A thousand pictures are worth... well, they're priceless!
Vancouver Island visitors usually don't realize how much there is here to see and do – rugged wilderness, refined cities and towns, primitive camping to luxurious 5-star hotels, from adrenaline-charged sports to explorations of native culture. The No. 1 regret of visitors: they didn't give themselves enough time on Vancouver Island.
A pleasant mediterranean climate with rolling countryside and coastal setting yields a cornucopia of local food and drink. There are producers of local wines, beers, cider, even mead. Local restaurants offer food of every variety using local produce from land and sea.
Victoria and Vancouver Island have the mildest winters in all of Canada and even most of continental United States. There's skiing on island mountains, to be sure, but below the mountain elevations, there's surfing, Pacific storm-watching and even golf during winter months.
Victoria may be famous for Butchart Gardens, but there are many other display gardens worthy of a visit, including Hatley Gardens, Glendale Gardens and Abkhazi Gardens. Your Victoria bed and breakfast hosts will be glad to tell you more about them.
Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island - attractions, wineries
