Vancover Airport to Pier

Any suggestions for transport from the Airport to the Pier in Vancouver, BC? Tried to get an estimate from Urber but no luck. Thanks in advance for the information!

It’s unfortunate that a big city like Vancouver has no Uber. Most Vancouveries are not to happy about it. Your best bet if you can handle your luggage is the sky train. Faster, cheaper and less time. It’s about 24 min from the airport to waterfront station. Good part about the sky train is NO TRAFFIC. You have a couple very short right hand turns totalling about a block when you exit at waterfront. Cost is minimal

It’s unfortunate that a big city like Vancouver has no Uber. Most Vancouveries are not to happy about it. Your best bet if you can handle your luggage is the sky train. Faster, cheaper and less time. It’s about 24 min from the airport to waterfront station. Good part about the sky train is NO TRAFFIC. You have a couple very short right hand turns totalling about a block when you exit at waterfront. Cost is minimal

As I recall, they add a $5 (CAD) surcharge to leave the airport on the Skytrain, No charge going to it. Cost is about $9-10 per person CAD from the airport. Its a great option if you can handle your bags - the cars even have a bit of extra room to allow for this.

Yup, if you don't need a porter at the airport then you can handle taking SkyTrain to the pier (the walk on the other end is less than 400 yards from the station to the pier, you can easily have a longer walk from your plane to baggage claim!)

Cost is $4.20pp base adult fare on weekdays, $2.95pp on weekends or evenings. Seniors (>65) or kids <14 get further discounts, <5s are free. $5pp AddFare applies to all tickets coming in from the airport on top of this.

Taxis operate fixed rates from YVR - to the pier it's CAD$35 per cab. 3 people with typical cruise luggage can take any cab, but if you have 4 or 5 then a minivan is going to be needed - same price, but you have to wait until one appears (they are about 1 in 6 of the local fleets). Credit cards are taken, and USD cash at somewhat crappy unofficial exchange rate (even if your card has a Foreign Transaction Fee it will be better value than cash).

No Uber or any any other 'shared ride' service yet, with further delays on implementation of any until 2019 now at least.

Last May we used the Skytrain to go from Canada Place to the Vancouver airport. Very convenient and easy to navigate.

How far of a walk from where the Sky Train drops you to the pier?

How far of a walk from where the Sky Train drops you to the pier?

I would say a good block but not a Las Vegas block. LOL Only a drive way to cross and it is all on a sidewalk to Canada Place. Luggage check in is below Canada Place, down the parking ramp on the left side where the sidewalk is by Starbucks.

Train takes about 30 min to Waterfront Station from YVR. A good deal for 2 or 3 but a cab with a flat rate of $35 CDN could be a better deal too. There is a Transit surcharge of $5 each added to the ticket price.

No Uber or such here yet.......seems unlikely in the near future.

How far of a walk from where the Sky Train drops you to the pier?

Distance and most sensible route here. Less than 400 yards from the front door of the station - in case there's a problem with the link head straight upstairs from the platform at Waterfront using any of stairs, escalator, or elevator, then take any door on the side with all the windows of the big room you arrive in. Turn right outside to follow Cordova, take first proper right onto Howe (i.e. not into a garage or up any stairs), follow Howe one block to arrive at pier. You'll pass another SkyTrain entranceway - this is a real b*gger to find from the Canada Line which you'll arrive on, it's for other lines and on a different level, so it's easier to just walk on the street than find your way around between the platforms.

Head down the pedestrian ramp next to vehicle entrance and you'll arrive at luggage drop for all ships - be sure to hand your bags over at the correct one, not just one with your cruiseline mentioned, as there may be more than one ship of the same line!

Thank You CVU & Martincath for your help. This is first time we are flying into YVR and our flight doesn't come in till noon. We are a little nervous for time, not sure how long customs will take. Therefore, we need the fastest way to pier and believe Sky Train is the answer.

Thank You CVU & Martincath for your help. This is first time we are flying into YVR and our flight doesn't come in till noon. We are a little nervous for time, not sure how long customs will take. Therefore, we need the fastest way to pier and believe Sky Train is the answer.

We have done both - taxi and Skytrain. Amount of time about the same, but it really varies based on traffic (for the taxi).

