Victoria’s Butchart Gardens – Keep Calm and Wander

Butchart Gardens - Keep Calm and Wander

At Butchart Gardens in Victoria (British Columbia), the flowers will happily welcome you. This is one of Canada’s largest gardens with a designation as a National Historic Site. As you can guess from its name, there are gardens within this huge garden that was made possible by Jennie Butchart, wife of a Canadian businessman who manufactured Portland Cement. Today, the garden receives one million visitors every year and these pictures below will tell you why.

Taking a bus to Butchart Gardens

On a beautiful Spring day, I spent my whole morning strolling from one garden to another. From downtown Victoria, I took a bus early to avoid the heat that was predicted that day. It took me around 45 minutes to arrive there. Though the bus won’t stop at the gate of Butchart Gardens, the bus driver was kind to drop me off at the exact stop/location and walked from there.

Before coming here, it is better to check out the gardens’ virtual tour on their website. If you want to be surprised, then avoid doing it. However, once you arrive and pay your entrance fee, remember to get a map so you will be guided on where to start and go. The dominant flowers here were tulips of different colours.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

Southern Vancouver Island Gay Travel Resources

Gay Vancouver – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Vancouver - The Nomadic Boys

Greenpeace, Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Christensen, and Botox – what do they all have in common?
Vancouver!

That’s right, they were all created in this super cool city located right on the far West coast of Canada. Vancouver is the capital of the British Columbia Province, famous for being one of the most diverse regions of Canada. It is also nicknamed “The Hollywood of the North” due to its popularity as a filming location for TVs/movies after LA and NYC. Oh, and did we mention the part about Ryan Reynolds and Hayden Christensen?

We visited Vancouver several times on our trips to Canada and always have a fantastic time. As well as a bustling Gay Village over at Davie Street, Vancouver has tons of fun things to do, with the mountains on its doorstep and the natural paradise of Vancouver Island a short ferry ride away.

Most importantly of all, we found gay Vancouver to be a very tolerant city, accepting of everyone. We frequently saw many gay couples walking the streets hand-in-hand all across town and felt comfortable to do the same. Of course, this comes as no surprise as this is Canada, a country we absolutely adore and rate as the most gay friendly country in the world.

In this detailed gay guide to Vancouver, we summarise our experience discovering the gay scene of Davie Village, as well as some of the best things to do in the city, gay hotels to stay and more practical tips for LGBTQ travellers.

Davie Street: The Gay Vancouver Village

Vancouver’s gay village, also known as the Davie Village, is the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community. It is based mainly along Davie Street between Jervis Street and Burrard Street. This is where the majority of the queer bars and clubs are. Although it’s not as big as the scene of Montreal or Toronto, it’s just as fun.

There is also a more bohemian area popular with the lesbian community of the city at Commercial Drive, called “The Drive” over in East Vancouver, which we did not visit so have not covered in this guide.

Victoria for Gay Families – 2TravelDads

Victoria for Gay Families - 2TravelDads

Victoria BC is our go-to destination for fun and easy weekend trips around the holidays and in spring when the weather is getting nice. Yes, we go to Victoria often, but it’s because we love it so much! We’ve figured out our top favorite activities and tips for visiting Victoria with kids and get ready, because we’ve got 18+ things for you to do to have an unforgettable trip.

Victoria for Gay Families – Locale

Victoria BC is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, just north of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and just west of Vancouver, BC. It’s a fairly large city and is situated on a harbor, the Inner Harbour, and then stretches out to its suburbs of Saanich, Sidney, and Sooke. Getting there is fairly easy and doable on nearly any budget.

We have written about Victoria before and have a lot of details around transportation to the city here, in our article highlighting a great 3 Day Victoria itinerary. Here’s a recap though and top tips for getting to Victoria with kids. By ferry, you can depart for Vancouver Island from either Vancouver (Tsawwassen terminal) or Port Angeles. Both sailings are approximately 1.5 hours so which you choose depends on your starting point, travel schedule and budget. Check out the map to see which makes sense for you. You can also take the passenger-only Victoria Clipper from Seattle, which is a great option for those adding Victoria with kids to their family trip to Washington.

By Chris and Rob – Full Story at the 2TravelDads

Victoria Gay Travel Resources

Victoria’s Royal BC Museum – 2TravelDads

Victoria's Royal BC Museum - 2TravelDads

There are very few museums that we’ve gone back to several times, but the Royal BC Museum in Victoria is one of them. Located just off the Inner Harbour, it’s an easy addition to a Victoria BC weekend getaway or even just a day trip. And the Royal BC Museum with kids is wonderful too. This is both our review and our guide to the museum and should answer any questions you’ve got about planning a visit.

Getting to the Royal BC Museum

Victoria is an easy place to get to, either from Seattle, the Olympic Peninsula or Vancouver. Living in the Seattle area, the Victoria Clipper is a great option for us. Catching the Clipper from Pier 66, there is overnight parking nearby or it’s a short Lyft ride from anywhere in the downtown area. The ride from Seattle to Victoria is a little less than three hours, and riding the Clipper is really relaxing. It’s a great way to start a Victoria weekend getaway.

Other options for getting to Victoria include the Blackball Coho ferry from Port Angeles, WA; Washington State Ferries to Sidney from Anacortes, WA; BC Ferries from Tsawwassen, BC to Sidney; or the V2V boat from Vancouver, BC (seasonal).

Depending on your overall travel plan, any of these can be booked on relatively short notice and at a variety of price points. Also, seaplane flights from Seattle’s Lake Union or Vancouver’s waterfront are available, but at a much higher cost.

By Chris and Rob – Full Story at the 2TravelDads

Victoria Gay Travel Resources