Vancouver Advice

[StephC1217]

Looking for some advice for a stay in Vancouver before and after our Alaskan cruise in July 2020.  The background: we are flying in and won't get in until late on a Thursday night.  Our cruise starts on Sunday so we have 2 days in Vancouver for sightseeing.  On the other end, we arrive back in Vancouver on a Sunday and our flight leaves Monday morning.  We could use this as another sightseeing day or just a hanging around, resting day.  It is my husband and I with our 3 kids (14, 3, and 6 months when we travel), plus my parents who are 80 but in fairly good shape and travel with us every year.  They are obviously not as active as they used to be but still do lots of walking around with us at Disney and around d Hawaii last year, as long as we give them time to rest.

 

So what we are looking for:

1.  Recommendations for hotel stays- not sure if it makes more sense to stay close to the airport night one since we will be getting in late and then possibly moving to one closer to the pier the next day?  Looking for something moderately priced- we are from US and used to paying approximately $300 or so per night but looks like Vancouver is a little pricier in the hotel department. Anything with a bus/train/shuttle is bonus points if we can avoid lugging two car seats for this cruise.

 

2.  Recommendations for sight-seeing.  Ever since our Hawaii cruise last year ended in Vancouver, my parents have wanted to come back and see the main sites.  But obviously we will have two little ones with us (although we travel every year so we don't let the little ones slow us down too much!).  Any interesting, kid-friendly sites would be great as well as transportation recommendations as I am hoping to travel by bus/train this trip if possible.

 

3.  Any kid-friendly food recommendations for breakfast/lunch/ dinner is appreciated.  We aren't super picky eaters (we tend to like any place we at) but we aren't all that adventurous to mostly stick to pizza, burgers, italian, seafood, chicken, beef- we don't usually go for super ethnic, such as Indian, Japanese, etc.  For breakfast, any place with waffles and pancakes for the kids is good!  Our only requirements for food are really just moderately priced and kid friendly.  Reservations are a bonus so that we don't have to wait during busy times.

 

I know this is asking for a lot- I have been doing lots of reading on the boards but haven't seen much asked with little kids- Thanks for any help!!

[Langley Cruisers]

Hi there, just wanted to mention something that you may or may not be aware of, and I offer this with a sincere heart looking out for a fellow cruiser. 😊

 

You mentioned a 6 month old baby at cruise time next July. You realize baby must actually be 6 months at the time of the cruise, not almost 6 months, or turning 6 months on the cruise. Calculating your pregnancy, it will be close... if baby is born late, this might affect your cruise date. Have you done the math (and again, I offer this in sincerity here)? Is this going to be a concern?

[StephC1217]

Yes- thank you!  You are correct that it is VERY close.  But the latest the baby will be born (by c-section) is Jan. 21 and the cruise leaves July 26 so we just make it.    

[martincath]

First up, rooms - YWCA Hotel remains the best deal in the region, and they have rooms with up to 5 beds which would be ideal for your own family. They also have double & twin 'regular hotel rooms' with private baths, as well as 2 rooms which share a single bathroom 'Jack & Jill' style, and they deal with infants superbly - not only do they have cots, but the shared kitchens are perfect for cooking full family meals let alone simpler tasks like warming a bottle, and the & laundry facilities will help handle with washing the mountain of cloths and clothing that baby is likely to throw up on etc. 😉

Otherwise I'd suggest one of the Condo Hotels, which are basically apartments with their own kitchens etc. too - Rosedale on Robson, Times Square Suites spring to mind downtown. Airport hotel the night before might be worth the extra hassle if you actually save money - but remember two things: first, your time is worth something so waiting around for a hotel shuttle at night while you may have a screaming baby and stroppy older kids to handle is no fun at all (and you have to do it all over again next day if you want to get the fixed rate cab fares from the airport, as they don't apply from the hotels just YVR itself, so it's cheaper to cab from YVR and the price is firm, not metered...); second, late at night and straight into a cab will mean no traffic to delay you heading downtown, so frankly you could be in your downtown hotel even faster than an airport hotel unless the shuttle is already on it's way to YVR when you call.

