Vancouver HOHO bus

[ike201]

Hi - just trying to wrap up final details for our trip. When people talk about the Vancouver HoHO bus, are they referring to the Vancouver Trolley Co or the Big Bus Hop-on Hop -off. Is one company preferred over another? They seem similiar in routes & prices.

 

Another quick question - what's the best way to get to our hotel (on Beatty St). We were thinking of jumping in a cab or two (there's 6 of us)

 

Thanks for your help.

[Urban trekker]

They could be referring to both and now there is a third company during a HOHO service as well - called SightlineHOHO.com - $29.00 for a one day pass and will honor competitors coupons.

 

Here's what we know about the two that you mentioned.

 

Vancouver trolley uses the trolley type of bus that is popular in many cities and has live commentary while Big Bus uses either British double deck or open rear buses but there commentary is canned but available in 6 languages.

 

Vancouver trolley now has two routes while Big Bus I think still has one.

 

Regards getting to your hotel - are you referring from the Airport or from the ship.

 

I will let PD or others answer that part of the question as they seem to have the links handy.

 

Hope you enjoy our great city which was yesterday named by the Economist newspaper as the easiest liveable city in the world.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

My prefernce is for the Trolley over the Bus. The bus is partially open if it is nice day but not so nice if it is raining plus 8 hrs of sun is a lot if it is sunny. But the bigest single reason I prefer the Trolley is that it has live narration whereas the Bus's is taped.

I assume that you are speaking of transportation from YVR to your hotel on Beatty (Geporgian Court, I would guess) yes cab would likely be best, it would require 2 of them for the six of you...cost about $35 per cab. However you might just inquire at the airport about a limo, there is a new service there, High End Limo, and while they have a set price of $39 for a 4 person town car we can't get a price on a larger limo and if you phone them then it becomes a reservation situation and the price get much larger.

[vegs1]

My prefernce is for the Trolley over the Bus. The bus is partially open if it is nice day but not so nice if it is raining plus 8 hrs of sun is a lot if it is sunny. But the bigest single reason I prefer the Trolley is that it has live narration whereas the Bus's is taped.

 

I assume that you are speaking of transportation from YVR to your hotel on Beatty (Geporgian Court, I would guess) yes cab would likely be best, it would require 2 of them for the six of you...cost about $35 per cab. However you might just inquire at the airport about a limo, there is a new service there, High End Limo, and while they have a set price of $39 for a 4 person town car we can't get a price on a larger limo and if you phone them then it becomes a reservation situation and the price get much larger.

 

I emailed High End Limo regarding stretch limo's for 5 of us plus luggage and here was there reply:

 

Thank you for considering HighEnd Limousine Services Ltd.

As our vehicles are parked curb-side at YVR 24/7 you would not require a reservation for your arrival, simply exit the terminal doors and our vehicles will be parked to the right across the street. The rate from YVR to the Pan Pacific Hotel, Downtown Vancouver is $39.00 + gst(5%) for a Sedan Towncar/Navigator/Excursion/BMW 7-Series (max 3-5 passengers) and $45.00 + gst(5%) for a Stretch (max 6 passengers). Gratuities are at your discretion.

 

Yes, the Stretches are available right at the airport. The stretch can accommodate up to 6 passengers and 6 medium sized suit-cases. Due to safety constrains only small carry-on luggage is permitted up front.

Hope this helps someone.

[negc]

While I generally prefer a live commentary to a taped one, it does really depend on the narrator. We have ridden the HOHO buses in London and Dublin and the quality of the commentary has varied considerably depending on the talents of the person doing the narrative. :)

[fann1sh]

Thanks for the feedback of locals and experts, above.

 

I'm planning on taking the trolley, for a reason no one has yet mentioned. There is no free Stanley Park bus this year, due to municipal cutbacks. The Vancouver Trolley has 6 Stanley Park stops (if I counted right), while the Big Bus has only 2.

[Urban trekker]

Good observations - will have to remember to include that in future posts.

 

Thanks

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[ike201]

Thanks everyone for your info - I'm going to go with the trolley.

Thanks for the info for transportation from the airport also. I'm so

excited to see Vancouver. I've heard great things about it.

[RoofingPrincess]

I took the BigBus and enjoyed it but wish I could've gotten a little deeper into Stanley Park than I did on foot. Plus when waiting downtown, it seemed like the Trolley had more vehicles and the wait wasn't as long.

One of the drivers was very friendly and funny, gave us some of his own commentary and kept talking back to the tape... :)

Word of caution: my roommate went out on the BigBus late in the day but well before the posted "last time" on their brochure. She got on at stop 8 near our hotel (just before the crossover to Granville Island), intending to just make one loop around the city before dinner.

When the bus got back to the starting point, she was told to get off the bus as it was done for the day, and that no more buses would be starting the route. She was left on her own to find her way back to our hotel. Worse yet, the person telling her this was quite rude about it. Hopefully this person was just having a really bad day and this is not typical of customer service at BigBus.

[FlCatLover]

Does anyone know the best way to get from the Quality Inn on SE Marine Dr. to the closest HOHO stop? Is there a bus that goes?

[ggarlene]

Does anyone have any experience with Sightline HOHO? Their web site doesn't say very much (narration, etc) but I like the fact that they seem to run later in the day than the trolley. On the other hand, the trolley has more stops in Stanley Park. Decisions, decisions and we're leaving tomorrow!

