Advice, thoughts, suggestions

[Kalynan]

We’re in initial planning for a 6-day Vancouver visit and 2-week B2B Alaska cruise at the end of April 24.

 

Flight arrives into YVR at 1900hrs on a Tuesday.

 

Thinking of getting a Vancouver hotel for first night, before hiring a rental car the next day and heading over to Victoria for 2 nights, then returning to Vancouver dropping rental car and 3 night stay in the city.

 

We’re interested to see a bit of Victoria (gardens, harbour area etc) on Wednesday and then perhaps taking a little driving round trip on Thursday (Port Renfrew, Honeymoon Bay, Duncan).

 

On Friday take ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and then up to the Sea to Sky gondola at Squamish, before heading back to Vancouver and return rental car (or alternatively, head up for 1-night stay at Whistler instead, then drive to Vancouver on Saturday morning).

 

Then Friday/Saturday - Sunday seeing some of the highlights of the city (Stanley park, maybe bike hire, False Creek etc) prior to cruise sail-away at 1700hrs on Monday.

 

Is this achievable, sensible?  Would welcome all advice, thoughts, suggestions?

 

TIA

 

 

[Milhouse]

Maybe plan to be flexible if the weather doesn't work out.  Can still be pretty raining late April.  

Eg. The Sea to Sky Gondola is a nice thing to do if the weather is nice but it is kind of pricey.  The wife and I did it for the first time this spring and enjoyed it but we also got to ride it for free for an industry event.  Lots of trails to explore up top but likely not very fun in the rain.  

If you do end up going to Whistler, the Whistler Tourism site occasionally has last minute deals (ie day before/of) for accommodations.  A friend and I booked a last minute room during the fall two years ago and got a nice room, a 10 minute walk from the village for about $100.  YMMV of course.

[Kalynan]

Thanks Milhouse

[em-sk]

Sounds reasonable.

 

I would pre-book the ferry crossing at bcferries.com . If you do it in advance you same a small amount but the critical thing is you end up being assured you don't end up waiting for a spot to open up. 

 

For the first night I would get a hotel in Richmond.  It will save you a bit of money and will make it easier to get over to the terminal.  

 

 

 

[Kalynan]

Thanks em-sk, any suggestions for rental cars in Richmond? 

[em-sk]

6 hours ago, Kalynan said:

Thanks em-sk, any suggestions for rental cars in Richmond? 

 

Nearly all the major rental car companies operate out of the airport.  That includes the major north American ones as well as sixtt this is more of a European brand.  You will likely discover your back at the airport for pickup though there are some locations in Richmond proper.  No strong preference.   

 

Most of the major brands also have downtown Vancouver locations where you could drop off the car.  

 

Richmond is made up of two main islands.  Sea Island houses the airport. Lulu Island houses most of the city.

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by em-sk

[Kalynan]

Of course, forgot about the airport thanks again.

[Alberta Quilter]

Just a thought, but why don't you fly on to Victoria and rent the car there?  That would save you the time, hassle and expense of the first ferry ride.  Mind you, it can be a lovely ferry ride...  Not sure what the conditions would be like in April, though.

 

I'm no authority on flights from the UK but perhaps it might be less expensive to fly from the UK to, say, Calgary or another city with non stop flights, and then fly domestically from that city to Victoria.  Rent the car, do your touring of Vancouver Island and then take the ferry from Nanaimo as planned.  Whistler is lovely and we did enjoy the Sea to Sky gondola; yes, it was expensive.  I don't need to do it a second time but I'm glad I did it.

[Kalynan]

Instead of just the 2 of us, we're now looking to persuade another couple to come with us in mid-September next year.

 

Would our initial itinerary / planning still be ok at this time of year?  

 

Any alternative suggestions or ideas would be welcomed !!

 

 

[Milhouse]

Weather is still generally good in mid-September with the last of the summer festivals and events happening.  But it's kind of variable in that consistently good weather can last into October or it can start getting showery around mid-September. 

We've also had a lot of forest fires the last few years and it can get somewhat smokey/hazy around Vancouver and Whister (and other parts) depending on fire conditions.  Somewhat random though.  

If you come earlier in September, note that we have a statutory/bank holiday the first Monday in September (Labour Day) so that can be a very busy travel long weekend (eg Ferries).  But also a few of events happening in and around Vancouver. 

