Vancouver Info if needed

[Urban trekker]

I believe that PD is away on a cruise so you likely won't get a response from him for a few more days.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Edited January 20, 2012 by Urban trekker

[dectjc]

Thanks Doopy for the info

[ell52]

Putterdude,

Which golf course would you recommend, dont want to spend a fortune, muni courses are fine

 

The public golf courses in Vancouver are McLeery, Langara and Fraserview.

 

Here's a link: http://vancouver.ca/parks/golf/index.htm

 

They are run by the Vancouver Parks Board.

 

The courses mentioned by an earlier poster are Pitch 'n Putt courses. Don't know if that's what you are looking for.

Edited January 21, 2012 by ell52

[Flinng]

We will be cruising this summer and arriving in Vancouver on July 21. We want to get to Victoria as soon as possible. If we dock at 7:30 on HAL at Canada Place, what would be the furt recommended ferry time to head to Swartz Bay?

 

If anyone has done a Viator Train tour to Whistler, what did you think? Was it worth it?

 

We are scheduled to leave Vancouver on crusie on July 14. How do you tell waht boats will be in port and when they leave? I saw some posts about eatign out and watcing the boats leave. Are there any good restaurants to try and do that?

[scottbee]

We will be cruising this summer and arriving in Vancouver on July 21. We want to get to Victoria as soon as possible. If we dock at 7:30 on HAL at Canada Place, what would be the furt recommended ferry time to head to Swartz Bay?

 

 

by Boat;

It doesn't really matter that much, the boats leave every hour on the hour during the summer. Pacific Coach Lines offer coach service at 15 minutes to the hour (from Pacific Train Station) that catch the ferry an 1¼ later (ie the 8:45 bus catches the 10am ferry). One of the morning trips routes via downtown, otherwise you'll need to catch Skytrain (Expo or Millenium line) from Waterfront Station to Main Street/Science World (across the st from Pacific Train Station). Cost is about $50 one way

 

Option 2 (about ½ the price of the coach), is to take local city buses (takes about the same amount of time). Take a Canada Line Skytrain (YVR or Brighouse) to Bridgeport station, and transfer to a #620 bus that takes you to the ferry terminal (you'll need a 3 zone transit ticket for the combined ride $5). Walk on the ferry (about $15); On the Victoria side, take a #70 from the ferry into downtown ($2.50)

 

 

 

Another (much more expensive) option is fly from the float terminal right next to Canada Place, flights take about 45 minutes. harbourair.com

[martincath]

We need help finding a restaurant in Vancouver downtown, if possible.

We would like something with Mediterranean cuisine with B'stella on the menu.

I have dined at Marrakesh in DC and it was wonderful!

Thanks!

There are a few Mediterranean/Middle Eastern-influenced menus around in downtown Vancouver - B'stella (Pastilla) though you'll just have to hope it appears as a daily special, I can't find it on a regular menu anywhere I'm familiar with. You will definitely find some dishes with that sweet/savoury flavour combo in the following:

 

Chambar is a very popular foodie place - Belgian beers meet Moroccan food. Their cafe, Medina, is outrageously popular for brunch (you can easily wait an hour for a table). http://www.chambar.com/

 

Nuba is Lebanese cuisine - I might not actually kill someone for their cauliflower dish, but I'd definitely be wiling to deal out a few flesh wounds;-) http://www.nuba.ca/

 

Laziza and Sanafir are both well rated on Urbanspoon, Opentable etc. but I have not personally dined at either. http://www.laziza.ca/ http://www.glowbalgroup.com/sanafir/

 

You should be able to book all of the above at OpenTable http://www.opentable.com/

[scottbee]

There are a few Mediterranean/Middle Eastern-influenced menus around in downtown Vancouver - B'stella (Pastilla) though you'll just have to hope it appears as a daily special, I can't find it on a regular menu anywhere I'm familiar with. You will definitely find some dishes with that sweet/savoury flavour combo in the following:

 

