Need Help Planning an Evening in Vancouver

[sjmbruce]

Hi! I think my plans for Vancouver have changed and for some reason I'm at a loss.

We will arrive at the Vancouver airport at 3:00p.

 

We will need transportation, a hotel, a place to eat dinner and hopefully something touristy to do.

 

Is there this perfect hotel there that offers a shuttle from the airport and is near stuff to do?

Speaking of stuff to do, what can we do in one afternoon/evening that won't require a lot of travel?

 

Thanks for any information or advice!

[Kamloops50]

Hi! I think my plans for Vancouver have changed and for some reason I'm at a loss.

We will arrive at the Vancouver airport at 3:00p.

 

We will need transportation, a hotel, a place to eat dinner and hopefully something touristy to do.

 

Is there this perfect hotel there that offers a shuttle from the airport and is near stuff to do?

Speaking of stuff to do, what can we do in one afternoon/evening that won't require a lot of travel?

 

Thanks for any information or advice!

 

Your best bet would be a hotel in the downtown core near the pier. All hotels with shuttles are located in the Vancouver Airport/Richmond area . There isn't a lot of tourist things out there . I would take a taxi ($40) to a hotel downtown. There you can walk to almost everything or use the Hop-on/Hop-Off bus .

[zoncom]

Check out TA site for Vancouver extensively inc. Vancouver FORUMS.I found city underwhelming. Remember. a 14% tax on everything. Loved Stanley Park

[mare s.]

Here is a great thread about Vancouver. Lots of suggestions for places to stay and things to do. I definitely concur with taking a taxi to the city (the airport is a fair way away) You might check some of the larger hotels to see if they have airport transport. We stayed at the Hyatt which is just a couple of blocks from the cruise terminal and were able to walk all around town easily. Lots of wonderful restaurants. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities.

 

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=723387

[Urban trekker]

Zoncom - just a note - there never was a 14% tax on everything - it used to be 7% Provincial sales tax on goods only and 5% Federal sales tax on goods and services - the 7% was originally only on goods and it was then changed to a include services and meals - then the people revolted and voted out the services part so while it is 12% on many items ie clothing, hard goods - it is now only 5% on meals.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[Kamloops50]

Here is a great thread about Vancouver. Lots of suggestions for places to stay and things to do. I definitely concur with taking a taxi to the city (the airport is a fair way away) You might check some of the larger hotels to see if they have airport transport. We stayed at the Hyatt which is just a couple of blocks from the cruise terminal and were able to walk all around town easily. Lots of wonderful restaurants. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities.

 

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=723387

 

Most if not all hotels in Downtown don't have an airport shuttle.

[sjmbruce]

Thank you for all of the advice. Especially about downtown hotels being around the stuff to do. And I will definitely check out the Hyatt. Thanks again!

[lamchops]

Hi! I think my plans for Vancouver have changed and for some reason I'm at a loss.

We will arrive at the Vancouver airport at 3:00p.

 

We will need transportation, a hotel, a place to eat dinner and hopefully something touristy to do.

 

Is there this perfect hotel there that offers a shuttle from the airport and is near stuff to do?

Speaking of stuff to do, what can we do in one afternoon/evening that won't require a lot of travel?

 

Thanks for any information or advice!

 

I'll make the assumption that you're coming to Vancouver for an Alaskian cruise and just have the 1 night before you embark.

 

If that is the case, I would stay at the Westin Bayshore. You probably won't get checked in and organized till 5:00pm.

 

As the Westin is a short walk to Stanley Park, I'd go have a visit and then have dinner at the Fish House or Tea House which are both in the park.

 

After dinner, walk to English Bay and browse the shops along Denman Street on your way back to the hotel.

 

If you want a more casual dinner, there are many to choose from along Denman or Robson which are minutes from the Westin.

 

Use Google maps "walking instructions" to see if you are up to it.

[scottbee]

Hotel; not knowing your price range it's hard to recommend, but I would try and get something in the downtown core -- on a map it's the small penisula with stanley park on the NW tip.

 

Transportation from the airport. There's a quick and cheap ($9/ea) Skytrain (subway) line from the airport vs a taxi for $40+tip. Subway is faster than a taxi too, but may not drop you at your exact hotel location. However, slightly negated by the fact that you can subway+bus on the same transit ticket. For just a couple of $$$ more you can get an all day ticket for the subway+bus+seabus, but you have to buy from the 7-11 at the airport, they're not for sale on the airport platform.

 

What to do. if you only have an evening, Granville Island can be interesting, a tripover to the north shore and up Grouse Mt would be good, or even just a walk around [part of] Stanley Park

[dhype55]

Skytrain from the airport to downtown is cheap and efficient. If it's just you or you + 1. It's cheaper than a taxi ride. Vancouver downtown is very pedestrian friendly. So you don't need to be next to the ports.

 

Here's my suggestion for a evening.

 

Food / pub crawl

with bikes

head to stanley, rent bikes and just cruise everywhere, bike lanes are easy around downtown.

[sjmbruce]

Thanks for all of the advice! I am just staying the one night, as my Alaska cruise leaves the next day.

 

My price range for hotels is pretty low - clean & convenient is all I need for a place to rest my head. I think I'll book one downtown that has a shuttle available. It won't do pick ups but it will be nice to be dropped off at Stanley Park in the late afternoon after checking in and at the cruise terminal after checking out the next day.

 

My plan is to check in and take the shuttle to Stanley Park. Depending on the time, walking or biking what we can of the park. We'll walk back to the hotel, stopping for dinner and drinks. I'm thinking of doing appetizer, dinner, dessert and drinks at different places so we can try more. I'm thinking of possibly walking around Gastown in the morning before we check out at noon.

 

I've looked into the SkyTrain and I am so happy about it. How easy is it to find the station from the airport? Do you just pay once you get on or do one time tickets need to be purchased beforehand?

[scottbee]

Thanks for all of the advice! I am just staying the one night, as my Alaska cruise leaves the next day.

 

My price range for hotels is pretty low - clean & convenient is all I need for a place to rest my head. I think I'll book one downtown that has a shuttle available. It won't do pick ups but it will be nice to be dropped off at Stanley Park in the late afternoon after checking in and at the cruise terminal after checking out the next day.

 

My plan is to check in and take the shuttle to Stanley Park. Depending on the time, walking or biking what we can of the park. We'll walk back to the hotel, stopping for dinner and drinks. I'm thinking of doing appetizer, dinner, dessert and drinks at different places so we can try more. I'm thinking of possibly walking around Gastown in the morning before we check out at noon.

 

I've looked into the SkyTrain and I am so happy about it. How easy is it to find the station from the airport? Do you just pay once you get on or do one time tickets need to be purchased beforehand?

 

The lowest price downtown (if you're just looking for cheap and clean) is the YWCA Hotel which gets excellent reviews!

 

Few of the downtown hotels have shuttles to anywhere (the Hampton to the cruise port is a noticeable exception), but from anywhere downtown to the port is a $10 taxi ride, so I wouldn't get too stressed out about the availability/non-availability of a shuttle.

 

As for the Skytrain, exit the airport from intl arrivals, cross the street and take the escalators. Can't really miss it. You can buy tickets on the platform and they're $4 + $5 airport surcharge/ea (I know - OUCH). The other option is go into the airport 7-11 (one floor below domestic luggage claim) and buy a day ticket which is only $9.50. These tickets are good on buses, seabus and Skytrain (the generic name given to all the elevated/subway lines) such as the Canada line from the airport.