A Guide to Spending 3 Days Around Oak Bay, Vancouver Island, Victoria, British Columbia

If you’re spending time in Victoria on Vancouver Island and are looking for places to visit outside of the downtown hub, this guide is for you. For those that enjoy recreation and nature and don’t have a car, there are several interesting neighbourhoods to explore on foot outide of the city centre.

Located on the traditional Indigenous lands of the Songhees Nations, the localities of Gonzales, Oak Bay, and Uplands can all be considered affluent neighbourhoods. With leafy streets, pretty parks, ocean views, and sandy beaches, they are pleasant areas in which to unwind and enjoy island living.

After enjoying a sleep-in, head to Good Earth Coffeehouse on Oak Bay Ave for a quick breakfast. It’s here that a friend introduced me to vanilla rooibos lattes. I’m not a huge tea drinker but these are delicious if you’re looking for something without caffeine.

After breakfast, walk down Foul Bay Road, admiring the grand houses and saying hello to the deer that can often be found snacking on someone’s lawn. At Crescent Road, cross the crosswalk and turn left. Shortly on the right, there’ll be a small parking area. Some stairs lead down to Gonzales Bay, a sandy beach that makes a good spot for an ocean dip and ball games. If you were to wake up and see this beach for the first time, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in California. The sight of snow-capped mountains in the distance across the ocean will remind you that you’re further north! I recommend visiting Gonzales Bay on a weekday as it’s a very popular beach during summer weekends. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).