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aussiekers

By aussiekers,
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marys350

marys350

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What's your favorite thing to do in Vancouver in the few days before boarding a ship to Alaska?

 

Have you checked the Canada/ Alaska/Pacific Coastal board? There are lots of great suggestions for Vancouver there.

Edited by marys350
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Putterdude

Putterdude

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Well technically Vancouver is not Alaska but we Vancouverites kind of accept the fact that these kinds of questions get asked in this forum.

 

There are just a ton of things to do in Vancouver. There is historic Gastown, trendy Yaletown and a lot of unique shops on Robson St. which are worthy of a visit. Tourists love to go over to the North Shore and visit the Capilano Suspension bridge and the Grouse Mountain Skyride....both of which offer free shuttles from downtown. Granville Island is a large festival market which is popular with locals and tourists alike. at 1,000 acres you can spend a day in Stanley Park and not see it all. The Vancouver Art Gallery and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of BC is always a good bet. Those are just some of the highlights but there are lots more things to see and do like the Vancouver Lookout, the Caldron from the 2010 Winter Olympics, Harbour Ferries, the SeaBus, Queen Elizabeth Park, the Van Dussen Botanical Gardens and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens in Chinatown.

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xlxo

xlxo

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A few days? Can you make it a few weeks?

  • Day 1 Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge
  • Day 2 Hop on tour around town with Stanley Park and Granville Island
  • Day 3 Whistler and Sea to Sky attractions? Victoria?

If you identify your arrival date/time and which cruise you are embarking, we can share some seasonal opportunities with you.

 

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aussiekers

aussiekers

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Ha ha Putterdude, I know Vancouver isn't Alaska.

 

We have been before with the kids and this time just the two of us. We've done Whistler driving from Vancouver and back, so beautiful and because of time we won't get back there this time. Have been to Stanley Park, driven around downtown but not sure we really stopped at any areas to walk through.

 

We only have a couple days since we get in Sunday night and leave on a cruise Wednesday afternoon. That's why I am hoping to hear what you'd rank as the high points. We will be trying to fit in as much as we can. Also we won't be renting a car this time, but relying on taxis I think. Is that a bad move?

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Putterdude

Putterdude

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We only have a couple days since we get in Sunday night and leave on a cruise Wednesday afternoon. That's why I am hoping to hear what you'd rank as the high points. We will be trying to fit in as much as we can. Also we won't be renting a car this time, but relying on taxis I think. Is that a bad move?

 

Most of us Vancouver types don't recommend car rentals, a car can is a bit of millstone around your neck in Vancouver. Parking at a downtown hotel can run upwards of $25 per night, parking at attractions is not free and often hard to find and the city is becoming more car unfriendly by the month with bike lanes and construction. You can do very well getting around on free shuttles, HOHOs, on foot, taxis and transit. Personally, I am not a huge fan of transit but if you have a plan, don't want a tour and just want to get from point A to point B you can purchase an all day transit pass for $9.75 which gives you bus, SeaBus and SkyTrain.

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xlxo

xlxo

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We have been before with the kids and this time just the two of us. We've done Whistler driving from Vancouver and back, so beautiful and because of time we won't get back there this time. Have been to Stanley Park, driven around downtown but not sure we really stopped at any areas to walk through.

 

We only have a couple days since we get in Sunday night and leave on a cruise Wednesday afternoon. That's why I am hoping to hear what you'd rank as the high points. We will be trying to fit in as much as we can. Also we won't be renting a car this time, but relying on taxis I think. Is that a bad move?

Thoughts....

Edited by xlxo
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martincath Holiday Sharing Rare

martincath

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Since you've been before, had a car then, don't want one this time I'll assume you want to see things easily reached from downtown (if your hotel isn't in the downtown core, the relative ease of getting around will alter...)

 

Already mentioned by PD, but worth emphasizing is Sun Yat Sen garden. There aren't very many gardens of its type anywhere and it is hands-down the best of the bunch, with many awards from travel and tourism organizations. Unless you've visited Suzhou, China you simply will not find a more authentic example anywhere in the world so if you like gardens, this is a rather unique one.

 

The little 'campus' of museums the other side of False Creek offers the chance to visit three very different museums while only walking a few minutes total (False Creek Ferries run boats out to a dock next to the Maritime Museum, and Museum of Vancouver and MacMillan Space Centre are just yards away). Time it right and you can also see a Shakespeare play in a close-to-the-original experience (inside a tent rather than an open theatre) at Bard on the Beach, also very close.

