The Victoria airport is about 20 miles from the city, so once you land you
will have to either rent a car or use something like Gray Line buses. The
downtown area is located on the Inner Harbor, with plenty of motel rooms
within walking distance. I defer to the Victoria website for details. Ten
miles or so north of the city (but not directly toward the airport) is
Butchart Gardens, which is well worth a visit at any age. Long time since I
was 9 or 10, so it's hard to remember what was important back then. The
flight up, over the San Juans, is priceless...you might even consider
stopping at Friday Harbor.

Catalina pretty much requires signing up for a tour. Much of the island is
controlled by the Wrigley estate, and some roads are not open to casual
traffic. There are buffalo to be seen (from the tours) and another beautiful
harbor. The airport is miles away from anything.

My choice would be Victoria, for the number of great side-trips that would
become available.

Bob Gardner

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
ups.com...
My boys are seasoned Mooney travelers. This year I'm considering adding
a trip to either Victoria Island or Catalina Island. My boys are 9 and
10 so I'm not sure if either of these could actually be made
interesting. We've done so many trips, I'm having a harder time trying
new things. Last summer we went to Vancouver and the boys had a great
time canoeing and seeing the sites. Last March we went down to Mexico
again and got to pet baby grey whales. Last week we went to D.C. to see
the capitol. Would Victoria or Catalina Island offer anything
interesting to boys of this age?

-Robert