I recently discovered that JetBlue is adding a non-stop flight from Boston to Vancouver, and I’ve always heard good things about it, so I’m thinking about sneaking in a week vacation this summer, probably late July. I’ve started researching and I have to say it’s a bit overwhelming - there seems to be too much to do and too many places to base oneself. So, I turn to you, Doper friends. What advice do you have for a trip to Vancouver? Some additional information to help:
The trip would be largely to take advantage of the outdoors, so definitely much day-hiking, and a bike rental is also a possibility, or kayaking, etc. (No ocean boating, though, ShadowWife gets seasick).
We’d probably rent a car to take advantage of different hiking options (preferably an EV, if possible)
We like to stay in unique places, not Marriots - generally B&Bs and boutique hotels. We’d probably stick with one base, not move around. And we often prefer “off the beaten track” stuff, though of course we don’t want to miss a big “un-missable” attraction, if there are some.
We would like to spend at least some time in the city itself, but we don’t need to stay there are we’re planning to spend most of our time in the great outdoors.
In general, we’d want to base ourselves within a reasonable distance from the airport. I looked at Whistler briefly, for example, and saw that it’s over a 2-hour drive from the airport. Something like that is out. I’m always exhausted after flying and don’t want to add a long car drive on top of it.
Any advice, knowledgeable folks? Thanks in advance.
I agree, Whistler is far from Vancouver. I’m always surprised about how long that drive takes. It’s beautiful though, and might be worth a day trip while you’re there.
The city is huge. There are parks (Stanley Park comes to mind) that have modest hikes with nice views. You can rent bikes, and probably kayaks, etc. But it’s an urban park, you won’t be in the wilderness. The city has great restaurants, brew pubs, and neighborhoods. The Museum of Anthropology at UBC is a “must see” in my opinion
Vancouver is a very Canadian city. It is clean and big with nice parks and beaches. Nightlife is okay. Lots of nice restaurants and coffee shops. A couple dodgy areas. A wide variety of accommodations. BC people are often fairly outdoorsy and there is a wide variety of accessible options depending on season: skiing, mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, boating and fishing. Weather is more moderate than many other Canadian cities, and there is sometimes more rain and less sunshine. It has a lot of things going for it. Some okay museums. Haven’t heard a lot of complaints about people who have vacationed there, though it is more expensive than many. I prefer Montreal, but many would disagree, and there are many good reasons to do so.
I lived for a couple decades in Vancouver when I was younger. But have been gone for a few decades. Considering you are in Boston a coastal city, much will be the same. There are only a few parts of Vancouver that are old, and those not as old as Boston. Gastown is a small area with quite old buildings in downtown.
The big difference is the near large mountains. The North side of the city across the inlet grows up from the inlet shore some distance up the mountains. Do take the gondola ride up Grouse mountain late in the day and dine at the top. Linger till dark. See the city in daylight and dark from there. Costs a bit., But the ride is great. Go up in daylight to see the terrain and heights the gondola crosses.
Capilano suspension bridge is good. There is also one in Lynn Canyon park. Nice trails.
We often went to Whitecliff Park. On the coast north of Vancouver. An hour drive? Along the coast. Some nice scenery on the drive. A new wider highway now, than when I was doing it. The old one was more exciting. We would snorkel all around a rock island there. At low tide you can see a lot of stuff attached to the rock. You can walk out to it at low tide on a jumbled large jagged rock “path”. Stay too long and it is a swim back.
If you intend to party hard. I found the RCMP station cells in North Vancouver to be clean and comfortable. The officers nice. But that was a long time ago.
Forgot. If you go at the right time of year. You can go sailing comfortably in the day, then go skiing on Grouse or Seymour mountains in the evening.
Another vote for Lynn Canyon. You can hike around Lynn Lake, walk the trails through the forest, try the suspension bridge across the canyon, and watch the suicidal kids throw themselves off the rocks into the deep water below.
Whistler is a distance, but it can be worth a visit. It’s a bustling ski town in winter, but in summer, it can be just as pleasant, while being much less crowded. Plenty of bars, pubs, restaurants, and shopping in the middle of the mountains. And the drive offers plenty of scenic lookouts where you can pull off, and there is Brandywine Falls, to stop and see also.
Stanley park is nice. It includes the Vancouver Zoo. 2nd Beach is okay for some sunbathing and swimming. Rent a bike and do the whole seawall. There are trails in the park, but I do not know how they are now. Many were dicey decades ago. Some “interesting” folks inhabited the park long term.
Queen Elizabeth Park “Little Mountain”. Beautiful outdoor gardens. Bloedel conservatory is under a giant geodesic dome. It is an enclosed tropical jungle. Very nice.
The outdoor gardens are in a rock bowl. Almost like a crater. So there are nice rock cliff backdrops to the floral arrays.
Seconded. Vancouver has a terrific food scene, so do your restaurant homework for your preferred cuisines and make plans and reservations in advance. As noted, the Asian food, and the Chinese food in particular, is especially good.
There’s a saying in the PNW: the best Chinese food in Seattle is in Vancouver. This reputation is well earned.
I suppose that if I was in the area, I’d be tempted to visit Butchart Gardens in nearby Victoria. But they’re heavily into formal bedding schemes, which is not really my thing.*
*they’re holding a Mother’s Day lunch buffet and a Mother’s Day afternoon tea, which sound like a classic blue-hair extravaganza.
Another vote for the Museum of Anthropology.
Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden is a nice quiet way to spend an afternoon. If you’re keen, I like the restaurant Bao Bei in that area.
Gastown is a great area, lots of restaurants and shops.
Granville island is also fun, you can get there by these little ferries that run through False Creek, lot of shops and restaurants
If you’re by Canada Place, you can take a bus to Grouse Mountain, and do the Grouse Grind, or take the gondola to the top where they do outdoor shows, trails, that sort of thing. It’s about a half hour ride, nice day trip.
Been to Vancouver a couple times, just another big city to me. I much prefer Victoria and Vancouver Island. Lots to do in Victoria and the drive up the east side of Vancouver Island is wonderful, lots of neat small towns along the way. Another excellent drive is the southern island loop, Honeymoon Bay to Port Renfrow to Sooke and back to Victoria. Easily done in a day and the Pacific Ocean views are fantastic.
My daughter and son in law live there, so the Mrs. and I have been moderately frequent visitors, including a 12 day stay this past October. Agree about great variety of food available there, we’ve had such amazing experiences there as a result.
We like visiting Deep Cove (take the Indian Arm boat tour!!), Stanley Park (and the aquarium is awesome), Granville Island (great seafood, and their public market is awesome), and just taking the water taxis around the area is fun too. The Maritime Museum is fun. Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver is very lovely too.
We’ve done the trip to Squamish (Sea to Sky gondola is worth the price), and went deep into the wilderness in that area to visit remote waterfalls (well, Shannon Falls is easily accessible in Squamish, go see it if you’re there!).
We’ve gone beyond Squamish to Whistler, and it is a long haul, but a very scenic drive.
We went even further than that, a 4 hour drive to Sloquet Hot Springs, where we hiked to and bathed in 105 degree water where it met an icy river. Lovely! We had the whole place to ourselves for our entire 3 hour visit.
Horseshoe Bay is an interesting place too, and a great spot to grab a zodiac tour of Howe Sound and a closeup look at the islands and seals and remote land/seascape.
I do love the area. But damn, it is not cheap to visit or live there.