 

It's easy to walk up into Kitsilano from here, a quite picturesque neighbourhood with a bit of a hippy/surfer vibe and plenty of bars & restos. Or take the ferries back along False Creek, visiting Granville Island certainly if you didn't last time, but also walk around a bit in the olympic Athletes Village (since renamed to just The Village with occasional additions like 'False Creek' to the beginning or end depending who you talk to). Even if you did visit the village before, odds are it's now very different - it took quite a while for enough folks to move in and give it some atmosphere, a real ghost town for 2-3 years, but now bustling especially in nice weather. If you're here on a summer Sunday, Food Cart Fest is a popular spot - sample many different carts all in one place - or Tap & Barrel provides the patio with arguably the best view in the city.

 

If you drove through without stopping last time, then it's also worth revisiting Gastown & Yaletown - both have many food & drink options, and relatively historic buildings abound, but very different styles and general vibe. Both are best appreciated on foot.

 

If I had to pick one itinerary for my 'best day in Vancouver' then it would be breakfast in Medina, spend the morning walking or biking the Seawall from Canada Place right around Stanley Park and then along False Creek (biking you can easily keep going to Granville Island the long way, on foot save a lot of time by hopping the ferries over from Burrard or Hornby). Lunch on Granville Island at Edible Canada, maybe a little shopping in the quirkier stores for hats or quidditch brooms. Something indoors and cultural to get out of the sun for a while - one or two of the museums I mentioned above - then back over the creek on a ferry into Yaletown, return bikes if necessary, walk into Chinatown for the late afternoon with an hour in Sun Yat Sen then a cocktail stop in Bao Bei soon after they open, before heading into Gastown for dinner at L'Abattoir (absolute must to have the sweetbreads). A leisurely wander up Water Street to finish up with a nightcap around sunset in one of the restos around the Convention Centre and watch the skies - actually that last part's for you tourists, I just head home and watch from my window because we've got an even better view from there, neener-neener;-)

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aussiekers

aussiekers

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Thank you all so much! I'll bookmark this so we can use it as a guide! We are downtown at the Hyatt so hopefully pretty convenient to places.

 

We are foodies, lived in Singapore for 6 years and will be looking in Vancouver for some good cuisine! We love Korean and all Asian!

 

Have noticed your temps are warm right now which is great! Will be enjoying your city soon!

 

Any more ideas are welcome!

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BCHappyGal

BCHappyGal

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Info on Vancouver from a local!

 

My favorite must do attractions are

 

1) Grouse Mountain – http://www.grousemountain.com – this is a wonderful scenic mountain only about 15 mins from downtown Vancouver. Ride the airtram to the top for lots of fun activities that include a loggers show, birds of prey show, 2 movies (1 about the Vancouver area and 1 about the 2 Grizzly Bears who make their home on Grouse Mtn) ride a chair lift higher up the mountain to visit the wind turbine that generates approximately 30% of the power required for Grouse Mountain Resort and visit with 2 live Grizzly Bears. Thrill to a 2 hour Zip Line Tour. Enjoy a meal in any of the restaurants. Caveat only spend the money to go up on a clear day.

2) Capilano Suspension Bridge – http://www.capbridge.com – this is Vancouver’s oldest tourist attraction and I still enjoy visiting it! Located on Capilano Road just before you reach the Grouse Mountain parking lot. Walk across a suspension Bridge over the Capilano Gorge, wonder the trails thru the rain forest, walk thru the treetops on the new Tree Top Adventure, traverse a Cliff Top walk, visit the trading post for a huge selection of souvenirs, watch native weavers and/or carvers at work.

3) Capilano Fish Hatchery is also located on Capilano Road and is a great place to view salmon jumping up the fish ladders to get around the Cleveland Dam. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capilano_River_Regional_Park

4) Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge – http://www.lynncanyon.ca - is also located in North Vancouver and is much less touristy than Capilano but it also is not as spectacular. The bridge is slightly higher above the water but much shorter in span. Located in a Provincial Park this bridge comes with some nice hiking trails and you will find an ecology centre in the park as well as picnic tables and a food concession outlet. Should you choose to enjoy the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge always cross the suspension bridge first and then hike down the trail to the lower (Twin Falls wooden) bridge to cross back over the Lynn Valley River and return to your car – that way you are hiking downhill rather than uphill. It is also free to visit this suspension bridge!

