Help! In mid-August, we're going to be in Portland/Seattle for 7 nights and trying to plan for most efficient use of time to get to/from Victoria with a car. We plan on spending a Tues and Wed night there, but after reading the numerous negative postings regarding wait times for ferries, I'm beginning to wonder if it is worth it? We have send English towns and gardens, so would we be better off spending the time on the mainland? Would it make more sense to leave car on the mainland in order to reduce the wait for the ferry?

Take the Victoria Clipper from SEA - 2 hours to get to Victoria - you can buy tickets before hand. You won't need a car in Victoria, so I would suggest you leave it in SEA or return it to the rental car company prior to your trip (of course, I'm assuming that you're leaving from SEA to Victoria).

My own personal view is that Victoria beyond the immediate Inner Harbour area does not warrant the cost and hassle of taking a car for a short visit. If your intent was to explore the island beyond the city and the easy tour bus excursions, like Butchart Gardens, then fine, go for it. Otherwise, if you want to spend a day or a day and a night there, I'd suggest the foot ferry from Port Angeles or the Clipper from Seattle, or, if you can afford it, float plane service from either Seattle or Vancouver, as the fastest ways to get over and back.

I can't comment on whether you'd be happier skipping Victoria altogether. Depends on your priorities, I suppose. I think Victoria is well worth a day, especially if you're arriving from a more rural setting, such as the Olympic Peninsula, because of the surprising sophistication and historic beauty of the place, along with a genuine, albeit kitschy, British flavo(u)r. But getting there with a car in mid-summer can be a pain and that's a fact.

Don't skip Victoria. Been there 6 times in 15 yrs. still not tired of it.
Great walking town, around the Inner Harbor & into the neighborhoods etc. We take the Victoria Clipper, stay 3-4 days & devote one day to the Gardens (Buchart's) and go by tour bus. You'll have a great time.

It's been a few years, but we accessed Victoria via Port Angeles. Victoria is a "must see" during your visit.

I loved Victoria. I was up there in June and can't wait to make a return visit. Great shopping for china and tea sets, as well as a few wonderful tea stores. The gardens were breathtaking. Only down side is that the food's not so tasty.

We left our rental car in Port Angeles and took the people-only ferry over to Victoria for the day. Because Port A. is closer to Victoria than Seattle and because the people-only ferry is faster than the car ferry (AND takes reservations), one day is enough. We took a city bus to Buchart Gardens, which was quite cheap. It made a few stops in Victoria and then drove directly to the Gardens. There were other excursion buses going to the Gardens, but I imagine that if you sign up for a "tour" it advance, it will cost a lot more.

OK, thanks for the advice, but what do you think about us driving to Anacortes, leaving our car there and taking that ferry? It looks as if it is 1 hour vs 3 hour drive, so it's a much shorter drive than to Port Angeles, but is it easy to get from the port at Sidney to Victoria (or economical)?