Please critique our Vancouver itinerary

[Kristy19]

First off, I would like to say thank you to all the Vancouver locals who contribute to this board. I have gained a wealth of information to assist in planning our Alaskan cruise.

 

We will be spending 2 1/2 days pre-cruise in Vancouver. There are 8 in our group, ranging in age from mid-thirties to mid-eighties. We're flying in to Seattle and taking the Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver.

 

This is the plan I (no one else likes to plan) have come up with. Suggestions and advice welcome!

 

July 3—Wednesday Seattle to Vancouver

Taxi pick up at 7:00am at Red Lion on 5th to Amtrak station.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-7:40am to 11:40am.

Taxi to Blue Horizon Hotel. (Should I reserve a taxi in advance since there will be 6 of us? Are taxi’s readily available at the Vancouver train station?)

Lunch at Earl’s

Stanley Park, Vancouver Lookout, walk around Gastown

Dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory

 

July 4-Thursday Vancouver

Breakfast at Tim Horton’s,

Free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Lunch near Canada Place, free shuttle to Grouse Mountain.

Dinner at Milestones

 

July 5-Friday Vancouver

Breakfast at Tim Horton’s

Granville Island

Lunch at Tony’s Fish and Oyster House.

Queen Elizabeth Park/Bloedel Conservatory

Walk around Robson street/Dinner at Relish Gastro Pub

 

Question-Given the itinerary, would it be easier to buy bus passes instead of the HOHO Trolley?

None of the restaurants are set in stone. Please, suggestions if you know of something better. We are looking for casual settings and will eat just about anything.

 

Thanks!

[SpokaneDan]

very nice research. I used to live 8 blocks from Blue Horizon.

 

Here's a few suggestions:

 

July 3 rd:

-- Stanley park is my favorite YVR attraction. One could spend whole day there. The Aquarium, Beaches, Bike/hiking routes, or Scenic drive...

-- skip Vancouver Lookout. Go to Cloud 9 restaurant instead, it is literally across street from your hotel. It offers 360 view too, but you have to order something.

 

July 4th

-- Capilano Bridge is on the way to Grouse Mountain. They both locate in North Vancouver. Canada place is in downtown. I'd advise minimizing the crossing of Lion's Gate bridge b/w Downtown and N. Van, while the bridge itself is beautiful (via Stanley Park), the traffic could be bad.

 

I never took the Trolley. You are in walking distance to the Sky train station on Burrard (get you to QE park, also to Canada Place). On Robson street, the public bus will take you to Stanley Park to the west and to Gastown and Chinatown to the East (I've not taken the bus for a long time, ? route change).

 

Vancouver's eateries are among the most ethnically diversed in the world. And Old Spag. Factory is not what I meant by ethnic.;) You kind hit the mother lode getting a hotel on Robson Street....but I am out of time blabbering.

 

GL

[Gunner22aa]

With 6 people I would try and pre arrange your transport. The average taxi is Toyota Camrey size and will accomodate no more than 4 with a light luggage load and two with large suitcases and carry on. You will need some kind of van or be taking multiple cars.

[Tweedy]

With 6 people I would try and pre arrange your transport. The average taxi is Toyota Camrey size and will accomodate no more than 4 with a light luggage load and two with large suitcases and carry on. You will need some kind of van or be taking multiple cars.

 

 

 

Just one correction... the majority of the taxi fleet in Vancouver are the Toyota Prius not the Camray. You will either need to arrange for a limo or split your group and take two cabs.

[martincath]

Your note says that there are 6 of you and 8 of you - if it's the latter you're taking two cabs regardless, but the former might all fit in a minivan type cab...

 

I'd simply pay for two cabs at the station if there isn't a minivan waiting - or ask the next driver in line if he can contact the office to find out how long to get a minivan sent. There are *always* cabs lining up at all the scheduled train arrival times, and at least one minivan driver sits across the road at the Safari coffee house until just before the morning Amtrak train arrives - I see him there almost every day. Worst case you're looking at $12-15 bucks per cab to Blue Horizon if traffic is terrible.