Thank You CVU & Martincath for your help. This is first time we are flying into YVR and our flight doesn't come in till noon. We are a little nervous for time, not sure how long customs will take. Therefore, we need the fastest way to pier and believe Sky Train is the answer.

The train is 30 min or under it and goes underground. When you come out of Customs walk across the street and take the elevator on the Left side to the top 4th floor. Free baggage carts in the Customs hall for you to use and take there if you wish. You drop them off by the train.

Trains come every 7 min. in the day time. Maybe more on weekends .... 12-15 min.

You can buy a 2 zone ticket in the machine or it is a Weekend it is all 1 Zone [on weekends and after 6:30 PM.]

If you are Seniors and want the discount you need to buy a ticket.

Or else you can Tap a Visa or Mastercard, must have a card Each and the gate will open and charge You when you Tap out. Be sure the gate monitor sign is green and says enter, then Tap.

The machines take CDN Cash up to $20, Debit or Credit.

You do have the walk after leaving Waterfront Station to Canada Place. Won't take long though. Many are doing the same walk. LOL

Too bad you are not staying a day or so to see our beautiful city! Maybe next time.:)

We have done both - taxi and Skytrain. Amount of time about the same, but it really varies based on traffic (for the taxi).

Also, the taxi line up. Longer in the summer months. As there are only Taxis to choose from here........:rolleyes:

Thank You CVU & Martincath for your help. This is first time we are flying into YVR and our flight doesn't come in till noon. We are a little nervous for time, not sure how long customs will take. Therefore, we need the fastest way to pier and believe Sky Train is the answer.

You're welcome. Assuming your flight is on time, a delay at Immigration (customs takes virtually no time, since you're not Canadians so unless you are bringing lots of gifts to give away to Canadians you'll never have to worry about Duty...) will work to your benefit. Arriving at the pier after 2pm is optimal for queue avoidance - closer to 3 pm is even better (and if your ship is a 5 or 5:30 planned departure time, you can push it even further - 2 hours before departure is a safe bet for the smallest possible queues).

As CVU says, the train is very consistent. If you JUST miss one at the airport you can still expect in the absolute worst case (Sundays) to reach Waterfront within <40mins (weekend daytime wait time is usually under 15 mins + 26min journey). Then it's 7mins walk if you're familiar with the route - call it 10mins for someone needing to carefully check street names. Cabs hitting traffic can take 40mins plus wait time to get in one, so while it's possible for a cab to be quicker now that you can just tap a credit card to enter SkyTrain and avoid any risk of a queue for the ticket machines, it's usually quicker even for first-time users and big problems with delays are much more common for cabs (plenty of idiot drivers here, and even a minor ding on a bridge causes enormous tailbacks due to the limited alternative routes).

You will even have time to do a little sightseeing if all goes smoothly - if you hit the pier by 1pm queues are about as long as they get, so just drop your bags with the longshoremen and go have lunch, wander Gastown or along the Seawall, have a go on FlyOverCanada. As long as you stay walking distance from the pier the risks of any problems preventing you getting back in time are basically non-existent - nobody who worries about things like a meteor strike or sharknado would risk flying in same day, so I assume you are at least somewhat risk-tolerant;-)

Really the only concern I'd have is the flight - so many possible reasons for schedule slippage, and if your flight is late enough you miss the 'Departure Time - 90mins' cutoff at the pier your cruise is in serious jeopardy. It's unlawful to fly ahead to join the ship at another US port for one-way AK and Cali Coastal cruises - so you can only catch up if it's a round trip that comes back to Canada, a one-way to another country, or a Distant Foreign Port visiting repo cruise back to the east coast. No idea what the On Time % is for your flight so impossible to guesstimate your chances!

The train is 30 min or under it and goes underground. When you come out of Customs walk across the street and take the elevator on the Left side to the top 4th floor. Free baggage carts in the Customs hall for you to use and take there if you wish. You drop them off by the train.

 

Trains come every 7 min. in the day time. Maybe more on weekends .... 12-15 min.

You can buy a 2 zone ticket in the machine or it is a Weekend it is all 1 Zone [on weekends and after 6:30 PM.]

 

If you are Seniors and want the discount you need to buy a ticket.