5) Stanley Park – http://www.vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/ - is the crown jewel of Vancouver's parks. As one of North America's largest urban parks, covering over a 1000 acres and offering an abundance of activities. Enjoy the totem pole collection near the Brockton Point Light House, hiking trails, beaches, water parks for the kids (young & old), rose gardens, miniature train, petting zoo, aquarium –http://www.vanaqua.org – many view points, and several restaurants.

6) Vancouver Aquarium – http://www.vanaqua.org – is Canada’s largest aquarium and is committed to the conservation of marine life and education. Located in Stanley Park this is a fun place for the family to visit.

7) Fly Over Canada incorporates state of the art technology in an Imax theatre to show you supernatural Canada, Fly from coast to coast taking in breath stealing views of Niagara Falls, Lake Louise, The Rockies & more. Spectacular! http://www.flyovercanada.com

8) Gas Town – the location where Vancouver originated. The name is derived from a very colorful character named Gassy Jack who was one of the first settlers in the area and a salon keeper – while in Gas Town don’t miss your photo op with the statue of Gassy Jack and by the Steam Clock.

9) At the start of Gas Town is the Harbor Centre Tower http://www.vancouverlookout.com a great spot to start your tour of Vancouver with a birds eye view of the city. Either take the elevator up to the lookout level or go to the top and enjoy a meal in the revolving restaurant.

10) China Town is only about 6 blocks over from Gas Town and is the largest China Town north of San Francisco. While in China Town enjoy a visit to the Dr Sun Yat Sen Classical Gardens http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com and also make sure you visit the world’s thinnest building it is only 6’ wide!

11) Granville Island – http://www.granvilleisland.com – is a huge public market area which not only sells fruit & veggies but you can also buy frozen fish to be shipped to your home. Many artists make this their home and you can watch them at work in their studios – making this a great place to buy unique souvenirs. The Granville Island Brewery is also located here and you can stop in for a free tour & tastes. There are theatres for live performances and many fine restaurants. A fun way to get to Granville Island is via the Aquabus – http://www.theaquabus.com

12) Burnaby Village Museum – http://www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca – is an open air museum with over 30 restored homes, shops, school, church and a 1912 carousel situated on 10 acres

13) Gulf of Georgia Cannery – http://www.gulfofgeorgiacannery.com – is a restored fishing cannery located in the historic fishing village of Steveston (part of Richmond). Here you see exhibits that showcase the history of the fishing industry in British Columbia. Once finished in the museum it is great fun to walk along the fishing docks and see the fishing boats which are selling their catch. There are also some excellent restaurants located here.

14) The Vancouver Maritime Museum located on the shore of English Bay is fun for the whole family with lots of hands on exhibits for the kid in all of us. Here to you will find the ship St Roch which the RCMP sailed from Vancouver to Halifax via the Northwest Passage and then completed the return journey in 1944. You actually get to tour this ship. http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com

15) Queen Elizabeth Park http://www.vancouver.ca/parks/parks/queenelizabeth The 130 acre (52 hectare) park is one of the most beautifully maintained public parks in the world. Second only to Stanley Park in annual visitations, it receives nearly 6 million people a year who marvel at its superior standard of garden plantings.

The park was originally quarried for its rock which served to build Vancouver's first roadways. In 1929 the Board proceeded to acquire the property which had become an abandoned eyesore but still served as the site for two holding reservoirs for the City's drinking water. Dedicated as a park by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (the present Queen's mother) on their much lauded visit to Vancouver in 1939.

16) Fort Langley is the restored wooden fort built by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a trading post. It is the origin of British Columbia and was the first capital. This Fort is operated by the Federal Parks Board. http://www.fortlangley.org

17) If you are a wine lover you might want to rent a car and spend a day visiting a few of the many excellent wineries located in the Fraser Valley only about a 1 hour drive from your hotel. Almost all of the wineries offer free tastes & tours. Two of the wineries have excellent restaurants on the premises. This makes for a very fun and relaxing day. Check out the Fraser Valley Wine Association web site for a map of winery locations and a brief description of each winery http://www.fvwa.ca

18) VanDusen Botanical Garden is a scenic 55- acre garden of international renown – a living museum of plants collected from around the world and artistically displayed amidst rolling lawns, woodlands and five tranquil lakes, all in the heart of Vancouver and just 15 minutes from downtown.