Chambar is a very popular foodie place - Belgian beers meet Moroccan food. Their cafe, Medina, is outrageously popular for brunch (you can easily wait an hour for a table). http://www.chambar.com/

 

Nuba is Lebanese cuisine - I might not actually kill someone for their cauliflower dish, but I'd definitely be wiling to deal out a few flesh wounds;-) http://www.nuba.ca/

 

Laziza and Sanafir are both well rated on Urbanspoon, Opentable etc. but I have not personally dined at either. http://www.laziza.ca/ http://www.glowbalgroup.com/sanafir/

 

You should be able to book all of the above at OpenTable http://www.opentable.com/

 

if you're looking for a quick Mediterranean take-out lunch, there's also Felafel Maison on Robson street, their Shawarma plate is excellent; but you'd better both have it, as my wife always asks "You had garlic for lunch didn't you" if I go there... http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1447090/restaurant/Downtown/Falafel-Maison-Vancouver

[whizkidcat]

martincath & scottbee

Thanks so much for your recommendations!

We were hoping for a similar experience to what we had in DC

( http://www.marrakeshdc.com/#!__marrakesh-dc)

but these sound wonderful too!

[scottbee]

martincath & scottbee

Thanks so much for your recommendations!

We were hoping for a similar experience to what we had in DC

( http://www.marrakeshdc.com/#!__marrakesh-dc)

but these sound wonderful too!

 

We don't have a massive north African/Middle Eastern population, but another thing to try (and there are a lot of options) is Indian food; lots of options in and around downtown. I am somewhat partial to India Gate for inexpensive and tasty Indian food. We go there a lot from work; is it Vindaloo Friday yet?

[JaniceB]

We are cruising out of Vancouver and need some information about places close to the Marriott Pinnacle.

Are there any stores nearby to buy sodas, beer, wine and liquor?

 

Any restaurant recommendations that aren't too expensive?

 

Please include any informtion you have about the area.

[whizkidcat]

We don't have a massive north African/Middle Eastern population, but another thing to try (and there are a lot of options) is Indian food; lots of options in and around downtown. I am somewhat partial to India Gate for inexpensive and tasty Indian food. We go there a lot from work; is it Vindaloo Friday yet?

 

Thank you for your recommendations! I like them all! Now I have to choose which one! :)

[martincath]

We are cruising out of Vancouver and need some information about places close to the Marriott Pinnacle.

Are there any stores nearby to buy sodas, beer, wine and liquor?

 

Any restaurant recommendations that aren't too expensive?

 

Please include any informtion you have about the area.

Coal Harbour Liquor Store (all kinds of booze) and Shoppers Drugmart (which has a decent grocery selection) are basically right next to each other a block away from your hotel at 1218 and 1202 West Pender Street respectively. Nearest government of BC liquor store (cheaper) is at the Harbour Centre, 555 Hastings (where the Vancouver Lookout is).

 

There's also an Urban Fare supermarket at 305 Bute St if you need a more extensive grocery selection than at Shoppers, but I find UF generally pricey.

 

There are plenty of restaurants nearby with a gamut of price options - here are a couple of middle-of-the-road suggestions with varied menus:

 

White Spot is a local chain of pretty reasonably-priced restaurants, in the same ballpark as Applebees/Chilis, and there are 2 on West Georgia Street equidistant from your hotel. 1616 W Georgia is en route to Stanley park, 580 W Georgia not far from the BC Liquor Store I mentioned so either could be convenient. http://whitespot.ca/

 

Cactus Club (nearest branch 588 Burrard St) is more up-market with some genuinely excellent dishes planned by Rob Feenie, of Iron Chef/Lumiere fame. http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/

 

For something very Vancouvery, try an Izakaya - Japanese Pubs with small nibbly food plates - like Guu which is straight down Thurlow from your hotel.

http://guu-izakaya.com/original/

 

Sushi in general is good in Vancouver, but everyone local has their own (often strong!) opinions as to the best ones - and 'reasonably priced' doesn't often match well with sushi except the All You Can Eat versions. I can't personally recommend any of these, but maybe someone else can if you're interested.

