How to Get Here

The Gardens are about 22km (13.5 miles) from Victoria and there are several transportation options available to you.

Car:

• Travel north on Blanshard, get in the middle lane. This road automatically becomes Highway 17, Pat Bay Highway, northbound.
• After the lights at Elk Lake (Sayward Rd.), get in the left lane.
• Turn left off the highway at Tanner Road.
• Continue approximately 1km; Tanner Road will turn into Central Saanich Road.
• Turn left onto Keating Cross Road; Keating Cross road will turn into Benvenuto Ave.
• 35 to 45 minute drive depending on traffic.

Transit Bus:

• Purchase a $5 DayPASS from the driver or $2.50 per ride (will accept CAD and US bills and coins, but no exchange or change given).
• This trip generally takes 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• #75 bus leaves from Belleville St. at Government (beside Fairmont Empress Hotel) and services bus stops along Douglas St.
• Note: not all #75 trips during the afternoon commute times go into The Butchart Gardens. Please check destination signs, or confirm with the driver.
• If you have further specific schedule, route or fare questions, BC Transit will be able to assist: BC Transit 250-382-6161 bctransit.com

CVS Shuttle/Sightseeing Victoria:

• Departs in front of Empress Hotel at Humbolt and Government Street.
• Reservations are not required.
• Tours operate daily. Sightseeingvictoria.com or 250-386-8652/1-877-578-5552

Taxi:

• Taxis are available outside of the ferry terminal. Cab fare is approximately $55 CAD.
• The majority of taxis can accommodate four passengers.
• Below are local taxi companies. They will be able to advise you if they can accommodate more than four passengers.
  • Yellow Cab: yellowcabvictoria.com 1-800-808-6881
  • Blue Bird Cabs: taxicab.com 1-800-665-7055
  • Victoria Taxi: victoriataxi.com 1-888-842-7111
• The following companies also have larger vehicles that may suit your needs:
  • LA Limousines: lalimo.ca
  • Regent Limo: regentlimousine.ca

Uber:

• As of June 6, 2023, Vancouver Island has welcomed Uber as a transportation option.

The Gardens are about 14.5km (9 miles) from Swartz Bay and there are several transportation options available to you.

Transit Bus:

• Purchase a $5 DayPASS from the driver or $2.50 per ride (will accept CAD and US bills and coins, but no exchange rate or change given).
• This trip generally takes 55 minutes.
• There are two BC Transit options available to get to The Gardens from Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Bus #81 connects with the ferries that depart from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal on the odd hour sailings only.
• When you disembark the ferry at Swartz Bay, the bus stop is just outside the foot passenger terminal and the #81 bus will bring you right into The Gardens.
• Another option is the #72 bus connecting with the ferries that departs from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal to the Saanichton Exchange and then transfer to bus #75 to get to The Gardens.
• When you take two buses, the cost is $5.00 for a day pass that can be purchased from the driver.
• If you have further specific schedule, route or fare questions, BC Transit will be able to assist: BC Transit 250-382-6161 bctransit.com

Car:

• There are signs directing you to The Gardens from Highway 17. You will turn right from the highway at the McTavish Interchange and continue on McTavish Road to West Saanich Road (17A) and turn left on West Saanich Road. Continue on West Saanich Road to Benvenuto Ave. (about 10 – 15 minutes), turn right on Benvenuto Ave.

Taxi:

• Taxis are readily available outside the BC Ferries terminal. Fare is approximately $50 CAD.

Uber:

• As of June 6, 2023, Vancouver Island has welcomed Uber as a transportation option.

The Gardens are about 13km (8 miles) from YYJ International Airport. Transportation options from Victoria Airport to The Gardens are by city bus, rental car, taxi or Uber. We are about a 25 to 30 minute drive from the airport and cab fare is approximately $45 CAD each way.

Transit Bus

• Purchase a $5 DayPass from the driver (will accept CAD and US bills and coins, but no exchange rate or change is given).
• This trip generally takes 60 minutes.
• #87 or #88 bus from YYJ airport to McTavish Exchange and then transfer to #81 Butchart Gardens bus.
• Another option is to take the #87 bus from YYJ airport to Saanichton Exhchange and then transfer to the #75 bus.
• Yet another option is to take the #88 bus from YYJ airport to McTavish Exchange and then transfer to #72 to Downtown to Saanichton Exchange and then transfer to the #75 to Downtown.
• When you take two buses, the cost is $5.00 for a day pass that can be purchased from the driver.
• If you have further specific schedule, route or fare questions, BC Transit will be able to assist: BC Transit 250-382-6161 bctransit.com

The cruise ship terminal is about a 20 minute walk from downtown Victoria.

Shuttle:

• There is a shuttle that takes passengers from the cruise ship terminal to downtown Victoria (a 5-7 minute drive). The cost is $10 US one way or $13 US for unlimited use for the day. From here, please refer to transportation options from Downtown Victoria.

