Hi, all - my husband and I are taking a trip to Seattle and are thinking of adding a couple of days in Victoria to our itinerary. If you've been there, do you have any favorite things to do or see? Any favorite casual restaurants? We would also love to go whale watching and maybe see orcas if possible. Does anyone know how likely it is to see them in September - are they seasonal in that area? I'd love any recommendations that you have - thanks for any guidance you can give me!

Have you been to Vancouver? Because I would go there in preference to Victoria. However, it does have a good museum, and if the weather cooperates there are Buchart Gardens (sp?).

See:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...very-victoria/

Victoria has resident Orcas, and September is still orca season there anyhow. Until october.
If you don't have a car you can take the Clipper boat (passenger only) from downtown Seattle to downtown Victoria.
If you stay on the harbour, close to the ferry, you can walk a lot of places. September is usually a gorgeous month here.
There are many casual restaurants in the area. One that I love is REBAR, which is vegetarian healthy and delicious. On Bastion Square. Lots of seafood and ethnic restaurants in the downtown area to choose from.
There are tours from downtown to Buchart Gardens, or you could rent a car easily downtown as there are a few depots. The museum is very good, there is a great first nations exhibit, and until the year a Mammoth exhibit as well. There is an IMAX as well.
A walk through Beacon hill park and along the ocean walk is nice as well. If you have a car you can travel further afield, but a couple of days would be fine just exploring the areas around the downtown area.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks, thursday, I appreciate the article. Yes, all my friends have told me about the tea. My husband goes to Vancouver on business and does enjoy it, but I think we're going to stick with Victoria for this trip. I wish we had more time so we could do both.

Live, that's great to hear about the resident orcas. I know it's hit or miss, but I'd love to do a boat tour to try to see some. I think the Clipper boat sounds like the perfect way to go to Victoria from Seattle. Glad to hear that September is still a nice time to go. I'll take a look at staying near the harbor. I didn't know you could take a tour to Buchart Gardens. I would definitely love to see those. Thanks for all the great restaurant suggestions too. I think we would probably plan on spending two nights. We have six days total for our trip.

Are there also bald eagles in the area? Have never seen one and would like to. Not sure how common they are in that area.

We see bald eagles all the time further north up island, they are everywhere but not sure how many in the city. You may have a good chance of seeing them from the boat however.

Thanks, live; I'm happy to know that there's a possibility of seeing them.

How long would you estimate it takes to tour Buchart Gardens? I think we would love to go there.

You could spend a few hours or longer, here is a tour that does it to give you an idea
https://www.viator.com/tours/Victori...important-info

That's perfect - thanks. It looks like we can return whenever we want to with that tour vs. having to return at a certain time.

Do you mind if I ask a question regarding the Victoria Clipper? How do they arrange the seat assignments? Is it just a mad dash once everyone boards, or do they assign you a specific seat?

you just find a seat, but like most of our ferries people get up and walk around during the crossing, so it is never an issue really where you sit.

Great - thanks!

The Royal British Columbia museum is an essential source of information and preservation of the rich cultures of the West Coast First Nations (we don't say Indians any more.) http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/

We went ahead and reserved the Clipper, and I have us staying at The Empress for two nights - looks like it's conveniently located.

Any good places to get fish and chips that you guys would recommend? Also any casual restaurants that have outdoor seating on the water?

Southam, thanks for the information on the museum.

We enjoyed fish n chips at Barbs.

Thanks, m. I read about Barb's in my guidebook I think. Also Red Fish Blue Fish. Looks perfect.

I just read that there's a boat tour at Butchart Gardens - has anyone had a chance to do it? Wondering if it was interesting, or if there's a chance to see some wildlife along the way?

http://www.butchartgardens.com/activities/experiences

We're heading to Victoria as well in September for a few days before we visit Tofino and the Pacific Rim NP. I found out that Butchart Gardens will be illuminated the Weekend we are going, a special request from the cruise ships. If you get a chance in the future to return to Seattle, visit the Olympic National Park (hoh rainforest, sol duc falls) and there are also lots of orcas in the beautiful San Juan Islands.

http://www.butchartgardens.com/m/rates/summer-rates

Thanks, live; I did see that on their website, but I was wondering if anyone has any firsthand experience with it. I think we'll give it a try.