Due to Vancouver’s mild climate, plants bloom at the Garden year-round. This same climate creates a unique environment where plants from varying climate regions thrive and grow – at VanDusen you will see plants from the southern hemisphere, tropical areas and the high Arctic tundra along side native species. The Elizabethan Maze (one of only six in North America) provides year-round fun.

19) UBC Botanical Garden located at the University of British Columbia covers 110 acres and includes an Alpine, Asian, Native, Food, and Japanese Gardens. http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org There is also a treetop walk which is great for “fit” explorers who are not afraid of heights – however I would not recommend it for anyone who has any mobility issues. Also these gardens are not as well maintained as I would expect a botanical garden to be!

20) Enjoy a FREE walking tour of Vancouver. The Gastown tour starts in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery and ends at the statue of Gassy Jack in Gastown. The Downtown tour starts at the Vancouver Art Gallery and ends at the Olympic Cauldron. The China Town tour starts at the Vancouver Art Gallery and ends at the Chinese memorial statue. All of these tours start at 11am. The Granville Island Tour starts at 3pm at the bus stop just at the entrance to Granville Island. Check these tours out at http://www.tourguys.ca The Tour Guys have added an afternoon walking tour of Granville Island and 2 evening tours….

21) A new addition I have just found for the FOODIES in the gang! Check out 2 companies that offer food tasting tours http://www.foodietours.ca and http://www.offtheeatentrack.ca – both offer an excellent tour http://www.foodietours.ca visit much more high end restaurants in the heart of the west end of Vancouver while http://www.offtheeatentrack.ca concentrates on more casual eateries in the historic original section of Vancouver! (Gastown)

I just enjoyed Foodietours “Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour” and was very impressed with the organization, quality of restaurants & refreshments, guides knowledge of foods and the eateries we were visiting as well as the area we were walking in. Felt it was excellent value for the money provided you did not spend the extra $20. For the alcohol! This company also offers a tasting tour on Granville Island Public Market and of the Vancouver Street Food Carts.

As for Off the Eaten Track - this company offers culinary tasting tours of various areas of Vancouver. This company has now expanded and offers a brunch tour and a dinner tour. I did the Railtown Urban Eats tour and it was Fabulous! This tour would blend well with the free walking tour offered by http://www.tourguys.ca … you could easily do the free walking tour and then meet up with this tour company for this tour for your lunch - the food is plentiful & wonderful you will not leave this tour hungry!

 

 

 

 

 

Vancouver has a bunch of hop-on hop-off buses

 

http://www.vancouverpinkbustours.com/

 

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours/hop-on-hop-off

 

http://bigbus.ca/home/

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martincath Holiday Sharing Rare

martincath

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Thank you all so much! I'll bookmark this so we can use it as a guide! We are downtown at the Hyatt so hopefully pretty convenient to places.

 

We are foodies, lived in Singapore for 6 years and will be looking in Vancouver for some good cuisine! We love Korean and all Asian!

 

Have noticed your temps are warm right now which is great! Will be enjoying your city soon!

 

Any more ideas are welcome!

The website xlxo linked is a great resource for Chinese (good mix of public and industry insider opinions), but lacks fusion or other non-Chinese Asian cuisines.

 

I'd definitely recommend eating in Bao Bei as well as their cocktails, but Pidgin also springs to mind as somewhere both excellent and also off-the-radar. News articles about anti-gentrification protests in their first year abound, but little press about the food which is pan-Asian, originally with a mostly Korean-Japanese focus but more recently a broader brush with some Euro elements since Neil Ingram, ex-Boneta, joined them.

 

There are quite a few small Korean places around, but none I've tried that made me think they were enough better than any other to return to specially (especially not the AYCE KBBQ places). Maybe Kobob Burger - it's a popular place though personally I just don't like the 'rice cake in a burger' that's their main thing. Lots of other more 'normal' Korean food options though.

 

Korean food in Vancouver seems to work better, for me at least, as part of a pan-Asian concept or wider at the higher end, or as street food - many of our food carts bring Korean into the mix, like Disco Cheetah (Korean-Mexican) or the more straight-up Korean Mama Express. On the 'other Asian' side you must try Vijs - everything from the food cart to the full-on resto experience gets rave reviews; Soho Road naans are another of my fave food cart experiences, just delightfully-textured bread.

