Vancouver airport transfer to hotel, party of 4

[tutuwahineLV]

The first time we went to Vancouver for a cruise, I seem to remember that we were able to secure a 'limo' as a walk-up, near the taxi pick up area.  This was back in 2008, and I know things may have changed.   

We could use the train, then taxi to the hotel, as it's not close to any of the stops, but .... one of the members of the party will be 78, and prefers not to have to schlep luggage multiple times.  So, my question is this,  can we still grab a car service? or do I have to schedule that in advance?   I'd opt for a taxi, but vancouver taxis all seem to be too small for 4 ppl and their luggage.  (ok for 2 though)  

TIA for your expertise....

 

Tutu

[Philob]

Try calling the hotel you will be staying at, they may actually have a car/shuttle service.

[Heidi13]

Personally, I would book a limo in advance. Then you have no worries about delays at the airport.

 

The Skytrain really isn't convenient if you have lots of luggage and as you noted most taxis cannot handle 4 pax + cruise luggage.

[martincath]

I'm the opposite of Heidi - I would never prebook a limo as it costs more and is actually slower unless there's a queue (limos are not allowed to wait at the curb while the driver stands inside with your sign - so you'll be met at Arrivals then have to hang around while the driver brings the car around).

 

Both cabs and limos are still available as walk-ups, and I have never seen a wait of more than a minute or so for a limo. Cabs yes - sometimes there's a big queue of people waiting and with it taking a minute or more for each car load to actually get in you can be there for 10-15mins shuffling along before you get to the front - but since limos run about twice the price of a cab there's less demand and almost never an actual queue of people waiting in line, just a handful of folks right at the curbside. Every time we've taken a limo it's been because it was late, the cab queue looked 10+ mins, we were too tired to be bothered with the walk from SkyTrain home, and the limo queue has been totally empty so we could hop right in and go.

 

Pricing is here for limos  and here for cabs, all zone-based fixed fares. Most downtown hotels are $31 by cab, with limo price based on vehicle size but starting about double that (NB: tax is NOT included in limo fares - add 5% - but is included by law in cab fare. Tips are optional, but cabs generally expect at least 10% and limos 15%).

 

You are correct that most Vancouver cabs are small - the more recent ones are the largest Prius which does have a big enough trunk to handle one sensible suitcase each for 4, but you'd still need to have hand luggage on laps and 3 people in the back seat. Minivans though are the same price and easily handle 4 people and mountains of luggage - they are all set up for a wheelchair so tend to have one bench seat for 3 and the front passenger seat available, with the typical minivan middle seats removed - but these are less than 1 on 5 vehicles so you will wait longer, and if you don't actually need an Accessible van it's a d*ck move to take one if there's someone else waiting who is in a wheelchair for example.

 

Oh, and while Philo is correct that some fancy downtown hotels have cars and all airport hotels have shuttles - the former will NOT come to the airport for you. They generally only offer free rides FROM the hotel, and even then it's downtown only - so pier yes, but airport no. If you're staying at one of the fancy ones - or the Hampton, who also have a downtown shuttle - you could reach out to see if they'll collect you from SkyTrain I suppose, but 4 people will find that a cab is pretty much the same price as SkyTrain to downtown, thanks to the $5pp extra AddFare for inbound travel, so I'd definitely be inclined to just use a walkup cab or limo. See what the queue looks like for each when you get outside and make your decision then.

[tutuwahineLV]

MartinCath, thank you .. That is exactly the info I need.  Looks like we'll be doing the same thing we did the first time.  Love that the walk up limo option is still there.  

 

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge y'all can share.