My family recently spent an entire month out on the west coast, to find out all about our favourite spots in Vancouver you can read about it here. But, I felt like our short trip over to Victoria on Vancouver Island deserved it’s own post, because it’s just so lovely over there.

I have family in Victoria, and growing up we would visit the island at least a few times a year. So, I was excited to share the fun of the ferry ride and the quaint charm of Victoria with my two kids.

We lucked out and had a gorgeous, sunny day for our ferry trip over to Victoria from the mainland. The ferry ride is just under two hours long, and there is plenty of stunning coastline and islands to check out from the deck along the way. Sometimes you can luck out and even spot some whales!

Victoria is so lovely. The city’s downtown sits on a picturesque harbour that is bustling with activity. The city’s British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture, and a number of British businesses and pubs along the main streets.

Victoria is so walkable, you can get around almost anywhere on foot. But if you want to go for a ride I recommend taking the family on a horse drawn carriage tour around the city! It doesn’t get more picturesque than this.

After walking around the waterfront with my kids, we met up with my aunt at one of our favourite downtown Victoria spots – Murchie’s tea room. Murchie’s is actually a great place to go with kids because the tea room is so big, it accommodates strollers and little ones just walking around. Murchie’s has fabulous tea, coffee, small bites and desserts. We didn’t hold back this time and just went ahead and ordered an entire tiramisu cake…yumm!

After snack time it was back to our hotel for a swim. Now, our particular hotel only had an outdoor pool. Although it was sunny…it was not particularly warm outside. The hotel staff kind of looked at us like we were crazy for braving the water…the things you do for your kids!

We finished off the day with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (another great spot for taking the kids to eat).

The next morning I had only one thing on my agenda – taking the kids to Beacon Hill Park. I have always loved Beacon Hill Park and especially the petting zoo inside the park. We got to the petting zoo right as it opened at 10 am. Which meant we were there in time to see the “running of the goats”. Picture the running of the bulls, but way more adorable. It’s worth checking out.

The petting zoo is just by donation and there are a ton of adorable animals there to check out. My kids were thrilled with all of the new baby goats (who happened to be named after all of the Paw Patrol characters – bonus).

We met up with my good friend Joanne and her two boys. Together the kids had a fabulous time climbing around and exploring all of the fun corners the park has to offer. Beacon Hill Park is beautifully landscaped and manicured with bridges, lakes and ponds, and an alpine and rock garden. There is also a fabulous play ground for the kids to play on.

We loved checking out the “moss lady”. How fabulous is she!? My son Lucas was extra impressed because of her resemblance to ‘Te Fiti” from the Disney movie Moana (there’s got to be a few parents out there who get that reference).

Beacon Hill Park is home to numerous species of ducks, birds and wildlife. Check out all of these happy turtles enjoying the sunny day!

And of course, we rounded out our short little trip to Victoria by taking in the beauty of the Parliament buildings all lit up at night.

There are so many other Victoria spots worth checking out with the kids – The Royal BC Museum , The Butchart Gardens, a whale watching tour (if your kids are older), The Victoria Bug Zoo, and more.

So put Victoria, BC on your list of must visit spots with the family if you’re out on the west coast.