 

Thanks for any advice.

[the plumbers wife]

Should we consider a taxi from YVR airport to the pier or do you think it would be better to use High End Limo? Does anyone know how much a taxi would be and do we need to change our $$? We are two adults and two teens. Thanks!

[oldmama]

The Vancouver Entertainment book has a 2 for 1 coupon for the Trolley, as well as 100's of other coupons.

[pizzalady1]

The Vancouver Entertainment book has a 2 for 1 coupon for the Trolley, as well as 100's of other coupons.

 

The trolley coupon is not good in July or August

[Putterdude]

Should we consider a taxi from YVR airport to the pier or do you think it would be better to use High End Limo? Does anyone know how much a taxi would be and do we need to change our $$? We are two adults and two teens. Thanks!

 

If there is less than 3 of you I would just take a cab, your cost will be about $35 incl tax. There are some mini-van cabs which will handle up to 4 pax at the same cost. More than 4 then I would look at the limo option.

[Putterdude]

Does anyone have any experience with Sightline HOHO? Their web site doesn't say very much (narration, etc) but I like the fact that they seem to run later in the day than the trolley. On the other hand, the trolley has more stops in Stanley Park. Decisions, decisions and we're leaving tomorrow!

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Sorry no experience on this front.

[Mango Tango]

In May, we did the HOHO trolley tour for two days. The first day we did the blue loop and the next day we did the red loop. We got a free one way ticket for the water taxi to Granville Island. We had to pay for the return ride back to Yaletown, then we walked back to our hotel, The Westin Grand.

 

I thought the trolley was a great way to see Vancouver.

[Putterdude]

I emailed High End Limo regarding stretch limo's for 5 of us plus luggage and here was there reply:

 

Thank you for considering HighEnd Limousine Services Ltd.

 

As our vehicles are parked curb-side at YVR 24/7 you would not require a reservation for your arrival, simply exit the terminal doors and our vehicles will be parked to the right across the street. The rate from YVR to the Pan Pacific Hotel, Downtown Vancouver is $39.00 + gst(5%) for a Sedan Towncar/Navigator/Excursion/BMW 7-Series (max 3-5 passengers) and $45.00 + gst(5%) for a Stretch (max 6 passengers). Gratuities are at your discretion.

 

Yes, the Stretches are available right at the airport. The stretch can accommodate up to 6 passengers and 6 medium sized suit-cases. Due to safety constrains only small carry-on luggage is permitted up front.

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

Thanks for sharing this information, it is exactly the information we all have been fumbling for.:)

[Putterdude]

Does anyone know the best way to get from the Quality Inn on SE Marine Dr. to the closest HOHO stop? Is there a bus that goes?

 

Could you give us the address of the Quality Inn on SE Marine Dr. I think I drove by it the other day but can't find a listing for it. If it is the one I am thinking of it has just been recently re-flaged as a QI. In any event with that information I am sure we can help you.:)

[Urban trekker]

PD - it's the old Blue Boy hotel - enjoyed a few beer in there over the years - I think it has been a QI for some time now - it would be at Fraser and Marine.

 

As for a bus perhaps if Vicki is around she can offer some thoughts - normally i would suggest that the #8 Downtown bus but it is a long slow ride because it picks up at just about every stop - I was almost going to suggest taking the #100 to 22nd St Station and then grabbing Skytrain downtown - this would probably be faster but it would be two zones and cost $3.75 instead of $2.50 unless you are riding on the weekend when we only have one zone fares.

 

Just wonder if the poster is using Choice rewards for this hotel - if that is the case they should look at their downtown properties - especially the QI on Howe St.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Urban trekker]

PD - they are calling it the Quality Inn - Vancouver Airport Hotel - took awhile but I found it on the Hello BC website.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[FlCatLover]

The address is 725 S.E. Marine Dr.

 

We're not using Choice rewards this time. Will use some two other times during the trip but decided to pay this time and get some more points. I suspect I would have rather been closer to downtown but it's a done deal now. Also, I am getting in around midnight Friday and didn't want to have to go far to the hotel at that hour.

 

I'll have all day Sat. & Sun. in Vancouver and really appreciate the assistance with getting around so I can use the time well.

 

Thanks for your help!

[FlCatLover]

And now I've found that the QI is no longer a Choice hotel. I may decide to change to Comfort Inn Vancouver Airport at 3031 No. 3 Rd., Richmond. If I do that would it be possible to get public transportation to downtown Vancouver to see the sites? I especially want to go to China Town and then probably do the HOHO.

[Urban trekker]

So that explains why I couldn't find anything on the Choice Hotel website for that location - one more mystery to check out next time I am out for a drive.

 

The Richmond location will be a lot better for getting downtown - if you are traveling after Labour Day you are right on our new Rapid Transit line which will have you downtown in about 30 minutes otherwise you will take the #98B rapid bus into the downtown core - travel time is a little longer than the rapid transit - whichever service is available will drop you near Waterfront Station/Canada Place and the HOHO buses are readily available there.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[FlCatLover]

Thank you so much! Do I understand that the Comfort Inn in Richmond is right on the bus line? I'll be there June 26 around midnight and have Sat. & Sun. to look around before we get on the ship Monday.