There's a bike race from Vancouver to Whistler on Sat Sept 7 (Gran Fondo) that will congest the sea to sky highway to Squamish/Gondola/Whistler northbound.  

[Kalynan]

Many thanks Millhouse, looking to fly in around 10th Sept. 

[Kalynan]

We've now settled on getting the ferry back from Vancouver Island via Nainamo - Horseshoe Bay on Friday 13th (hope this isn't an omen!) September and are contemplating Grouse Mountain instead of Sea to Sky gondola - couple of questions....

 

We'd probably get to the Grouse car park for about 11-ish and the rental car needs to be returned to the Avis downtown at 1630hrs, does this leave enough time to have a decent visit to Grouse mountain?  Is the traffic really bad for the journey to Avis on a Friday afternoon?  How long should we plan for the drive from the car park to downtown?

 

We are wanting to visit Stanley park as well, so if the above potential visit to Grouse mountain isn't realistically a good idea, would it make more sense to cancel that plan and head to Stanley park instead.

 

Or.... we have all day Saturday & Sunday and therefore could have a full day in Stanley park, what makes better sense?

 

We have booked tickets to go to the Whitecaps football on the Saturday at 1930hrs - was thinking about getting the False Creek ferry over there from Granville, is this a sensible transport or is there a better option?

 

All suggestions welcomed, many thanks !!

 

 

[Milhouse]

I'll reiterate what @em-sk says about booking a reservation for a specific sailing.  I only take the ferry for about one trip a year but I have ptsd from having to wait three sailings once so I now book a reservation.  One issue is that you have to arrive within a certain window before the sailing due to limited staging space.  (I also highly recommend NOT eating at Miller's Pub just outside the Nanaimo ferry terminal.)

 

We went up to Grouse Mountain last weekend for the first time in a few years.  We spent about just over 2hrs exploring but likely could have spent a bit more time up there as we missed some of the free shows/activities: Lumberjack show, bird talk/show, ranger talks.  You may want to check their daily schedule and see how their shows align with your timing.  It's kind of an expensive attraction so you kind of want to get full value.

IMO, four hours (ie 11am to 3pm'ish) should enough time unless you are planning to do a few of the additional paid activities like the ziplining, ropes course, etc.  

 

Open to being corrected on the traffic & travel time back into downtown on a Friday afternoon but it should be reasonable at around 30mins.  Rush hour traffic should be going the other direction.  There is a football game downtown starting at around 7pm but you should be ok if leaving before 4pm.  Caveat is that if there's an accident or incident that snarls traffic over the Lions Gate bridge and you might have to go the long way around via the Iron Workers bridge.  I'd just check traffic on your navigation app before leaving Grouse.

 

If you have a car, it might be better used/more convenient going to Grouse.  But it's about $10 to park in the lot unless you can grab a spot on the street just before the lot area. You are able to take public transit or a free shuttle up to Grouse too.

Spending a day in Stanley Park can also make sense as a car can get you to some of key  spots and elevated spots (prospect point, hollow tree, etc) quicker but there are areas that are more practical on foot.  It is also paid parking throughout Stanley Park.  I don't know if you need to spend a full day in Stanley Park unless you're going to spend some extended time in the Aquarium or really explore most of the park on foot. 

 

Not sure where you are going to be departing from but my buddies and I normally just walk over to the arena district for a game after grabbing some food/happy hour somewhere downtown.  If you are on the south side of False Creek near Granville Island, taking a ferry might make more sense.  But if you are on north/downtown side, it's probably easier to just walk (or take the skytrain depending where you are) versus taking a ferry.

[Kalynan]

Thanks @Milhouse we've got the ferries booked and the one back into Horseshoe Bay gets in about 1045hrs.

 

We thought 4 hours at Grouse Mountain would allow for decent-ish value for money for the visit as long as we would have enough time to drop bags at our accommodation at O Canada House B&B before returning the hire car prior to our rental deadline at 1630hrs.

 

Have seen one of your Stanley Park walking loops and other routes recommended by Vancouver folk/locals but I'm trying to persuade the remainder of our group (we're all in our early 60's barring one late 50's) to perhaps hire bikes for half a day to go round the Seawall, so not sure what we will finally settle on.

