Vancouver Airport to Downtown - Taxi vs Canada Line Metro?

[jeffyd]

We have a cruise out of Vancouver on Wednesday July 12th and will arrive at Vancouver airport on Tuesday July 11th. We'll be flying standby from the East Coast so we'll get in to the Vancouver airport at either 11:57 AM, 12:30 PM or 9:06 PM depending on which flight we get. We have hotel reservations at the YWCA for Tues July 12th. My questions are:

 

1. Given that we'll have several suitcases is it easier to just get a taxi from the airport right to the YWCA hotel and if so what is the cost for two people?

2. If we decide to take the Canada Line Metro, what station would we get off? And given our suitcases and possibly not getting there until late in the evening, would we be able to easily get a taxi from the metro station to the hotel and if so any idea what the cost would be? Or would it be an easy and safe walk?

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Jeff

[GTJ]

I assume that you're staying at the YWCA Hotel Vancouver, located at 733 Beatty Street.

 

1. Yes, it is easier to have a taxi driver take you from the airport to the hotel, compared to having to navigate yourself from the airport to the hotel. The greater ease will be reflected in the higher fare for taxi service. The hotel is in taxi zone 8, to fare from the airport to this zone being 34.00 CAD. In comparison, SkyTrain requires is a 2-zone fare, 4.45 CAD, plus a 5.00 CAD surcharge for boarding at the airport, or a total of 9.45 CAD per person.

 

2. Using SkyTrain, change at Waterfront station to the Expo line, then alight at Stadium-Chinatown station. It might be challenging finding a taxi late at night. The taxi fare would be exceptionally low because you would be traveling just over one block. a distance of less than 800 feet (about 0.15 mile). The taxi fare should be 3.50 CAD flag drop, plus approximately 0.40 CAD for the distance traveled, or a total of 3.90 CAD. It would also be a very easy walk, primarily because of the short distance involved. The sidewalk is well-maintained and reasonably safe to travel upon; it is unlikely that you would get injured in walking the just-over one block distance.

[dawnvip]

I agree with GTJ  - depends on whether you want to navigate transit with luggage after a long flight from the east coast, or just let the cab do the work.

 

Stadium station is very close to the YWCA, and in a safe area. A quick check indicates a Whitecaps FC game scheduled for evening of Wednesday, July 12th so if you do decide to take the train, you won't have to fight the crowds around the stadium district on July 11th. 

 

 

[jeffyd]

Thank you both for your responses. Given the relatively low cost of the taxi and the fact that we’ll be tired from cross country travel and have several suitcases, we’ll most likely do the taxi. And yes, we’re staying at the YWCA at 733 Beatty St. Thanks again. 
 

Jeff

[jeeper2]

19 hours ago, GTJ said:

I assume that you're staying at the YWCA Hotel Vancouver, located at 733 Beatty Street.

 

1. Yes, it is easier to have a taxi driver take you from the airport to the hotel, compared to having to navigate yourself from the airport to the hotel. The greater ease will be reflected in the higher fare for taxi service. The hotel is in taxi zone 8, to fare from the airport to this zone being 34.00 CAD. In comparison, SkyTrain requires is a 2-zone fare, 4.45 CAD, plus a 5.00 CAD surcharge for boarding at the airport, or a total of 9.45 CAD per person.

 

2. Using SkyTrain, change at Waterfront station to the Expo line, then alight at Stadium-Chinatown station. It might be challenging finding a taxi late at night. The taxi fare would be exceptionally low because you would be traveling just over one block. a distance of less than 800 feet (about 0.15 mile). The taxi fare should be 3.50 CAD flag drop, plus approximately 0.40 CAD for the distance traveled, or a total of 3.90 CAD. It would also be a very easy walk, primarily because of the short distance involved. The sidewalk is well-maintained and reasonably safe to travel upon; it is unlikely that you would get injured in walking the just-over one block distance.

Thank you for that very helpful information.  A number of years ago we took the Sky Train from the airport and enjoyed every minute of the experience, even having to transfer to a bus to be near our hotel.  Unfortunately, being a bit older and with some physical limitations, that doesn’t appear to be a good option.  

My questions:

There will be four of us, with luggage, heading somewhere near the cruise port.  Are there taxis, private services, or Ubers, that would be able to take all of us together?  
Thank you! 

[dawnvip]

58 minutes ago, jeeper2 said:

Thank you for that very helpful information.  A number of years ago we took the Sky Train from the airport and enjoyed every minute of the experience, even having to transfer to a bus to be near our hotel.  Unfortunately, being a bit older and with some physical limitations, that doesn’t appear to be a good option.  

My questions:

There will be four of us, with luggage, heading somewhere near the cruise port.  Are there taxis, private services, or Ubers, that would be able to take all of us together?  
Thank you! 

There are some taxi companies that use mini-van vehicles, so depending on amount of luggage, you may be able to squish everyone in. The taxi queue is first come first served, so you may end up waiting for a mini-van to show up. 

 

Another option is to order an Uber XL, which would be a similar mini-van type of vehicle. Uber rates depend on time of day and demand, so you could end up paying double for the same trip as a taxi. 

 

If you have a lot of luggage, then two taxis would work best. I don't think the Aerocar limos are running at this time.