Now this is island living! A Victoria water taxi to Fisherman’s Wharf and dining dockside at Barb’s Fish & Chips. You can even feed the local seals!

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Is Fisherman’s Wharf worth visiting when in Victoria?

It’s electrifying being around people from all over the world, hearing the different languages and accents. Where did they come from? Where are they going? What are they enjoying most about Victoria? Maybe it’s just me, but I wish I could stop them all and ask.

I’m amazed at how many people from all over the world travel to Vancouver Island. It quickly puts into perspective how blessed we are to travel around Vancouver Island inspiring you, our readers, to follow in our footsteps!

Does Fisherman’s Wharf make your list of things to do in Victoria? Let’s find out.

As far as I’m concerned there are two ways to get to Fisherman’s Wharf to elevate your overall experience.

Hands down our favourite way to get to Fisherman’s Wharf is taking an inner-harbour water taxi.

With this choice you get to be right in the middle of the harbour. These cute little yellow water taxis give you a whole new perspective of the harbour as you zip around the ocean and look back to shore.

The kids got excited about all sorts of going on’s in the middle of the harbour, but hands down favourite were the float planes!

It’s easy to purchase a ticket right on the water in front of The Empress Hotel. The trip lasted about 12-15 minutes and for our family of 5 it cost $19 for a one-way ticket. We REALLY needed to walk back, and you’ll find out why in a minute.

If a water taxi isn’t your thing, then take a stroll along the inner-harbour walkway. You can take in the harbour along the waters’ edge, check out the local street artisans and performers, or just walk by the docked boats and enjoy the sights and sounds of the harbour.

In about 20 minutes you’ll see the colourful floating houses around the corner and walk right into Fisherman’s Wharf. You can’t miss it.

The third way is by driving, but for the love… don’t do it! It’s just too normal and takes away much of the adventure.

What’s the big draw to Fisherman’s Wharf ?

A very cool floating boardwalk that takes you along a neighbourhood of floating houses coloured up in vibrant pinks and blues, a hub for kayak and whale watching tours, and delicious seafood with an open air dining room situated on a floating boardwalk surrounded by West Coast living.

If that’s not enough, then how about buying a box of fish for a friend? The kind of friend that swims right up beside you and says ARF!!

That’s right, the locals in these waters are tourist-loving seals! During the summer the best time to feed the seals at Fisherman’s Wharf is the morning. By late afternoon their bellies are satisfied and they are nowhere to be seen… must be swimming off full tummies or basking in the sun on a rock somewhere.

A visit to Fisherman’s Wharf is not complete without experiencing the award winning Barb’s Fish & Chips.

Excuse me while I wipe away the drool from my keyboard as I ponder how to share with you how much we enjoyed the food!

I thought Barb’s Fish & Chips was just that, a fish and chip restaurant. Boy was I wrong. As we stepped up to make our order expecting a menu of 1,2 or 3 pieces of fish, we were blown away by the selection.

Thankfully the person taking our order was friendly and eager to help us make the right choice. Gretta went for the seafood platter filled with clams, mussels, crab and even a little bowl of seafood chowder. It was all delicious, she even exclaimed that the chowder was the best she has ever had. I have to agree. It was very tasty as I snuck a few slurps when she was preoccupied with a crab leg.

I had the halibut & chips and my daughter adventurously tried the cod for the first time. To our delight, she absolutely loved it. Before now, she wouldn’t touch fish and chips. So thanks to Barb’s, we have another fish & chips lover in the family.

My halibut was incredible! I couldn’t finish the chips though… not for lack of trying. It was just that the halibut was that big.

The boys opted for the “when-in-doubt-chicken-strip-meal”, but we haven’t given up hope on their tastebuds one day changing.

Look! These are the shells we find on the beach and they are so tasty!

 

Check out Barb’s Fish & Chips Full Menu Here.

While enjoying our dockside dinner, we again heard languages and accents from all over the world: Cantonese, German, Russian and there was even a family beside us from as far away as Saskatchewan! I jest, but that must feel like quite the contrast when you live in the Canadian Prairies and find yourself eating fresh seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Want the full scoop on Barb’s Fish & Chips? I just checked out their website and was quite impressed with the presentation: barbsfishandchips.com

One tip for dining dockside at Barb’s Fish & Chips – show up either right before or after popular lunch and dinner hours to avoid the lines. With as popular as Barb’s Fish & Chips are there will be lines during the meal hours.

Just like the seals visiting Fisherman’s Wharf, our tummies were full and satisfied. But instead of basking in the sun somewhere or hopping back on the water taxi, an after dinner walk was called for after our delicious meal.

Full directions to Barb’s Fish & Chips

Google Map to Fisherman’s Wharf and Barb’s Fish & Chips

While our experience at Barb’s Fish & Chips was complimentary, you can rest assured that my thoughts, opinions, and findings are my own as always.