Approx 24 hours in Vancouver!

We should be arriving on the 7.45 am train from Seattle on Saturday 29th September arrives approx midday. Then taking the NCL Bliss 5 day Pacific Coastal departing on the 30th.

After checking into hotel we would like to do the HOHO trolley, will we have time to do both the Capliano Bridge and Grouse Mountain?

We should have the afternoon of 29th and the morning of the 30th.

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Yes - just leave either Cap or Grouse for cruise day. In fact, IIRC the Bliss is not leaving until the wee small hours of the next day so you might be able to board VERY late without missing anything and effectively have another full day. Check your documentation for boarding times.

Yes - just leave either Cap or Grouse for cruise day. In fact, IIRC the Bliss is not leaving until the wee small hours of the next day so you might be able to board VERY late without missing anything and effectively have another full day. Check your documentation for boarding times.

Since posting yesterday I have found a tour for the morning before the cruise that included both so we are going to book that. Thank you for replying. And as you say the Bliss leaves at stupid o clock so we should be ok for any delays!

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Since posting yesterday I have found a tour for the morning before the cruise that included both so we are going to book that. Thank you for replying. And as you say the Bliss leaves at stupid o clock so we should be ok for any delays!

Cancel it unless you feel like wasting money on an inferior experience. None of the local tour companies offers a North Shore tour that's remotely worth the cash IMO - they simply don't spend enough time at the sites. Grouse has enough stuff that you could easily kill 4 hours Doing Things, plus dining time - Cap is a much briefer experience but still worth at least 2 hours. All the tours I'm aware of squeeze them both into 5 hours or less, often also including the Salmon hatchery (which is free...), with longer tours adding extra sites rather than enough time at these two.

There are free shuttles from right outside the pier that run to both - it is absolutely trivial, not to mention much cheaper, just to visit them independently. Since they're both on the same road it's also very easy and inexpensive to combine them - if you go to Grouse first, just ask the driver to drop you at Cap on the way back into town (the bus literally drives right past the entrance - so a preemptive few bucks tips should ensure the stop will happen). From Cap you can hop on local buses up the hill to Grouse for $2.85pp, or call a cab to drive you ($10 should be enough to tip very generously).

Plus, unless you booked direct with a local company in Canadian $, you may be getting hosed on the exchange rate - Viator will at best charge you the same amount, but usually have a little padding in the price for currency fluctuation (depends how they pay the vendors how much padding is applied). West Coast and Land Sea are almost certainly the folks running any tour you book though the cruiseline or Viator, and they both take US credit cards online no problem. If you simply copy & paste the start of the tour description into Google, chances are very high that the search hits will include one of these two companies - so you can compare for yourself the actual cost if paid directly.

With so much time on the day you board the Bliss, I'd have zero hesitation in doing both Cap & Grouse independently on that day - taking the first Cap shuttle then heading from it to Grouse is more efficient as there are many timed events at Grouse, and some don't start until late morning. Cap is all 'do what you want when you want' while it's open, so if you get there by 9am and head up to Grouse 11-12ish that will be perfect for lunch (way more options at Grouse, and better too) and the various shows through the afternoon before coming back down as late as you like (well, within the limits given by NCL for boarding - you can have a very nice dinner in the Observatory resto at Grouse until late evening, but they might insist everyone be onboard by early evening to ensure the muster drills get done before sailing).

Cancel it unless you feel like wasting money on an inferior experience. None of the local tour companies offers a North Shore tour that's remotely worth the cash IMO - they simply don't spend enough time at the sites. Grouse has enough stuff that you could easily kill 4 hours Doing Things, plus dining time - Cap is a much briefer experience but still worth at least 2 hours. All the tours I'm aware of squeeze them both into 5 hours or less, often also including the Salmon hatchery (which is free...), with longer tours adding extra sites rather than enough time at these two.

 

 

 

There are free shuttles from right outside the pier that run to both - it is absolutely trivial, not to mention much cheaper, just to visit them independently. Since they're both on the same road it's also very easy and inexpensive to combine them - if you go to Grouse first, just ask the driver to drop you at Cap on the way back into town (the bus literally drives right past the entrance - so a preemptive few bucks tips should ensure the stop will happen). From Cap you can hop on local buses up the hill to Grouse for $2.85pp, or call a cab to drive you ($10 should be enough to tip very generously).

 

 

 

Plus, unless you booked direct with a local company in Canadian $, you may be getting hosed on the exchange rate - Viator will at best charge you the same amount, but usually have a little padding in the price for currency fluctuation (depends how they pay the vendors how much padding is applied). West Coast and Land Sea are almost certainly the folks running any tour you book though the cruiseline or Viator, and they both take US credit cards online no problem. If you simply copy & paste the start of the tour description into Google, chances are very high that the search hits will include one of these two companies - so you can compare for yourself the actual cost if paid directly.

