Vancouver BC-Cruise Port to Best Western Plus Chateau + 11/2 days What to Do?

We wll be arriving into Vancouver on the morning of May 13 from Radiance (Hawaii cruise) - what is the best way to get to the hotel (Best Western Plus Chateau Granville).

Also we only have 1 1/2 days to take in the sites - what is walkable from our hotel? What else would you recommend during our brief visit? Uber & Lyft - no problem - taxi if need be.....Also - how far is the hotel from the airport and do we need to get to the airport 3 hours early?

Thanks!

Google Maps is your friend...

With typical cruise luggage you'll probably want to take a cab from the pier, but it's quite walkable if you can handle trundling your bags less than a mile on nice, wide, mostly-flat sidewalks. Change the pier to whichever site you're interested in on the map link for walkability, since I have no idea how fit and mobile you are. Personally I would define 100% of downtown Vancouver attractions as walkable from your hotel, but I'm quite happy to walk a couple of miles at a time.

Airport - again, plug it in to the map! It's less than 10 miles drive, even less as a crow flies, and no you don't need to be three hours early. The only time that's ever needed is on 3 ship cruise days with a flight in the 10am-early afternoon window, as there are enough (insert your preferred term for a flying-home-on-disembarkation-day) cruisers to see a signficant bump in YVRs normal daily passenger load. Since you're staying on, hopefully you already have a flight either earlier in the day (no cruiser can possibly get to the airport before 8am barring an absolute miracle) or later. Even 2 hours before your flight is overkill 95% of the time - you'll most likely end up sitting around at your gate for an hour even on US-bound flights - but unless you have NEXUS or Global Entry to shorten the queues, 2hrs preflight is probably the 'sensible traveler' sweetspot.

No Uber/Lyft etc., and while legislation is afoot by mid-May it's not realistic to expect any. All cabs legally charge the same rates though, no extra passenger charges, so it's a very safe bet a cab to the airport will run < CAD$40 on the meter even if traffic is pretty bad, with $32 our average price from home (v similar distance as your hotel).

Not knowing you or yours, my ideas on what to prioritise on a day-and-a-half-stay are unlikely to mesh with yours. If you're a statistically normal kind of person, someone who likes to go see the most popular sights when you travel, then TripAdvisor's Best Of lists is all you'll need. If you're a super-weird traveler who prioritises doing something most folks would go "bwa-huh!?" to (I know someone who visits fire stations whenever they travel - and gives tours of them in their home city to visitors!) then let us know what kind of quirky person you are and us locals will be much more useful to you... and if you're somewhere in-between, starting on TA lists is still a good way to begin - just instead of checking off the Top 10 in order, actually read up on the reviews to see WHY people like them and if their reasons sound like they also check off your boxes.

Lastly - your hotel. While it's relatively central, it is in the heart of party central - you have late-licensed clubs & pubs all along Granville Street near you. A room facing the back of the hotel is more desirable for a quiet night, but earplugs are I would say an essential to ensure that no matter what room you end up in, you will not be disturbed by the inevitable late night party crowd all spilling out of the clubs 2-4am and waiting for cabs (no more SkyTrain, limited bus service, means drunken buffoonery all along Granville every night of the week - very little violence, as we are still Canadians after all, and just in case there are too many rowdy tourists there's a cop shop in the 'hood which sends many very visible patrols out). So it's not scary or violent, but it is a loud, 'woo hoo!' kind of street.

Another vote for a cab. Especially if you have luggage.

Wait.... May 13th is a three ship day. This can mean very long lines for cabs. May want to do a luggage drag to Pan Pacific and possibly the nearby Pacific Rim hotel to see if there is a shorter line.

Thanks to all for your suggestions and information! We really appreciate it!

Thanks to all for your suggestions and information! We really appreciate it!

As xlxo state if there are long lines for a cab you may want to go up to the Pan Pacific and pickup a taxi there.

The ship terminal is on the lower level of Canada Place, the convention centre is one floor up as well as the lobby for the Pan Pacific. There are also hotels across the street. So lots of places where you could pick up a cab.

If you are in to public markets, you can also walk down to false creek and take a a ferry across to Granvile island

Do you need Canadian dollars for the cabs or do they take credit cards?

Yes, the cabs do take credit cards. Some drivers may claim the machine is broken... to avoid surprises, advise the driver you plan to pay by card before he loads luggage.

^+1 - but even saying you'll pay by card up-front can lead to occasional grumbling; a buddy just had a cabbie swear at him for paying with Debit at the end of the ride, even though he said when he got in that he had no cash. Unlike me, not even a foreign accent to make this a case of trying to fleece a tourist, he's Canadian born & bred.

If you do get an *sshole cabbie with a 'broken' machine, don't tip - and tell them why! I dislike a lot of stuff about Uber, but at least if/when we get ridesharing it should bump the customer service levels up in cabs and make non-cash payments the definitive norm...

If the cab driver doesn't want the credit card... he can pick up the next ride behind.

For the rider, declaring the card before the ride minimizes surprises at the end of the ride.