Vancouver & Victoria DIY

[Ombud]

I'm on the Pacific Northwest Coast cruise out of SF on March 29th. I don't have a lot of OBC and I've been here b4. Hoping for local input 

 

With that in mind and the fact that I need to walk more, what are my top 5's? I've seen Butchart Gardens and Capilano Bridge (must do's IMHO for any going there 1st time). Usually take the shuttle to town in Victoria but thinking of walking there (google shows St Lawrence St as walkable, is it?). Can I actually walk to Stanley Park in Vancouver? Are lime bikes common there if I'm pushing it?

 

WWYD?

[cruiseryyc]

You can easily walk from Ogden Point (Victoria dock) into the Inner Harbour area, a nice lovely walk through a neighbourhood.

[martincath]

Agree that Victoria is an easy walk for most folks - and to Stanley Park is also eminently walkable, just follow the Seawall along from the pier. The only issue will be how far you can walk comfortably? Your comment re: 'needing to walk more' implies that you may not be exercising much at the moment...

 

The distances involved in Stanley Park mean you do need to be capable of walking pretty far - even the simple loop around the exterior and back is 5+ miles, and that's without any deviation into the many interior park attractions or the walk to and from. A bike rental is a huge efficiency win, as any trail you can walk around you can also take a bike on. Mobibike is the local 'ad hoc' bike rental system, though we do have some of the Scooter rental companies available too.

 

If you 'hop' between bike racks using Mobi it can be VERY cheap, as all you need is the basic 24hr rental rate of $12. This limits you to 30mins per ride (going over 30 brings extra charges) but there are so many racks all over downtown, and even several within the park, it's easy to ride around in very short chunks... and since there are so many places for photo stops around the park even a traditional bike rental for X hours (also available from several companies, including EzeeRiders super close to the pier) will generally involve you stopping & starting a lot anyway.

 

Just be aware that traditional rentals won't be on their summer hours yet - so 10am is likely the opening time for any of those, whereas Mobi works 24/7 (and you can use the free city WiFi network so you won't need to incur roaming data charges to use Maps, install the App etc.

 

As to whether that's your best plan for the day... as a prior visitor I'm kinda shocked you did Capilano over Stanley Park to begin with, the latter is the single most-Vancouvery thing you can do so getting there this time around should absolutely be your priority! Assuming you don't just spend all day in the park - which is certainly possible - without knowing your personal tastes it's hard to rank all of our multitudinous attractions appropriately, but you might consider things like walking around Gastown (oldest 'hood, Steam Clock, lots of stores and restos), English Bay (residential, beaches, palm trees, more restos), Chinatown (not quite as big as SF, but our gate is way more impressive and the Sun Yat-Sen Garden is the best in the world outside Suzhou), Yaletown (ex-industrial warehouse area now converted to residences/stores/many restos). Or maybe some of our museums and art galleries if you're after indoor, cultural stuff; or Granville Island for indoor shopping in independent local stores).

 

Or have a shufty on TripAdvisor to get a general idea of what Joe Q Public likes best and adjust those rankings to account for your own tastes.

 

[Milhouse]

Is Vancouver a port of call or end point for your cruise?

My top sites for an itinerary around the downtown core would likely be something to the effect of Granville Island, Canada Place/Jack Poole Plaza/Seawall walk, Stanley Park, Gastown, English Bay, and some of the main retail/dining streets like Robson, Denman, Davie, and Granville (tho, parts of, particularly the south end of, Granville can feel a bit sketchy).  

 

Assuming the ship docks at Canada Place, yes, you can walk to Stanley Park.  We regularly walk from the northern entrance of Stanley Park by Lost Lagoon, along the seawall to Canada Place.  It's about a 30min easy flat walk with great views of the north shore & mountains, Stanley Park, marinas, and activity in the harbor like seaplanes.   

(Yesterday, we parked the car, walked down to Denman street, headed to English Bay, walked back along the edge of Stanley Park to Lost Lagoon, and then along the seawall to Canada Place.  That took about 1.5hrs with stops along the way.) 

Stanley Park is huge.  Depending on how much time you want to spend, there's a reasonable circuit that takes you from the Rose Garden,  by the Aquarium, to Lumberman's Arch where you would circle back to the entrance along the seawall, taking you past totom poles, the Brockton Point Lighthouse, 9 o'clock gun, etc with great views of downtown Vancouver. 

I always want to caution about encountering rain which kind of dampens (no pun intended) the enjoyment of some of the outdoor activities.  

 

Walking to Granville Island from Canada Place/downtown core is doable but might feel like a bit of a trek.  You might want to consider the bus or a mini harbour ferry (False Creek Ferries/Aquabus).  If you walk it, you might want to consider your route as Granville Street Bridge isn't the most fun to walk across and you need to double back a bit, the route from Burrard St Bridge can be kind of tricky, and Cambie Steet Bridge is great to walk across but takes you on a somewhat longer route.

 

There is a bike rental program called Mobi Bikes.  Don't know much about the process.  I'm sure others can explain. There are also bike rental shops on Denman as mentioned in other threads.  IIRC, Club16 Fitness along the seawall under Jack Poole Plaza, near Canada Place, also does seasonal bike rentals.  No idea on the cost or when they get the program going.

I think Lime is trying to expand their electric scooters rentals into Vancouver but haven't heard of a date yet. 

 

[Langley Cruisers]

Hiya! OK, so I see you are on Grand Princess and you have a nice long day in Vancouver, and a frightfully short day in Victoria (not unusual, just a drag). You port in Victoria from 7 am - 2 pm but should be able to disembark quickly as your previous port was also Canadian. Gosh... not much to do at 7:30 am in Victoria, but for lunch I will send you to my favourite seafood stand in the Inner Harbour, called Red Fish Blue Fish (they re-open again in March so you're good). Have the Tempura Cod tacone, it is to die for! 😁 Then I'll send you to Rogers Chocolates for some Victoria Creams - delicious!

 

Also, I agree that if you are wanting to walk more and are talking about Stanley Park, you can certainly walk from Ogden Point in Victoria to the Inner Harbour, avoiding the highly overpriced (in my opinion) shuttle bus. When last we ported there, I think it was either $11 or $15 return, still far too much for what is a lovely walk along flat grounds through residential neighbourhoods.

 

https://www.redfish-bluefish.com/

https://www.rogerschocolates.com/

 

Have a great cruise - that's a nice itinerary.

[Ombud]

Thanks for input!

 

I currently only do 1.5-2 miles at a stretch and prefer to keep individual legs under 3 miles. Still cannot do a 10k but eventually I'll get back there. Running is no longer possible. Also stairs are an issue after 'that' injury. But I can wear a compression wrap if nec 

 

Thank you everyone for the input:

Vancouver: Mobi Bikes

northern entrance of Stanley Park

Gastown

Sun Yat-Sen Garden

Victoria: Ogden Point to Inner Harbour

https://www.rogerschocolates.com/

🙂
 

 

 

 

[Langley Cruisers]

For Victoria, there is an excellent world-class museum as well. Since you have such a short day there, this might fit the bill nicely.

 

https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/