 

 

 

 

 

With so much time on the day you board the Bliss, I'd have zero hesitation in doing both Cap & Grouse independently on that day - taking the first Cap shuttle then heading from it to Grouse is more efficient as there are many timed events at Grouse, and some don't start until late morning. Cap is all 'do what you want when you want' while it's open, so if you get there by 9am and head up to Grouse 11-12ish that will be perfect for lunch (way more options at Grouse, and better too) and the various shows through the afternoon before coming back down as late as you like (well, within the limits given by NCL for boarding - you can have a very nice dinner in the Observatory resto at Grouse until late evening, but they might insist everyone be onboard by early evening to ensure the muster drills get done before sailing).

Thank you! Do you think we could do Cap late afternoon when we arrive? I am liking what you are suggesting re Grouse the cost of the tour would be around the £100 mark each and we have 5 of us travelling.

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Thank you! Do you think we could do Cap late afternoon when we arrive? I am liking what you are suggesting re Grouse the cost of the tour would be around the £100 mark each and we have 5 of us travelling.

Yes - in fact you get a discount for arriving after 5pm - but there are some limitations with late afternoon/evening visits. The first downside is you'll drive the same route twice as far as Cap when you head up to Grouse next day, so in that respect it's a waste of about an hour in total, but it will save you 20% of the entrance fee IIRC. The second downside is that the free shuttles stop relatively early - you might be able to get there for free, but getting back will mean transit or taxi.

The shuttle schedule for this year will appear probably in April, but assuming it's the same as it was last year the latest shuttle is no later than the official park closing time (whereas you can stay inside for longer than that; 'closing time' is the latest they'll let you inside). Link to their shuttle page is here. Grouse stays open much later, 10pm all year round, but their shuttles also stop early (6pm last summer).

From both sites though public transit is easy to find and cheap - even on a weekday, at 6:30pm the entire region flips to single Zone which means a $2.85 ticket gets you anywhere that Translink serves. There is the hassle of needing Canadian cash - can't pay on a bus with anything except cash or our local Compass Card system. Plus, you can no longer transfer free from buses to other modes of transit so you'd have to stick to buses that go all the way downtown unless you want to pay twice (the Seabus from Lonsdale Quay is a boat, and it's a lovely ride across with views of downtown Vancouver if you're willing to buy another ticket).

With 5 of you, a taxi offers good value for the convenience - metered fares set by law so all cost the same, as long as you avoid coming back in rush hour it would probably be approx. $30 to downtown from Cap, $40 from Grouse, including tip in normal traffic (and taxis do take credit cards). Van cabs are not as common as small sedans (mostly Prius), but if you call or use a taxi app you can specify you need a vehicle for 5 people - they make up a little under 20% of local fleets so unless it's raining expect just a few minutes extra wait time.

Considering the savings from 5 entry fees ($43 adults, a few bucks less for seniors), you might actually still end up with a few dollars extra in your pocket if you visit at 5pm and take a cab back!

Yes - in fact you get a discount for arriving after 5pm - but there are some limitations with late afternoon/evening visits. The first downside is you'll drive the same route twice as far as Cap when you head up to Grouse next day, so in that respect it's a waste of about an hour in total, but it will save you 20% of the entrance fee IIRC. The second downside is that the free shuttles stop relatively early - you might be able to get there for free, but getting back will mean transit or taxi.

 

 

 

 

 

The shuttle schedule for this year will appear probably in April, but assuming it's the same as it was last year the latest shuttle is no later than the official park closing time (whereas you can stay inside for longer than that; 'closing time' is the latest they'll let you inside). Link to their shuttle page is here. Grouse stays open much later, 10pm all year round, but their shuttles also stop early (6pm last summer).

 

 

 

 

 

From both sites though public transit is easy to find and cheap - even on a weekday, at 6:30pm the entire region flips to single Zone which means a $2.85 ticket gets you anywhere that Translink serves. There is the hassle of needing Canadian cash - can't pay on a bus with anything except cash or our local Compass Card system. Plus, you can no longer transfer free from buses to other modes of transit so you'd have to stick to buses that go all the way downtown unless you want to pay twice (the Seabus from Lonsdale Quay is a boat, and it's a lovely ride across with views of downtown Vancouver if you're willing to buy another ticket).

 

 

 

 

 

With 5 of you, a taxi offers good value for the convenience - metered fares set by law so all cost the same, as long as you avoid coming back in rush hour it would probably be approx. $30 to downtown from Cap, $40 from Grouse, including tip in normal traffic (and taxis do take credit cards). Van cabs are not as common as small sedans (mostly Prius), but if you call or use a taxi app you can specify you need a vehicle for 5 people - they make up a little under 20% of local fleets so unless it's raining expect just a few minutes extra wait time.

 

 

 

Considering the savings from 5 entry fees ($43 adults, a few bucks less for seniors), you might actually still end up with a few dollars extra in your pocket if you visit at 5pm and take a cab back!

Martin, thank you again for your replies and assistance! We have a lot of planning to do!

And we don’t have seniors but we do have a 10 year old with us!

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Martin, thank you again for your replies and assistance! We have a lot of planning to do!

And we don’t have seniors but we do have a 10 year old with us!

You'll have more room in a cab unless your kid's huge then;-) And I believe family tickets are available, though IIRC it's the same price for 2 adults/2 kids as 1 kid, so they might not offer much of a saving - on transit you can use Concession fares for the 10yr old though, only $1.85 for a base ticket.