We had a great experience with Tally-Ho. The tour was fun and relaxing, and the staff were friendly…read moreand easy to talk with. They answered questions without making us feel rushed. I especially appreciated how patient they were with older adults in our group. It was a very pleasant way to see part of Victoria.

We had a fabulous 75-minute ride around town. Thank goodness they provided blankets, as it was a…read morecold, windy day. Samson, the handsome horse who brought us around town, was very mild tempered and up to the task. Elijah, our carriage driver was super informative about the history of Victoria and had a very friendly demeanor. We could tell he had a deep respect for Samson. We loved the ride and highly recommend it!

A definite must activity in the island. This was our post lunch activity…read more What a beautiful property. We took the time to really check every nook and cranny of what once was a family home. Some of those rooms were super spacious. Our friend was nice enough to narrate the whole tour for our group by reading the leaflet provided at the entrance. Well done keeping the whole property looking pristine.

We actually saw the outside of this mansion/castle 2 summers ago on a city tour excursion from our…read morecruise ship. This summer, we were on a road trip and took the ferry across from Port Angeles to Victoria for a few hours. This was a perfect stop before lunch, and this time we did a self guided tour of the interior. Super friendly people work here. The ticket seller was very nice, the greeter inside the castle set us on our way, and even the souvenir shop lady was exceptionally nice. Maybe its just that they're Canadian? Or maybe they're just...nice. lol Be advised that there's a lot of stairs to tackle on this tour. This is a perfect place to see if you only have a few hours in Victoria. We took a cab from the ferry dock and back later. It was a short ride so not too expensive. Crowd wasn't tooo bad at the time we went in July.

Small museum. Not sure if it's totally worth it to go through as it could have been done in 15…read moreminutes. The volunteers were nice.

I made a visit to The Maritime Museum of British Columbia which is housed in an old building (1889)…read moreand showcases the rich maritime heritage of the Pacific Northwest on three levels. Each level is accessed by the center stairway (quite a climb!) or birdcage elevator, one of the oldest in North America. Exhibits illustrate exploration, pirates, whaling, fishing, shipwrecks, Royal Navy, BC Ferries, Coast Guard, and others. Displays include artwork, a great collection ship models, tools, equipment, engines, machinery, Naval uniforms, and other artifacts. On the third floor, there's a library and the Vice-Admiralty Court Room which also served as the Supreme Court of BC. Overall, the exhibits were informative and interesting and complemented my other visit to the larger Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.(http://www.yelp.ca/biz/maritime-museum-of-the-atlantic-halifax) Allow 1-2 hours. Admission $10 adults/$5 children, paid in the gift shop. Non-flash photography is allowed at the museum. WEBSITE: http://mmbc.bc.ca/ *3.5 STARS*

This was actually a very fun spot for people/groups of all ages. Definitely a family friendly…read moreoption, and cute for couples as well. The only downside if you're coming as a family ... is that you'll be spending hundreds of dollars for about two-three hours of activity (most of that time is spent waiting in two lines). Price aside though, the views are beautiful, it's not overly crowded, and everything does feel high quality. The treewalk is beautiful and the alternative return route feels like a gentle, quiet hike through nature. For those two lines, one is for the glass box at the top floor (purely a photo opp spot as you'd get better views outside of the box) and the second is for the slide down (FUN, terrifying to me, but a must). There was a food area including one airstream trailer that served floats and soft serve/ice cream (I forget what exactly) which was pretty fun and tasty. There's another airstream trailer at the entrance by the gift shop that sold coffee and other desserts (I think). Parking was easy. The drive to get here could be part of the adventure. I felt like the cost was worthwhile!

While we enjoyed the overall experience, we felt that the admission cost was simply too high for…read morewhat amounted to about a one hour excursion. The novelty of the elevated platform design was very unique but in truth did not justify the ticket price. There are free scenic roadside pullouts with equally spectacular views.

Great idea for a one day stop on any cruise! It was so easy. I made reservations ahead of time…read moreonline so all we have to do was pick it up. We had plenty of bikes to rent, even if we hadn't taken care of it ahead of time. Bikes are all in great condition and staff were really great! So glad we didn't take a long bus ride with all the tourists to Bouchard Gardens, the gardens and parks just a half a mile from the port are so beautiful and a lovely way to spend the afternoon! We downloaded a $10 audio cast and had a great tour of the area! With all the money we saved, we went to we must exquisite in the Fairmont Empress Hotel. This was the best day of our trip! Highly recommend!

We arrived on a cruise- had no idea what we were going to do because we did not purchase an…read moreexcursion. We wanted to just relax and see things. We stumbled upon Ryan in the port. Straight forward honest guy. We decided on the pedicab tour. The 4 of us loaded up and off we went. Ryan was AMAZING! We saw so much on our tour. We would have never seen all we did if we walked. Fisherman's wharf, Emily Carr home, China town, Empress Hotel, Beacon Hill Park, The Parliament buildings and so much more. He even stopped us along the way for water and a taste of the fish at the fish market. Downtown we stopped for a 15minute quick shopping adventure. Hands down the best day! Thank you Ryan for taking care of us and so much information about the area!

Used this service in mid-October and absolutely loved it!…read more What a fantastic way to see Boston (or any city!). With a 2-day pass, we rode with three different drivers, and each one made the experience memorable. We even used it as our go-to way to get around town. But the standout by far was Quince -- delivering history with humor and making the ride unforgettable. Highly recommend!

