Last weekend our family went on a weekend getaway to Victoria B.C and in the two days we were there we managed to fit into our weekend some really fun, memorable, and educational  family-friendly activities.

If you’re thinking about heading to Victoria with your family, below is a list of 5 family-friendly things to do while you’re there.

1. Hop on Bus tour of the City with Big Bus Victoria 

The first activity our family thoroughly enjoyed during our visit was the Hop on Hop Off Bus tour. My girls were so excited about sitting on top of a double-decker bus, and it was the best way to see the city, learn about the history, and capture incredible photos. In all honesty, I don’t think we would have seen everything we did if we didn’t get on the bus. I’m so glad we did this!

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We had so much fun on the hop-on hop-off tour 🚌 today! It was the perfect way to #explorevictoria 😍 Ah, I'm so in love with this city. We did so much today. Tomorrow we're visiting Sidney. Everyone keeps saying it's such a cute place to visit. I can't wait to share our weekend with you on the blog! #exploreVictoria #stylingtheinside #Ad #stylingtheinsidepartner

A post shared by Jamie Khau Wellbeing Advocate (@styling_the_inside_) on Oct 23, 2016 at 8:54pm PDT

More info:

“Discover the sights of Victoria on one of our open-air buses or classic turn of the century trolley bus. Whether you are only visiting for a few hours or a few days the 90-minute sightseeing tour with on-board commentary gives you a quick way to see the main attractions of our beautiful city. You can hop on and off our buses at any of our 22 stops giving you the opportunity to see the sights at your own pace. Whether you want to visit our major attractions, spend time shopping, or visit one of our many fine restaurants – Big Bus is on the route!” http://bigbusvictoria.com/web/

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The view from the Hop-on Hop-off Tour bus in Victoria over the weekend was picture perfect! This was such a memorable experience. I'm so glad we did it! 🚍 The kids were engaged & listening while the history of Victoria was being explained and they surprisingly retained it all! After the ride, I asked my husband a question about the city and my daughter said, "Mom, didn't you listen on the bus? They explained that!" 🙈#ExploreVictoria #Ad #stylingtheinsidepartner

A post shared by Jamie Khau Wellbeing Advocate (@styling_the_inside_) on Oct 26, 2016 at 9:53am PDT

2. Royal BC Museum and Imax

After we hopped off the tour bus, we explored the Royal BC Museum. The museum has a very natural, realistic setting and it’s such a fantastic way to see BC! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see every exhibit because it’s so large. In fact, it’s 26,000 square feet! The girls didn’t want to miss the current Imax exhibit: Mammoths Giants of The Ice Age!

The exhibit runs until Dec.31st so if you make it to Victoria soon, I highly recommend checking it out!

More info about the show:

“In June, 2016, the Royal BC Museum welcomed the larger-than-life exhibition, Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age, in partnership with The Field Museum in Chicago. Collections of fossils, casts and preserved specimens along with immersive media and interactive activities will help you discover the Proboscidean family tree, from woollies and mastodons to dwarves and modern-day elephants. Touch a mammoth tusk, see the best preserved mammoth specimen in existence, Lyuba, and learn about their predators such as dire wolves and sabre-tooth cats.”

3. Victoria Bug Zoo 

While we were in Victoria, we also checked out the Victoria Bug Zoo. My daughters were a little creeped out at what they might see, but once we were inside they were eager to learn all about the creepy crawlies.

In addition, the ant farm was super fascinating and the bug guides were cheery and gave us a ton of information.

It was interesting getting up and close and personal with all the  insects!

 

 

4. Miniature World 

My daughters favorite place we visited while in Victoria was Miniature World. They were captivated by seeing the world in miniature!  Seeing the world’s largest doll house  (it has over 50 rooms) was the highlight of visiting miniature world for my middle daughter. And my youngest daughter loved pushing the button and watching the trains pass on the miniature Great Canadian Railway.

I love this bathtub in the doll house!

5. Mineral World & The Scratch Patch in Sidney 

 

On our last day in Victoria, we took a twenty-minute drive into Sidney, where we paid a visit to Mineral World & The Scratch Patch. This family-friendly experience was suitable for my two younger daughters. They thoroughly enjoyed collecting gemstones from the scratch patch, exploring the caves and learning about earth science. They also couldn’t resist exploring the beautiful gifts, and jewelry the store has to offer.

 

 

Mineral World & The Scratch Patch offers school tours throughout the year. It’s an intimate location nestled in the heart of Sidney, close to the pier and sea glass beach. My girls in addition to collecting gemstones at the Scratch Patch loved collecting sea glass at the beach.

If you make it to Sidney while you’re in Victoria, you will adore this quiet, cute community.

Disclaimer: Our trip to Victoria was hosted by Tourism Victoria.