I am not very clear on your itinerary, your constraints or your interests, justinlanger. I would recommend at least one full day and night in Victoria, also. It is a friendly little city and you can stroll the downtown and Inner Harbour area for a pleasant evening.

If you take the BC Ferries over from Vancouver with a car, you might want to visit Butchart Gardens on the way into town - they are very near to the ferry terminal, but you might already realize that. (Personally, I think the Gardens are a bit overhyped, but I can hear the howls of protest from thousands of others already...!!!) You don't need a car for Victoria, though, you can walk around downtown and there are lots of ways to get to Butchart via bus or limo, etc.

If you are worried about getting from Victoria back to Washington state, you have some choices.

1) If you have a car, you can take Washington State Ferries from Sidney (north of Victoria again) to Anacortes (near Seattle). But you might be able to include some visits to the San Juan Islands (I think Sweet Willie has posted some info on the San Juans....

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/

2) If you don't have a car, you can take the Clipper (which is passenger only). I think they also do some San Juan Islands tours... check the web site at:

http://www.victoriaclipper.com

3) One of my favorite ways of travelling between Victoria and Seattle is taking the seaplane! Kenmore Air flies small Beavers and Otters and you take off from the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria and land in Lake Union, near to downtown Seattle. The flight is beautiful and Kenmore sometimes has Web specials for only $59 or so one-way.

http://www.kenmoreair.com

But don't shortchange your time in Vancouver! You need at least 2-3 days in Vancouver, there are lots of things to do. I can easily spend the better part of a day in Stanley Park, alone. And again, you really don't need a car.

As for accomodation in Victoria, if you are comfortable with Priceline bidding, I would try bidding in the 3* level at about $50-$70, which includes some nice hotels. (4* is too pricey for what you get, usually.) Otherwise, it is hard to recommend a hotel without knowing what is most important to you....