Vancouver Hotel and transportation questions

We are doing our first Alaska cruise in August. Will be arriving in Vancouver the day before. A few questions

1. Best way to get from airport to downtown. Arriving probably about 4pm on a Thursday.

2.Hotel Recommendations. Nothing too fancy since we will be there only one night.

3. Transportation from hotel to cruise terminal.

TIA

We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront last year - it is right across the road from the cruise terminal. It is well worth it for the convenience. There are trains from the airport that stop at the Waterfront station (about 500 metres from the hotel). Other than that there are the usual airport shuttles and taxis. We used taxis as they were included in our package. I think taxis are about $35 from the airport to downtown Vancouver. If you do not stay at the Fairmont, taxis would be the option to get to the cruise terminal.

We are doing our first Alaska cruise in August. Will be arriving in Vancouver the day before. A few questions

1. Best way to get from airport to downtown. Arriving probably about 4pm on a Thursday.

2.Hotel Recommendations. Nothing too fancy since we will be there only one night.

3. Transportation from hotel to cruise terminal.

 

TIA

If you can handle your bags the best way is Skytrain (subway system). Taxi are also good.

If you want a low cost, quality hotel best options is around the airport or Richmond.

Downtown hotels tend to be more expensive. There are a lot of shops, restaurants and things to do in downtown Vancouver.

There is less to do near the airport a bit more in Richmond and a lot more downtown. If you are into casino's, the River Rock Casino Resort hotel is near the airport, an is on the skytrain line. Tends to have good rates from time to time.

1) I agree that SkyTrain is the way to go in general, but depending which hotel you end up in and how much luggage you have a taxi may feel like better value even if a bit pricier. Thursdays until 6:30pm SkyTrain is $9.10pp inbound, while a cab uses fixed zone fares (all downtown hotels except a handful of pricey ones near the pier or park are in the CAD$31 zone).

2) In general airport hotels are cheaper than downtown - but the best value hotel in the entire region is hands-down the YWCA Hotel, which is right downtown. Cheap, great location, safe, clean, and well-reviewed = there are only two reasons not to book (it's already sold out, or despite not wanting a fancy hotel you just cannot bring yourself to 'stay at the Y').

For short pre- or post-cruise stays, downtown is the far superior choice - you waste far too much sightseeing time coming and going to Richmond or North Van where cheaper hotels live. When you only have perhaps 8 hours total spending 90+ minutes of that in transit is unnacceptable to me.

3) Taxi unless you can walk from your hotel - given how many downtown hotels are within a mile of the pier this is very feasible unless weather is bad. Downtown isn't very hilly, slopes are gentle except for one or two streets and highest point in downtown core is only about 50 feet above sea level unless you go into the park. If you do stay out at the airport, SkyTrain again - or take free hotel shuttle back to YVR so you can take a cab at fixed rates ($35 to the pier) instead of on the meter, as many airport hotels are a longer drive than from the airport itself so cab fare can easily go over $40.

1) I agree that SkyTrain is the way to go in general, but depending which hotel you end up in and how much luggage you have a taxi may feel like better value even if a bit pricier. Thursdays until 6:30pm SkyTrain is $9.10pp inbound, while a cab uses fixed zone fares (all downtown hotels except a handful of pricey ones near the pier or park are in the CAD$31 zone).

 

2) In general airport hotels are cheaper than downtown - but the best value hotel in the entire region is hands-down the YWCA Hotel, which is right downtown. Cheap, great location, safe, clean, and well-reviewed = there are only two reasons not to book (it's already sold out, or despite not wanting a fancy hotel you just cannot bring yourself to 'stay at the Y').

 

For short pre- or post-cruise stays, downtown is the far superior choice - you waste far too much sightseeing time coming and going to Richmond or North Van where cheaper hotels live. When you only have perhaps 8 hours total spending 90+ minutes of that in transit is unnacceptable to me.

 

3) Taxi unless you can walk from your hotel - given how many downtown hotels are within a mile of the pier this is very feasible unless weather is bad. Downtown isn't very hilly, slopes are gentle except for one or two streets and highest point in downtown core is only about 50 feet above sea level unless you go into the park. If you do stay out at the airport, SkyTrain again - or take free hotel shuttle back to YVR so you can take a cab at fixed rates ($35 to the pier) instead of on the meter, as many airport hotels are a longer drive than from the airport itself so cab fare can easily go over $40.

Can you give us an idea of how long the wait time might be in the queue for a taxi in the middle of August? I know it will depend on how many airlines arrive within a specific time frame but am only looking for a guesstimate. Just wondering if the limo walk up queue would be worth the extra $$ if it would cut back on the wait time.

Can you give us an idea of how long the wait time might be in the queue for a taxi in the middle of August? I know it will depend on how many airlines arrive within a specific time frame but am only looking for a guesstimate. Just wondering if the limo walk up queue would be worth the extra $$ if it would cut back on the wait time.

We've never had to wait more than a minute or two for a limo (we occasionally treat ourselves), but the longest cab wait we've had has been barely more than 5 minutes. The biggest delay is loading other pax - there is a veritable sea of cabs waiting behind the scenes, so as soon as a gap opens in the queue you see someone is released from 'holding.'

Thanks to SkyTrain people move out of the airport very efficiently now - while suburban folks heading home still need cabs (Skytrain lines only meet downtown, so aside from a few Richmondites all the other 'burbs are much more efficiently reached by taxi) most downtowners are very happy to take SkyTrain. We only ever bother with cabs or limos if we land late evenings when SkyTrain frequency is ~20mins - and there are fewer flights late in the evening so fewer people to fight for cab space with!