6 bookable tours, starting on the mainland
Every tour here is filed under Vancouver Island by Viator, but the operator meets you in Vancouver, Whistler or Seattle. Some cross to Victoria by ferry or floatplane for the day; some are mainland city tours that never leave. They are listed apart from island departures so nobody books a Vancouver pickup by mistake, and each itinerary on Viator says whether it crosses.
6 tours
From the mainlandFrom CA$193Drive the scenic Sea to Sky highway to Squamish for this 4 hour hike. Not for beginners, the steep ascent takes you through forest & waterfalls, leading to amazing views of mountains and ocean. While…
From the mainlandFrom CA$197This 2 or 3 hour Private Walking Tour of Vancouver will connect you with the highlights of the city through the eyes of a local guide. Together we will walk the most exciting and historic areas of…
From the mainlandFrom CA$5,698✅ Luxury Meets Adventure Experience the best of the Canadian Rockies with a Rocky Mountaineer train journey and a prestige guided bus tour through Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks. ✅ Rocky…
From the mainlandFrom CA$17Explore Gastown’s historic cobblestone streets on this two-hour walking tour that reveals Vancouver’s complex identity as a Pacific port city. Starting at Waterfront Station, you’ll see preserved…
From the mainlandFrom CA$52Explore the main parts of downtown Vancouver like a local, with a tour, tips and unique facts from a local! On our tour, we will walk amongst the famous landmarks and historic areas of Vancouver,…
From the mainlandFrom CA$272Discover the wonders of Science World, an iconic geodesic dome in Vancouver. Uncover interactive exhibits, breathtaking views of False Creek, and stories of groundbreaking innovation. Book now to…
A Victoria day trip from Vancouver is a twelve-to-fourteen-hour undertaking: a coach pickup in the morning, the ferry crossing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (about an hour and a half on the water plus loading), Butchart Gardens, a couple of hours in downtown Victoria, and the same again in reverse. It is the practical way to see Victoria without changing hotels, and a poor way to see Vancouver Island.
The seaplane variants replace the ferry with a harbour-to-harbour flight in each direction and are much shorter on the road, at a higher price. A few listings in this group are Whistler or Vancouver city tours that Viator has filed with an island destination; we keep them here rather than pretend they are island tours.
If you have more than one day, the guides on this site make the case for crossing once and staying: the island is a destination, not an excursion.