 

If we walk to the match on Saturday evening, is there somewhere you might recommend for an evening meal & perhaps a beer on the way there?

 

[Milhouse]

I think you should be good on time for Grouse Mountain unless any exceptional events occur.  

 

Yup, bikes are a good option for the seawall around Stanley Park.  Going around the seawall hits many of the key sights other than the elevated areas.  And the bike path is one way (counterclockwise) around the park.  

 

I don't attend Whitecaps games so my perspective is for Canucks games and the occasional Lions games.  For a pre-game beer, the places that are pretty lively with fans and conveniently near the stadium (& arena) are Shark Club Sport Bar & Grill, Browns Social House at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and Library Square Pub.  (The Pint pub is kind of popular too but a bit further away.)  They're located on Georgia street about a 5-10min walk to the stadium. 

Note you'll likely get a more fan activity along Robson street leading to the main plaza of the stadium.  There are also some casual places to eat further up on Robson and Boston Pizza right beside the stadium.  Boston Pizza can be festive to grab a drink but the food is pretty subpar (basically assembled and heated).  

 

If you wait too close to game time, you may need to queue to get into the initial three I listed above.  (eg. For 7pm Canuck games, I've experienced queues forming around 4:30pm-5pm.  Shark Club may take reservations on game days but I forget.).  Shark Club doesn't honour happy hour during game days but Browns has a daily happy hour to 6pm (and after 9pm) with a small selection of discounted food and drinks.  I don't think Library Square has a happy hour.  I don't feel any of these places' food is anything to write home about but is adequate for a pregame pubgrub meal.  However, IMO Browns is the best of the bunch for food with the better options for dinner. 

Slight detour on the way is Gotham Steakhouse.  They have a daily happy hour in their lounge only until 6pm.  Nice room.  40% off their entire lounge food menu (nice steak sandwich and nibbles) and some reasonable drink prices.

 

Tagging @martincath for other food and pregame beer suggestions (and possibly itinerary suggestions) as he usually has helpful ideas beyond my suggestions.

[martincath]

23 hours ago, Kalynan said:

We thought 4 hours at Grouse Mountain would allow for decent-ish value for money...  our accommodation at O Canada House B&B ... If we walk to the match on Saturday evening, is there somewhere you might recommend for an evening meal & perhaps a beer on the way there?

Thanks for tagging me in @Milhouse; have a few mins, and a change of mental pace from dealing with incorrect reports from our incompetent building management about fire damage might be just the thing!!!

 

I'd agree that 4 hours is a food timeframe to feel your Grouse pennies were well-spent, fellow Scot - sometimes you have to lean into that stereotype about getting value for money! On the 'soccer' front, while I'm not a big footie fan either I've attended a handful of 'Caps games - my folks enjoy them when they visit, and as long as your expectations are reasonable about the quality of play to expect, fun will be had (for perspective, my Dad is a lifelong QoS supporter like many Doonhamers, and we all agree that MLS tends to be more like Division 1/Championship level play than premier league despite the occasional 'sliding into retirement' star player who signs up).

 

There's a very long-term, very active local supporters club who have managed to wangle some food and drink deals at a handful of official 'supporter pubs' - current list here - so if you want to get into the pregame vibe with the Southsiders, these would be likely spots to find them. Given the general standards of Canadian politeness, you can safely visit these places - it's not like wearing the wrong scarf to the Sarrie Heid and getting your teeth knocked oot! - but there are loads of other bars and restos you could visit taking a fairly direct route to the stadium.

 

Personally I've always enjoyed Yaletown Brewing on a match day - they're more of a Canucks fans hockey bar, offering matchday shuttles to maximize your predrinking time(!), so on a footie night not so hoaching that you will struggle to get your food and bill promptly. They do Happy Hour daily too, even on match days. Big place, usually not too hard to get seated on a non-Hockey night, and a quite different vibe between the Resto and Bar sides of the establishment so you can pick which one fits your groups mood on the night - patio both sides and big open windows, so it's also easy to see from the street whether there are seats free! Good beers, a decent range brewed on-site, and generally decent pubgrub with the pizzas probably overall the things we enjoy eating most - the only thing we'd advise against is the Sticky Toffee Pudding, which I always warn Brits not to order anywhere in Canada if you're used to the real thing (it's invariably a sponge covered in sauce, perfectly decent if that was how it was described, but never even close to enough Dates to make the actual cake part sticky!)

