Mini Girl's Trip to Victoria, BC - The Blush Home Blog

If you’ve ever thought about travelling to Vancouver Island, I’m telling you just book the ticket and sort out the details later. The entire island is a haven, it’s so beautiful that no matter what you choose to do or where you stay, you’ll love it! My sister and I used to live in Victoria BC and always love going back to visit. It’s been a long time for me (around 10 years!!) so I was extra excited for our girls trip there!

We booked for the end of November (which is normally risky for rainy season, but the weather was gorgeous for us). Ideally spring/summer/fall is the best time to visit (spring/fall being top notch because there will be fewer tourists). Honestly though, in the winter time you see all of the beautiful decorations and lights. The boats in the harbour are lit up too! Plus they have an amazing Santa Claus parade that is put on. The parade floats put any other floats I’ve seen to shame lol.

Where we stayed

There are so many beautiful hotels to choose from, we booked at the Chateau Victoria and had a great stay. It’s directly across from Starbucks (a win), across the block from our car rental place and close enough to downtown that you can walk everywhere, but far enough that’s it’s quiet.

^^ the pretty view from our room

So we made an itinerary for our trip, despite having lived here for several years… we didn’t have a ton of time (4 days in total) so Marcy and I wanted to make sure we didn’t forget anything.

We started the trip with margaritas + beer (obviously) and tacos at a cute taco joint downtown.

We had our car rental for the day (highly recommend just renting a car from the airport. It was far more affordable to go this route than get a taxi or bus into Victoria. The drive is really beautiful too). After that we drove around to some of the places we lived and shops we used to love visiting. Honestly, I missed Victoria so much. It’s one of my favourite cities I’ve lived in!

The afternoon was spent sort of wandering around and walking downtown. We knew it was too early to pop into Big Bad Johns but we decided too anyways. It’s a dive bar that we used to frequent with friends at the end of the night. Honestly a 4pm BBJ visit vs a 1:30am BBJ visit.. they’re two very different places lol. It’s still a must just to experience if you’re in town and have never been, just for the *vibe*.

We wanted to see live music in the evenings, and I think most of the bars or lounges on the weekend have some sort of live band playing so it’s easy to find a place to chill. The plan was to go to Irish Times, one of our faves. It’s a beautiful building in Bastian Square downtown. The whole area is perfect! There’s a bunch of neat pubs and restaurants that are old-old. It’s very historical and close by the harbour as well. You can do a little pub hopping and wander around in the evening. We grabbed some cocktails at Irish Times then watched the band for a low key evening.

Of course brunch is a must

There is literally no shortage of diners and amazing food in Vic. You almost can’t go wrong. We went to a random diner off Johnson Street and shared an eggs benny (they had a great gluten free bun option too!) plus all the coffee to wake us up.

Like I mentioned, the weather was so beautiful for us during our stay. We grabbed some lattes at one of our favourites – Blue Fox Cafe, and then strolled through Beacon Hill park. It’s a really pretty walk. There are ducks and little ponds, hills and if you wander long enough it will take you right to the ocean. During the summer they have a little petting zoo too.

^^ this place is definitely haunted tho

^^ I miss these quaint little corner shops!

One of my favourite things we did in Victoria was…

visit The Pendray Tea House for high tea. This was a fun experience and I would definitely do it again. Highly recommend if you want a fun activity to do in Victoria. We booked a reservation just in case (also because I’m gf, I ordered that option ahead of time – they need 24 hours to prepare so heads up if you come here). The tea was perfect (I chose an earl grey and Marcy chose an oolong – hers was amazing). You are able to choose from a tea menu though, and the sandwiches and desserts were delicious. I actually did a break down and rated each thing I ate during high tea here.

The most popular place is probably The Empress for high tea. I researched a bit and Pendray was highly rated and less ‘touristy’ so we went that route. Honestly I don’t think you can go wrong, they’re all really fun and a great way to spend an afternoon!

On our way back to the hotel we popped into the restaurant we used to work at (The Local) to say hi to some friends and have a glass of wine. It’s right across from the marina in Bastian Square and a great spot to grab a bite.

Dinner this evening was at Tapa Bar. They have the best bacon wrapped stuffed dates and all sorts of little bites to share. It’s located in Trounce Alley, a really cute spot that has string lights and small shops.

Our last full day in Victoria…

We were… dehydrated… and tired from the night before lol. We had gone to the Duke and definitely stayed up too late. One of the spots we wanted to eat at was Friends of Dorothy. It’s a really cute spot and the food was great. (Service was just okay. We were forgotten about lol, and only one of two tables in at the time but the food being delicious made up for it).

Today we finally got the rain, it was drizzling all day. Honestly neither Marcy or I mind the rain. We didn’t when we lived here either. It’s so cozy. We had plans to walk to Fisherman’s Wharf so rain or shine that’s what we got up too. I can’t believe I lived here for years and never ventured over to the wharf! It’s a great spot to check out if you’re in town (even on a rainy day) but during the warmer months things would actually be open lol. We even spotted a cute seal swimming around the docks.

All these tiny houses swaying in the water is so neat. It’s wild how many people live in this little community. I think you can even rent a few in the summer months!

Afterwards we warmed up in the hotel and got ready to go out for a bite and meet up with a friend for drinks. One of our friends joint is St. Franks, a cool spot with all kinds of franks and built in video game tables. Definitely check it out when you’re in town. During the day they have a barber shop inside too.

^^ My order looks bare lol, I ordered the original frank with no bun. So good though lol!

Afterward we went out dancing and stayed up way too late, meaning… our last morning was rough lol. I was not at my best but we wanted to walk Dallas road and grab brunch before leaving so off we went.

We rented a car for the drive back to the airport, I’m so glad we did because it makes the trip home so much easier than fussing with a cab or bus.

^^ this view kills me, it’s so beautiful and we were so sad to go home 🙁

^^ this is a beautiful hidden spot – stairway into the sea… it was too rough and too wet for us to go down there but it’s a great spot for taking photos. It’s right along Dallas Road.

Thanks for reading! I love sharing these little posts with fun things to check out and where to eat! Let me know if you have any questions or anything I have to do on our next trip! We’re going back in the fall which is excitinggg!

xx
Megan