What to Do in Vancouver for half a day?

[cntrymum]

Our ship docks 7am and our flight leaves 4.20pm. Any suggestions on ONE GREAT THING to do in Vancouver before we fly out rather than doing a whistle stop city tour. From what I can gather, the post-cruise city tour doesn't stop anywhere - you just sit on a bus & drive around. Would really like to find something unique about Vancouver to experience during our brief time there bearing in mind we are coming off a 7 night southbound Alaska cruise.

e.g. if you were going to be in Sydney - I'd say visit the Harbour Bridge & Opera House.

What's an iconic Vancouver "thing to see/do"?

[MiddleEarth]

I would suggest spending the afternoon in Gastown. Lots of trendy shops, cafes and bars. Make sure you see the Steam Clock and the statue of Gassy Jack.

[Naps]

A leisurely bicycle ride through Stanley Park. It's a nice time.

[Putterdude]

Our ship docks 7am and our flight leaves 4.20pm. Any suggestions on ONE GREAT THING to do in Vancouver before we fly out rather than doing a whistle stop city tour. From what I can gather, the post-cruise city tour doesn't stop anywhere - you just sit on a bus & drive around. Would really like to find something unique about Vancouver to experience during our brief time there bearing in mind we are coming off a 7 night southbound Alaska cruise.

e.g. if you were going to be in Sydney - I'd say visit the Harbour Bridge & Opera House.

What's an iconic Vancouver "thing to see/do"?

 

Excellent question, to me as a native Vancouverite the 3 iconic attractions in Vancouver are Stanley Park, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain . Your challenge is time. While your ship arrives at 0700 (actually earlier than that but lets go with that) if you can self-disembark with all of your luggage then you will be thru customs at Canada Place by 0830 if not add a full 30 minutes or more to that time. If you are flying directly home then you will likely need to be at the airport 3 full hours before flight time and YVR is a 35 mins from Canada Place. So with that you need to be heading for the airport by 1230 at the latest which means you have about 4 hours on the ground in Vancouver.

The cycling of Stanley Park is a good idea if you cycle, the shuttle bus service in the Park does not begin until 1100 so that is not going to work for you.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge offers a free shuttle to and from the bridge that would work for you. Below is a link.

Grouse Mountain also offers a free shuttle to and from Canada Place but they don't have the sked on their site yet.

Incidentally, your luggage can be stored with Priority Luggage Services at Canada Place for a fee.

 

 

http://www.capbridge.com/index.php

 

http://www.grousemountain.com/

[Twinkd]

Oh I LOVE Granville Island - the market and shops are fab. Just the people watching is worth the trip. Also another vote for Stanley Park.:)

[laughing husky]

I second Granville Island...If you have ever been to Pikes market in Seatle it rivals that. but i like food markets....bikes in Stanley are also go....or just walking around the streets...Vancouver is a wonderful walking town, with wonderful restaurants. I love it there....

[cntrymum]

Thanks for the exellent info on timing Potterdude. 3 hours before a flight is horrendous! We only have to be 90mins in Australia. Lots of people hanging around in airports over there.......... As we are going via LAX it will be international so 3 hours it is!

 

From what I can gather, we will be pushing it for Grouse Mtn and I also thought we wouldn't be able to make Capilano Bridge but the shuttle certainly makes it doable.

 

Not a huge fan of wandering around shops/markets with no purpose. Do you think if we took the Trolley tour or Big Bus hop on/off we'd squeeze Capilano & Stanley or do both warrant a trip in themselves?

 

Have to come back to Canada itself for a holiday one day :)

[dolittle]

A leisurely bicycle ride through Stanley Park. It's a nice time.

Any thing in Stanley park .The best city park in the world.

[Putterdude]

Thanks for the exellent info on timing Potterdude. 3 hours before a flight is horrendous! We only have to be 90mins in Australia. Lots of people hanging around in airports over there.......... As we are going via LAX it will be international so 3 hours it is!

 

 

Double check the 3 hrs with your carrier, as you are going via LAX 2 hours may be enough but with overseas flights 3 hrs is usually recommended.

[Appygirl]

The last time we went through Canada Place 2 years ago it was closer to 9:30 before we were finally out and free!

 

I guess a lot depends on what you plan to do with your luggage while you sightsee around Vancouver. If you can send it ahead to the airport or not. The one not to miss thing in Vancouver? That's a tough one. Depends on your interests. You had some good suggestions. Walking around Gastown and having lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Going to Capilano Suspension Bridge would be good. Or maybe taking the gondola up Grouse Mountain and enjoying the views.