 

As to the 'what to do' side of your plans - they're all solid, popular, things that most visitors enjoy. I would however schedule at least one day (2 different things) of bad weather alternatives - July is statistically likely to be pretty dry and sunny but this is Vancouver...:D Last year we had basically no rain from mid-June to early October, but the year before July had almost daily rain. I wouldn't waste money on a 360 lookout if you can't see anything from it, and Grouse/Capilano/Stanley & QE Parks are very outdoorsy - if you're dressed properly for it not a big deal, but with 6-8 people odds are at least one of your group will be thoroughly miserable slogging around outdoors with wet feet and bring everyone else down!

 

The Aquarium, Art Gallery, Science World, some of the Museums could all be viable indoor options depending on interests.

 

As to public transit over HoHo, cabs etc. - with 8 of you, in July, I guarantee if you try to actually Hop On and Off you'll end up waiting occasionally because there won't be room for all of you on the first trolley that comes along. They do have 'floaters' that will arrive pretty quickly - the driver radios in to have one come to your stop, in my experience in about 10 minutes.

 

If you're very strategic in what you do when, you *can* use HoHos to get to dinner etc. but be aware of the loop directions - e.g. dinner in Gastown from Blue Horizon on the trolley involves driving all the way around Stanley Park and English Bay, changing trolleys to go all the way around Granville Island and Chinatown before they hit Gastown, basically the last stop before returning to Canada Place! My granny in her wheelchair could get to the Old Spaghetti Factory from Blue Horizon quicker by herself;) In short, even if you get a HoHo pass, unless your timetable is very loose or you are very careful with times & locations you will need to factor in buying occasional transit or cab fares on top.

 

Unless those 80 year olds are *very* active, using the trolley or carriage to see the park is probably the best option - it's huge with miles upon miles of walking & biking trails.

 

Given how busy your schedule seems to be already, I think that using two cabs with 4 people in each/calling for a minivan if there's just 6 of you to get you to each of your wandering around areas like Granville Island, Gastown, the parks would be as cheap or even cheaper than transit - a cab anywhere around downtown is rarely more than $10. Inside Stanley Park use the Park Shuttle ($10 apiece) which stops just about everywhere you could ever want to see as a tourist, or the horse-drawn carriages if you feel the experience is worth the extra money.

 

The free shuttles to Capilano stop at Blue Horizon already, so use that on your North Shore day - then stay out of town for lunch as was already mentioned above. You don't want to waste the time of crossing the bridge twice more than you need to just to have lunch downtown! You can jump on the local bus (236) that runs between Cap & Grouse every 30mins, or call a couple of cabs. Or go to Grouse first and ask the shuttle driver nicely if he'll drop you off at Cap on the way back down - it's not like he could drive anywhere other than right past the entrance...

 

On the food front, I can't comment on Old Spaghetti Factory except to say it always looks busy in tourist season. Milestones & Earls are basically the same style of place, they've got something for everyone so you can't go too far wrong - ditto Joeys and (my fave of the local chains if you have to eat in one) Cactus Club Cafe. There's actually now two very scenically-situated CCCs, one in English Bay and one by Canada Place, right beside the Olympic Torch overlooking the water. Relish is somewhere I recommend - it usually flies under the radar as it's not on a very tourist-frequented street.

 

Breakfast in Timmies every day might be a bit too much - their brekky offerings are basically all variations on egg sandwiches. Your nearest White Spot would be on Georgia, en route to Stanley Park for you, 10 minutes very leisurely walk away, with a full range of breakfast offerings. If your group is all up for a bit of walking, then the entrance to Stanley Park is another easy 10-15 minutes walk past White Spot - you can get on the park shuttle or carriages here.

[babyorca]

I also recommend changing it up when it comes to the restaurants. Tim Hortons while a good place for coffee and a donut would be like eating breakfast at McDonalds every morning. Better to go there for a mid day snack. White Spot as recommended in the previous post is a great place to go!

 

Earls, Milestones and Old Spaghetti Factory are all chain restaurants as well. There is a wealth of ethnic restaurants that might be fun to try for something different if that's something you might be interested in. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, etc ... there are many options to choose from.

 

I also recommend eating at the Public Market at Granville Island. They have an amazing food court area with so many different and unique things to choose from. (Not anything like a mall food court, no mass market chain stores).

