spending 3 days in Vancouver

[KarateLois]

We disembark on June 30th from Serenade of the Seas and have arranged to stay in Vancouver until July 3rd. Apparently, July 1 is Canada Day! We are in our 50's traveling with an 18 year old boy and a 79 year old woman. We have heard about Butchart Gardens. Does anyone know the best and most economical way to get there? There are so many day tours online that it is confusing and the ones that look the best aren't always the best. Also, any hidden gems in Vancouver? I hear we don't need a car so I'm hoping to save that expense. I read the thread about where to stay in Vancouver and that is very helpful since we didn't select acommodations yet. One last thing, what's a typical weather scenario on an end-of-June to beginning-of-July cruise from Vancouver and our days in Vancouver? Thanks to all

[hommebronze]

http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/things_to_do/featured_attractions_and_activities?pn=featured_attractions_and_activities_home

[Smooth Sailing]

We will also arrive in Vancouver on Jun 30th - We are doing the Victoria tour with BC Tours on the 1st - http://www.britishcolumbia-tours.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm/tid/1514

[Sally Forth]

We disembark on June 30th from Serenade of the Seas and have arranged to stay in Vancouver until July 3rd. Apparently, July 1 is Canada Day! We are in our 50's traveling with an 18 year old boy and a 79 year old woman. We have heard about Butchart Gardens. Does anyone know the best and most economical way to get there? There are so many day tours online that it is confusing and the ones that look the best aren't always the best. Also, any hidden gems in Vancouver? I hear we don't need a car so I'm hoping to save that expense. I read the thread about where to stay in Vancouver and that is very helpful since we didn't select acommodations yet. One last thing, what's a typical weather scenario on an end-of-June to beginning-of-July cruise from Vancouver and our days in Vancouver? Thanks to all

If I had three days in Vancouver, I wouldn't go to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens unless I really really wanted to, just as I wouldn't go all the way up to Whistler unless I really wanted to. There are more than enough neighbourhoods right in Vancouver to keep you busy. One hidden gems you might like if you love gardens, is Nitobe Gardens out at UBC.

http://www.nitobe.org/. You won't need a car to get there. Take the #4 UBC bus from downtown. You could also visit the Museum of Anthropology while you are out there.

-go to Gastown. It's touristy, yes, but when the 79 year old gets tired, you can sit outside and eat.

-go to Stanley Park. You can walk on the Sea Wall (one end is blocked by a slide right now, but that's farther than you'd probably want to walk anyway), go to the Aquarium, or just breathe the wonderful air

-go to Chinatown and eat an authentic Chinese meal or to just look at all the markets.

http://vancouverchinatown.ca/

-go to English Bay, walk around, and then take a water taxi over to Granville Island.

 

The last several summers in Vancouver have been hot and dry. The most likely weather scenario is partly cloudy and around 75F, but be prepared for rainy and 60F as well as clear and 80.

 

Viv

[banchote]

wow VanCity for three days. so much to do. to start you off right, Butchart Gardens are in Victoria, there are many ways to get there, but realize it's the entire day going and coming. My wife and i did it by going to the van marina and taking a float plane from van to victoria, enjoying the day there, including high tea at the empress and then took a coach/ferry back in the evening it's a 3 hour journey back, and 1 hour -130 there.

 

ok so for van city...if i can make a suggestion, such a great city, stay in a B&B, i've done the high end hotels, the downtown waterfront hotels and the B&B's and i have to say B&B's are sooo much fun there and if you get the right one they will help you plan your day etc.

 

so for visiting the city -- some really great highlights are:

Stanley Park and the aquarium there

gas town

vancouver art gallery

robson st

china town

i love kistsilano

the beaches are nice

Cailano Suspension bridge if you like that sorta thing...i've not done this one.

 

the list goes on...so much to choose from!

[Sunsailor]

We'll be in Vancouver for 2 nights before our June 16th cruise and I've done some research.We plan on using the hop-on hop-off trolley for the grand tour and to do a fair amount of walking. Thanks for the tips on this thread. Does anyone have recommendations for good moderate priced restaurants...one Chinese and one for Pacific salmon?

All suggestions are welcome.

thanks

Barbara

[ladysheri]

Grouse Mountain is also a very spectacular outing--take a cable car to the top..I believe they do tours that combine it with the Cappilano suspension bridge.

