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visit to Stanley Park in Vancouver from ship


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We are 4 people and cruising out of Vancouver. We have heard Stanley Park is wonderful and thought we would like to visit it the day before our cruise departs. What is the best mode of transportation from downtown to Stanley Park? Is Uber available? Otherwise are taxis plentiful? Any idea of how long it would take to get there and what the cost would be? We won't be biking there and I am not sure how long to block out for the visit.

 

Any other "must see" suggestions for a couple of days in Vancouver?

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We are 4 people and cruising out of Vancouver. We have heard Stanley Park is wonderful and thought we would like to visit it the day before our cruise departs. What is the best mode of transportation from downtown to Stanley Park? Is Uber available? Otherwise are taxis plentiful? Any idea of how long it would take to get there and what the cost would be? We won't be biking there and I am not sure how long to block out for the visit.

 

Any other "must see" suggestions for a couple of days in Vancouver?

If you map it you will see that Stanley Park is contiguous with downtown Vancouver. Depending on what hotel you are at and your fitness level you could literally walk to it. Otherwise it is only minutes to the park from downtown. Either Uber or a cab would work.

Would add Granville Island as one fun spot, artsy shops, funky restaurants and bar scene as well. Might also wander through gastown and Chinatown which also border downtown. A little further afield in North Vancouver would be Grouse Mountain and its tram, or the Capilano narrows bridge, a pedestrian crossing. There are many other sites which could keep you busy for well over a week. The UBC has a wonderful museum of native art and history.

Edited by wheezedr
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Still no Uber - but any vehicular way to see the park is inherently limited to the very, very few roads. Have a look at the park map here (lots of good info on the official site). Taking the HOHO so you can get off and on at a few stops is a reasonable compromise - allows you to minimise walking by taking the bus between several popular subsections. At the very least I always recommend the Totem Poles, Prospect Point (highest elevation - great views of Lion's Gate bridge and ships passing under), and the Teahouse (not to eat in, but because views here are due West over the ocean) which are all covered on the HOHO Park route that also takes you around much of the downtown core.

 

Hitting each of these stops for a few photos and a wander around, then reboarding the next HOHO (20mins later) means allocating at least 90mins total inside the park - and you'll see only a fraction of what there is. Adding on the Rose Garden is a must for anyone into gardens - and if you have any small kids they might enjoy the miniature railway which is close by (same HOHO stop for both), so another ~30mins for that, and many folks get off at Second Beach or English Bay too (technically outside the park, but close and still part of the Seawall).

 

But to really experience the park, doing some walking/cycling is a necessity. Many small trails through the trees, and lots of parts of it which none of the tour options can take you to. The only way to go around the seawall which borders the park is to walk or bike - no vehicles allowed except occasional park maintenance trucks and police/ambulance (you're more likely to see horse cops than anything else - they actually set up speed traps occasionally to enforce the 15km/h speed limit as many cyclists flout it) and it's a one-way loop with very few options to get on or off it, so be prepared to travel 5 miles in one go (take water!)

 

If walking or biking simply isn't an option for you, the next-best thing to enable seeing as much as possible would be a car - either a taxi that just keeps the meter running (wait time is cheaper than drive time - ballpark about $50 an hour for a combination of driving you around and waiting for you while you take pics) which could still be quite affordable split by 4, or a rental car (parking is sensibly-done by the license plate, not location - so you can pay once and then move the car anywhere inside the park without paying again). You can stop in more places than the HOHO does with your own car (unfortunately it looks like the dedicated Park Shuttle, which was a tremendous value thing at $10pp with 15 stops inside the park, is no longer operating).

 

3 hours would be enough to get a solid overview of all the various parts of the park whether you bike or drive - cycling is actually the single most efficient way to see Stanley, as you can get to anywhere that you can on foot but move almost as fast as cars do. Walking, add another hour.

 

Other stuff... you've already got some suggestions above, and personally I feel unless I have some clue about you & yours, it's impossible to recommend the best visits for a short stay. There's just too much to see, so what I enjoy, or even what MOST people enjoy, isn't necessarily that YOU would enjoy the most - so when prioritizing a handful of attractions it's really best to do your own research. Start with TripAdvisor, speak to your travel companions, all of you run down the most popular Things to Do and see if you like the sound of them - combining your individual list immediately gives you the most popular stuff for your group!

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For Martincath:

I'm born and bred in Vancouver and still learn something new every time I read one of your posts. Thank you for the well detailed, current, balanced and accurate information you provide.

Thank you - high praise indeed!

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Is there a bike rental in Stanley park?

Yes, these days - our Mobibike system now has spots inside the park proper (this is a bikeshare, dirt cheap compared to a traditional rental for short rides, but if you need a bike in one block of time for a few hours stick to regular bike rentals instead - which can be found just outside the park's main entrance, mostly on Denman between Robson and Georgia).

 

The places you can see from the park entrance tend to be more expensive - and for efficiency, it's generally best to get your bike right at your hotel so you can ride TO the park as well as around it (we have extensive bike lanes, mapped on Google, with many miles totally separated from cars so extremely safe to ride on even for inexperienced folks). The one exception to the 'close to park = kaching!' rule I can think of is EzeeRiders, who despite the tragic name are well worth considering as they're only just around the corner from the likes of Spokes but charge significantly less (although I have noticed that pricing has now dropped a little, and length of time blocks increased, at Spokes etc. since MobiBike appeared so they're much less gougy than they used to be...)

 

NB: all local rentals come with helmets & locks - use both. The first because it's a legal requirement, the second because an unlocked bike will disappear very, very fast.

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