British Columbia: Vancouver Island, Victoria & the Saanich Peninsula

The particulars of your arrival in Canada are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Upon arrival at the Victoria airport, make your own travel arrangements to downtown Victoria. For details, refer to your VBT Handbook. Upon arrival, consult your city information for recommendations on what to see and where to dine during your time in Victoria.

Continue your explorations of Victoria this morning.

Meet your VBT Local host at 1:00 p.m. for your Welcome Orientation, along with any other VBT guests arriving on the same day, in the lobby of the Hotel Grand Pacific.

Please be dressed and ready for cycling. Your Local host will be carrying a VBT sign.

Get to know your bicycle—and ease into the relaxing, bicycle-friendly pace of Vancouver Island—on a short ride past scenic points and sweeping bays that leaves you with time to explore Victoria later in the afternoon. You’ll set out directly from your hotel, riding past Victoria’s lovely Inner Harbor. Follow the shoreline, admiring views of the Trial Islands en route to James Bay and Ogden Point Breakwater. You may leave the saddle if you’d like to walk out to the lovely white lighthouses at the end of the breakwater’s walkway. On the south coast, Dallas Road and Beacon Hill Park—home to spontaneous cricket matches—lead to picturesque Clover Point and the links of the Victoria Golf Club. Pause at Oak Bay or Willows Beach, then round out your loop with a ride past Cadboro Bay and Mt. Douglas Park before joining the Lochside Trail past Swan Lake and its marshy lowlands. Lochside connects you to the Galloping Goose Trail, your route back into Victoria.

This evening, enjoy the many gardens, parks and impressive Parliament buildings of North America’s most English city. Refer to your VBT Victoria city information for dinner recommendations. Reservations are recommended if dining at your hotel and it is suggested that you inquire upon check-in.

Today’s Ride Choices

Victoria Seaside to Lochside — 38.9 km (24.1 miles)

What to Expect:

Today’s loop ride leaves city streets behind for suburban roads and coastal communities, leading to the eastern reaches of Victoria. The majority of the ride follows paved streets and roads. The Lochside and Galloping Goose bicycle paths lead back into the city. This is a popular bike route, so motorists are used to cyclists.

During this Stay Put Day, explore laid-back Victoria however you wish. Head over to the Royal BC Museum to view its gigantic woolly mammoth exhibit, see the mask gallery of the First Peoples exhibit, and stroll through a replica of an old colonial street. Another option is a visit to the Craigdarroch Castle to see how the upper-class lived during the Victorian era.

If you prefer to spend the day in the saddle, head north on the island’s Saanich Peninsula to the famed Butchart Gardens, a National Historic Site of Canada (tickets can be purchased online or on site). These lush and vibrant gardens spread across 55 acres and feature 900 plant varieties and 26 greenhouses. To get there, cycle along the Selkirk Water to the Selkirk Trestle on the Galloping Goose Trail, retracing yesterday’s ride, and then connecting to another bike route that leads you up the west side of the peninsula. Take your time exploring this botanical and cultural treasure of Vancouver Island. Stroll the Sunken Garden, Japanese Garden, Italian Garden, and more. This is the ideal spot for lunch, but you can also continue to Brentwood Bay.

Afterward, ride over to the island’s east side to join the Lochside Trail once again. This old rail bed once belonged to the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, whose General Electric gas car transported up to 74 passengers between Victoria and a dock at Patricia Bay in the early 20th century. Today, it offers a picturesque cycling sojourn past weathered barns, fertile fields, and horse paddocks. During this tranquil ride, pass the sweeping expanse of Cordova Bay, Mt. Douglas Park and its 700-foot summit, and the marshy wetlands of Blenkinsop Lake—traversed by the Blenkinsop Trestle. This rural pathway is also frequented by horseback riders, so take care not to spook the horses! Bird lovers take note: the waters here are a haven for ducks and other waterfowl, wading marsh birds, hunting raptors, and more. The bike path loops you back to the Galloping Goose Trail and your initial route. Reservations are recommended if you plan on dining at your hotel this evening.

