Vancouver Airport to Pan Pacific Hotel via SkyTrain?

[Jcol5786]

Hello,

We are taking our first cruise out of Vancouver in early May to Alaska on Ovation of the Seas. We are arriving on a WestJet flight from Ottawa at 10 am. We are staying at the Pan Pacific. We are traveling with another couple who will be cruising with us. We are all in our late 50's, early 60's and have no mobility issues. After watching some videos I thought it would be fun to take the SkyTrain from the airport to hotel but our friends are a little concerned about this plan. We will each have a large suitcase and an airport legal carry on, all on wheels. I have travelled and moved about some distance with this amount of lugage several times with no problems but our friends might not be as comfortable as I am moving about with 2 bags.So I guess my questions are how easy is it to get from the checked bag pick area to the Skytrain platform and will there be ample room on the train car for our bags? I know this will depend on timing but generally is this what people do when they have luggage? Or since we are a party of 4 with 2 bags each should we be thinking about some other mode of transport? Thanks.

[cozumelcruise]

My husband and I have done this in the past.  We were 60 when we took the SkyTrain to the Pan Pacific hotel.  2 large checked bags, 1 carry on and a backpack that could "sit" on the other luggage.  We did not have a problem with space on the train.  Main issue to be aware of is the last 150' to 200' was a little sloped and the walk way/road was rough.  We would do it again though.....  Definitely more affordable!

[cruiseryyc]

If they're concerned, let them take a taxi and you take the Skytrain.  Four of you with luggage won't fit in a normal sized taxi anyway; you'd have to order a van.

[phabric]

The 3 of us (3 luggage and 3 carryons) took a taxi from airport to Pan Pacific in 2022.  There is a taxi rate chart at the taxi line.  I think it was around $30.

[martincath]

Taxi is CAD$41 now to the pier - but unless you get lucky and a van rolls in, as mentioned you will struggle to get 4 bums on seats and luggage in the boot of the Priuses which make up ~83% of local cabs! Carryons on knees during the 35ish min drive would not be fun, especially since fixed rate fares mean cabbies put their foot down as much as possible!

 

Savings on SkyTrain are not huge in comparison inbound though, with the extra $5pp AddFare. Senior Fares, if on a weekday, will be a little over $32 total (weekends all one zone, so closer to $28).

 

Consider an UberXL for this trip if you all want to go in one vehicle - it'll likely be a little higher than cab fare even without Surge but you'll definitely get a big enough vehicle to fit you all - or split up between a cab and SkyTrain. Maybe send all the big bags with the cab folks though, so save schlepping two bags each from the station (although the trains do have plenty room for baggae under every seat, and as YVR and WaterFront are both terminus stations it's easy to get a seat and maneuver yourself and bags oyut at the far end).

[cattman]

On 4/20/2024 at 5:02 AM, Jcol5786 said:

So I guess my questions are how easy is it to get from the checked bag pick area to the Skytrain platform and will there be ample room on the train car for our bags? I know this will depend on timing but generally is this what people do when they have luggage? Or since we are a party of 4 with 2 bags each should we be thinking about some other mode of transport? Thanks.

As the SkyTrain was designed for easy transport to and from the airport, you will find it very easy to get from the baggage claim to the train platform and lots of room for bags. Just take the seats near the open areas designed for bikes and baggage.

 

You will exit the airport, cross over to the escalators, and up to the train platform where you buy tickets and board.

 

As the Pan Pacific is at the last stop on the line, you will not need to watch for your station - just relax until you reach the end. Then it's easy getting from the train up to the station with escalators and elevators. Then a right out of the door, and a five minute walk will get you to the PP... there is a mild ascent, but nothing you should have a problem with.

 

We are in our late 60's, have two bags apiece, and always use SkyTrain -  and will do so again this weekend when we stay at the PP before our cruise aboard Niew Amsterdam

Edited April 24 by cattman

[Jcol5786]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. I think we will go with the Sky Train.

[mattR]

Do you have to buy tickets or can you just tap in and out with your credit card?

[Urban trekker]

Unless you are a senior you can just tap in and out with credit card. If you tap it will charge you the regular fare - so if a senior wants to save a buck or two then you will want to use the ticket machine and select concession Fare.

A thing to remember - you can only use the tap for one fare so if there are two of you you will need to use two different cards or the ticketing machine.

[em-sk]

On 4/24/2024 at 2:28 PM, Jcol5786 said:

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. I think we will go with the Sky Train.

 

Good choice.

 

When you get on the station at the airport, your basically getting on an empty train and have a good selection of seats.  Then Waterfront is the last station on the line for you so everyone else is also getting off.  That makes it easy.

 

There is also space under the seats for bags.

 

I find skyrain much faster and easer than the O-train in Ottawa.

 

 

[em-sk]

On 4/24/2024 at 6:10 PM, mattR said:

Do you have to buy tickets or can you just tap in and out with your credit card?

