A Weekend in Victoria: Inner Harbour, Afternoon Tea and Oak Bay

Victoria is small enough to see on foot and spread out enough that a car makes the weekend better. The Inner Harbour, Government Street, Chinatown and Fan Tan Alley are a compact walking loop. Craigdarroch Castle, Oak Bay Village and Butchart Gardens are not. Victoria International Airport is also not in Victoria at all: it sits in Sidney, at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula. A Victoria airport limo solves that first leg and, booked by the hour, the rest of the plan.

This guide gives you a Friday-to-Sunday plan, with distances, price ranges, official hours and honest advice on when a bus or taxi is better value.

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How do you get from Victoria airport to downtown?

The airport's own ground-transportation page is specific about the choices. BC Transit routes 70, 72, 87 and 88 serve the McTavish Transit Exchange, which connects to downtown, and the listed fare from YYJ to downtown is $6.00; the airport warns that oversize luggage and backpacks can be hard to fit on buses. Taxis are available at the curb, and any Greater Victoria taxi company can be pre-booked. Pre-booked pickups and Uber both use the Short Term Lot curb, across from the arrivals exit doors.

At about 25 km, a chauffeured transfer sits at the minimum-transfer band for each vehicle, so the price does not change whether you are staying at the Inner Harbour or in James Bay:

For the transfer to the Inner Harbour the card reads $145 to $175 in an Executive Sedan (three passengers and two large bags), $180 to $220 in a Luxury SUV (six passengers), and $295 to $355 in an Executive Sprinter for a group of 12 to 14.

Fares are Canadian dollars before tax, and gratuity is up to you. Enter your hotel in the booker for the exact all-in number. Wait times are built in at 30 minutes for domestic flights and 60 for international ones, and a name-board greeting in the terminal can be added for $100 to $150.

Friday evening: Inner Harbour and the first walk

Check in near the water if you can. The Inner Harbour is the centre of Victoria's visitor life, and Destination Greater Victoria's Visitor Centre is at 812 Wharf Street. At dusk, the harbour lights, the Parliament Buildings and the Empress hotel make the best free evening walk in the city. Walk on to Government Street for shops, then to Fan Tan Alley, which Tourism Victoria features as a local's pick for walking.

If you arrive late, ask your driver to wait until you have your bags and have confirmed the hotel address. A flight tracked by the car means a late landing costs you nothing extra.

Saturday morning: the Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum is at 675 Belleville Street, steps from the Inner Harbour. It is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days, with Thursday closing at 5 p.m., and is closed on December 25 and January 1. Admission to the museum alone is currently $32 for adults, $22 for seniors and youth aged 6 to 18, $19 for students with ID, and free for children five and under; Indigenous Peoples are free at the admission desk. The museum plus an IMAX documentary is $40 for adults, and prices are subject to seasonal change.

Highlights include the Natural History gallery, the updated Old Town exhibit on 18th- to early 20th-century life in British Columbia, Our Living Languages, and a full-scale HMS Discovery replica. A special exhibition, Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Life, is listed from June 5, 2026 to January 3, 2027. Outdoors, Thunderbird Park and the Native Plant Garden are free to walk through.

Saturday midday: afternoon tea at the Empress

Tea at The Empress is served in the Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Empress, 721 Government Street. The hotel lists service from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, and says reservations are recommended. A credit card secures a booking, cancellation is free, and a no-show is charged 50% of the per-guest price. The hotel also asks guests to dress elegantly: no tank tops, beachwear, athleisure or flip-flops, and hats are generally not allowed except fascinators and traditional tea hats.

If you are staying near the harbour, the walk is five minutes, and no car is needed. If you are coming from elsewhere, a driver can drop you at the door, which is a small kindness on a wet day.

Saturday afternoon: Craigdarroch Castle and Oak Bay

Craigdarroch Castle, at 1050 Joan Crescent, is a National Historic Site built by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and now restored to show privileged life in the 1890s. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday, and closed on December 25, December 26 and January 1. Tickets can be bought online or on arrival, and the admission schedule is listed on the castle's website.

Oak Bay Village is a small municipality about 3 km from downtown, with its main village along Oak Bay Avenue. It is a good place to walk, browse and have coffee after Craigdarroch, and it is a short drive from the Inner Harbour. Beacon Hill Park and the Dallas Road waterfront, which Tourism Victoria describes as a place to walk, round out the afternoon.

At $135 to $165 per hour (two-hour minimum), an Executive Sedan on the hourly rate is a straightforward way to link the castle, Oak Bay and dinner. Three hours comes to $405 to $495 before tax.