Today’s Ride Choices

Victoria to Butchart Gardens loop — 55.6 km (34.5 miles) | Victoria to Butchart Gardens out-and-back — 42.6 km (26.5 miles)

What to Expect:

Victoria to Butchart Gardens loop
Departing Victoria, you’ll ride a mixture of bike lanes and paths, and city streets along Victoria’s inner waterway, the Selkirk Water. Crossing the Trestle Bridge, continue on fairly flat, mixed-purpose roads into the countryside to the town of Brentwood Bay and drop down to Butchart Gardens at around 21 km (12.6 miles). After a short climb on roads out of the gardens, you will continue along the shore of Brentwood Bay and cross to the east side of the peninsula to join the Lochside Trail, mainly on dedicated bike paths. Follow this flat to somewhat rolling route, and after Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, you will descend back to the suburban and city streets and your hotel.

Victoria to Butchart Gardens out-and-back
If you prefer a shorter ride in order to spend more time in the Butchart Gardens, this route takes you from your hotel and back on the same roads (just over 12 miles each way). Departing Victoria, you ride a mixture of bike lanes and paths, and city streets along Victoria’s inner waterway, the Selkirk Water. Crossing the Trestle Bridge, you will continue on fairly flat, mixed-purpose roads into the countryside to the town of Brentwood Bay and drop down to Butchart Gardens at around 21 km (12.6 miles). After a short climb on roads out of the gardens, you will return to Victoria the way you came.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Depart Victoria for Sooke this morning on the Galloping Goose Rail Trail. Named for the horn of the gas-powered freight cars that served the communities of southern Vancouver Island during World War I, it is affectionately known as “the Goose.” Today’s thrilling ride leads you into some of the region’s most scenic corners, from hidden lakes and canyons to rocky outcrops straddled by twisted Garry oaks and towering Douglas firs.

You will begin your ride in Victoria’s urban environment, softened by lush poplars, willows, and maples. After crossing several trestles and bridges, you will make your way to the island’s Western Communities. You’ll ride over the Colwood Delta, silted up by glacial deposits some 13,000 years ago. Pastures, wetlands, and fern-cloaked rocks point you to the National Historic Sites of Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. Stop here to learn about the island’s coastal defense and marine navigation.

Next, you’ll ride through one of Vancouver Island’s first pioneering communities: Metchosin. This bucolic region of rural farms, gentle hills, and softly flowing creeks hosted one of Western Canada’s first public schools. Farther on, ride into a wilder and greener region of red cedar and skunk cabbage swamp, admiring the lush steep rainforest surrounding Matheson Lake and the primordial shelter of Roche Cove. Later, cross the babbling waters of Veitch Creek, followed by the Sooke River Valley and an ascent up a canyon with breathtaking views of the river below.

If you’d like to visit the scenic rock pools of Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, you can detour onto Sooke River Road, or return here tomorrow. The deep crystalline pools strewn with smooth rocks are ideal for a refreshing dip. Afterward, return to the Goose for an invigorating and steady ascent to trail’s end and the town of Sooke, where the rainforest meets the sea.

A two-mile spin through town delivers you to your resort hotel, with splendid views of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Advanced reservations required at Le Sooke Spa. For more information visit coastaltidesdayspa.com/.

Reservations are required if dining at your hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, West Coast Grill. Enjoy casual dining with no reservations required at the hotel’s Vault Lounge.

Today’s Ride Choices

Galloping Goose Trail from Victoria to Sooke — 47.4 km (29.4 miles)

What to Expect:

An easy ride that stays almost entirely along the Galloping Goose Rail Trail from Victoria to Sooke. The surface is paved until about 13.3 km (8.2 miles), then becomes hard-packed gravel until about the 41.5 km point (25.7 miles). The last six km (3.7 miles) are paved. You wind out of the paved city streets into the suburbs, gently ascending to the highest point of the day at around 18 km (11 miles), then descending as you head south and west toward the Matheson Lake area. The ride is somewhat more undulating as you approach the waters of the Sooke Basin. You leave the rail trail around Saseenos, joining the paved Sooke Road with traffic, into the town of Sooke and your waterside hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Explore as you wish during this Stay Put Day. Nestled between the lush rainforest and the dramatic Pacific Ocean, Sooke offers an abundance of outdoor activities. In Sooke Harbor, explore myriad coves and bays by kayak or sail. Hike the ancient coastal forest or set out on a cruise to seek out whales, seals, dolphins and sea lions. If you prefer a slower tempo, reserve a massage at the hotel spa, followed by a classic afternoon tea in the garden.