[Pegcruise87]

I generally agree with everything that has been said. One suggestion would be to take the Seabus across the inner harbour and have dinner in North Vancouver. There are a number of restaurants by the North Vancouver terminal. On the trip back, assuming the sun has set, you get to see the inner harbour all lit up. The Seabus station is located by Canada Place.

 

I do not know whether you are interested in west coast native art, but if you are, you may want to consider going out to the Museum of Anthropology. However, be aware that it would be bit of a trip because the museum is located out at UBC. The drive out and back is very pretty and you can see the outer harbour.

 

As for restaurants, Vancouver is home to several good seafood restaurants. If you like seafood I would suggest looking into these. There is a very nice restaurant at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens which would be about 1/2 hour from your hotel. Another place to consider eating is Engilsh Bay. But be aware that this is a pretty popular place. If you are going with a group I would suggest getting reservations.

 

You can get info about most of the places I have mention off of the internet.

 

Those are my thoughts

[Kristy19]

very nice research. I used to live 8 blocks from Blue Horizon.

 

Here's a few suggestions:

 

July 3 rd:

-- Stanley park is my favorite YVR attraction. One could spend whole day there. The Aquarium, Beaches, Bike/hiking routes, or Scenic drive...

-- skip Vancouver Lookout. Go to Cloud 9 restaurant instead, it is literally across street from your hotel. It offers 360 view too, but you have to order something.

 

July 4th

-- Capilano Bridge is on the way to Grouse Mountain. They both locate in North Vancouver. Canada place is in downtown. I'd advise minimizing the crossing of Lion's Gate bridge b/w Downtown and N. Van, while the bridge itself is beautiful (via Stanley Park), the traffic could be bad.

 

I never took the Trolley. You are in walking distance to the Sky train station on Burrard (get you to QE park, also to Canada Place). On Robson street, the public bus will take you to Stanley Park to the west and to Gastown and Chinatown to the East (I've not taken the bus for a long time, ? route change).

 

Vancouver's eateries are among the most ethnically diversed in the world. And Old Spag. Factory is not what I meant by ethnic.;) You kind hit the mother lode getting a hotel on Robson Street....but I am out of time blabbering.

 

GL

 

Thanks for all the helpful advice!

 

I looked up Cloud 9 Restaurant and it looks great! Can we just go in the lounge area for drinks or do you have to order a meal?

 

Can we catch a city bus at Capilano Bridge that will take us on to Grouse Mountain?

[Kristy19]

Your note says that there are 6 of you and 8 of you - if it's the latter you're taking two cabs regardless, but the former might all fit in a minivan type cab... Sorry for the confusion--There are 6 of us leaving Seattle at the same time and meeting the other 2 at the hotel in Vancouver.

 

I'd simply pay for two cabs at the station if there isn't a minivan waiting - or ask the next driver in line if he can contact the office to find out how long to get a minivan sent. There are *always* cabs lining up at all the scheduled train arrival times, and at least one minivan driver sits across the road at the Safari coffee house until just before the morning Amtrak train arrives - I see him there almost every day. Worst case you're looking at $12-15 bucks per cab to Blue Horizon if traffic is terrible.

 

As to the 'what to do' side of your plans - they're all solid, popular, things that most visitors enjoy. I would however schedule at least one day (2 different things) of bad weather alternatives - July is statistically likely to be pretty dry and sunny but this is Vancouver...:D Last year we had basically no rain from mid-June to early October, but the year before July had almost daily rain. I wouldn't waste money on a 360 lookout if you can't see anything from it, and Grouse/Capilano/Stanley & QE Parks are very outdoorsy - if you're dressed properly for it not a big deal, but with 6-8 people odds are at least one of your group will be thoroughly miserable slogging around outdoors with wet feet and bring everyone else down!

 

The Aquarium, Art Gallery, Science World, some of the Museums could all be viable indoor options depending on interests.

 

As to public transit over HoHo, cabs etc. - with 8 of you, in July, I guarantee if you try to actually Hop On and Off you'll end up waiting occasionally because there won't be room for all of you on the first trolley that comes along. They do have 'floaters' that will arrive pretty quickly - the driver radios in to have one come to your stop, in my experience in about 10 minutes.

