It looks like taking PCL coach is the best option. What does PCL stand for, anyway? Thanks again!

PCL - Pacific Coach Line

Are you doing an overnight stay in Victoria? I did the same thing Mathieu above did. It gave us time to relax and we had tea at the Empress Hotel the second day before we headed back.

PCL stands for Pacific Coach Lines. Here is the website
http://www.pacificcoach.com/