It seems from a quick search that the best time of year for seeing orcas is April-October, so depending on just how late in March you’ll be in town, you may or may not be in luck. Most of the whale watching companies shut down for the winter, and the only whale watching company I can find that operates out of Vancouver only operates from April 1 onwards, so you’ll probably have to come to Victoria for the day.
I’ve taken a trip with Prince of Whales before. They seem to operate year-round, though there are a lot of messages on their website about trips being cancelled due to bad weather in the past few weeks. They do good tours, and you have a choice of going in a zodiac or a full-sized boat. I had a really good time whale watching - saw lots of orcas and the weather was perfect. However, that was mid-September, so your experience would likely be different. At any rate, the website gives information about schedules, cost, reservations and so on.
Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll have a great trip to Vancouver.
There’s another really popular and apparently really yummy Japanese restaurant on Robson Street, called Hapa Izakaya. I’ve never been, but I’d love to go. (I tried to go once but there was an hour wait and we were on our way to a movie.)
Seconding the love of Gyoza King, Hon’s and Vij’s.
If you like Greek food, go to Stepho’s on Davie street if you can. There’s often a long lineup, but the food is pretty cheap, plentiful, and good! Especially if you like garlic. It’s only 7.95 for a small souvlaki which includes one skewer of meat (I get beef and my boyfriend usually gets lamb), rice, Greek salad, roast potatoes, a pita and the best tzatziki I’ve ever had. Though to be honest I haven’t had a lot of Greek food, but the tzatziki is really garlicky, which is what I like!
True Confections on Denman Street for giant, awesome pieces of cake.
I’d recommend my place of employment, too, but then… random people could stalk me! Tourists abound, though, so maybe you’ll go there anyway and not even know I’m there. That way I’ll be stalking you. Ooh! I am very scary.
Anyway, I love threads where people ask about Vancouver because I haven’t lived here all that long, so I get to mooch on the learning.
If you’re up there with kids, definitely see Science World. While it’s true all cities have one of these, Vancouver’s is the best I’ve seen. Kids go bannanas there, it’s kid paradise, and it’s educational!
If you aren’t going with kids, don’t bother with Science World. Do drive by it, though - it’s a cool building.
Now this is a sign of a true world city: locals sniping at each other’s favorite (dish) at (restaurant).
The ultimate turista experience for me was the seaplane ride over the harbo(u)r. I dunno if they do this year round, but here is what you can see (and take pix of!) on a clear day, which is probably too much to hope for at this time of year.
About the transit - there are three zones, Surrey, Burnaby/New Westminster/ and Vancouver, mostly but you’d have to look at the map to see what other areas fall into. There are three prices as well, starting at $2.25Cdn. Transfers are good for 90 minutes, any direction within zone boundries. This includes Skytrain and the Seabus but NOT the Westcoast Express. The zones are only in use prior to 6:30PM. After that, it’s $2.25 anywhere, within 90mins.
A better bet for all day sightseeing is a DayPass, at about $8.00Cdn. It covers all zones all day on Busses, Seabus and Skytrain. That’s what my friend and I did when she came up in October. She’d never been here before, so I tried to show her downtown. It rained all day, of course.
If you folks like animals and have an hour to spare, email me. The private zoo I work at has tours through the building and it’s quite near a Skytrain station.
Tourists abound, though, so maybe you’ll go there anyway and not even know I’m there. That way I’ll be stalking you. Ooh! I am very scary.