 

If you're very strategic in what you do when, you *can* use HoHos to get to dinner etc. but be aware of the loop directions - e.g. dinner in Gastown from Blue Horizon on the trolley involves driving all the way around Stanley Park and English Bay, changing trolleys to go all the way around Granville Island and Chinatown before they hit Gastown, basically the last stop before returning to Canada Place! My granny in her wheelchair could get to the Old Spaghetti Factory from Blue Horizon quicker by herself;) In short, even if you get a HoHo pass, unless your timetable is very loose or you are very careful with times & locations you will need to factor in buying occasional transit or cab fares on top. It sounds like cabs/transit will be the way to go for our group.

 

Unless those 80 year olds are *very* active, using the trolley or carriage to see the park is probably the best option - it's huge with miles upon miles of walking & biking trails. We will for sure use the trolley!

 

Given how busy your schedule seems to be already, I think that using two cabs with 4 people in each/calling for a minivan if there's just 6 of you to get you to each of your wandering around areas like Granville Island, Gastown, the parks would be as cheap or even cheaper than transit - a cab anywhere around downtown is rarely more than $10. Inside Stanley Park use the Park Shuttle ($10 apiece) which stops just about everywhere you could ever want to see as a tourist, or the horse-drawn carriages if you feel the experience is worth the extra money.

 

The free shuttles to Capilano stop at Blue Horizon already, so use that on your North Shore day - then stay out of town for lunch as was already mentioned above. You don't want to waste the time of crossing the bridge twice more than you need to just to have lunch downtown! You can jump on the local bus (236) that runs between Cap & Grouse every 30mins, or call a couple of cabs. Or go to Grouse first and ask the shuttle driver nicely if he'll drop you off at Cap on the way back down - it's not like he could drive anywhere other than right past the entrance...

 

On the food front, I can't comment on Old Spaghetti Factory except to say it always looks busy in tourist season. Milestones & Earls are basically the same style of place, they've got something for everyone so you can't go too far wrong - ditto Joeys and (my fave of the local chains if you have to eat in one) Cactus Club Cafe. There's actually now two very scenically-situated CCCs, one in English Bay and one by Canada Place, right beside the Olympic Torch overlooking the water. Relish is somewhere I recommend - it usually flies under the radar as it's not on a very tourist-frequented street.

 

Breakfast in Timmies every day might be a bit too much - their brekky offerings are basically all variations on egg sandwiches. Your nearest White Spot would be on Georgia, en route to Stanley Park for you, 10 minutes very leisurely walk away, with a full range of breakfast offerings. If your group is all up for a bit of walking, then the entrance to Stanley Park is another easy 10-15 minutes walk past White Spot - you can get on the park shuttle or carriages here.

 

Thanks so much for the recommendations!

[SpokaneDan]

Thanks for all the helpful advice!

 

I looked up Cloud 9 Restaurant and it looks great! Can we just go in the lounge area for drinks or do you have to order a meal?

 

Can we catch a city bus at Capilano Bridge that will take us on to Grouse Mountain?

 

-- I have not eaten at Cloud 9 for years, but almost certain you could just order drinks and not meals, especially if your group goes at a low demand time.

-- I think MarinCath answered the Capilano-Grouse bus question. :)

[Urban trekker]

Most restaurants in Vancouver will have a designated area that serves as a lounge/bar - there is no requirement to order food if sitting in that part of the establishment.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[martincath]

Cloud 9's lounge is just like any other bar - you don't have to order food. Given the decidedly mediocre reviews on Tripadvisor, Yelp etc. frankly I wouldn't eat here anyway! NB: if you go on a Friday or Saturday evening there's a cover charge for the band/DJ, you cannot make reservations at any time for lounge, and it's strictly age 19+ (I think you said your group was 30somethings or older, so that probably won't be an issue, but generally there's a Vancouver-wide policy of carding anyone who looks under 25 so take ID just in case...)

 

And bus 236 runs between Cap & Grouse - I did mention, but it was buried in the middle of a paragraph before...