Vancouver Info if needed

[Putterdude]

We actually have already purchased Capilano Tickets but thanks for mentioning that its not included just incase I didnt know that :) So, youre saying that I can ride the red and blue loops 5 times each if I like? (Not that I am...just wanna make sure!)

Thanks for the eating suggestions and your help!

 

You can ride the red and blue lines from the time the first car leave Canada Place arround 0900 until the last car arrives back a Canada Place just before 1800....fill your boots.:)

[em-sk]

While taking the ferry might seem boring to some, to a lot of visitors to this area, it's a highlight with a very picturesque ride through active pass. Add to that a double decker bus ride on the Victoria side (the normal buses on the #70), and that's a tourist attraction!

 

Also, considering it's $22.50 bus/ferry/bus from downtown to downtown, versus $115 for the very cheapest web specials on harbour-air.com for the floatplane... There's a reason both exist, they deal with different markets

 

The sea plane and helicopter service are very convenient to downtown. They also do not have the same security that the regular airports do.

 

If you want to fly, with a normal baggage limit, then you can also do Air Canada from the Victoria Airport to the Vancouver Airport. Most flights booked one month a head (just now) shows up at around $99 each way (including tax). The airline web page usually offers Tango fares that don't show up on other systems. Key drawbacks is you need to get to/from the airport and deal with security ect. Domestic free check baggage allowance is one bag at 50 lb; plus two smaller-carry on. Flight books out as a flying time of 25min.

 

The Air Canada option is not as convenient or as fast as the float plane and more expensive than the ferry. The ferry can also be quite pleasant.

 

It all depends on the trade-off money vrs. travel time.

Edited May 17, 2012 by em-sk

[disneykins]

Gonna be on Carnival Spirit to Hawaii in Sept 2012. Where does the ship sail from? Good hotels in the area? How much is taxi from airport? HoHo bus nearby? Arriving Sunday 2pm and sailing on Tuesday. Any suggestions for what not to miss. Dont want to rent a car so prefer bus, hoho or short taxi rides.

 

I know a lot of this has been answered so I'm gonna go read the rest of the thread, just thought I'd ask some questions.

 

Thanks,

Tony

[Tweedy]

Gonna be on Carnival Spirit to Hawaii in Sept 2012. Where does the ship sail from? Good hotels in the area? How much is taxi from airport? HoHo bus nearby? Arriving Sunday 2pm and sailing on Tuesday. Any suggestions for what not to miss. Dont want to rent a car so prefer bus, hoho or short taxi rides.

 

I know a lot of this has been answered so I'm gonna go read the rest of the thread, just thought I'd ask some questions.

 

Thanks,

Tony

 

You will be sailing from Canada Place. Most of the major hotel chains are located downtown. Check out trip advisor for reviews. Taxi's from the airport are around $40 (including tip) but there is also the convenience of the Canada Line train which takes you right from the terminal into downtown Vancouver. The HOHO bus starting point is Canada Place which would be a great way to see the city. September can be a beautiful time of year here.

[disneykins]

Just googled the Canada line. Is it $2.50 to get into downtown on a Sunday? And then buy a day pass for $9 that would be good all day Monday? Sounds like a good deal. Are there free trolley busses? Can you take city transit to Stanley Park?

thanks,

Tony

[scottbee]

Just googled the Canada line. Is it $2.50 to get into downtown on a Sunday? And then buy a day pass for $9 that would be good all day Monday? Sounds like a good deal. Are there free trolley busses? Can you take city transit to Stanley Park?

thanks,

Tony

 

1) it's $2.50 evenings and weekend everyone on the transit system -- EXCEPT from the airport, where there's a $5 surcharge. If you intend to tour the day you arrive, instead of heading straight from domestic arrivals to Skytrain, pop into the airport 7-11 (not far from dom arrivals), and buy an all day transit ticket for $9 (not available on the platform)

 

2) Once you have an all day pass, all buses/skytrain/seabus are free :-)

 

3) #19 Stanley Park

 

http://www.translink.ca/ for more info

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am sure my questions have already been answered, however, I did not find them in the 50+ pages I read. :) Thank you in advance for your help.

 

We are arriving in Vancouver on August 29 and sailing on the Radiance on the 31st. We have a room at the Hampton Inn on Robeson for 3 reasons. I used Hilton Honors points for the first night, they have an airport shuttle and we have read that Robeson street is the shopping district. (the other woman in our group is a shopper)

 

We plan on doing the 2 day HOHO either trolley or bus.

 

My questions are--is the Hampton inn near the shopping area? In an OK section of town? Which of the two HOHO is the best?

[cruising cockroach]

The HI is on the other end of Robson from the boutique/chain shops. About 9 blocks. Area is fine.

 

I doubt this HI (or any in downtown Vancouver) has an airport shuttle. Confused with the airport/Richmond one?

