We used Island Time Tours for a private tour to Bouchard Gardens. She made it incredibly easy for…read moreus as cruise ship passengers to see this world-class garden even though our stop over was relatively short. The pricing is reasonable and well worth the cost. Colleen, the owner, was our tour guide -- she was so informative, kind, and fun. She made the drive extra special by giving us a full history of the gardens and a mini driving tour on the way home of downtown Victoria. Highly recommend doing this!

Wow, what a great time find! We came to Victoria on the Clipper, just before New Year, and my wife…read morewanted to take a winery tour, so we ended up booking Island Time Tours while on the boat over. We were thinking it would be in a large bus with 40-50 other people and I was not excited about it, and we were surprised the next day when Coleen met us in her small party type bus that only seats about fourteen people. There were only four of us and it felt like we were going out for the day with friends. Coleen was very personable and informative, and with only four of us it felt like we were going out with friends for the day. We don't think it was just because of our small group but how Coleen just seems to be. It turned out to be more than just a winery tour as she pointed out various sights and places of interest. We only went to two wineries and an apple cider farm because of the time of year. Coleen appeared to have a good relationship with the wineries that made it more personable. We had a great lunch that was included in the price. Actually, I am not even a wine drinker but I really enjoyed the entire day because it was more than just tasting wine. We started at the boat terminal but she dropped us all off at our hotels. We had planned to go to Bucthart Gardens the next night and were going to take the typical large bus with 40-50 people, like we had done before, and found out that Coleen also runs tours to the Gardens. We decided to go with her and she picked us up at our hotel and again, there were only four of us. The cost was the same as with the large bus tour, but so much more enjoyable since she takes the back roads with less traffic and also get into places easier because of the small van. Victoria is one of our favorite the places to go and finding Island Times Tours has been a great and we will surely use them again.

I wouldn't normal write a BIG "rant" but it is only out of disappointment that I feel sharing our…read moreexperience could help others before booking a wine tour. May.27 my work booked a wine tour through Regent Limousine for two of our 30yr retirement friends/co-workers. Tour included 3 wineries and lunch at the second location. Tastings were $5-10 which some places wouldn't charge if you bought wine and each person would pay for their lunches. We each paid our amount for just the bus trip/tour and prepared to pay for our extra's. So. . .. when we got to the first winery they were completely surprised and shocked to see 21 people ready to do tastings. Apparently we were not booked at all. Our poor driver scramble to make contact with his company and to sort it all out. Now the very busy winery had to divide our group to be able to do a tasting, which took a lot longer since they already had another group before us. Of course this puts us behind and our next tour was to include lunch, which again was not booked. Our driver then informed us they have arranged a wonderful lunch at the end of our tastings at the Malahat Chalet. Not one winery had our party booked, and our 10:30-4:30 tour was behind and we arrived for lunch at 3:30. At the restaurant there was a set menu and our office manager asked if this was being paid for by Regent to make up for the mix up with our tour. We were told if we ordered from the set menu it would be paid for, if we ordered from their regular menu it would be the cost for that person. So we were thankful for the good gesture to cover lunch for our tour mishap, until my office manager was later changed for every single lunch, $30 per meal. When she set an email to the company they claim they did not say they were going to pay for it and they didn't charge her for the extra hour it took to get us back to Victoria. I find this completely misleading and a complete let down to such a wonder celebration of our great friends retirement. " As we did not have a reservation for your group on that very busy day and in order to accommodate you on the spot,, I had to split your group up for the tasting, which I normally would not have done, and the tasting was a bit more abbreviated than I usually do. Vigneti Zanatta "It was unfortunate that Regent didn't make the appropriate reservations for your large group on the 27th and I was pleased to hear that Shannon was able to accommodate your group of twenty" 'Unfortunately, the tour was not booked with us ahead of time and we were unaware of your visit which makes it hard on us to give you the proper tasting and time with a Blue Grouse team member. "

Just got back from a cruise to Alaska. Myself and two young kids (8 and 10) got a 2hr tour of…read moreVictoria by a wonderful driver called Dave. He was an older gentlemen and very knowledgable about the area. He took us to a great ice cream parlor that was off the beaten track - he took us around various neighborhoods and landmarks. The car was immaculate and we felt like royalty stepping out. Well worth it rather than going on the more expensive, rigid and cheesy cruise excursions. Highly recommended; especially if you have very limited time in port.