 

Info about the area - read the rest of the posts on this thread, there's a ton of good info...

[tomoyo]

We will be arriving on Sunday, May 20 and disembark the next day on the 21st. I understand the 21st is Victoria Day. Will the holiday weekend affect any of our plans/transportation due to closures?

 

Our ashore time is 7:30 am, we want to start our day as early as possible.

 

Stanley Park - We plan to walk along the seawall and do a loop, returning to Canada Place using the directions from this website. The date on this is more than 10 years old though, so can anyone tell me if the directions to complete the loop past the Lost Lagoon is still accurate?

 

Is the miniature train worth detouring for? We don't plan on riding it, just looking. We do want to check out the rose garden and Shakespeare garden though, since we're skipping Butchart Gardens in Victoria.

 

We'd like to go to the redesigned Disney Store. Looks like we can take SkyTrain there. I know it'll cost $2.50 per person. Can we utilize the 90 minute for the return trip or is it one way?

 

We're interested in seeing for ourselves that all Costco's look the same on the inside. :D We'll probably try some poutine there, too, because I read it's fairly cheap and we don't want to spend a lot in case we don't like it. But will Costco be closed on Sunday because of the holiday?

 

Assuming we like poutine, I have La Belle Patate or Fritz European Fry House on our list of places to go. Any other recommendations for poutine?

 

We'll probably walk back to the ship after this, to work off all the poutine, heh. Is there a grocery store or something similar along the way? We want to buy snacks/candy that we can't find in the US. Googlemaps is showing that we should take Thurlow St all the way back.

 

Richmond Night Market - Is it possible to get estimate on how much a cab would cost? How would I get a cab to get back to the ship at 11 pm? We're interested in the food, so we wouldn't go until later at night to leave time for our stomachs to recover after dinner.

 

Thanks for the help. I realize most of my questions are pretty specific, but I'll take any help I can get. :o

Edited January 27, 2012 by tomoyo

[JaniceB]

Coal Harbour Liquor Store (all kinds of booze) and Shoppers Drugmart (which has a decent grocery selection) are basically right next to each other a block away from your hotel at 1218 and 1202 West Pender Street respectively. Nearest government of BC liquor store (cheaper) is at the Harbour Centre, 555 Hastings (where the Vancouver Lookout is).

 

There's also an Urban Fare supermarket at 305 Bute St if you need a more extensive grocery selection than at Shoppers, but I find UF generally pricey.

 

There are plenty of restaurants nearby with a gamut of price options - here are a couple of middle-of-the-road suggestions with varied menus:

 

White Spot is a local chain of pretty reasonably-priced restaurants, in the same ballpark as Applebees/Chilis, and there are 2 on West Georgia Street equidistant from your hotel. 1616 W Georgia is en route to Stanley park, 580 W Georgia not far from the BC Liquor Store I mentioned so either could be convenient. http://whitespot.ca/

 

Cactus Club (nearest branch 588 Burrard St) is more up-market with some genuinely excellent dishes planned by Rob Feenie, of Iron Chef/Lumiere fame. http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/

 

For something very Vancouvery, try an Izakaya - Japanese Pubs with small nibbly food plates - like Guu which is straight down Thurlow from your hotel.

http://guu-izakaya.com/original/

 

Sushi in general is good in Vancouver, but everyone local has their own (often strong!) opinions as to the best ones - and 'reasonably priced' doesn't often match well with sushi except the All You Can Eat versions. I can't personally recommend any of these, but maybe someone else can if you're interested.

 

Info about the area - read the rest of the posts on this thread, there's a ton of good info...

 

Thank you for the suggestions on restaurants and the location of the liquor stores and supermarkets.

 

I had searched the thread but the Pinnacle was barely mentioned and I have not grasped the area yet. I really need to sit down with a map or a google map and pinpoint our location better.

[scottbee]

We will be arriving on Sunday, May 20 and disembark the next day on the 21st. I understand the 21st is Victoria Day. Will the holiday weekend affect any of our plans/transportation due to closures?