[scottbee]

We are arriving in Vancouver on August 29 and sailing on the Radiance on the 31st. We have a room at the Hampton Inn on Robeson for 3 reasons. I used Hilton Honors points for the first night, they have an airport shuttle and we have read that Robeson street is the shopping district. (the other woman in our group is a shopper)

 

We plan on doing the 2 day HOHO either trolley or bus.

 

My questions are--is the Hampton inn near the shopping area? In an OK section of town? Which of the two HOHO is the best?

 

It's about 15 blocks up Robson to the shopping district. The Hampton is located at the other end of Robson.

 

It's a fine section of town, across from the football stadium; lots of interesting eateries a few blocks up Robson

 

I personally think HoHos are a giant waste of money, so I'm not the guy to ask (although for less money- $9- you can buy an all day bus/skytrain/seabus ticket and get to a lot more tourist sites -- the HoHos stick to downtown).

 

Lastly, I'm pretty sure the Hampton doesn't have an airport shuttle -- they do have a downtown shuttle, just to the airport. However, buy an all day transit (as above) ticket at the 7-11 at the airport (not sold on the platforms), and the subway will go from the airport to Vancouver City Center (about 8 blocks up Robson from the Hampton); before you even start sightseeing -- airport transfer and get to the sites, all for 1/2 the price ofthe HoHo

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Thank you both for your help in re3gards to the location of the Hampton Inn.

[Putterdude]

We are arriving in Vancouver on August 29 and sailing on the Radiance on the 31st. We have a room at the Hampton Inn on Robeson for 3 reasons. I used Hilton Honors points for the first night, they have an airport shuttle and we have read that Robeson street is the shopping district. (the other woman in our group is a shopper)

 

We plan on doing the 2 day HOHO either trolley or bus.

 

My questions are--is the Hampton inn near the shopping area? In an OK section of town? Which of the two HOHO is the best?

 

The Hampton Inn is in a good safe area, you will find it very quiet neither the BC Lions or the Vancouver Whitecaps are playing at home on your dates and it does not appear to be any other event scheduled at BC Place Stadium during the period of your stay. There are lots of restaurants around the hotel and there are even more in the trendy neighborhood of Yaletown about two blocks away.

You will find lots of shopping on Robson St, the shopping district begins abut 6 blocks from the hotel and extends west for about another 6 blocks. Likewise you are 6 blocks from Pacific Centre a major downtown regional shopping centre and there is some very good shopping on Granville St. north from about Robson St. to Hastings St. If that is still not enough your friend will want to check out the shopping in historic Gastown and on Granville Island.

The Hampton Inn - downtown does not offer an airport shuttle but does offer a free shuttle to the pier as well as a free breakfast. A cab fare from YVR to the hotel will run you about $35. The Canada Line from YVR is an option however you will have a 6 block walk with your luggage from the Vancouver Centre station, though it is an level walk.

I wholeheartedly recommend the HOHO's they represent a great investment of both time and money. I can think of no better way of seeing the sights of the city. A transit bus is an option but they are not a tour; they are designed for transporting people between point A and point B and provide no narration about what you are seeing. For instance, the Vancouver Trolley has live narration and with its city tour makes 6 stops in Stanley Park whereas as the transit bus makes one.

We now have 3 HOHO's operating in Vancouver, the newest entry being the Big Pink bus which operates only seasonally. The other two, the Big Bus and the Vancouver Trolley operate all year round. I am inclined to recommend the Vancouver Trolley as they pioneered the HOHO business in Vancouver and provide live commentary, the Big Bus's is canned.

[mrspaper]

A friend, who may stop by this thread is arriving the day before her cruise. She will bid on her hotel on Priceline, so she doesn't have one yet. She's wondering, in terms of best value, is it better to rent a car from the airport, use it in Vancouver for the day, drop her luggage at the pier the next day, drive the rental back to the airport (or are there rentals that she can drop at the port). If she took the rental back to the airport, she would then take the Princess shuttle back to the dock.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Thanks Putterdude for that very complete post. We like HOHO tours for the convenience of visiting the attractions. (public transportations often drop off a few blocks away. That is not an issue if you are one place--but, the walking adds up quickly.) The trolley offers two days for the price of one if I buy online. Also, they divide their route into two tours.(red and blue) This lets us focus on one part of the city at a time. However, I will look into the Pink bus before we buy tickets. We used the pink bus on a New England/Canada cruise. They were very good.

 

Since we are two couples we will likely take a taxi to the hotel. :)

[Urban trekker]

Take the HOHO's - most of the transit buses that operate in the downtown core are packed - you might have to stand and have trouble getting through the crowd to exit the bus if you even know what stop to get off on. Is that the kind of experience we want our tourists to enjoy.

 

The Hampton Inn is located by the 100 block Robson - the boutique shops start in the 1000 block - by my math that is 9 blocks which cruising cockroach states not the 15 blocks that another poster states and as PD correctly states there are shopping experience the entire length of Robson

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[scottbee]

Thanks Putterdude for that very complete post. We like HOHO tours for the convenience of visiting the attractions. (public transportations often drop off a few blocks away. That is not an issue if you are one place--but, the walking adds up quickly.) The trolley offers two days for the price of one if I buy online. Also, they divide their route into two tours.(red and blue) This lets us focus on one part of the city at a time. However, I will look into the Pink bus before we buy tickets. We used the pink bus on a New England/Canada cruise. They were very good.

