Vancouver Day Trips: Squamish to Victoria
Pick a direction out of Vancouver and you get a completely different day: mountains to the north, an island to the west, or a fishing town to the south. Here’s what each one actually involves.
North: Squamish and the Sea to Sky corridor
Highway 99 north of Vancouver runs along Howe Sound past Shannon Falls to Squamish, about an hour’s drive. The Sea to Sky Gondola there costs $73.95 CAD for an adult ticket bought online, or $81.95 CAD if you pay at the gate, and delivers hiking trails and a suspended walkway with views back down the fjord. Closer to the city, Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park both sit in North Vancouver and can fill a half day on their own; Capilano charges roughly $75 to $80 CAD, while the free Lynn Canyon Park nearby has its own suspension bridge and rainforest trails at no cost.
West: Victoria and Vancouver Island
BC Ferries sails from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay in around 95 minutes, though the door-to-door trip from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria runs closer to three and a half hours each way once you count the drive to the terminal and the wait to board. Foot passenger fares run roughly $19 to $22 CAD one way, with vehicles closer to $60 to $80 CAD. Once in Victoria, the Inner Harbour, the Royal BC Museum, and Butchart Gardens are the usual stops. Harbour Air flies the same route by floatplane in about 35 minutes, with fares starting from about $99 CAD one way downtown to downtown when booked well ahead, or $79 CAD between the two airports; a walk-up fare on the day costs more.
South: Steveston Village
Twenty minutes closer than either of the above, Steveston in Richmond keeps its identity as a working fishing port. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site explains the salmon canning industry that built the village, and the boardwalk is lined with seafood stalls selling the day’s catch.
Book ahead for BC Ferries vehicle reservations on Viator-listed tours if you’d rather skip the driving, or check current rental rates through DiscoverCars for the Squamish and Whistler route, where a car buys real flexibility. Whichever direction you pick, build in extra time at the terminal or trailhead: all three routes get busy on summer weekends, and the multi-day version of this same trip is worth reading if a single day starts to feel rushed.