 

I probably wont affect things too much

 

We'd like to go to the redesigned Disney Store. Looks like we can take SkyTrain there. I know it'll cost $2.50 per person. Can we utilize the 90 minute for the return trip or is it one way?

Yes, a 90 minute ticket is just that, 90 minutes; good in any direction. From Canada Place, walk 1/2 block ahead and you'll see escalators down to Expo/Millenium Line Skytrain. Ticket machines are at the bottom of the 1st escalator.

 

 

We're interested in seeing for ourselves that all Costco's look the same on the inside. :D We'll probably try some poutine there, too, because I read it's fairly cheap and we don't want to spend a lot in case we don't like it. But will Costco be closed on Sunday because of the holiday?

Costco will be open. Easiest one to get to is next to STADIUM/CHINATOWN station; exit via the lower exit, and Costco is to your right.

 

Richmond Night Market - Is it possible to get estimate on how much a cab would cost? How would I get a cab to get back to the ship at 11 pm? We're interested in the food, so we wouldn't go until later at night to leave time for our stomachs to recover after dinner.

It's possible to go by Skytrain/bus as well. Check http://translink.ca/ for more details. A taxi from the night market it probably $35 ea way (similar to the airport), but you could take canada line skytrain to bridgeport and taxi or bus from there to greatly reduce the cost.

[Urban trekker]

Actually the government liquor store at Bute and Alberni is probably closer to your hotel than the one mentioned + it is a lot larger and has a much better selection of products especially wines - it also has the added convenience of being open on Sundays and most holidays.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[JaniceB]

Thank you Dennis.

[martincath]

Tomoyo - since there's already an excellent reply to some of your Qs I'll stick to those that weren't already answered.

 

Stanley Park - your website route looks fiundamentally the same as when I last walked it in Fall 2011, and if you wander off the path so much you get lost (lots of lovely photo ops so possible...) ask a friendly local to point you the right way.

 

Miniature train I was thoroughly unimpressed by when I had a go - it's not much to look at and the route just winds around through trees no different than in the rest of the park. Even having additional entertainment during the ride (we went during Klahowya Village time so there are people dressed up while the commentary tells a traditional story) it was dubious value - just to *look* at the train isn't worth the detour IMO unless someone in your party is a train fanatic!

 

Poutine - no offence to Costco, I shop there frequently, but I would never assume that their poutine (or any other food from their cafe) is indicative of an entire food concept! Just go to either of the restos you mentioned, or even Frenchies at 425 Dunsmuir St, and buy the smallest size basic poutine they offer - I think you can get something for c.$5 in any of the three. I've yet to meet anyone who likes the component parts of poutine that has not enjoyed the combo...

 

If you then want to do an actual Poutine dinner, walking back and hitting a super market en route, then I'd say go to La Belle Patate rather than Fritz. They're very comparable in quality, but LBP is right next to Super Valu supermarket on Davie and a straight shot up Bute to your hotel (without the uphill part of Davie from Fritz to Thurlow too!).

 

Non-US snacks & candy - I can't think of anything you won't be able to find in the US somewhere! There's a swanky candy store at 635 Robson St, The Candy Aisle, that has a lot of weird imports as well as regular sweet stuff but I've also seen this type of store in every big US town I've ever been to. If you were considering being around that part of town anyway (it's near the central library which is a major HOHO stop and photo op) then you could also try H-Mart (Korean groceries) at Robson & Seymour or if in Chinatown the huge T&T at Keefer Place - both have a lot of Asian sweets.

 

Minor amendment to your earlier query about Disney store - if it's the one on Kingsway in Burnaby you'll need a 2 Zone fare on Skytrain ($3.75 basic fare not $2.50) as you'll be crossing the fare boundary line. I'd also say that, while as mentioned above you can travel for 90mins with a ticket, you simply won't have time to get there, shop, and get back within 90mins so budget for 2 tickets.