 

Hawkers Delight is specifically Singaporean in style - a bit out of the way from your hotel, but if you really miss the street food from your time there perhaps worth the trip. Otherwise there's a decent small chain of Malayan restos called Banana Leaf and a bit of a mini-pan-Asian zone centred on Broadway & Oak with many restaurants. Short, though uphill, walk from Granville Island (top of the map)

 

Search the boards for several threads involving sushi/Japanese cuisine locally; Chinese is probably the single most common cuisine in the area so a lot of prior chat on that too. Several local posters are big into asian food so if you don't find what you need on searches, tripadvisor, Yelp etc. come back and ask more.

 

But for the sake of all that is holy don't ever set foot inside a Noodle Box since you've actually spent time in Asia. It's like someone decided to make the kind of asian food a little old white lady who hates all spices would enjoy. Sure, they offer a bazillion levels of 'spiciness' but it literally involves tossing in extra chili to the already-cooked noodles, nothing else to add depth just pure heat.

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aussiekers

aussiekers

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Well we got in last night and went walking around, ended up on Robson street and decided to sit on the roof top at Joe Fortes. Had delicious fish and some great Granville beer! A great start!

 

Today we walked 10.3 miles! Started out this morning and walked down to Canada Place and continued around the sea wall. Stopped at a place called the Blue Cafe for breakfast. It's right in the marina area. Walked to the beginning of Stanley Park. Headed back into town up to Robson checking out the area and loads of restaurants! What a climb! Stopped at Spicy 6 for an Indian buffet. It was great! Continued walking, went down Granville looking at the markers in the sidewalk for BC's artists, musicians, etc. turned around after that, seemed like there were getting more homeless etc on the streets and I got a bit nervous. I'm sure it was fine. We turned on Robson again and went to the stadium. Walked around two actually. Went on to china town, then Gastown. Wow! So much to see. Back to Canada place and looked at a Norwegian cruise line, a Disney cruise line and a small one which goes in closer to the glaciers on small boats. Then went to Pan Pacific I think and had a beer and enjoyed the view and the sun while sitting outside. Checked out the shuttle to the capilano bridge and grouse mountain for tomorrow. What a great day!

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Putterdude

Putterdude

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Glad you had such a great day in Vancouver.....you did a lot of walking. Homeless people are a fact of life in the city and while I can understand while you would be uncomfortable, they really are quite harmless. We watched both the Wonder and the Sun sail by this evening but didn't notice the Silver Discoverer....but sometimes they will depart at a different time than the mainstream lines.

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martincath Holiday Sharing Rare

martincath

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Also glad you're enjoying the city. While personally i hope the clouds stay in place a while - it's been annoyingly warm lately - I hope you get at least a little clear weather so you can see downtown from Grouse.

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xlxo

xlxo

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Butchart gardens is a day trip with Victoria from Vancouver. Otherwise, Butchart can be considered for those flying in and/or out Seattle.

 

IMO.... Vandusen is a great choice for a few hours. In addition to travel expenses... you'll find the admission to be far more affordable and you can still spend a few hours there.

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/vandusen-botanical-garden.aspx

 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vandusen+gardens

 

[YOUTUBE]z8qZdrX7dHA[/YOUTUBE]

 

Consider a return trip in December when open the park up in the dark....

[YOUTUBE]TnNj55UCCkE[/YOUTUBE]

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martincath Holiday Sharing Rare

martincath

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How does VanDusen Botanical Garden compare to Bouchart Garden?

I'm seeing it will be a LONG day if we take public transit over to see Bouchart, although I've heard it's worth it.

IMO, totally not worth spending all day to see Butchart. Not that it isn't pretty and extensive, but you can see more and as good or better right here in Vancouver with much less travel between them.

 

Queen Elizabeth park has extensive gardens, including two quarry gardens (not on the same scale as Butchart, but same idea) and is FREE. It's also just a couple of blocks walk from Van Dusen.

 

Dr Sun Yat Sen in Chinatown is better than anything at Butchart. On the UBC Campus there is a Japanese garden as well as more general Botanic garden (plus a set of suspended walkways through the trees). Stanley Park has the Rose Garden, extensive Rhododendrons, more trees than you can shake a stick at (also all free).

 

Grand total cost to travel between all of these would be $9.75pp (Day Pass on transit), and more relevantly you would have options to do other things around Vancouver which spending a day getting to & from Butchart deprives you of.