Pro: Old timey limo service with a complete knowledge bank with Gilles…read more Con: The Daimler is a little crowed for four large people. My wife and I got off our honeymoon Disney cruise and met Gilles by chance at the dock. I usually want to hire local drivers vs taking a tour bus and this was the best service I have ever received. After getting into the car with another couple, we took off to Victoria's famous Butchart Gardens and beating the tour bus there by 40 minutes. Gilles told us stories about the car and the island, waited for us to tour the garden and had an umbrella ready when we ran back to him in the expected rain. If you are ever in the area and are in need of a car service, hire Gilles. I know the Daimler is a treasure, but it was the owner/driver that completed our experience.

Just had Gilles drive for me and my GF's birthday celebration. All was good until the last 5…read moreminutes. Gilles decided to aggressively "educate" me on the history of Quebec. After deciding I had enough of listening to his angry rant about how much he hates English speaking Canadians I asked to leave his vehicle. He got in my face and told me he was "trying to upset me" and see if I would break. I guess he just proved the stereotype of classic French Canadian attitude. He seems to have forgotten his role as our driver and decided to take his anger out on paying customers. Very disturbing and he ruined the entire experience. Time to retire Gilles!

The Malahat line travels 225 km from downtown Victoria north to Courtenay, passing by beautiful…read moreforest and ocean views and over a dramatic canyon or two during its 4 hour and 45-minute journey one way. The car (or cars - the train travels with 1 or 2) is older and riders are definitely in for a bit of a bone-jarring journey at times, but it's a great way to travel, leisurely and unrushed. It may be a good idea to bring snacks and water - there are no resources on the train. Interesting fact: When they're using a single car, rather than turning the train around, the seats are simply swivelled to face the other direction between every departure. Even the engineer's seat is merely screwed in and he simply unscrews it, wheels it down the car to the other side and screws it in again. The train leaves Victoria each morning and returns from Courtenay each afternoon.

We love trains, so we decided to take the E&N Via Rail trip from Victoria to Courtenay, BC and back…read moreon our last visit to Victoria. We were disappointed that the train didn't travel the coast as much as we were led to expect. We took a picnic as there is nothing on the train. The personnel were friendly and informative, but the constant blasting of the train horn, even when there were no approaching road crossings, got to be VERY annoying. If you go, plan to spend the night some where in Courtenay or environs. Round trip in one day is way too long.

The Victoria Harbour is about a 1 mile walk from the cruise port but some of the cruislines offer a…read morefree or paid shuttle. The harbour is very nice for walking around, eating at the restaurants and sitting a while to people watch and marine watch. The seaplanes constantly took off and landed in the water throughout the morning hours. On the day I was there, it was the 1st Water Taxi Boat Ballet at 10:40am. It lasted about 20 minutes and was fun to watch. There is also plenty of lodging in the harbour area as it is part of their downtown. I though there was alot to do and an easy way to spend a nice day.

The Harbour is covered in lights in December and is a romantic view. It's a beautiful place to…read morevisit regardless if it's day or night, winter or summer. Great trails and bike paths. Quite walkable.

I have worked with Jane and I must say she is only of the most friendliest ladies on the island…read more Always helpful and always engaging. She has a heart of gold. Never hesitate on staying at her place. The area and the estate is georgeous.