 

If you fancy something a bit more Vancouvery than pub grub, several options even just on Robson within a few blocks of the stadium: Jinya Ramen make IMO the best broth on our local huge ramen scene (their premium pork version, Tonkatsu); Japadog have their sitdown resto on Robson with the full menu (most of their outlets are vans or hotdog carts with only a restricted menu); and on the same block is Viet Sub if you're running short on time and want a quick, very tasty sammich rather than the sitdown meal. There's also an A&W for IMO the least-bad fastfood burger in town if you really need to hustle to make the game - even if youre running late, better to eat a meh burger while walking there than wait until you get inside: prices inside the stadium are terrible, staffing levels suck even more than they did pre-Covid so everything takes forever, and even if you can stomach the beer prices they're super pedantic about drinking age so you can't just send one person to buy beers for all... definitely best to get your beer and food on Pre and Post game!

 

Logistical tip - don't rely on a GPS or Google map for getting to the stadium, they'll all default to the official address on the far side and make you walk loads extra! You can walk straight off the end of Robson St onto the 'plaza' that surrounds the stadium - the multiple Terry Fox statues artwork is nice and shows you're in the right place - but assuming you bought tickets in advance on phone, rather than needing to visit Will Call, you don't have to just join the big crowds. Any door gets you inside, and then you can move around to the right section - between tourists and even plenty of not-very-local-locals who slavishly follow signs to the door number on their ticket, all of our stadiums have a door or two which are massively overused compared to less obvious ones around the side. Since the Caps only sell the bottom bowl for most games, it's never as bad as a big concert or Lions game - but if you walk up from Robson and see big queues at A & H, try walking to your right towards G (quieter than B/C/D, as folks walking from a lot of parking lots and lower level of Stadium skytrain tend to use the stairs on that end)

[Kalynan]

@Milhouse & @martincath many thanks both and especially whilst during emergency fire recovery procedures!!

 

Will check out the assorted venues and see what we all fancy most & what would be the best fit with our plans during the earlier part of the day.

 

Our local team (the world-record-holders Red Lichties) got relegated this year, so they'll be up against QoS next season, so understand what type of quality football (ahem, 'soccer') to expect.  We're really just going to see Ryan Gauld (if he's playing) who did a lot of his youth development with Dundee Utd and also to have the bragging rights of having been in the stadium when it is utilised during the 2026 World Cup (maybe even see Scotland playing there on TV if they qualify).

 

Already got our tickets and thanks for the info on getting into the ground.

⚽⚽⚽

 

 

 

[martincath]

2 hours ago, Kalynan said:

... Our local team (the world-record-holders Red Lichties) got relegated this year, so they'll be up against QoS next season, so understand what type of quality football (ahem, 'soccer') to expect.  We're really just going to see Ryan Gauld (if he's playing) who did a lot of his youth development with Dundee Utd and also to have the bragging rights of having been in the stadium when it is utilised during the 2026 World Cup (maybe even see Scotland playing there on TV if they qualify).

Tix for the caps will be a fraction of the cost of the Cup, good call! I hope you get to see your guy, but that you're not disappointed if you don't - just last week so many Not Real Caps Fans were paying about 5 times the regular price in hopes of seeing Messi when Miami came to town, and the resale market was running easily 10x normal - now there's complaints and threats of lawsuits because not a single famous 'Galactico' was on the travel team, and the 'caps have given free tickets to a future match to everyone in hopes of shutting them up!

 

Hopefully there'll be no 36-0 spankings of Queens next season, and the only sporting team mentioned in the Bible (Matthew 12:42) will rise to the occasion and defeat you😉

 

Are your guys still part-timers? If memory serves there was some sort of 'highest ranked part-time team' status you held recently as well (footie has never really been my thing, but in recent years I've been tracking news more because we have a cousin playing for Scotland, although now he's in the English leagues at QPR - but I check the Queens scores now and again, so I'll probably see more Arbroath news when you're in the same league, and hopefully the trend of Scotland qualifying for international competitions will continue now we've made two consecutive Euros, even if just to save the whining and swearing on family facebook pages... my Dad takes the game seriously enough to have named my sister after Ally McLeod in '78!!!!)