This review is for the hop-on hop-off bus that leaves from the Inner Harbour in front of the…read moreEmpress Hotel. We got there around 11:45 am on a weekday and bought tickets for the bus. We paid $173 total ($60 per adult, $39 for our teen, and the rest for our tween), and they gave us brochures outlining the route and stops, plus one timetable as they were almost out. That's when we realized the bus frequency is every hour, and not every 15 minutes. The last bus was at 5:30 pm. Fortunately, they had a bus scheduled to run at the half hour mark during summers (10, noon and 2), so we would not need to wait for an hour every time we disembarked. The long gap between busses meant we had to restrict the number of places we hopped off - we chose to see the Songhees lookout on the other side of the water, and take a lunch stop in Oak Bay Village. Of the places we'd originally planned to see, we ended up skipping Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, and Beacon Hill Park (with its 150+ feet-tall totem pole). Many of the other places on the "itinerary" were either closed or obvious tourist traps. The busses are double-deckers and are fairly comfortable - some have open roofs, others don't. They tend to run about 5-10 minutes behind schedule. Service level was mixed. We got one nice tour guide, and a rude one who chastised us for all the things we MAY do on the journey (like throw trash everywhere instead of in the bin!), even before the bus had departed the starting point. Verdict - overpriced and not worth wasting a day of precious vacation time on. Wish we had taken a cab or water taxi instead and visited just the places we wanted to see.

What a top quality historical tour! John Adams is an expert in the history of the Chinese in…read moreVictoria. He was informative, entertaining and incredibly knowledgeable! I went on 3 different tours with his company and they were all great! I especially appreciated the depth of historical knowledge, sensitivity to diverse perspectives and respectful sharing of our history both good and not-so-good. Highly recommended! It felt like an inviting lecture by an expert, not at all a canned presentation by a guide. Bonnie O

Ghost Walk Tour Jill was a great guide through Route 1 of…read moreVictoria. She was knowledgeable and nice, giving us a glimpse of Victoria's haunted past. The tour is a little over an hour and a great low price.

Our guide Erik was an expert on all things food in the Chinatown area. He knew each of our tasty…read moretreat vendors intimately and shared the stories that enhanced the food while the food most certainly enhanced the stories. Do not miss this tour.

Had a wonderful time with Erik last week doing the Modern Chinatown Tour. Exploring the history of…read moreold Victoria while enjoying a variety of fresh, delicious and locally produced treats was an amazing experience! A great gift idea or enjoy for yourself!

Very dissatisfied. We used to come to tea here and it was served on the lawn. The staff dressed up…read moreand took you back to tye 1800's. Today it was so different. Served in a run down room. Uncomfortable. Not tea at all. Owners changed and its going down hill :( sad

My family and I had tea here yesterday and it was wonderful! Living in Seattle, we have been to…read moreVictoria numerous times and were looking for something different. The Point Ellice House is not a well advertised tea, but we decided to give it a shot since we read a few good reviews online. We walked the 1.5 miles from downtown to the house, but the water taxi that came right to the property's yard looked like it would have been fun. As other reviewers mentioned, it is located just outside of town in an industrial area. This is really no fault of the museum, and we found that that the gardens blocked much of the noise and any sight of machinery. The grounds are beautifully maintained and the museum collection was extensive and interesting. The tea service itself is really a great value compared to other teas we've had in Victoria (and Seattle). We made an email reservation and their customer service was very responsive and had a set table ready for us. Our group was impressed with the variety of food and tea, and the fact that it all was house made. Our favorite was probably the butternut squash soup. The service was attentive and we had 3 ladies waiting on us (we only had a group of 6 so I am wondering if this is because we had a reservation?). They were able to accommodate dietary restrictions. I would highly recommend this tea and museum. Weather note: The tea is served outdoors in the back lawn. We were blessed with a dry, sunny day and loved sitting outside. While they did have tents with side flaps, it probably would not have been as enjoyable if it was cold and rainy. I would suggest planning accordingly based on the weather.

This was a perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon…read more One of the primary reasons we visited Victoria was to sample various types of BC wine. With this in mind, we sought out a Cowichan Valley half or full day wine tour. During our research we learned most companies offering full day tours leave at 10:45a but only visit four wineries. Those tours include a buy it yourself lunch stop and shopping. On the other hand, Vancouver Island Tours offers a half day tour which begins at 12:30p and includes visits to three wineries. This tour was a perfect fit better for our need to maximize our travels each day. Leslie, the owner and our guide was simply amazing. Her passion is evident in everything that she does. She provided us with a wealth of information about the various regions (including Okanagan), geography, the varietals, climate, communities and other historical tidbits along the way. We even stopped at a viewpoint which was absolutely breathtaking. BC wineries are relatively new in that they have been around less than 30 years. White grapes typically grow best here but Leslie brought us to a few wineries which also offered a few hybrid grapes made specifically for this climate. We purchased both reds and whites which we enjoyed too much to leave behind. Given the options available to us in early April, we were pleased with every aspect of our tour. If you are interested in a tour of 5 people or less, this is a professional, personable and enjoyable wine tour option. It is also competitively priced and includes pick up at your hotel.