I had been visiting Xanadu several times off and on in the Spring of 2019. I then had to cancel my…read moresummer reservation and lost my full "booking fee" because I was hospitalized for major depression. Jane had been very friendly and I trusted to tell her why I was hospitalized. We agreed that I would stay in one cabin, Escape for one year commencing in September 2019. I prepaid the rent for September and gave her a damage deposit. I sublet my Vancouver Apartment for one year and relocated. One week after I arrived, Jane forced her way into my cabin, Escape, and cornered me in my bedroom swearing angrily. One day earlier I became aware that she was entering the cabin without my consent and I told her to give me the proper notice. This made her very angry. That night she entered the cabin at about 10 pm angrily and I became so scared that I finally had to run out of the cabin in my bare feet, running out onto the road, and yelling "help" from the neighbour. Jane was twice my size and has a very bad temper. Two days later, she returned in the morning and forced her way in once again. This time she said "Are you too mentally ill to understand that the police are going to throw you out at the end of the month." This time I managed to push her out the patio doors and locked them. She tried to get back in. Then, three days later, she ran into the back of me in her car on one of the roads on the property and asked me if I had found a place yet. It was very hard to find a place in the Cowichan valley with a small dog. I sent Jane an email transfer for $1800 for the month of October and then left terrified in the middle of the month. Jane kept my damage deposit. I was homeless in the Cowichan valley and had to live out of my car until I finally found a place that I had to furnish. This was the worst experiencing of my life and I am still traumatized even though I have finally made it safely back to Vancouver. You can decide for yourself if you want to rent a long or short term vacation rental at Xanadu Estates in the Cowichan Valley. FYI...There are two grow ops on the property.

I stayed at one of Victoria Stays Rental units for 3 months while shooting a television show in…read moreVictoria! My dog and I loved the beautiful space (bigger than it looked in the photos, and incredible location right on the ocean, and within walking distance to downtown Victoria!), and we found our property manager Tara to be incredibly accommodating to our needs! Would absolutely stay here again next time I'm in Victoria!

(THIS IS A 0 review!!!!)If I could give Victoria stays lower than 1 star i definitely would. This…read moreis a complete unprofessional operation. Upon viewing our rental we found it infested with silver fish bugs. We were told that this is "completely normal" and that caulking should do the trick. Upon speaking with pest control they informed us not to move into the residence due to the silver fish and said that the place needs to be sprayed. This all took place before we were ready to move in, Martin and Tara (both completely unprofessional) ignored calls from both my partner and I and refused to refund money back to us due to the infestation of bugs. If you are considering using Victoria stays I would really reconsider because they are a massive headache. Terrible company terrible people. Hoping they get pushed out of Lake Cowichan as they are greedy scamming people. Tara and Martin, I know this review is reaching you, urging you both to do what is right.

We booked a 5 night, 4 course golf package for June 2024 in the Kootenay Valley of BC. We stayed…read moreat St. Eugene's Mission just outside of Cranbrook. The accommodations were great. Rooms were clean, well appointed and the hotel was wonderfully quiet. They were upgrading the carpet in the reception area while we were there and it looked like they upgrade quite frequently was everything was pristine. The gardens surrounding the hotel were amazing with well kept lawns and wonderful flower beds. Only complaint we had was eating breakfast at the hotel. Better to go into Cranbrook for your meals. They apologized all 3 mornings that they were short staffed and the kitchen help was new. Food was passable except for the pancakes that they served one morning were thinner than crepes and the scrambled eggs were watery. We picked 4 courses. Trickle Creek, St. Eugene's Mission, Shadow Mountain and Bootleg Gap. BC Safaris booked tee times as we requested. However when we checked in at Bootleg Gap they advised that the price was reduced as they had winter kill on the greens. All and all BC Safaris was very helpful arranging everything for us until we requested a credit for the Bootleg Gap portion when all of a sudden no answers to numerous emails. We find that any company can do a good job when no problems are encountered but a good company does a great job even after they get paid in full. Unfortunately we will not use this company next year due to not answering our emails after the trip was over.