Now this isn’t a particularly recent trip, but there’s so much that’s great about Victoria! For starters, Morris (our dog) became an international traveler for the very first time.

In the past we’ve taken the Clipper to Victoria, but this time we drove and took the Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles. We reserved several weeks ahead because we were bringing a car, but I gather there’s room for foot passengers without a reservation. The crossing takes 90 minutes. If you don’t have a roaming plan for your phone, we learned that it’s best to turn off your data before you board!

For Morris’s international debut, we needed a certificate from our vet here in Seattle to show he was up-to-date on his rabies vaccination. We called our regular vet a week ahead. They printed a certificate with all his details and I picked it up a few days before we traveled. Morris roamed about on the ferry with us which was perfectly fine.

Even though we’d been to Victoria several times before, there was much to discover. This was our first time staying in a neighborhood just outside downtown. For this trip, there were four of us plus Morris so we booked via Airbnb and stayed in a townhouse in Cook Street Village. We were pleasantly surprised.

The views of the Strait from nearby were incredible – and very different from the well-known inner harbor views. Some wonderful walks along the cliffs and through Beacon Hill Park. I didn’t capture the action but there are lots of dogs, some off-leash walking by the water at the very south end of Beacon Hill Park. Plenty of dogs for Morris to meet!

Cook Street Village has a variety of restaurants, coffee places, and a great wine store that also has a huge selection of craft beers. Here’s a great blog post by Rachel Rilkoff which is a very good guide to everything Cook Street Village has to offer.

A favorite place for views is Mount Doug. It’s a little way out of town and an uphill walk – takes about 30 minutes. We made the trip up there again to check out the views, and work off the big dinner from the Beagle Pub the night before!

Our Victoria brunch favorite is downtown – Jam Café. It’s worth getting up early for opening time – if you miss the first seating, there can be a long wait…. It’s possible to eat gluten free there, but I didn’t check on any procedures in place for those with celiac disease.

Another great location that our great friends, Yan and Christine introduced us to is the 6 Mile Pub. And I have it on good authority that it’s the ONLY pub Yan likes in Victoria. 🙂 It’s a 20 minute drive from downtown Victoria, and well worth the excursion. Great menu, delicious food. And plenty of gluten free options – I didn’t check directly about cross-contamination, but their site states, that just because you have food sensitivities, it doesn’t mean that the only safe food is the food you cook at home. So, looks really promising for those who need their food completely free of allergens. 🙂

Enjoy!