 

No shuttles to the pier, except for a very small number of downtown hotels (and cabs to the pier would only be ~$10 each from those). Taxis and limos can legally carry kids without a seat in BC - personally that's not something I'd recommend though, and you also need to know that Alaska has no such exemption (in fact, even buses must have kids in car seats by law if seatbelts are present, so there is no guarantee even a cruiseline excursion by bus will let you bring unsecured kids). Basically, if you want to do anything in any port except walk around or ride transit buses, you have to suck it up and bring the car seats! The big kid may be OK depending how tall/heavy they are, but the others you really, really need to plan to bring seats for.

 

Making your own brekkie and even packing a lunch for sightseeing days saves a fortune, and ensures picky kids get the same cereal as at home. Do that for some of the days, and put the savings toward one super-fancy waffle breakfast! I'd normally recommend Medina, but they don't generally take resos and the wait can be huge because they are still the best breakfast in town. However you could call them - they will sometimes take resos for big groups on weekdays, and since you'll need at least one high chair and have 7 people they might be willing to do so for you on your Friday or the Monday if your flight is late enough to do brekky beforehand. Failing that, De Dutch Pancake House has a Convention Centre location that's very convenient on embarkation day, White Spot is a very family-friendly local chain that will feed you for all your daily meals at a fair price with decent quality (and their Pirate Pak kids meals are so in demand that there is a special day each year when adults are allowed to order them and proceeds go to charity!!!), and Cora's might be of interest for brekky (if your hotel is toward the West End, Cora's and Nero's Waffles could also be very convenient).

 

Other dinner options that are definitely value propositions include: the Old Spaghetti Factory, which may be distinctly mediocre in terms of food quality but they have AYCE options, extensive kids menu, and all sorts of ridiculous decor that kids love (eat inside not just an old trolley car, but a haunted one!); The Keg (several locations, e.g. Granville Island) which is a Canadian steakhouse that's solid value with plenty of kids options; and if you want to try and broaden the kids' horizons a little on the pizza front, try Nicli which is the most family-friendly of our fancy-schmancy pie places. A suggestion for all - try an Izakaya. These are 'Japanese Tapas Pubs' with an emphasis on sharing food, either big plates for everyone to eat the same thing or small plates for each to have their own little portions of lots of things. The concept may sound 'super ethnic' but as long as you avoid the raw fish (they do have sushi, but it's far from the only option!) much of the rest is extremely accessible (noodles, soups, chicken wings, pork chops, sausages - basically it's 'normal pub grub' with weird names).

 

I took my parents to one on their first visit, and while Mum will try stuff Dad is very much a 'meat, potatoes, and boiled-to-death peas or corn' kind of guy and he loved it. Guu and Hapa have a few branches around the city. I'd also suggest trying a Sushi roll unless you already know that you don't like them - because they've got veggies, rice, and (sometimes cooked!) seafood all combined they're a great intro to sushi. Prawn, Eel, Octopus are almost always cooked already - and if you fancy getting Meemaw & Gramps to babysit and going for a nice dinner yourselves, you could consider Miku by the pier as it has a view and they are an Aburi sushi joint, which means they actually scorch their 'raw' fish with a blowtorch (so it's more 'cooked rare' than raw) 😉

 

We also have tons of regular pubs, almost all of which let kids in during the day/in part of the space at night - and in Vancouver they will have all the normal suspects food-wise, plus usually some good or better Fish & Chips, at least a couple of salmon/halibut entrees, and some asian noodles as well. If noodles in soup and fried chicken sounds like your family's idea of a good lunch, you can also hit up any of our Ramen joints safely - generally you choose veggie/chicken/pork broth, thin or thick noodles, and what sorts of meats you want in the bowl, optionally throw on stuff like hot chili or garlic oil, and Karaage as a side plate is simply fried chicken. Fun for the kids (and granny!) to slurp noodles, and while connoisseurs debate the best broth in the city it's pretty hard to find a BAD bowl of noodles in Vancouver (as neophytes, you may even find Noodle Box tolerable - I describe that chain as 'Asian food designed for retired white ladies who are scared of chili, garlic and ginger'...)