 

Since we are two couples we will likely take a taxi to the hotel. :)

 

Unfortunately the HoHos stick to the downtown core, making it impossible to visit places like Caplino suspension bridge, Grouse Mountain, QE Park, Richmond Night Market etc etc. It really depends on what you want to visit.

[Urban trekker]

Isn't there a free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension bridge that leaves from Canada Place and I think i=Grouse is running one as well or in conjunction with the Cap Bridge.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

Thanks Putterdude for that very complete post. We like HOHO tours for the convenience of visiting the attractions. (public transportations often drop off a few blocks away. That is not an issue if you are one place--but, the walking adds up quickly.) The trolley offers two days for the price of one if I buy online. Also, they divide their route into two tours.(red and blue) This lets us focus on one part of the city at a time. However, I will look into the Pink bus before we buy tickets. We used the pink bus on a New England/Canada cruise. They were very good.

 

Since we are two couples we will likely take a taxi to the hotel. :)

 

You are very welcome, have a great time in our city.

Our cabs have all been downsized and while they will handle 4 average sized adults, however with any amount of luggage .... well you won't fit. The good news is that about 17% of the taxi fleet is mini-vans .... so you may have to wait an extra few minutes for one but that is likely what you need.

As Ut has correctly pointed out, if you want to go over to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain both have a free shuttle which is operated by the Vancouver Trolley people. You will find a link to their skeds on their websites.

[Putterdude]

A friend, who may stop by this thread is arriving the day before her cruise. She will bid on her hotel on Priceline, so she doesn't have one yet. She's wondering, in terms of best value, is it better to rent a car from the airport, use it in Vancouver for the day, drop her luggage at the pier the next day, drive the rental back to the airport (or are there rentals that she can drop at the port). If she took the rental back to the airport, she would then take the Princess shuttle back to the dock.

 

All of the large car rental companies have locations downtown with National being in the Pan Pacific which forms part of Canada Place so it would make little sense to return it to YVR. That said, unless your friend wants to go to an outlying area, we seldom recommend a car in Vancouver. The city is becoming less car friendly by the month, it is not an easy city to get around in, she will be paying upward of $25/night to park her car at the hotel and will be will be paying for parking at most attractions.

She can come into the city by the subway from YVR or a cab fare will run her about $35... we can provide more details once she has her hotel. Once in town she has options like tours, HOHOs or even transit bus. Unless there is something I don't know, I am certain she will be happier not renting a car.

[mrspaper]

Thanks for the car rental info. I passed it on.

Now I have to consider what I'm doing.

We are travelling Portland to Vancouver, then down to Seattle for a cruise. 2 separate friends who live in Seattle said the public transp. to Vancouver has become unreliable and definitely suck up the added fee for the parking. Also, we'd be able to travel outside the city, for our 2 days there. Do you all agree? If we pay an extra $25 - $30 a night, it won't kill us, if we can get a good rate on a hotel. Afterall, we're from NY and used to the high expensives

[Putterdude]

If you are referring to transportation from Seattle to Vancouver there are three options, the Amtrak train, the Amtrak bus or Quick Coach all are of which are highly reliable. If you are speaking of the transportation system within Vancouver it is also extremely reliable.

[Urban trekker]

Could be referring to the wait times at the border especially southbound back into the US.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

You could be right but for the most part those waits are built in the skids. Yes, there is the odd exception but that is usually southbound.

[mrspaper]

Thanks for the car rental info. I passed it on.

Now I have to consider what I'm doing.

We are travelling Portland to Vancouver, then down to Seattle for a cruise. 2 separate friends who live in Seattle said the public transp. to Vancouver has become unreliable and definitely suck up the added fee for the parking. Also, we'd be able to travel outside the city, for our 2 days there. Do you all agree? If we pay an extra $25 - $30 a night, it won't kill us, if we can get a good rate on a hotel. Afterall, we're from NY and used to the high expensives

The two people I know felt the public transp. wasn't reliable anymore. I have a few months to consider my options. I can always ask our hotel in Seattle if they can hold 2 piece of luggage for us, so we have less to shlep.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

Our cabs have all been downsized and while they will handle 4 average sized adults, however with any amount of luggage .... well you won't fit. The good news is that about 17% of the taxi fleet is mini-vans .... so you may have to wait an extra few minutes for one but that is likely what you need.

 

That is good to know they have the mini vans. I am sure we will need one.

[Urban trekker]

re - public transportation - are you referring to Seattle or Vancouver - I know that Seattle's Metro transit system has had some cutbacks whcih might be what your friends are referring to - no such thing here in Vancouver - we just keep raising taxes - especially gas - to keep the system at present levels.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis