22 Awesome Family-Friendly Activities in Victoria
With so many great family-friendly options, you can make every day a family day in Greater Victoria!
A 8-minute read
Updated January 22nd, 2026
Make your family getaway one for the books with a getaway to Greater Victoria. From transportation, to accommodation, to entertainment – Victoria is a family-oriented destination that appeals to all ages and interests. Read on for 22 ways to spend a special weekend in our beautiful city!
Getting here - Harbour Air Seaplanes
Can’t get enough of the sunshine? Harbour Air is welcoming an extra dose of Vitamin D with a promotion that will have your family raving about the journey, not just the destination. Fly from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria in just 35 sun-swept minutes!
Harbour Air Seaplanes
Staying here - Coast Victoria Hotel & Marina by APA
Coast Victoria Hotel & Marina By APA, by Fisherman's Wharf, is a hotel loved by locals, business and leisure travellers alike. Children fawn over Victoria’s indoor/outdoor pool, while adults adore the hotel’s picturesque marina and waterfront location. With a complimentary downtown shuttle service, a fitness centre, and the famed Blue Crab Seafood House as their on-site restaurant, The Coast Hotel is a convenient and entertaining choice for your family weekend getaway.
Staying here - Royal Scot Hotel and Suites
Royal Scot Hotel & Suites has it all – an indoor pool, hydro-therapy pool, sauna, exercise room, games and billiard room, restaurant, lounge, and even an on-site convenience store and gift shop. Paired with their can’t-be-beat location, a three-minute walk from the Legislature and Parliament Buildings and only one block from the Inner Harbour, you and your family will be well-situated for exploration.
Royal Scot Hotel and Suites
Staying here - The Parkside Hotel & Spa
A haven for families, the Parkside Hotel & Spa ensures that every child and adult is fully entertained during their getaway to Victoria. With unique hotel features such as rooftop marshmallow roasting, a bookable private movie theatre, complimentary bikes, and an indoor pool and hot tub, the Parkside (a eight-minute walk from the Inner Harbour) will be the perfect home base for your Greater Victoria adventure. The hotel is fun for adults too – while your kids are splashing, book yourself a relaxing massage at the Parkside Spa.
The Parkside Hotel & Spa
Blooms away at The Butchart Gardens
No Family Day would be complete without a trip out to the Butchart Gardens! The century-old Gardens are just a 30-minute drive from the city centre and span 55-acres of lush greens and seasonal colour. Your entry also features dining and shopping opportunities, including The Dining Room, named one of Canada’s Top Romantic Restaurants to Dine At by OpenTable.
Spring into spring with Flying Squirrel
Flying Squirrel Victoria (a eight-minute drive from Downtown Victoria) is Victoria’s premiere indoor Trampoline Adventure Park. You’re never too old or young to have a great time here – this urban playground features a café, or a low-impact anti-gravity fitness area for those looking to occupy themselves while their kids jump. If you have any night-owls in the family, every Friday and Saturday from 9-11pm, Flying Squirrel does a Neon Lights event where they turn on laser lighting and black lights!
Flying Squirrel Victoria
See tropical wildlife at the Butterfly Gardens
Victoria Butterfly Gardens, located in Brentwood (a 30-minute drive from Downtown Victoria), is a must-see if you have any wildlife-lovers in your family. Not just butterflies – with tortoises, iguanas, flamingos, macaws, and so much more, you’re sure to be impressed with rare animals co-existing in a lush jungle setting. The site also features an Insectarium, showcasing an impressive invertebrates and insect collection from around the world.
Victoria Butterfly Gardens
Take in epic views at Malahat SkyWalk
Adventure with your family over to Malahat SkyWalk for an outdoor experience that’s unique to Vancouver Island. The 10-story spiral tower will bring you 250m above sea level, and take you down via a super-speed spiral slide. Take the 40-minute drive from Downtown Victoria and you'll be surrounded by lush hiking trails with plenty of educative messaging about the local flora and fauna.
Solve Clues with Quest Reality Games
For those looking to sharpen their minds, Quest Reality Games on Wharf Street is an interactive escape room facility in Victoria, offering indoor and outdoor escape games. If you’re looking to soak in the spring air, they have organized outdoor GPS-adventure games that set you on a treasure hunt throughout downtown Victoria. What will you discover on the way?
Quest Reality Games
Putt your way through Haunted Manor Victoria
Highly recommended for a family that loves a good thrill, putt your way through the 18-hole Haunted Manor minigolf course! Visit Yates Street for a unique minigolf experience features interactive games, spooky effects, and requires imagination to solve some of the courses – it isn’t always as clear-cut as swinging a club! Once you’ve made your way through the course, challenge your kids to ping-pong in their neon-lit lounge.
Haunted Manor Victoria
Feel larger-than-life at Miniature World
Feel the strong-but-satisfying pang of nostalgia browsing through Miniature World’s little attractions and displays – all 85+ of them! Only a block from the Victoria Visitor Centre, Miniature World’s themes touch moments in history, snapshots of great landmarks, storybooks of fiction and fantasy, and more. Young, old, and young-at-heart – a visit here will spark the creative imaginations of all.
Miniature World
Channel your inner lumberjack at Axe & Grind
Time to upgrade your dart-board! Axe & Grind is the island’s indoor take on a quintessentially Canadian backyard sport – axe throwing. If your family is competitive and up for trying new experiences, jot this idea down for next time your in downtown Victoria. Experienced staff will teach you how to throw axe in a safe and fun environment, paving the way for a bit of competition.
Axe & Grind
Treat yourselves to a donut tour
You will win over your kids’ utmost adoration after you treat them to a tour of downtown Victoria with the Underground Donut Tour! Over the course of a couple hours, you’ll make four stops at local donut shops, savouring their best creations, and learn about the history of Victoria as you walk between shops. It’s a fun twist on a classic foodie tour!
Underground Donut Tour
Dive into Greater Victoria's Aquarium
As the only aquarium in southern Vancouver Island, the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea (a 35-minute drive from Victoria) is dedicated to the learning, exploration, and conservation of Salish Sea Bioregion. And what a bioregion it is – discover over 160 live marine species such as wolf eels, pacific salmon, sea stars, and the grand finale – a giant Pacific Octopus. The Centre also houses a rare, full intact orca skeleton!
Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea
Get your adrenaline-fix at WidlPlay
Perhaps you have some adventurers in the group… or perhaps, you just really need to tire someone out. WildPlay Element Parks (a 20-minute drive from Victoria) offers nature-immersed aerial adventures for a unique way for adults, teens, and kids to have fun together. Zip through a zipline tour in Victoria’s tree-tops, balance on wobbly bridges, and fly through the air on rope swings for an action-packed outdoor experience!
WildPlay Element Parks
Get your game on at Interactivity
Sharpen your strategic side by bringing your family to the Interactivity Board Game Café next to Haunted Manor Mini Golf. For only $7, over 900 different games are at your disposal, perfectly paired with their café of delicious paninis, famous house-made milkshakes (that can be made ‘wobbly’!), and bowls of candy, chips, and popcorn. Game on and good luck!
Interactivity Board Game Cafe
Play brain games at Puzzle Lab
A brand new, first-of-its-kind gallery, Puzzle Lab offers heirloom-quality jigsaw puzzles like you’ve never seen before. Stop by their store on Government Street and explore their signature puzzle shapes that will give pause to even the most seasoned of puzzlers, making for a fun challenge for the whole family! Artwork is specially curated from up-and-coming Canadian artists who receive a royalty on every puzzle sold, making this a fun way to support local artists.
Puzzle Lab
Buzz over to Country Bee Honey Farm
You may know them for their deliciously infused premium honey – but a short 30-minute drive from Victoria to Country Bee Honey Farm is so much more. Wander their blooming Field of Dreams, learn about the world of pollinators, and feed their farm-raised livestock on your next trip up to Brentwood. Entry to the farm is by donation and makes for a great outdoor family activity.
Country Bee Honey Farm
Have a roaring-good time at Dino Lab
Dino Lab Inc. was a private fossil-preparation service for collectors and museums, that has since decided to go public! A highly unique, hands-on experience in Victoria, you can tour their private fossil gallery, an ice age area, and have a behind-the-scenes look at their fossil prep lab. You finish your tour by trying your hand at some fossil-preparation yourself, using the same tools and methods as the pros! Please note that private tours are available by appointment only.
DinoLab Inc.
Immerse yourself with IMAX
Chances are that a visit to the Royal BC Museum was already in the plans (and if it wasn’t – pencil it in!). A fun stop while you’re there is to immerse yourself with IMAX Victoria, located on-site. With feature movie-showings ranging from the Arctic: Our Frozen Planet and Super Human Body: World of Medical Marvels to feature films, your family will be transported to new worlds by their crystal clear imagery and digital surround sound.
Victoria Bug Zoo Inc.
If your crew is craving an adventure that’s a little wild and wonderfully weird, the Victoria Bug Zoo is the place to be. Kids and grown‑ups can wander through a world of incredible insects, meet curious critters up close, and swap fun facts with the zoo’s super‑enthusiastic bug experts. Expect equal parts giggles and gasps as you explore this tiny universe packed with big surprises. It’s a must‑visit stop on any Victoria trip, guaranteed to leave the whole family buzzing with stories to share.
Victoria Bug Zoo Inc.
Victoria is synonymous with exploration. A coastal city embedded in a stunning natural landscape, the southern-most part of Vancouver Island is a masterful infusion of culture, nature, and culinary delights. From iconic tours to uncharted adventures, Greater Victoria has so much to discover.
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