About Southern Vancouver Island

Should you decide to venture out, the back hills is located close to ocean beaches, hiking & cycling trails, kayaking, swimming and horseback riding.

The Galloping Goose Trail is a 60km trail which begins in downtown Victoria and passes near the back hills. It takes you to hidden lakes, quiet coves and a ghost town north of Sooke! Minutes away is Witty's Lagoon, a great place to spot seals or enjoy an ocean breeze. East Sooke Regional Park (20 minutes away) offers a more rugged Pacific coast, as well as aboriginal petroglyphs and dark rain-forests.

Perhaps the rural experience of visiting the farmers' market or one of the many local craftspersons or antique stores is more to your liking. Or you could head into downtown Victoria, walk the Inner Harbour, visit the excellent provincial museum...

For the time being though, check out this excellent "Alternative Tour of Victoria".

There's no shortage of things to do -- and the back hills is the place to relax after your day of explorations.

Ten Reasons to Visit Southern Vancouver Island
  1. The Royal British Columbia Museum
    Even if you hate museums, GO to The Royal BC Museum!
  2. Walking & shopping the Inner Harbour
    Even before you check out all the funky shops in Market & Bastion Squares, stop off at Munro's Books on Government Street for a great map of shops and restaurants in the downtown core!
  3. The West Coast Trail and/or The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.
  4. Native culture and art
    Native crafts are available almost everywhere, but for a real treat, take a 45 minute drive north to Duncan and visit the Heritage Centre of the Cowichan people. Great displays, totems and salmon barbecues await!
  5. Amazing antique and second hand bargains
    Also near Duncan is a surfeit of second-hand and antique stores. If you can't make it Up Island, then take in Victoria's own "antique row" near Fort & Blanshard.
  6. East Sooke Regional Park
    My personal favorite: with a shoreline of huge arbutus trees leaning gracefully towards the water and a backdrop of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic mountains, it's hard to beat for its scenery and its variety of hiking opportunities.
  7. Butchart Gardens
    Butchart Gardens is the premiere garden of the garden city, but certainly not the only one worth note. Victoria teems with gardens! Government House and Hatley Park offer acres of gardens and entrance is free. Spring with its cherry blossoms and magnolia bloom is an especially heartening time to visit.
  8. Afternoon Tea & English Pubs
    For a proper afternoon tea, the Empress Hotel is the thing ... but for less expensive taste, try the James Bay Tea Room or the Blethering Place Tea Room on Oak Bay Avenue.
    Pubs? We got 'em! The Swans Pub, Spinnaker's Pub, the 4 Mile Pub, the 6 Mile Pub and yes, even the 17 Mile Pub! (These latter three are named for their distance from Fort Victoria and were the original roadhouses of pioneer days.)
  9. Getting Here
    The ferry ride itself is worth it! As you pass through the Gulf or San Juan Islands, you'll see the scenery they use in all those "Tourism BC" ads and yearn to live on one of the isolated and picturesque islands. The Port Angeles to Victoria Harbour ferry offers a "from the water" panoramic view of the city. See below for more details.
  10. The best beaches
    Being 500k/300m long and surrounded by water, Vancouver Island has more than its fair share of beaches. This leaves many of them virtually unused and available for peaceful meditation or romantic barefoot walks!

Ferry Transportation to Vancouver Island

 There are a number of ways to get here from both the Canadian and U.S. mainland.

The route most often used is the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay car ferry offered by B.C. Ferries. From Vancouver, drive approximately 45 minutes south to Tsawwassen and take a pleasant 1.5 hour trip through the Gulf Islands to Swartz Bay, 45 minutes north of Victoria (and about an hour from the back hills.)

From the U.S. you may take