Enjoy a pleasant three-mile walk to the end of the narrow Whiffin Spit, marking the entrance into the Sooke Basin from the Juan de Fuca Strait or cycle the short distance to the Sea to Sea Regional Park, where two short hikes offer spectacular views. If a longer ride in the saddle calls you, take the Galloping Goose Rail Trail to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park for a refreshing swim or follow it to its end at the “ghost town” of Leechtown. The town briefly prospered on the gold that was first discovered in the Leech River in 1864. Six general stores, three hotels, and 30 saloons supported a small community of gold diggers, but the boom only lasted a year or so. Today, a cairn marker and some stone foundations are all that remain.

Today’s Ride Choices

Sooke to Sooke Potholes out-and-back — 40 km (24.8 miles) | Sooke to Sea to Sea Regional Park out-and-back — 13.6 km (8.4 miles)

What to Expect:

Cycle out and back as far as you’d like on the Galloping Goose Rail Trail. The trail gently rises up the river valley to the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. There is a steep ascent at 18.8 km (11.6 miles) if you want to make that your turning point instead of continuing to Leechtown at 20 km (12.4 miles). The trail is finely packed dense gravel. Return to Sooke on the same route, enjoying the descent.

Cycle 7 km (4.3 miles) out of Sooke along a paved road to the Sea to Sea Regional Park, with one sustained climb of 700 meters (just under half a mile) to the park’s trail head where you can access a network of hiking and mountain biking trails. Return to Sooke on the same route, with the initial descent away from the parking lot.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy an included breakfast at your hotel in Sooke. Public transportation is available from Sooke to Victoria or transportation can be arranged at your expense to either downtown Victoria or the Victoria airport based on your departure time. Please refer to your Handbook for options and exact rates and contact VBT prior to departure to reserve private transportation. Depending upon your destination, it may not be possible to depart for the U.S. on the last day of the tour. Please check airline schedules carefully. If you plan to schedule return flights immediately following the tour’s conclusion, please call your airline directly for specific check-in requirements.

Included Meals: Breakfast

We suggest arriving in Victoria at least one day prior to the tour start date as your tour begins at 1:00 p.m. For details, refer to your VBT Handbook. Sheltered from the ocean, the British Columbian capital boasts a mild climate, lush vegetation, an endless array of cultural offerings, and a profusion of bicycles. Soon after your arrival, you will meet with your VBT Local host to review the details of your self-guided bike tour of Vancouver Island

Meet your VBT Local host at 1:00 p.m. for your Welcome Orientation, along with any other VBT guests arriving on the same day, in the lobby of the Hotel Grand Pacific (463 Belleville Street, Victoria, tel. +1 250 386 0450)

Please be dressed and ready for cycling. Your Local host will be carrying a VBT sign.

Get to know your bicycle—and ease into the relaxing, bicycle-friendly pace of Vancouver Island—on a short ride past scenic points and sweeping bays that leaves you with time to explore Victoria later in the afternoon. You’ll set out directly from your hotel, riding past Victoria’s lovely Inner Harbor. Follow the shoreline, admiring views of the Trial Islands en route to James Bay and Ogden Point Breakwater. You may leave the saddle if you’d like to walk out to the lovely white lighthouses at the end of the breakwater’s walkway. On the south coast, Dallas Road and Beacon Hill Park—home to spontaneous cricket matches—lead to picturesque Clover Point and the links of the Victoria Golf Club. Pause at Oak Bay or Willows Beach, then round out your loop with a ride past Cadboro Bay and Mt. Douglas Park before joining the Lochside Trail past Swan Lake and its marshy lowlands. Lochside connects you to the Galloping Goose Trail, your route back into Victoria.

This evening, enjoy the many gardens, parks and impressive Parliament buildings of North America’s most English city. Refer to your VBT Victoria city information for dinner recommendations. Reservations are recommended if dining at your hotel and it is suggested that you inquire upon check-in.

Today’s Ride Choices

Victoria Seaside to Lochside — 38.9 km (24.1 miles)

What to Expect:

Today’s loop ride leaves city streets behind for suburban roads and coastal communities, leading to the eastern reaches of Victoria. The majority of the ride follows paved streets and roads. The Lochside and Galloping Goose bicycle paths lead back into the city. This is a popular bike route, so motorists are used to cyclists.