 

Don't suppose you're bringing any Smokies over with you? I'd be happy to give you a private tour in exchange for being able to make a really good kedgeree again 😉 

 

[Kalynan]

@martincath can understand why they would pay that to watch Messi, he is superb!!  Don't see why the Whitecaps need to give them free tickets though, 'cos they aren't able to guarantee that the opposing team will play him in the match, even presuming he is uninjured & fit to play in the game.

 

Can't see the 36-nil ever happening again, think the Queens will be safe enough and your Dad will be happy & yes the Lichties are still part-time.

 

My brother's away with the tartan army to Germany in a fortnight and touring the country by train to watch the national team, so he'll maybe see your cousin playing.

 

Would easily bring a pair of Smokies but not so sure the other passengers on the plane would appreciate the aroma and wouldn't want to infringe any Canadian customs & border regulations🐟

[martincath]

15 minutes ago, Kalynan said:

... Don't see why the Whitecaps need to give them free tickets though, 'cos they aren't able to guarantee that the opposing team will play him in the match, even presuming he is uninjured & fit to play in the game.

 

Would easily bring a pair of Smokies but not so sure the other passengers on the plane would appreciate the aroma and wouldn't want to infringe any Canadian customs & border regulations🐟

Exactly - if you watch a team sport, you are paying for the team not any given player... but the 'Caps did shoot themselves in the foot by advertising using the phrase 'Whitecaps vs. Messi' and chose to put their prices up hugely compared to other home games.

 

If they'd kept the prices the same as all the other matches, nobody could rationally complain - and with the extra demand they'd still have made buckets opening up the upper levels to more than triple their regular season attendance (a full stadium at ~60,000 seats compared to the lower bowl max ~22,000 which rarely sells more than ~17,000 anyway), but jacking up all the prices and linking it directly to Messi (and Suarez and Busquets, none of whom showed despite being confirmed fit) in advertising was a very poor choice - the first stage of the apology once Inter Miami announced the lack of stars was free kids meals for <18s and half price food & drink for adults on the day, which backfired like everyone who's ever been to BC Place for a sellout gig could have told them it would... simply not enough outlets to possibly supply all the victuals, even if they'd given the vendors more than 2 days notice to staff up and stock more food, just all-around idiocy.

 

They're at least doing it fairly in July when Wrexham visit - that's a friendly not an MLS game, entirely driven by the popularity of the TV show, and advertised as Team v. Team, so whatever the market will bear is fine by me (although I'll definitely think less of Ryan unless he distributes a bunch of free tickets to local kiddies charities!) Still ridiculously pricey though, so we're going to watch the better Wrexham team - their women! - play in Portland, for about twelve quid each for good seats in the much-better-than-BC Place atmosphere of the iconic Providence Park stadium (the oldest dedicated MLS facility, with a lovely 1926 curved main stand which has had several very sympathetic renovations - the 'new' roof is all local timbers and blends in beautifully). Frankly womens football is the superior game here anyway, there's a greater depth of talent as 'soccer' was written off as 'a girls game' in North America for decades!

 

Maybe if you bring enough Smokies that everyone on the plane can have a pair...? 😉

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, martincath said:

 

They're at least doing it fairly in July when Wrexham visit - that's a friendly not an MLS game, entirely driven by the popularity of the TV show, and advertised as Team v. Team, so whatever the market will bear is fine by me (although I'll definitely think less of Ryan unless he distributes a bunch of free tickets to local kiddies charities!) Still ridiculously pricey though, so we're going to watch the better Wrexham team - their women! - play in Portland, for about twelve quid each for good seats in the much-better-than-BC Place atmosphere of the iconic Providence Park stadium (the oldest dedicated MLS facility, with a lovely 1926 curved main stand which has had several very sympathetic renovations - the 'new' roof is all local timbers and blends in beautifully). Frankly womens football is the superior game here anyway, there's a greater depth of talent as 'soccer' was written off as 'a girls game' in North America for decades!

 

Maybe if you bring enough Smokies that everyone on the plane can have a pair...? 😉

 

Martin - thanks for the reminder about Wrexham. I saw the advert a few weeks ago and was thinking about picking up some tickets to take the grandsons. Would be our first Whitecaps match since we gave up the season tickets after season 2.