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DarthShoppingMaul

DarthShoppingMaul

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Thank you all so much! I'll bookmark this so we can use it as a guide! We are downtown at the Hyatt so hopefully pretty convenient to places.

 

We are foodies, lived in Singapore for 6 years and will be looking in Vancouver for some good cuisine! We love Korean and all Asian!

 

Have noticed your temps are warm right now which is great! Will be enjoying your city soon!

 

Any more ideas are welcome!

 

Most of the good Asian food is in Richmond, which is a municipality just south of Vancouver and connected to the downtown core and other areas via Skytrain. If you are at the Hyatt, just walk across to the Skytrain station and take a ride down.

 

Buy a transit pass or a book of 2 zone Faresavers for your voyages if you plan on taking Skytrain from your downtown hotel. You can obtain transit passes or Faresavers from grocery stores, London Drugs, 7-11, etc. There is a 7-11 at YVR in the domestic terminal that sells these and it may be a good idea to purchase them there if you are taking the Skytrain out of the airport.

 

Tickets purchased at Skytrain ticket vending machines at the airport (Sea Island) are subject to a $5 add fare tacked on to each ticket in addition to your fare. If you are travelling from the airport to downtown Vancouver, you will need to purchase a 2 zone ticket from the vending machine. The price will be $5 in addition to your 2 zone ticket. You can avoid the extra charge if you use Faresavers (a 2 zone Faresaver for Richmond to Vancouver travel) or a daypass, which is good for all zones.

 

A new designer outlet mall (Mcarthurglen) just opened on airport grounds (Sea Island). Skytrain service on Sea Island is free between YVR station and Templeton. However, the $5 add fare applies if you take the Skytrain from any Sea Island station elsewhere. Once again, you can avoid the extra $5 upcharge if you use a daypass or Faresavers.

 

The translink website is a good resource for public transit

http://www.translink.ca/

 

There are currently 3 Skytrain lines: Canada, Expo, and Millenium. If you are transiting from downtown Vancouver to Richmond, you will be looking to ride the Canada line.

 

You will find good Asian eats at Aberdeen Mall, Yaohan Center, and a massive cluster of restaurants on Alexandria Road. In fact, travelling to Richmond is like going to a cleaner and less crowded version of Asia. Our family`s favourite, Aberdeen mall, has a great food court and 3 or 4 sit down type restaurants for dumplings, seafood, and Korean BBQ. All are reachable via Skytrain.

 

Japanese Ramen restaurants are very popular here in Vancouver as well. There are many popular places in the West end of downtown: Santouka, Kintaro, Motomachi, Marutama, etc. Also worth mentioning are Tai Sho Ken (Chinatown area), Ramen Butcher (Chinatown), G-Men (Richmond), Ya Ya Ya (Richmond).

 

If sushi is your thing, then Vancouver will also meet your needs. There are many all you can eat places, but quality is lacking in most establishments. We usually go to a la carte places like Sushi Garden, Sushi Town, Samurai Sushi, Sushi California, etc. There are just too many good places to mention that are all listed on Urbanspoon.

Edited by DarthShoppingMaul
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DarthShoppingMaul

DarthShoppingMaul

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IMO, totally not worth spending all day to see Butchart. Not that it isn't pretty and extensive, but you can see more and as good or better right here in Vancouver with much less travel between them.

 

Queen Elizabeth park has extensive gardens, including two quarry gardens (not on the same scale as Butchart, but same idea) and is FREE. It's also just a couple of blocks walk from Van Dusen.

 

Dr Sun Yat Sen in Chinatown is better than anything at Butchart. On the UBC Campus there is a Japanese garden as well as more general Botanic garden (plus a set of suspended walkways through the trees). Stanley Park has the Rose Garden, extensive Rhododendrons, more trees than you can shake a stick at (also all free).

 

Grand total cost to travel between all of these would be $9.75pp (Day Pass on transit), and more relevantly you would have options to do other things around Vancouver which spending a day getting to & from Butchart deprives you of.

 

I would agree with the opinion on Butchart Gardens. There is alot more to see, and experience in Vancouver. I would not make a special trip out to Victoria just to see Butchart.

 

Van Dusen and Queen Elizabeth park are at least 1km from one another walking north on Oak St and then east on 33rd Ave. It`s probably a 15 to 20 min walk for most people.

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