Transport to hotel

[Travelight]

What is the best option to get to our hotel on Robson street in Vancouver from the airport after 10:00 at night? 

[Alberta Quilter]

Take a cab!

[oakridger]

Yep!  They have a fixed fare from the airport and most take credit cards if you want.  Have fun!  I love Vancouver!

 

~Nancy

[martincath]

You might find the savings on SkyTrain worthwhile, approx. US$6pp compared to cab fare of ~US$26 to any Robson St hotel. Very much depends where along Robson your hotel is though - some are conveniently close to a SkyTrain station, others would involve schlepping bags a mile or waiting to transfer to a low-frequency bus... personally I'd do a cab though for the convenience after a day of travel, we usually SkyTrain to the airport but cab home ourselves.

[Alberta Quilter]

Martincath, how safe would it be to take the SkyTrain at that time of day?  (After 10 pm)  That is my concern, being in an unfamiliar city at that time of day and schlepping luggage.  Nothing screams tourist more than schlepping luggage!  I'd rather spend the extra money to avoid having something bad happen at the start of my vacation.

[xlxo]

The key thing is the Canada Line frequency drops to once every 20 minutes in the late evening.  I wouldn't be surprised if the cab can have you at your Robson hotel doorway in that time.

 

Another vote to cab it.

[Travelight]

Thank you all very much!  Cab it is !

[martincath]

On 5/7/2022 at 8:28 PM, Alberta Quilter said:

Martincath, how safe would it be to take the SkyTrain at that time of day?  (After 10 pm)  That is my concern, being in an unfamiliar city at that time of day and schlepping luggage.  Nothing screams tourist more than schlepping luggage!  I'd rather spend the extra money to avoid having something bad happen at the start of my vacation.

Safety is frankly just not really a concern riding SkyTrain, ever - on the super-rare occasion of anything criminal going down on the train there are silent contact strips all over the place which notify the police to board at the next stop. Bright lights, cameras, staff at stations... it all makes for a very poor environment to get away with things. And considering how many of our hotels are downtown, even in the wee small hours there are people around.

 

The type of crimes/scams which are very common on transit in some countries, like pickpocketing which we've had to deal with ourselves in Spain, are rare in Vancouver because of the skill component required. A vast proportion of our property theft/muggings crimes are committed by desperate addicts who simply lack the skillset, experience, and ability to teamwork that complex crimes require!

 

Really it's down to relative saving of cash vs spending of time - as noted above, SkyTrain frequency plummets late at night as does traffic volume. If you value your time much at all, the convenience of hopping right in a cab and being at any downtown hotel 30-35mins later compared to potentially a 20min wait, a 26-28min ride, then another walk from station to your hotel can easily add up to having spent about 30mins extra...

 

[xlxo]

10 hours ago, martincath said:

there are silent contact strips all over the place which notify the police to board at the next stop

I'll add that concerned riders can also discretely text 87-77-77.  You will be in contact with Translink police and advise them of the situation.

 

https://transitpolice.ca/advice-info/see-something-say-something/text-87-77-77/

[Alberta Quilter]

I didn't word my question very well at all but thank you both for your views on SkyTrain safety.  What I really meant to ask was more about the walk from the SkyTrain station to the hotel (any hotel), while schlepping luggage.

 

I personally would always choose a taxi but that's more because I'm usually travelling with someone who is somewhat mobility impaired and there is no way I can handle her luggage in addition to my own on a train.  And that's no matter what time of day.  We need easy travel, particularly after a long travel day.

[martincath]

41 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I didn't word my question very well at all but thank you both for your views on SkyTrain safety.  What I really meant to ask was more about the walk from the SkyTrain station to the hotel (any hotel), while schlepping luggage.

 

I personally would always choose a taxi but that's more because I'm usually travelling with someone who is somewhat mobility impaired and there is no way I can handle her luggage in addition to my own on a train.  And that's no matter what time of day.  We need easy travel, particularly after a long travel day.

Ah, gotcha - that depends somewhat on which SkyTrain station and which hotel of course, but given that the really skeevy bits of downtown don't have SkyTrain stations, or really any hotels other than some seriously low-end hostels and SROs, I wouldn't have much concern about that last leg on foot.