When anyone asks me about Vancouver I can honestly hand on my heart say, it’s one
of the best places I have ever ever visited.
Why?
Quite literally, the atmosphere.
Vancouver’s clean air is thanks to it’s really close connection to nature.
There are mountains and forests surrounding the City, and the pacific ocean is right on
the cities door step.
Here the great outdoors isn’t just a place, it’s a way of life.
But it’s a modern City waiting to be discovered as well.
So in this guide we’re going to help you make the most of it!
We’re going to look at food, money, transport, and a whole lot more, but first let’s get
from the airport.
Vancouver International airport is less than 10 miles from Downtown area, and is Canada's
second busiest airport, after Toronto Pearson International.
Getting between the airport and the City Centre is relatively straightforward – a 20 minute
taxi ride will cost around $45.
Another way into the City is the SkyTrain – it's a bit like London's DLR with driverless
carriages, you take the Canada line for half an hour or so, and it costs around $7.
Vancouver has an extensive public transport network, as well as being a really easy place
to dive.
Here’s what you need to know:
Now it’s not often that we can tell someone to drive a car through a major City, but in
Vancouver drive away until your hearts content!
We hired a car and cannot recommend it enough.
Thanks to the Cities grid system, wide roads with plenty of easy understood signs and generally
well tempered drivers - driving was an absolute doddle!
There’s ample parking wherever you go, even at the busy tourist hotspots, not to mention
fuel is cheap, and traffic generally wasn’t too bad in our experince.
As for public transport, you’ve got buses,the sky train, and the Seabus which that takes
you across the harbour from Lonsdale Quay to Waterfront station.
All 3 share the same tickets across Vancouver’s 3 zone public transport network.
Single tickets will vary in price depending on how many zones you’re travelling across.
However to make things easier, just enter your destination into the ticket machine,
and it’ll work out the Zones for you.
A single gives you 90minuets of unlimited journeys from the moment you tap in.
There are also 24 hour unlimited travel cards, which cost $10 or $15 if you include a journey
to the airport.
Navigating the City was easy thanks to Google Maps and Citymapper, my tip though?
Just make sure your phones got enough data, check with your provider before you leave!
There’s loads of things to see and do in Vancouver.
Here are some of our favourites:
Like most things in North America Stanley Park is MASSIVE, it’s absolutely huge.
Think Hyde Park on steroids!
It’s also a great place for the locals to go and chill out, either roller blading, cycling,
or just sitting under those big trees.
It’s also a place to spot some wildlife!
While we were there we saw a seal in the harbour, some black squirrels, and some bin diving
racoons!
Which the locals loving refer too as Trash Pandas!
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is a taste of traditional China, right in North
America.
Built as a way to promote the understanding between Chinese and western cultures, it's
open all year round, and for more information there’s a ink in the description.
Liked Gas Town a lot, and it would seem like a lotta other people did too.
So expect plenty of touristy parts, that being said there’s a great atmosphere with great
places to eat, great shops, and generally plenty of things going on.
A bit like London’s Covent Garden!
Can’t get to Banff, well about 5 miles out North of Downtown Vancouver lies the Capitano
Suspension bridge,and a whole lot more!
There are tree top walks, animal demonstrations, cliff walks, and really really good coffee!
This by far was one of my favourite things to do in the City, but its defiantly not one
for the with a fear of heights!
My top tip, get there early, because it really does get busy!
I can’t go anywhere with these guides, without commenting on the food, and Vancouver didn’t
disappoint - Especially at Granville Market.
There’s everything from Sushi - which is probably the best I’ve had outside of Japan,
organic burgers, artisanal chocolates, all sorts of baked goods, and off course there’s
Maple Syrup, plus fresh produce.
And our friends at Foodie Tours, recommended Lee’s honey dipped donuts.
so of course we had to take them up on the recommendation.
Not the healthiest option I know, but why not?
They’re really soft already, I can tell you that much!
Just look at that!
Look!
Lovely sugary goodness!
It’s going to make a right mess!
So I’m just going to..
I’m going to do, I’m going to make a right mess!
Sorry!
I’m doing it!
That’s really good!
That’s really fluffy!
I’m going to need another one, can I have some more petty cash?
I need some more donuts!
The currency in Canada is the Canadian Dollar. which is completely different and seperate
to the neighbouring US Dollar.
Now the thing i like most about Canadian money is they’ve done away with the penny and
rounded everything up to the nearest 5 cents.
Meaning you don’t end up with pockets full of shrapnel at the end of the holiday.
Now you might find the locals talking about a loony, don’t worry it’s not an insult
it’s the nick name for the one Dollar coin, which has the bird on it, the common Loon.
Another one to listen out for is the 2 Dollar coin the Towney!
Major credit and debit cards are accepted here, but you will want to be careful of additional
charges depending on your card, or account type.
For what it’s worth I’ve been using my MasterCard debit card absolutely fine.
It’s fair to say that Canadians pride themselves on being friendly and giving a good service.
So when it comes to tipping badly, or not even at all, say in a restaurant you’re
basically just being really insulting.
A general rule of thumb is a good 10 -15% for great service.
It’s also worth noting that when you see the jar on the till, that’s not expected
in the slightest, anyway here’s a breakdown of some of our costs during our stay:
- Book a few months in advance and turn flights from London can be had for around £400 per
person.
- We rented a 4 bedroom house in central Vancouver for £290 per night.
- This burger was $15.99.
- My amazing donut was $1.
- And our fancy premium car was $56 a day for 3 drivers
Vancouver has what you could call traditional seasons meaning you can expect long hot summers,
and very cold winters.
Being on the sea expect costal breezes in Vancouver all year around, though it’s quite
reasonable to walking around in shorts and a t-shirt through the warmer months, and then
layered right up through the snowy winters.
If you’re after asking and snow then obviously winter is your best bet, in the autumn Stanley
Park is beautiful, infant Canada is generally beautiful in the autumn.
Especially as the leaves start turning around October.
The autumn months are the best time for hiking for the cooler weather, Grouse Mountain lies
North of Vancouver, which is well worth the 1,200 meter trek to get a stunning view of
the City.
Of course the best weather is from May to September, during the spring and summer months.
So that’s it from our time in Vancouver, what a spectacular place it’s been as well.I
mean what other major City on the planet can you expect to find forests, mountains, and
the pacific Ocean, right on your doorstep.
We’ve got loads of exciting travel guides coming up, so be sure to subscribe, and if
you’ve got anywhere you’d like us to feature, let us know in the comments.