Victoria Alone cover

Canada · Available now

Victoria
Alone

A solo travel guide for women 50 and over
By Jennifer Brandt

Victoria sits at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, facing the Olympic Mountains across the strait. Explore its walkable downtown, leaving time for the Royal BC Museum rather than rushing an overnight stay.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99Read a sample

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

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Where you might stay

  • Area to considerInner Harbour and Downtownwalkable museums and restaurants

Two places to eat alone

  • Sushi Field (Fairfield)A casual room that works fine solo.
  • Marilena Cafe & Raw BarOysters at a counter.

SAMPLE

A Small Capital at the Edge of the Continent

Victoria sits at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, across the water from both Vancouver and Seattle. That geography shapes everything about how the city feels: unhurried, slightly apart, oriented toward the water on three sides, with the Olympic Mountains of Washington State standing across the strait to the south. You can walk from the legislature to the northern edge of downtown in under half an hour.

Victoria is a small capital that has kept a working, human scale while still holding the institutions of a much larger place: a provincial legislature, the University of Victoria, the Royal BC Museum and a real food and arts scene. You get the density of things to do without a big city’s grind. That combination, more than any single sight, is why the city rewards more than a rushed overnight from a cruise ship.

A free excerpt from Victoria Alone.

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone, Concretely

Eating alone in Victoria is unremarkable, and the practical question is less whether it is comfortable than how to choose a setting that suits the meal you want. Counter seating is the easiest starting point: seafood counters such as Red Fish Blue Fish on Wharf Street and raw bars such as Marilena’s are built around quick turnover and single seating, and a woman alone at a counter draws nothing at all. Treat the counter as a first choice rather than a fallback when the tables are full. It gives you a vantage point on the room and a bartender who, on a quiet night, is often glad of conversation without ever requiring it, and several of the city’s better wine bars and seafood counters were designed around exactly that.

A free excerpt from Victoria Alone.

Inside this book

  • Victoria Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • Planning Your Trip
  • The Solo Woman’s Victoria
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
View the chapter contents
  • Victoria Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • Planning Your Trip
  • The Solo Woman’s Victoria
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
  • Days in Victoria
  • Museums, Houses & Stages
  • A Garden City
  • The Pleasures of the Table
  • Evening & After Dark
  • Retail Therapy
  • Beyond the City, Day Trips
  • Conversation Notes
  • Practical Matters

BUY THE GUIDE

Victoria Alone

Victoria sits at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, facing the Olympic Mountains across the strait. Explore its walkable downtown, leaving time for the Royal BC Museum rather than rushing an overnight stay.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

Instant download · Secure checkout by Payhip

THE GUIDE + YOUR OWN PLANS

Ready to settle your plans?

Sets James Bay, Cook Street Village and Oak Bay side by side as places to stay.

See inside the Victoria kit →
A page from the free sample of the Victoria kitRead the free 3-page sample (PDF) →
Do I need the kit as well?

No. The guide stands on its own. The kit is a separate, optional pack of decisions, day plans and a booking list. Read the free 3-page sample to see whether it suits the way you plan.

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