Sunday morning: Beacon Hill Park and the Dallas Road shore

If the weather is dry, start Sunday on the water. Tourism Victoria features Beacon Hill Park and Dallas Road Beach as places to walk, and the two sit side by side on the south edge of the city. It is a gentle, mostly flat outing with sea air and mountain views on a clear day, and it suits a slow breakfast first. Visitors with limited mobility can ask the driver to follow the coastal road and stop at lookouts rather than walking the whole shoreline.

Hatley Castle is the other option south-west of town. Travel guides put it roughly 13 to 14 km from downtown, and the drive is about 20 to 30 minutes. Opening arrangements change, so confirm visiting hours with the site before you plan around it.

Drop-off reality in Victoria

• Inner Harbour and Government Street: the area around the harbour is best on foot. Your driver can drop you at your hotel's door or a nearby corner.
• Royal BC Museum: a drop-off near Belleville Street saves a walk in rain.
• Craigdarroch Castle: the address is 1050 Joan Crescent, up the hill from downtown, so a car saves a steep climb.
• Oak Bay Village: easier by car than by bus, and your driver can wait nearby.
• Fan Tan Alley: pedestrian only. Ask to be dropped on Fisgard Street and walk in.

Sunday: Butchart Gardens and the Saanich Peninsula

Butchart Gardens, in Brentwood Bay, is reached on the way back toward the airport. Tourism Victoria's blog describes it as about a 30-minute drive from downtown. Travel guides put it at roughly 20 to 23 km. Our dedicated Butchart Gardens guide covers seasons, timed visits and how to combine it with the Inner Harbour, so use that for the visit itself and this page for the logistics.

The practical routing is simple: leave downtown mid-morning, spend two to three hours at the gardens, and carry on to YYJ. A one-way Executive Sedan from downtown to the gardens falls within the $145 to $175 minimum; a hold-and-return booking by the hour is $135 to $165 per hour. You can also make the gardens your final stop on the way to the airport, so your luggage rides with you.

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A sample weekend plan

• Friday: YYJ pickup from the Short Term Lot curb, hotel check-in, Inner Harbour walk, dinner on or near Government Street.
• Saturday: Royal BC Museum at 10 a.m., afternoon tea at the Empress, Craigdarroch Castle and Oak Bay in the afternoon, dinner back downtown.
• Sunday: Beacon Hill Park walk, then Butchart Gardens on the way back to YYJ, with the luggage in the car.

Allow at least 90 minutes before a domestic departure and two hours for transborder or international flights. A Victoria weekend is also a good fit for a milestone: anniversaries and birthdays are common reasons to book a chauffeur for the Saturday itinerary, and a stretch limousine is $225 to $300 per hour with a three-hour minimum.

Victoria airport transport compared

If you are a solo traveller with a carry-on and a hotel near a bus line, the $6.00 transit fare is far cheaper and we recommend it. A chauffeur is worth it with large bags, children, a group, a late arrival, or a fixed schedule. See our limo rates page for the whole rate card and the fleet page for the vehicles.

Arriving by ship, or going further afield

Cruise visitors arrive at Ogden Point. Our Victoria Ogden Point cruise port page covers the terminal logistics, and the weekend plan above works equally well as a port-day itinerary if you have only a few hours.

Some visitors use a Victoria weekend as a starting point for the west coast. Our Pacific Rim and Tofino guide covers Long Beach, storm season and the long drive. It is not a weekend add-on from Victoria; treat it as a separate trip.

Weather and what to wear

Victoria is one of the milder cities in Canada, but it is also a coastal one: rain jackets matter more than umbrellas in the wind, and sturdy shoes help on the slopes around Craigdarroch. Summer is the busiest season for the Inner Harbour and for tea reservations, so book ahead. In autumn, Tourism Victoria publishes a fall-foliage guide to the region, which is useful if you are visiting at this time of year.

Families, groups and accessibility

Child seats cost nothing when you ask for one at booking. A Luxury SUV is the best match for a family of five, while a group of 10 to 14 for a wedding weekend fits the Executive Sprinter. The Royal BC Museum, Craigdarroch and the Empress each publish accessibility information, and if you need an accessible vehicle, tell us at booking so we can confirm availability.

Related reading and official sources

Start at our Victoria airport limo page for airport specifics, and browse limo service and about LimousineCanada.ca if you are new to us. Official sources: Victoria International Airport ground transportation, the Royal BC Museum, Tea at The Empress, Craigdarroch Castle and Destination Greater Victoria.