Victoria and Vancouver-need a car?
 

hi,<BR>traveling at the end of this month to see the sights of victoria and vancouver. We fly into Seattle and sightsee there for a couple of nights and then head over. Do we need a car? I heard the ferries are easier without one? any comments/advice would be appreciated. We are new at this.

I would say that you don't need a car in Victoria. It's an easy city to get around on foot. We now usually stay with friends, but end up doing a lot of walking. Hailing a cab on the street isn't easy in Victoria - we were on our own one day and later our friends told us that it's not common practice to hail a cab - usually you call one! <BR><BR>Can't give any current advice on Vancouver. My family live outside of the city and when we visit, we rarely go into Vancouver. I do remember traffic being pretty bad and parking is not great.

You don't 'need' a car but in Vancouver it certainly comes in handy for some out of the way attractions like Grouse Mountain or UBC. I reccomend that first time visitors take the VAncouver Trolley Company tours which have a narrated continuous circuit of the central city attractions with about two dozen stops where passengers can get off visit and catch the next one. But that still doesn't get you to the outlying attractions which can be reached by public transit.<BR><BR>Victoria's attractions are 90% found in the Inner Harbour area. The main exception is Butchart Gardens but you can take one of many tour busses there so that's no problem. <BR><BR>The Pacific Coach Lines Bus from the Vancouver Bus depot to right behind the Empress Hotel in Victoria is definately the simplest and most economical way to travel between the two cities. The fare includes the 1 hr 45 minute scenic ferry ride.

We did fine in both places without a car. We walked most places in Victoria and used public transportation in Vancouver.

I agree...public transport in Vancouver is easy to use and affordable...driving downtown is a nightmare! Parking is awesome and expensive...you will find it much more relaxing and enjoyable taking transit (I dont even drive downtown, I take teh Sky train)