Field Trip to Victoria by Helijet

“Field Trips” is either a day trip or a few days where I visit food areas of interest which may include farm visits, producers, wineries, restaurants and/or other places that people can visit. This is about offering Vancouver Foodster readers a chance to get out of town and take a “Field Trip” for the day or a few days to explore, learn, taste and experience.

Field Trip to Victoria by Helijet

For this trip we took Helijet to Victoria from downtown Vancouver by their regularly scheduled helicopter service which took 35 minutes. There are various ways to get to Victoria from the mainland which includes the ferries, seaplane or regular planes; additionally by helicopter which works out great for those that don’t have cars or don’t have the time to wait in the ferry line-up.

Helijet has scheduled passenger helicopter airline services and operates flights from heliports at Vancouver International Airport, downtown Vancouver, downtown Nanaimo and downtown Victoria.

After arriving to Victoria, it was an 8 minute walk to the Finest at Sea for lunch on the outside patio on the beautiful fall day.

I had the delicious Halibut Tacos and the Seafood chowder. Lawrence had their popular Halibut Fish & Chips as well as the Seafood chowder.

After lunch we walked a couple minutes to our hotel, the Coast Victoria Hotel and Marina, this is a hotel that I had stayed at many times in the past. It’s conveniently located near Fisherman’s Wharf and Helijet as well as the Inner Harbour.

Our room had a king bed and a great view of the marina, they have a nice fitness room if you want to get some exercise in and a nice pool if you like to swim.

Skylar making the pourover

Walked around and visited Saint Cecilia Coffee where we had an Espresso Tonic as well as a pourover made with coffee from Neon Coffee Roasters (Kelowna), we also tried their recently launched ice cream – my favourite was the Coffee with their vegan ice cream; we also tried the Strawberry dairy ice cream.

Dinner was at Blue Crab Seafood House located in our hotel, we enjoyed some mocktails to start, Lawrence and I then shared the Calamari, Green Salad, Pesto Halibut, Albacore Tuna and the delicious Signature Croissant Pudding.

The next morning, we picked up our E-Bike rentals nearby at The Pedaler Cycling Tours and rode the bike lanes to Bear and Joey for breakfast. Here this Australian style cafe serves up breakfast and brunch; I had a Flat White to go along with my Smoked salmon salad and rosti; while Lawrence had an Americano with his Eggs on toast.

We then rode around Fernwood and through downtown, past the inner harbour. One thing that I wasn’t aware of was the extensive network of bike lanes around Victoria and this made for great and safe exploring.

Next was a wonderful foodie tour with Off the Eaten Track, see the places we visited and everything we tried here.

Dinner was at Eva Schnitzelhaus in downtown Victoria that specializes in playful new interpretations of classic German, Swiss and Austrian fare. We started off by sharing the tasty Currywurst bratwurst, curry ketchup and chips. I then had the outstanding Schnitzel with leek cream with red cabbage and spaetzle; while Lawrence had the Jaegerschnitzel with rosti and Brussels sprouts. For dessert we shared the delicious Apple cake with caramel sauce.

This is a great spot to dine at when visiting Victoria, and if you love beer they have some great selections to pair with your meal.

On Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant where we had a view of the marina and boats entering the harbour. I had Heathy start with Greek yogurt, granola, multigrain toast and fruit and he had the Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict which he loved.

We then enjoyed Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress in their lobby lounge which is as elegant now as it was the last time I visited, which was at least 15 years ago if not longer. It is the experience of wonderful live piano music, comfortable seating, the classic service and of course the tea, canapes and desserts that makes the experience one to remember. Read more about this wonderful Afternoon Tea experience here.

Another spot that is a must visit anytime you are in Victoria is Rogers Chocolates and we were fortunate to take in a tour at their original store that had opened in 1885; and take some of their delicious chocolates to go.

We flew home by Helijet on a rainy evening, the journey took approx 30 minutes landing back at the South Terminal in Richmond. Helijet offers frequent service between both Victoria and Vancouver allowing you to book in advance or in the last minute. Your ticket includes complimentary snacks and newspapers inside the terminal.

Stay tuned for my next Field Trip outside of Vancouver.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Coast Victoria Hotel and Marina provided us with complimentary accommodation, and meals. Tourism Victoria provided us with complimentary meals, tour passes. and Helijet took care of our transportation. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.