Taxi:

• Taxis are readily available outside of the cruise ship terminal. Cab fare is approximately $60 – $65 CAD.
• The majority of taxis can accommodate four passengers.
• Below are local taxi companies. They will be able to advise you if they can accommodate more than four passengers.
  • Yellow Cab: yellowcabvictoria.com 1-800-808-6881
  • Blue Bird Cabs: taxicab.com 1-800-665-7055
  • Victoria Taxi: victoriataxi.com 1-888-842-7111
• The following companies also have larger vehicles that may suit your needs:
  • LA Limousines: lalimo.ca
  • Regent Limo: regentlimousine.ca

Uber:

• As of June 6, 2023, Vancouver Island has welcomed Uber as a transportation option.

There are several transportation options to travel from Vancouver to The Gardens. If you have one day to visit Victoria, you may prefer to take a tour. The following companies operate from downtown Vancouver and offer a full day trip with a visit to The Gardens, as well as other Victoria highlights.

Tours:

• West Coast Sightseeing: westcoastsightseeing.com 1-877-451-1777
• Landsea Tours: vancouvertours.com/victoria-tour 1-877-669-2277
• Discover Vancouver Tours: discovervancouvertours.com/tours/victoria-butchart-gardens 1-604-637-4480

Float Plane:

• Float plane service is available direct to The Butchart Gardens from Downtown Vancouver: harbourair.com 1-800-665-0212
• The flight is approximately 30 minutes.

Car:

• If you would prefer to travel independently, you can rent a car and make your way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, about 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver for a 90 minute ferry trip to Vancouver Island.
• Once on the island, we are approximately 35 minutes from the terminal and downtown Victoria is another 35 minutes from us.
• Contact BC Ferries for more information: bcferries.com 1-888-223-3779

Transit Bus:

• Public transportation is also available from downtown Vancouver; you can expect travel time to be approximately 4 to 5 hours.
• Public transportation is available from downtown Vancouver to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and from the Swartz Bay terminal on the Victoria side to The Gardens.
• In Vancouver, you will need to take the Skytrain to Bridgeport Station, and then transfer to bus #620 to get to the Tsawwassen terminal for the 90 minute ferry trip to Vancouver Island. BC Transit but #81 then connects at Swartz Bay with ferries that depart from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) terminal on odd hour sailings only.
• When you disembark the ferry at Swartz Bay, the bus stop is just outside the foot passenger terminal and the bus will bring you right into The Gardens.
• The following websites will assist you with schedules and route information for the Vancouver transit system and BC Ferries:
  • Translink (Vancouver Transit): translink.ca
  • BC Ferries: bcferries.com

Other:

• Bus service is available from downtown Vancouver, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and the Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal to downtown Victoria with the BC Ferries Connector: bcfconnector.com

The Gardens are about 16km (10 miles) from Sidney and there are several transportation options available to you.

Car:

• From Beacon Avenue, turn left on the Pat Bay Highway, southbound.
• Turn right at Exit 21, Mt. Newton X Road.
• At the second 4-way stop, turn left onto Wallace Drive.
• Proceed on Wallace Drive through Brentwood Bay and turn right onto Benvenuto Ave.

Transit Bus:

• Purchase a $5 DayPASS from the driver or $2.50 per ride (will accept CAD and US bills and coins, but no exchange or change given).
• This trip generally takes 40 – 50 minutes.
• Take bus #72 from Sidney to the Saanichton Exchange and then transfer to bus #75 to get to The Gardens. When you take two buses, the cost is $5.00 for a day pass that can be purchased from the driver.
• Another option would be to take bus #81 (which only runs every two hours) from Sidney to The Gardens without needing a transfer.
• If you have further specific schedule, route, or fare questions, BC Transit will be able to assist: bctransit.com 250-382-6161.

Taxi:

• It is about a 25 minute taxi ride to The Gardens from Sidney and cab fare is approximately $40 – $45 CAD each way.

Uber:

• As of June 6, 2023, Vancouver Island has welcomed Uber as a transportation option.

There are several transportation options to travel from Seattle to The Gardens. There are two different ferries that can accommodate vehicles, or if you will be travelling without a vehicle, the Victoria Clipper is a passenger ferry that travels from downtown Seattle to downtown Victoria.

If you would like to travel by car, you can drive to Vancouver, BC and take the BC Ferry route from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. The Black Ball (Coho) Ferry also runs between Port Angeles, WA to downtown Victoria.

Float plane service is also available from Seattle to Victoria.

The following websites will provide you with schedule and rate information for all transportation options:

BC Ferries: bcferries.com

Black Ball Ferry (Coho) from Port Angeles to Victoria: cohoferry.com

Victoria Clipper: clippervacations.com

Kenmore Air: kenmoreair.com