 

Kids market on Granville Island, Science World, most of our museums have kiddie-focused areas with outfits to put on and the like, and the Space Centre is extremely child-friendly.  Biking around - you can rent 'chariots' to pull along behind a bike, tandems and adult tricycles if your parents are perhaps a bit unstable so they can either be pedaled by you or DH on a tandem or have no risk of tipping on a trike. This is the best way to see the Seawall and Stanley park - you can bike anywhere you can walk, but faster and with less effort. e-Bike rentals are also popular if balance is fine but the effort of pedaling is a concern!

 

HOHO buses and regular bus tours work fine with kids of course, and while you have a few days between Pre- and Post- I'd still be hesitant to recommend much specific stuff without knowing you better, so honestly the best advice any of us locals can offer is go to TripAdvisor. Find some of the Lists - there are lots along the lines of '48 hours in Vancouver', 'Vancouver with Kids' etc. that will give you suggested combos of sites, and the sites themselves are ranked in order of popularity with Joe Q Public, so if your tastes are generally in the mainstream it's a solid bet that if you just read the Top 10 things you'll find stuff that appeals. Once you have a list of ideas, by all means come back and ask about optimal transport methods between them, or if your tastes are niche enough that popular sites just don't sound like your bag tell us more about your group and you'll get some much better-targeted suggestions.

[Milhouse]

 

For two days (Fri & Sat) I'd probably stick to in and just outside the downtown core.  Weather is normally very good in late July.  

The big hitters that I'd focus on would be:

Stanley Park:  On the east side, key attractions would be stuff like the miniature train (paid), aquarium (paid), lumberman's arch/water park, Brockton Point Lighthouse (great view of the north shore if you do a bit of the seawall circuit)/totem poles/Hallelujah point (great view of waterfront)/9o'clock gun, lost lagoon (ducks).  The seawall around the perimeter is paved but you'll be on trails in the middle of the park (in case you think about bringing a stroller).  It's a pretty long walk around the entire perimeter of the park on the seawall so I'm not sure if I'd recommend that versus doing a shorter circuit and cutting through the park.  

English Bay:  Great view of the water, particularly at sunset.  A-maze-ing Laughter art installation nearby.  Everyone seems to like jumping on and taking pix with the statues.  

Granville Island:  Public Market, waterpark, great food options, great view of False Creek.  There are a number of buses that can take you across the Granville Street Bridge but #50 get you the closest.  Or you can walk to the waterfront and take an aquabus/false creek ferry across.  But with so many people there might be value in just taking a taxi or Uber/Lyft (they should be in operation in Vancouver by then).  

Gastown:  During the day to see the Steamclock, cobblestone streets, touristy shops.  

Seawall:  My favourite activity is to take a day or afternoon or evening to walk along the seawall which allows you to see many of the best parts of Vancouver.  You don't have to do the whole length of course.  The stretch from Canada Place to Stanley Park is fairly reasonable with great views.  

 

Festivals and Events nearby

Caribbean Days like likely (the weekend kind of moves since the following weekend is may fall on a long weekend) happening on the north shore that weekend at Waterfront Park.  Food, live music.  Easily accessible by public transit seabus.  Can tag on a trip to Lonsdale Quay Public Market.  

 

The first night of the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks event will be happening Saturday night.  While it's billed as a family friendly event, it's a bit of a gong show with the crowds downtown by English Bay so it's maybe something to avoid.  It'll likely be tough to keep the kids and parents in tow in sea of humanity.  Plus it starts at 10pm the night before your cruise.

