Cruise Passenger Information

We look forward to welcoming you to The Butchart Gardens soon. In the meantime, perhaps we may assist you with your travel plans.

Distance and Transportation to The Butchart Gardens
The Ogden Point Cruise Ship terminal is located approximately 22kms (13.5 miles) from The Butchart Gardens. It will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes for you to reach us from the time your ship docks in Victoria, passengers disembark, and you arrive at our location.

The following link provides more information: How To Get Here

Accessibility
If you have questions about accessibility within The Gardens or about wheelchair/motorized scooter rentals, please click on the following link: FAQ

Extended Operating Hours
Springtime excursions to The Butchart Gardens that fall outside our regular operating hours are generally not finalized with cruise lines and shore providers until mid-April. Once dates are confirmed, we post the extraordinary late openings on this page. If your cruise line is offering excursions to The Gardens that are not listed here, we encourage you to contact your cruise representative to enquire. It is important to note that extended hours of operation for the Seed & Gift Store, food service facilities, and carousel are subject to staff availability and therefore subject to change.

Extended Operating Hours*

• We recommend cruise ship passengers purchase admission packages through their Shore Excursion providers or purchase admission tickets on arrival to The Butchart Gardens. Online tickets are non-refundable, even in the event of ship delay or cancellation.
• If cruise ships do not arrive, The Gardens will close at the regularly scheduled time. If cruise ships dock as scheduled, the general public will be admitted to view The Gardens as well. If cruise ship arrives late, operating hours may be extended.
• The value of unused tickets may be applied to a future visit any time in the future – value does not expire
• Night Illuminations will be available at dusk.
• Gift Store, Food Services, and Carousel hours to be determined based on staffing levels.

Night Illumination
Please reference the Sunset Schedule for May to determine how much daylight  you can expect during your visit. From colourful florals in the day to subtle plays of light and shadows in the evening,summer offers breathtaking drama as day fades into night. As dusk falls, thousands of creatively placed small garden lights give a soft magical glow to shrubs, trees, and flower borders. Night illumination, unlike stadium lighting, is designed to selectively illuminate and accentuate key aspects of the gardens by highlighting beautiful landscape features and surrounding them with artistic areas of shadow. Please note, visitors enjoying the Butchart Night Illumination must be comfortable navigating stairs and gentle slopes under evening conditions and soft garden illumination.

Late Ship Arrivals
Should your cruise ship be exceedingly late, or unable to dock at all, The Gardens will close at it’s regularly scheduled time for the evening.

Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) Schedule
2024 GVHA Cruise Ship schedule