[banchote]

to be honest for chinese food go into china town. for pacific salmon ask at your hotel. but i'm sure somewhere in gastown will have a great resto for that.

[Sally Forth]

to be honest for chinese food go into china town. for pacific salmon ask at your hotel. but i'm sure somewhere in gastown will have a great resto for that.

If the OP has a car, it's well worth the drive to Steveston (south of the airport in Richmond), both to see the little fishing village and to eat fresh seafood. There are lots of other good fish alternatives on Granville Island. Bridges is good and has a great view, but I prefer The Sandbar.

 

Viv

[KarateLois]

Thanks for all of the good information! We still haven't made room reservations and I have never used Priceline or anything like it. Don't you go in blind, not kowing where you'll be staying? I'm getting excited about this cruise!!!

[bunduo]

Thanks for all of the good information! We still haven't made room reservations and I have never used Priceline or anything like it. Don't you go in blind, not kowing where you'll be staying? I'm getting excited about this cruise!!!

 

There are two ways to buy on Priceline. First, you can go in blind and bid for a room or, two, you can see what they have to offer and purchase a room that way. Check out what they are offering to get a feel for the three and four star properties they are offering. Then check out http://www.betterbidding.com. Don't be surprised if you don't have any luck. For some reason, this year the hotels are giving up their inventory like they have in a the past.

 

Check out Hotwire, too. I lucked into the Pan Pacific for $119/nt. The only reason I checked Hotwire was because I was so frustrated with Priceline. Betterbidding.com also will show you the properties used on Hotwire with the symbols with makes it a little less blind or 'opaque'.

 

The hotel I had as a back up was the Best Western Downtown for $125. It is a very nice property. One that I would have been perfectly happy staying at if the uber lux Pan Pacific didn't open up.

 

Good luck. :)

[TenerifeSharon]

WOW - the Pan Pacific for $119! When are your dates? I don't think I've ever read of anyone getting it that cheaply - except maybe in real off-season. Congratulations:D

[bunduo]

WOW - the Pan Pacific for $119! When are your dates? I don't think I've ever read of anyone getting it that cheaply - except maybe in real off-season. Congratulations:D

 

The date is Monday, June 18th. I think it being a weekday had something to do with the price. It was $119 plus tax. The tax is $25.60 so the grand total is $144.60. It is still a great deal. I've called twice to make sure it wasn't to good to be true. It is. :)

[banchote]

i'm paying 660 a night a that pan pacific over halloween mind you it's also a suite i think but still, it's a really hard hotel to get into half the time

[notentirelynormal]

The public transportation in Vancouver is excellent. The skytrain, bus and seabus are all on the same system so you can get an all day pass and go just about everywhere, relatively cheap. You could easily take the bus from downtown to the Capilano Suspension bridge, through Stanley Park or anywhere else for that matter.

 

Since July 1 is Canada Day, they usually have spectacular fireworks at English Bay. At least they did a few years ago. I assume they still are. Just like the 4th of July in the US. If you want a great view of the city you can book dinner reservations for Grouse Mountain, eat at the top and get the gondola ride up for free because you're doing dinner. If you've never done it, its fabulous.:)

[critterchick]

Three days in Vancouver - what fun! The first time we visited, we stayed at a B&B in the Kitsilano District - the Pennyfarthing Inn, across the river from downtown, near the University. The inn has a couple of house cats & a dog, so we were able to have pets while we were away from our own. We had dinner one night at Quattro on Fourth and it was a wonderful Italian meal. We also stumbled into a country French place, but I can't remember the name of it.

 

We took the bus or the SkyTrain (including the boat to North Vancouver) almost everywhere, very easy to do (this coming from somebody who lives in LA, where your car is surgically attached to you).

 

Here's what we did for 3 days in 2005: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=176472&highlight=vancouver

 

Note that Storyeum is closed, so that's not an option. If you want to see a garden, I recommend the Van Dusen gardens in Vancouver - not as spectacular as Butchart, but a lot easier to get to.

 

We went to Grouse Mountain last month, and I highly recommend it. We had dinner at the Salmon House in West Vancouver - the food was very good, the service a bit bizarre. You'd want a car to get there, but it seemed very easy to do (we were passengers, thanks Ann & Ross!).

 

We usually stay at the Westin Bayshore on points - it's convenient to Stanley Park (still gorgeous in spite of many trees lost in the storms this year), Robson Street and other downtown sights.

 

I could go on and on and on....