Driving to Vancouver- Where to Park for Cruise

[jenquist]

Any recommendations on where to park car for reasonable price during our 7 day Alaskan cruise?

Edited April 3 by jenquist
Spelling error

[mom says]

Probably the  value long term lot at the airport. Then take the Canada line train from the station beside the lot into the city. Advance parking reservations can often get a discount. 

[1982CruzStart]

I agree with 'mom says'. If you have too many bags to comfortably take on the train then drop your passengers and baggage off at the port and then drive back to the airport and drop the car off.  The train cars that go to and from the airport or designed with extra room as they expect baggage with their passengers. 

i have family that use the long term parking at the airport if they stay in downtown Vancouver rather than pay the expensive hotel rates. 

If you are staying over 1 night in Vancouver before or after the cruise you can sometimes find hotels out near the airport that will allow you to leave your car at the hotel for the week.  You can take the hotel shuttle to the airport and catch the train or if you can't be bothered just take a taxi or rideshare down to the port. 

Have a wonderful cruise. 

[Milhouse]

The long term lot at YVR is one the cheaper options, it's pretty safe, it's pretty easy navigate, and it's a simple option.  However, it is starting to get pricier and the value prop starts to dimish a bit when you factor in transportation costs between YVR and downtown.  Eg. One week of reserved parking (~$120), YVR to downtown on Skytrain for two during offpeak (~$16.30), back to YVR offpeak (~$6.30) = ~$142

For base comparison, there's a parking lot by the sea planes that is about a 10min walk to Canada Place for about $177 for a week.  That $35 gap narrows if there's four instead of two travelling and if your take the skytrain during peak hours.

 

Note: Parking at Canada Place, as you may have researched, is kind of ridiculous. I forget the specific price but our jaw dropped when we checked the long term parking costs recently.  

 

Maybe search for lots on Easy Park which is a major parking operator in Vancouver.

Or on Parkopedia which I find is a good initial resource but requires further follow up.

I caution that some parkades are not open 24x7 so you might not be able to get your car out at all times, some do not allow overnight parking, some are in sketchy areas, etc.  Hence why the YVR long term lot can be a good simple option.  

[martincath]

Just checked Accent Inns - a small local BC chain - and they still offer 'stay & park' deals at their airport location that work out to $40 per week on top of room rate with up to 4 weeks parking allowed to be booked. That's as cheap as it's going to get for parking, and if you are driving all the way from the 'peg @jenquist I imagine you'll be planning at least one local night in case of delays en route (fire season plus limited routes makes for incredibly lengthy detours occasionally in summer on top of the inevitable roadworks, idiots renting RVs who have no idea how to drive them well causing massive tailbacks on all single-lane roads through the mountains, occasional accidnts etc.)

 

Not a great location for sightseeing - but the hotel's airport shuttle should be able to drop you at Aberdeen or Bridgeport SkyTrain stations, saving you the $5pp Addfare compared to riding it from the airport station downtown, and they'll obviously pick you up at YVR on the way back.