Galloping Goose Trail
(http://www.crd.bc.ca/park...). a few places rent bikes and this is a great afternoon or day trip. the trail runs on a decommissioned rail bed from downtown to sooke.
Whale Watching
For those who are a bit more adventurous there are several whale watching companies which operate from the inner harbour. some are located underneath the tourist information centre. the companies offer up to three hour trips and have a good success rate at finding one of the three resident pods of orcas. one such company is prince of whales (http://www.princeofwhales.com), +1 250 383-4884. prices from $55 per person. orca spirit adventures (http://www.orcaspirit.com), +1 250 383-8411, offers covered vessels with luxurious indoor seating, liquor license, and onboard washrooms as well as open zodiac tours. another good one is ocean explorations (http://www.oceanexplorati...), +1 250 383-6722. another good one that guarantees whale sightings is eagle wing tours whale watching (http://www.eaglewingtours.com), +1 800 708-9488.
Camosun College
A major community college in Victoria with two campuses. Interurban campus offering degrees, diplomas, and certificates focussing on business, technologies, trades. Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence is based on this campus. Camosun offers degrees in athletic therapy and coaching. It concentrates on skills based education. Lansdowne Campus has nursing, medical radio technician, criminology, dental and academic studies programs. Camosun classes have a maximum of 35 students and provide close contact with instructors. Camosun also enjoys having many international students and new residents to Canada taking ESL courses. Toll free phone: +1â877â554â7555. www.camosun.ca
There are many different schools in Victoria including ESL & Language schools, films school, art school, private colleges and so on.
The biggest school is the publicly funded University of Victoria (http://www.uvic.ca). Located on a hill within a short walk from the ocean, UVic prides itself on its beautiful campus with tree-lined paths, large gardens, lush green grass and a large fountain.
The school is on the smaller side, with the whole campus located inside a circular road known as Ring Road. You can walk from one end of campus to the other in 15 minutes â and that is if you walk slowly. UVic is home to many international students and just completed several new residence buildings for those who wish to live on campus. Many different programs are offered, but the school is known for its Earth Science, environmental law and fine arts departments, among others. The campus community is very earth friendly â as is the city of Victoria itself â and is a good place to catch cheap theatre, free lectures and small music, art or film festivals.
Other options:
Harbour tours
Small harbour ferries about six passengers provide transport around and a view of the selkirk waterway and inner harbour.
Nature!
The surrounding victoria area is also an amazing place to explore if you're more inclined towards natural spots. from the inner harbour you can walk in either direction along the water to the very popular local dallas road, or you can cross "the blue bridge" and end up on the westsong walkway into esquimalt. both have beautiful views of the inner harbour and even port angeles across the water. if you're feeling more energetic check out some of the attractive parks in victoria's neighbouring towns including oak bay, saanich, langford, sooke and sidney.
Wine tasting
There are five wineries within a 45-minute drive of victoria, on the saanich peninsula, including some estate wineries. these wineries have a wide range of wines including those made from their own grapes, grapes grown elsewhere and fruit wines. crush wine tours (http://www.crushwinetours.com/), +1 250 888-5748, offers a three-hour tour visiting three of the wineries, guided by a friendly and well informed guide.