 

A daypass is almost certainly going to be better value - and a 2 Zone pass also gets you to Richmond for the night market (you could take a cab to & from Bridgeport Skytrain station to avoid bus transfers - this is probably faster than cabbing all the way too unless there's no traffic).

 

BTW, Specific = Good when it comes to getting relevant answers!

[martincath]

Actually the government liquor store at Bute and Alberni is probably closer to your hotel than the one mentioned + it is a lot larger and has a much better selection of products especially wines - it also has the added convenience of being open on Sundays and most holidays.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks for improving my answer Dennis - that's what I get for Googling instead of using BC Liquors site, I didn't see any of the Signature stores like Alberni...

 

Extra bonus - there are often tastings and should always be product experts available at a Signature store who can advise on purchases (a lot of smaller BC winery products don't make it out of the province, let alone the country).

[martincath]

Thank you for the suggestions on restaurants and the location of the liquor stores and supermarkets.

 

I had searched the thread but the Pinnacle was barely mentioned and I have not grasped the area yet. I really need to sit down with a map or a google map and pinpoint our location better.

Try searching for the Fairmont Pacific Rim or the Renaissance Harbourside - they're both within a block of the Pinnacle. Really, anything pertinent to the Convention Centre, Canada Place, Fairmont Waterfront, Coast Coal Harbour, or Pan Pacific hotels will mean at most an extra couple of blocks walk from the Pinnacle - Hotel Vancouver/Shangri La/Four Seasons/Hyatt Regency aren't much further.

[scottbee]

A daypass is almost certainly going to be better value - and a 2 Zone pass also gets you to Richmond for the night market (you could take a cab to & from Bridgeport Skytrain station to avoid bus transfers - this is probably faster than cabbing all the way too unless there's no traffic).

 

He's actually in town Sat/Sun (from his original post), so it will all be one zone ($2.50/90 minutes). It's only multi zone during the week, it's one zone after 6:30pm and all day Sat/Sun/Holidays

[martincath]

He's actually in town Sat/Sun (from his original post), so it will all be one zone ($2.50/90 minutes). It's only multi zone during the week, it's one zone after 6:30pm and all day Sat/Sun/Holidays

You are of course correct - but after my previous getting dates confused issues I'm avoiding date-specific info as much as possible;) Besides, lots more than just the original poster read the boards; day passes are rarely *not* the best value for a short-term tourist and it's better to err on the side of potentially paying a buck & a quarter extra than being fined by the transit cops, no?

[seabreeze0389]

Hello all; I am confused about the meaning of "downtown location". When trying to search for a hotel room I see Downtown, Downtown West, Downtown Yaletown, and Entertainment District. I want to be sure I choose the correct downtown! :eek:

We will be staying two nights post cruise in early June; along with another couple. We want to stay at a hotel where we can just walk out the door (a block or so) and have public transportation, restaurants/pubs. Probably $250 max on price. Of course we will continue checking Priceline and Hotwire as soon as we know the "right" downtown to choose when putting in a bid or booking.

Thank you bunches!!!

[Urban trekker]

All three are part of our vibrant downtown core - all three are well served by public transportation.

 

Downtown West will have the better selection of hotels - Yaletown is more noted for its restaurants than its hotels and the Entertainment district is about a six block area of Granville Street that is home to many bars and restaurants and is very lively on weekends or after big sporting events - the hotels in the Entertainment District tend to be older properties that the big chains brought a number of years ago and have fixed help.

 

You should be able to get a good property in downtown West for the price that you show.

 

Hope this helps

 

Enjoy your visit

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

Putterdude,

Which golf course would you recommend, dont want to spend a fortune, muni courses are fine

 

No question in my mind that Fraserview in the s/e quadrant of the city is the best muni in the city and one of the best munis I have played anywhere. McCleary would be my 2nd choice followed by Langara, however Langara is the easiest to get to. Northlands in North Vancouver and Riverway in Burnaby are another pair of great munis but a bit hard to get to. I would also suggest Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby but it has a hostory of being a very slow play.