My husband and I will be traveling in the Seattle and Vancouver area for several days. We plan to travel from Vancouver to Victoria on Monday, June 15. We will already have a rental car. Can we leave the car parked at the Tswwassen Ferry Terminal? We are staying just one night in Victoria, but we want to go to Butchart Gardens as well as tour downtown Victoria. Which of the following options would you recommend in terms of time spent, ease and being economical? 1.Take the car on the ferry 2. Rely on public transportation once we get to Victoria, or 3. Rent a car once in Victoria. I am NOT a fan of riding a bus and would prefer the autonomy of having our vehicle. I know that I don't want to take a bus from our hotel in Vancouver and travel on it all the way to Victoria. From other posts I have read, I'm getting the feeling that taking the car on the ferry is a big hassle. I would appreciate suggestions!
Thanks!

You are not a fan of public transportation but the bus that goes from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria isn't like public transportation. It is more like a tour bus. They store you luggage below (if you want) and you just forget about it. The bus drives on the ferry and you can go up top and enjoy the ride without worrying. Then you board the bus on the ferry and it will take you right downtown. You can get a bus to the gardens once you are in Victoria or if you want more freedom you can always rent a car for the day. Taking the car on the ferry is not a hassle at all and on the day you are travelling you probably wouldn't need a reservation. The cost of each - if you take the bus from Vancouver to Victoria it would be $84 each return for a total of $168. If you take your car it would be a total of $117.
Here are the websites for both

http://www.pacificcoach.com/
http://www.bcferries.com/

snewt770, as a longtime resident of Victoria, perhaps I can shed some light (although it would be helpful to know where you are staying while in Victoria).

Butchart Gardens is actually about half way between the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and Victoria, so you might want to consider stopping there on your way into the city or as you're on your way back to Vancouver.

You <i>can</i> leave your car on the Tsawwassen side and take the ferry as a foot passenger. You'd then have to buy a bus ticket onboard and take the bus to downtown Victoria. Bus tickets are only sold during the first 1/2 hour of the (1hr, 40min) sailing.

Cost to take your rental car: $13.50 per adult plus $45 (I think) for the vehicle, so kind of pricey but then you'd have the car for getting into Victoria and Butchart Gardens without having to pay for a bus.

In my opinion, the best way to see downtown (inner harbour) Victoria is on foot. Parking is quite expensive in downtown Victoria, so hopefully you are staying at a place where you can leave your car and stroll around.

Thank you Traveller69 and Calo for the very helpful advice! Calo, we have not yet booked a hotel in Victoria. If you have any suggestions of a very nice B&B or hotel where parking would be gratis, I would love to hear them.

We have many lovely B&B and small Inns in Victoria close to the Inner Harbour. They vary in price but one that I have recommended to a lot of people is the Rosewood Inn. It is just two blocks from the harbour and is really delightful. http://www.rosewoodvictoria.com/
Abigails is also a very popular B&B also located very close to everything http://www.abigailshotel.com/
There are too many to mention all of them so it depends on the amenities you want and the price range.

I agree with traveller69...there are <i>lots</i> of B&Bs in Victoria from which to choose, many of them in heritage buildings. Your budget will factor into your choice of where to stay. I've never stayed at the Ambrosia, but it gets very good ratings:
http://www.ambrosiavictoria.com/

The B&Bs further away from downtown might be less expensive. There are several in the Oak Bay part of town that are lovely.

Parking at hotels and B&Bs in Victoria is generally free for paying guests.