 

The Shipyards Night Market runs Friday nights in the summer on the North Shore a block away from Lonsdale Quay Market reachable by seabus.  Family friendly, good food options (food trucks and more), live music, and excellent views of downtown Vancouver & Stanley Park.  Lonsdale Quay typically has some events happening by the fountain by the water on Friday nights too to tag along.  

 

The West End Farmer's Market runs on Saturdays in the summer by Nelson Park in downtown.  This local market isn't as super large but has various vendor with some food trucks and ready to eat food.  

 

There are a number of other events happening around town (NewWest StrEat foodfest, Richmond Maritime Festival, etc) but likely not worth your effort to get out to these places.  

 

Non-Super Ethnicky Food Options

Whitespot is a local chain and kid friendly.  I think they fit your criteria the best.  Known for their burgers with Triple O sauce (though I think they're only ok), milkshakes, pasta, comfort food like pot pie, etc.  Has a "special" meal called a pirate pak that comes served in a cardboard boat and a chocolate gold coin.  Also serves standard,  nothing really fancy breakfast fare.  They have a few locations in the downtown core.  Reso's ok.  However, the one on Georgia street is slated for development so not sure when it will shut down

 

Cora's on Robson is a breakfast chain from Quebec.  (They serve lunch too but they aren't really known for lunch IMO.)  Pretty wide selection of breakfast options with fancier options than Whitespot.  Kid friendly.  Some of the fancier items can get a bit pricey into the upper teens but you get a lot of fruit.

 

Granville Island:  Pretty much all the popular places will require a wait or if you get food from the food fair (some of the vendors are very good) a wait for a table.  

Go Fish Ocean Emporium serves fish & chips from a container building just off of Granville Island.  Line-ups can be crazy (45min wait from order to eating) and all seating is outdoors.  However, a trick is you can call in your order.  Light tempura beer battered cod, halibut, and salmon.  Try their salmon tacones too.  There are fish sales off the docked boats as an added attraction.

Popina Cantina:  Also serving out of a container.  Burgers (beef and chicken) are big and tasty.  Fish & Chips were a disappointment with thick and a bit mushy batter.  

Tuck Shoppe is a  delicious sandwich shop (though a bit hipster) hidden away in the NetLoft building across from the Public Market building.

Sen Pad Thai moved from the NetLoft location that Tuck Shoppe took over to the food fair.  Although their Thai food is really good, their chicken wings are really delicious if you can get them fresh (they do them in batches and can sit a bit, tho still good just not flipping delicious good).  

 

Nicli Antica Pizzeria in Gastown is kid friendly and on top pizza lists in Vancouver with wood fired thin crust pizzas.  Their Margherita is delicious.  But it's somewhat pricey though with most of their pizzas topping $20 and they aren't huge and are generally very simple.

The Food Trucks downtown, around town, at various events.  Most of the food trucks in Vancouver are very good and reasonably priced for lunch.  You can grab you grub and find some seating in a public space like the Art Galley/Robson pedestrian area which have seats and tables in the summer.  A couple of my favs that you might see downtown and enjoy:  Tacofino (tacos, tho fish tacos are signature - they also have brick&mortar in Yaletown and Gastown with a wider menu) which has a few trucks with one by the Art Gallery,  Burger2.85/Wakwak  Burger normally on Granville by Pender, Via Tevera (kind of a wood fired pizza sandwich) normally on Burrard near Pender, and Mom"s Grilled Cheese by the Art Gallery.  

 

We do have an Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown.  I haven't been to it in years but it's inexpensive, kid friendly, and close to downtown.

 

Also not very local or unique but there is a Red Robin Gourmet Burgers on Robson and Thurlow which is obviously very kid friendly.  I signed up for their loyalty program and went for a free burger on my birthday (different location) and it was ok.  Hadn't been there in years until I went there for someone else's birthday for their free burger.  🙂 Pretty standard chain pub grub.  

[rcprncss]

I learned something new:  new lyft or uber in Vancouver.  Thank you for the information.