Or else you can Tap a Visa or Mastercard, must have a card Each and the gate will open and charge You when you Tap out. Be sure the gate monitor sign is green and says enter, then Tap.

 

The machines take CDN Cash up to $20, Debit or Credit.

 

You do have the walk after leaving Waterfront Station to Canada Place. Won't take long though. Many are doing the same walk. LOL

 

Too bad you are not staying a day or so to see our beautiful city! Maybe next time.:)

We have never been to Vancouver before and didn't really know what to expect. Thank you for your tips, it will make it easier for us knowing what we are doing.:D

You're welcome. Assuming your flight is on time, a delay at Immigration (customs takes virtually no time, since you're not Canadians so unless you are bringing lots of gifts to give away to Canadians you'll never have to worry about Duty...) will work to your benefit. Arriving at the pier after 2pm is optimal for queue avoidance - closer to 3 pm is even better (and if your ship is a 5 or 5:30 planned departure time, you can push it even further - 2 hours before departure is a safe bet for the smallest possible queues).

 

As CVU says, the train is very consistent. If you JUST miss one at the airport you can still expect in the absolute worst case (Sundays) to reach Waterfront within <40mins (weekend daytime wait time is usually under 15 mins + 26min journey). Then it's 7mins walk if you're familiar with the route - call it 10mins for someone needing to carefully check street names. Cabs hitting traffic can take 40mins plus wait time to get in one, so while it's possible for a cab to be quicker now that you can just tap a credit card to enter SkyTrain and avoid any risk of a queue for the ticket machines, it's usually quicker even for first-time users and big problems with delays are much more common for cabs (plenty of idiot drivers here, and even a minor ding on a bridge causes enormous tailbacks due to the limited alternative routes).

 

You will even have time to do a little sightseeing if all goes smoothly - if you hit the pier by 1pm queues are about as long as they get, so just drop your bags with the longshoremen and go have lunch, wander Gastown or along the Seawall, have a go on FlyOverCanada. As long as you stay walking distance from the pier the risks of any problems preventing you getting back in time are basically non-existent - nobody who worries about things like a meteor strike or sharknado would risk flying in same day, so I assume you are at least somewhat risk-tolerant;-)

 

Really the only concern I'd have is the flight - so many possible reasons for schedule slippage, and if your flight is late enough you miss the 'Departure Time - 90mins' cutoff at the pier your cruise is in serious jeopardy. It's unlawful to fly ahead to join the ship at another US port for one-way AK and Cali Coastal cruises - so you can only catch up if it's a round trip that comes back to Canada, a one-way to another country, or a Distant Foreign Port visiting repo cruise back to the east coast. No idea what the On Time % is for your flight so impossible to guesstimate your chances!

We are arriving on a Sunday and its Labor Day weekend. We were worried about Customs, have read people have had to wait an hour or two. Our ship sails at 4 so we are hoping to hop on the train and get to the pier faster then a taxi. Thanks for your tips will make it easier for us:)

It could be very busy being a big holiday weekend, all timing of course when you arrive into Customs. School here starts right after Labor Day. Best to plan on the train then and not a cab, there could be long lines.

The train will be 1 zone to buy a ticket or tap if there is a line up at the machines to buy a ticket or you want to get going ASAP. Visa or Mastercard and one card each for one's own trip.

There are 2 escalators taking you up to the Canada Line if you don't want to wait for the elevator. They are located across the street to the Parkade area, on the Right side. Elevator is to the Left.

There will be lots of people around to ask for directions if you are uncertain. Waterfront Station is the LAST stop on the Canada Line route. The stops are announced on the train and on a tape it shows you the next stop coming up.

curleyjane

You are welcome, happy to help.:):)

If it is raining heavily you can shorten your outdoors walk from the Waterfront Station. It sounds complicated, but it isn't. Instead of going out to the street, go to the opposite side of the station and take the elevator down to the Expo Line. Remember to keep your ticket for access to the gates. Walk the length of the platform and exit through the ticket gates. Take the escalator up (no elevator that I have seen) then take another escalator which is on the right. There are signs so you won't get lost. At street level you are almost at the pier. Of course, if it isn't raining the usual way on the street is more convenient. I have done this many times as we always stay at the hotel on top of the cruise terminal even when we are not boarding a ship.