 

You don't have a lot of time. Judging by your signature I'm guessing you will be departing Vancouver on Friday August 3? Putterdude is correct. Give yourself at least 3 hours at Vancouver Airport especially since you are going to LAX and that means pre-clearing US Customs at Vancouver Airport. Two reasons. Monday August 6 is a stat holiday here. Lots of people getting away and leaving on Friday at the airport which means the airport will be slightly busier than normal due to long holiday weekend. The last time we went through, also changing planes in LAX, my husband was pulled aside by US Customs for a secondary check. They gave me the option of continuing to the gate or staying with him. I stayed with him. We went to this other waiting room. It was nerve wracking. They were pulling families luggage and RCMP and airport security were escorting them out. Two different families I saw getting rejected into the US. It took about 20 minutes for the US Customs staff to get the Homeland Security report and then they called him and invited me to join, spoke to us for a couple of minutes and let us continue to the gate. We were really glad to get to the airport early that day! Never had that happen before or since. Just one of those random secondary checks.

 

I think I might even opt for that post-cruise bus tour just cause it would be less stressful for me in the time period involved.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[PennyAgain]

Vancouver like Sydney is a very beautiful city on a harbour that is amazing to see. Be up early to witness the sail in so you will have those memories.

 

If I had your schedule I would book a private taxi or private van tour that would keep you and your baggage on the same vehicle. You can tell the driver where you want to stop and what you want to see. It will cost plenty but as you may not be this way again.....etc.

 

Your driver can then take you and your luggage to the airport on the schedule you choose.

 

I adore both Sydney and Vancouver very much and have been fortunate to have spent a lot of time in both. Queen cities of our world!

[cntrymum]

Thanks for the most informative replies everyone. I hope this thread is helpful to others in a similar situation.

 

PennyAgain - how much do you think it might cost for a driver for a few hours? Do you know if there are private tour companies that offer the service or would you just use a taxi? I think that sounds a much better idea than the hop on/off services as you still have to get to the airport.

 

Appygirl - trust us to cop a long weekend departure :) PS - love your appy - I have one and a paint too! The only thing with the post-cruise tour is I don't think it actually STOPS anywhere. Has anyone ever done one of those? The good thing is that it does deliver you and your luggage to the airport!

[PennyAgain]

I don't have a set idea on the pricing, but taxi and van companies should be very willing to do a quote for you via email based on a charge per hour.

 

 

Your desire to do this is not unusual. I'll look around the internet to see if I can find some tour companies with prices. http://www.vancouverprivatetours.com/ a link to one I found at random.

[cntrymum]

They look like they provide fabulous tours but a bit exy. I think we'll consider the shuttle to Capilano :D

[capriccio]

Any thing in Stanley park .The best city park in the world.

 

We enjoyed our Saturday in Stanley Park last weekend after disembarking an LA to Vancouver cruise. We (along with every little kid in Vancouver and maybe all of British Columbia) visited the Aquarium and had a great time. In a couple of hours you can see the dolphin show, the beluga whale show, the exhibits and the not to be missed 4D movie. The Park itself is gorgeous (and huge) - on a beautiful day it is definitely the place to be.

[cntrymum]

Hmmmm - Capriiccio - sounds good too. So..........

 

Stanley Park OR Capilano????????????

 

What's more "Vancouver"????????????

 

I'm guessing Stanley Park as it seems like the place people like to go to hang out?????

[TheCalicoCat]

We are going to the Aquarium...

[hexdragon]

We stored our luggage at the port and WALKED :eek: to the Aquarium. The walk was wonderful, but a heck of a lot longer than we were told... Needless to say, we took the bus back :D

[TheCalicoCat]

We stored our luggage at the port and WALKED :eek: to the Aquarium. The walk was wonderful, but a heck of a lot longer than we were told... Needless to say, we took the bus back :D

 

Good to know! We'll probably to a taxi - we plan on taking our luggage to the Amtrak station before going to the aquarium.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Gastown and Stanley Park would be my choices.

[Putterdude]

Good to know! We'll probably to a taxi - we plan on taking our luggage to the Amtrak station before going to the aquarium.

 

If you are going to take a taxi to/from the Amtrak station for the purposes of checking luggage the fare(s) are going to total a minimum of $20 so you find the less expensive and certainly more time efficient to use the luggage checking service at Canada Place.

 

http://www.prioritybaggage.ca/services-cruiseterminalbaggagestorageservice

[panheads4ever]

We (DW and I) will be cruising in early Sept. are there any parts of Vancouver to avoid? We will be getting in around 1:00pm and leave the next day.. Staying at the Pan Pacific. First time to Vancouver and have heard it is beautiful, and we are looking forward to it.

[Putterdude]

The areas to avoid in Vancouver would be what is known as the Downtown-Eastside...Hastings & Cordova Sts. east of about Abbott St. The area between Gastown and Chinatown. None of these areas are dangerous but are really quite seedy...alcohol, drugs, street people....

The Granville Street Entertainment District can be rowdy in the wee hours of the morning when the bars and clubs close and you may not care to be in Stanley Park on foot after dark but that is about it.

[Mzhelen]

You could store your luggage at the Pier and take the HO HO bus. Or check with Vancouver tours dot come (aka landsea tours) for their half-day tours. They will pick you and your luggage up and deposit you where you need to be. We're using them before we leave on our cruise.