 

You can tap using a credit card.  

[kayehall]

SkyTrain sounds interesting.  What is the closest skytrain station to the Westin Bayshore please?

[martincath]

11 hours ago, kayehall said:

SkyTrain sounds interesting.  What is the closest skytrain station to the Westin Bayshore please?

If you can walk a mile with luggage, then get off at City Centre and pootle along W Georgia St to Cardero St - hang a right and it's a block down, on your left. Waterfront is only about a hundred yards further, so if the train is busy just wait the extra 2 minutes and get off there (the train waits at least 2-3mins before leaving again, so you get more time to pull bags out from under seats).

 

If you can't walk that far, just take a cab - by the time you add a few bucks for cabfare and a random wait time to flag a cab, on top of SkyTrain fare plus $5pp AddFare inbound, the savings really don't add up to a great deal even for a couple.

 

If you can though, great news - you can walk to the pier with your bags to embark! It's the same as walking to Waterfront (basically bang on a mile) if you take the scenic wander along the Seawall, and a couple hundred yards less if you take the Cordova St shortcut.

[bingobunny14]

we are going to the Auberge in vancouver do we take the sky train to waterfront

 

[milogurd]

 

SkyTrain connects Vancouver Airport to Cruise Port/Pan Pacific Hotel

 

The Canada Line Rapid Transit SkyTrain is a very convenient way to get from Vancouver Airport to cruise port. It is the oldest and longest driverless rapid transport system in the world. This fully automated transport system has three lines: The Canada Line, Expo Line and the Millennium Line. The Canada Line connects the airport with the cruise terminal in downtown Vancouver.

 

The Canada Line from the airport has wider aisles and space under the seats for your luggage.

 

The Rapid Transport Station at Vancouver Airport is located between the international and domestic terminals; just follow the signs for SkyTrain or Rapid Transport System. There is a covered walkway to the station with escalators and elevators to make the short walk very easy, even with baggage. 

 

To go from Vancouver Airport to the cruise port, you need to take the Canada Line which has two routes. One route runs from Vancouver Airport to the cruise port on the waterfront and the other route serves the City of Richmond, so make sure you get the SkyTrain in the right direction for your cruise port destination (Waterfront)! There are 13 stations on this route, starting with YVR airport.

 

If you are traveling from the airport to the cruise ship, you will be getting off at the final station “Waterfront”. From the station, it is an easy 4-8 minute walk along W. Cordova St and Howe St to Canada Place or the Pan Pacific Hotel.

 

The Canada Line SkyTrain journey between Vancouver Airport and the cruise port takes 26-30 minutes. It runs every 6 minutes at peak times. In the early morning and evening, the service is reduced to every 12 minutes. Late at night and at off-peak times such as weekends and holidays it operates a 20-minute service.

 

The SkyTrain service begins at around 5am (4.48am from the waterfront and 5.07am from the airport). Last SkyTrains are around 1am (1.05am from the waterfront and 12.56am from the airport). You certainly won’t have to wait long to travel by this efficient mode of transport.

 

Fares start at CAN$3 for 90-minutes of travel by SkyTrain in Zone 1. The fare from the airport to downtown cover two zones and starts at CAN$4.25. There is an additional surcharge of CAN$5 YVR Addfare for eastbound trips only from the airport.

 

Therefore, the cost for an adult one-way trip eastbound from Vancouver airport to cruise port is CAN$9.25 (which includes a YVR surcharge of CAN$5).

 

The return trip is just CAN$4.25 as the surcharge does not apply to westbound trips from the cruise port to the airport.

 

The easiest pay to pay is by using a contactless credit card or mobile wallet with a tap-to-pay feature. Tap your card on the reader once when you board the SkyTrain and, most importantly, you tap again when you exit. This way your charge card will only be charged for the length of time you traveled (up to 90 minutes per single fare).

 

You can also purchase a single-use ticket from vending machines at the SkyTrain station in the airport, or you can purchase a day pass if you want to use public transport (such as buses and other SkyTrain routes) around the city for the rest of the day.

 

You can pay by Compass Card which is reloadable, but it is only worth getting a Compass Card if you plan to stay in the city for a while, or for future visits to Vancouver. Compass Cards do not expire. It is valid for Vancouver Bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coat Express as well as some ferries.

 

[martincath]

10 hours ago, bingobunny14 said:

we are going to the Auberge in vancouver do we take the sky train to waterfront

 

Yes - but it's best to get off at the back of the train (the front if you see it pull into YVR as it goes backwards on the same track from there) and take the elevator/escalator up following signs to Granville St rather than entering the station proper. Saves most of the uphill walk!

 

The info above is... extensive, but out of date on pricing by between two and five years so I'm guessing this is ChatGPT produced as it has a dataset within the right timeframe. The lack of human knowledge would also explain why a pointless map to the pier was included, literally worse than useless for the walk from train to Auberge: try this map instead.