During this Stay Put Day, explore laid-back Victoria however you wish. Head over to the Royal BC Museum to view its gigantic woolly mammoth exhibit, see the mask gallery of the First Peoples exhibit, and stroll through a replica of an old colonial street. Another option is a visit to the Craigdarroch Castle to see how the upper-class lived during the Victorian era.

If you prefer to spend the day in the saddle, head north on the island’s Saanich Peninsula to the famed Butchart Gardens, a National Historic Site of Canada (tickets can be purchased online or on site). These lush and vibrant gardens spread across 55 acres and feature 900 plant varieties and 26 greenhouses. To get there, cycle along the Selkirk Water to the Selkirk Trestle on the Galloping Goose Trail, retracing yesterday’s ride, and then connecting to another bike route that leads you up the west side of the peninsula. Take your time exploring this botanical and cultural treasure of Vancouver Island. Stroll the Sunken Garden, Japanese Garden, Italian Garden, and more. This is the ideal spot for lunch, but you can also continue to Brentwood Bay.

Afterward, ride over to the island’s east side to join the Lochside Trail once again. This old rail bed once belonged to the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, whose General Electric gas car transported up to 74 passengers between Victoria and a dock at Patricia Bay in the early 20th century. Today, it offers a picturesque cycling sojourn past weathered barns, fertile fields, and horse paddocks. During this tranquil ride, pass the sweeping expanse of Cordova Bay, Mt. Douglas Park and its 700-foot summit, and the marshy wetlands of Blenkinsop Lake—traversed by the Blenkinsop Trestle. This rural pathway is also frequented by horseback riders, so take care not to spook the horses! Bird lovers take note: the waters here are a haven for ducks and other waterfowl, wading marsh birds, hunting raptors, and more. The bike path loops you back to the Galloping Goose Trail and your initial route. Reservations are recommended if you plan on dining at your hotel this evening.

Today’s Ride Choices

Victoria to Butchart Gardens loop — 55.6 km (34.5 miles) | Victoria to Butchart Gardens out-and-back — 42.6 km (26.5 miles)

What to Expect:

Victoria to Butchart Gardens loop
Departing Victoria, you’ll ride a mixture of bike lanes and paths, and city streets along Victoria’s inner waterway, the Selkirk Water. Crossing the Trestle Bridge, continue on fairly flat, mixed-purpose roads into the countryside to the town of Brentwood Bay and drop down to Butchart Gardens at around 21 km (12.6 miles). After a short climb on roads out of the gardens, you will continue along the shore of Brentwood Bay and cross to the east side of the peninsula to join the Lochside Trail, mainly on dedicated bike paths. Follow this flat to somewhat rolling route, and after Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, you will descend back to the suburban and city streets and your hotel.

Victoria to Butchart Gardens out-and-back
If you prefer a shorter ride in order to spend more time in the Butchart Gardens, this route takes you from your hotel and back on the same roads (just over 12 miles each way). Departing Victoria, you ride a mixture of bike lanes and paths, and city streets along Victoria’s inner waterway, the Selkirk Water. Crossing the Trestle Bridge, you will continue on fairly flat, mixed-purpose roads into the countryside to the town of Brentwood Bay and drop down to Butchart Gardens at around 21 km (12.6 miles). After a short climb on roads out of the gardens, you will return to Victoria the way you came.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Depart Victoria for Sooke this morning on the Galloping Goose Rail Trail. Named for the horn of the gas-powered freight cars that served the communities of southern Vancouver Island during World War I, it is affectionately known as “the Goose.” Today’s thrilling ride leads you into some of the region’s most scenic corners, from hidden lakes and canyons to rocky outcrops straddled by twisted Garry oaks and towering Douglas firs.

You will begin your ride in Victoria’s urban environment, softened by lush poplars, willows, and maples. After crossing several trestles and bridges, you will make your way to the island’s Western Communities. You’ll ride over the Colwood Delta, silted up by glacial deposits some 13,000 years ago. Pastures, wetlands, and fern-cloaked rocks point you to the National Historic Sites of Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. Stop here to learn about the island’s coastal defense and marine navigation.

Next, you’ll ride through one of Vancouver Island’s first pioneering communities: Metchosin. This bucolic region of rural farms, gentle hills, and softly flowing creeks hosted one of Western Canada’s first public schools. Farther on, ride into a wilder and greener region of red cedar and skunk cabbage swamp, admiring the lush steep rainforest surrounding Matheson Lake and the primordial shelter of Roche Cove. Later, cross the babbling waters of Veitch Creek, followed by the Sooke River Valley and an ascent up a canyon with breathtaking views of the river below.

If you’d like to visit the scenic rock pools of Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, you can detour onto Sooke River Road, or return here tomorrow. The deep crystalline pools strewn with smooth rocks are ideal for a refreshing dip. Afterward, return to the Goose for an invigorating and steady ascent to trail’s end and the town of Sooke, where the rainforest meets the sea.

A two-mile spin through town delivers you to your resort hotel, with splendid views of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Advanced reservations required at Le Sooke Spa. For more information visit coastaltidesdayspa.com/.

Reservations are required if dining at your hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, West Coast Grill. Enjoy casual dining with no reservations required at the hotel’s Vault Lounge.

Today’s Ride Choices

Galloping Goose Trail from Victoria to Sooke — 47.4 km (29.4 miles)

What to Expect:

An easy ride that stays almost entirely along the Galloping Goose Rail Trail from Victoria to Sooke. The surface is paved until about 13.3 km (8.2 miles), then becomes hard-packed gravel until about the 41.5 km point (25.7 miles). The last six km (3.7 miles) are paved. You wind out of the paved city streets into the suburbs, gently ascending to the highest point of the day at around 18 km (11 miles), then descending as you head south and west toward the Matheson Lake area. The ride is somewhat more undulating as you approach the waters of the Sooke Basin. You leave the rail trail around Saseenos, joining the paved Sooke Road with traffic, into the town of Sooke and your waterside hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Explore as you wish during this Stay Put Day. Nestled between the lush rainforest and the dramatic Pacific Ocean, Sooke offers an abundance of outdoor activities. In Sooke Harbor, explore myriad coves and bays by kayak or sail. Hike the ancient coastal forest or set out on a cruise to seek out whales, seals, dolphins and sea lions. If you prefer a slower tempo, reserve a massage at the hotel spa, followed by a classic afternoon tea in the garden.

Enjoy a pleasant three-mile walk to the end of the narrow Whiffin Spit, marking the entrance into the Sooke Basin from the Juan de Fuca Strait or cycle the short distance to the Sea to Sea Regional Park, where two short hikes offer spectacular views. If a longer ride in the saddle calls you, take the Galloping Goose Rail Trail to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park for a refreshing swim or follow it to its end at the “ghost town” of Leechtown. The town briefly prospered on the gold that was first discovered in the Leech River in 1864. Six general stores, three hotels, and 30 saloons supported a small community of gold diggers, but the boom only lasted a year or so. Today, a cairn marker and some stone foundations are all that remain.

Today’s Ride Choices

Sooke to Sooke Potholes out-and-back — 40 km (24.8 miles) | Sooke to Sea to Sea Regional Park out-and-back — 13.6 km (8.4 miles)

What to Expect:

Cycle out and back as far as you’d like on the Galloping Goose Rail Trail. The trail gently rises up the river valley to the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. There is a steep ascent at 18.8 km (11.6 miles) if you want to make that your turning point instead of continuing to Leechtown at 20 km (12.4 miles). The trail is finely packed dense gravel. Return to Sooke on the same route, enjoying the descent.

Cycle 7 km (4.3 miles) out of Sooke along a paved road to the Sea to Sea Regional Park, with one sustained climb of 700 meters (just under half a mile) to the park’s trail head where you can access a network of hiking and mountain biking trails. Return to Sooke on the same route, with the initial descent away from the parking lot.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy an included breakfast at your hotel in Sooke. Public transportation is available from Sooke to Victoria or transportation can be arranged at your expense to either downtown Victoria or the Victoria airport based on your departure time. Please refer to your Handbook for options and exact rates and contact VBT prior to departure to reserve private transportation. Depending upon your destination, it may not be possible to depart for the U.S. on the last day of the tour. Please check airline schedules carefully. If you plan to schedule return flights immediately following the tour’s conclusion, please call your airline directly for specific check-in requirements.

Included Meals: Breakfast