Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[vino100]

It's a little over a mile, or you can take the #19 Stanley Park bus. Full transit details at http://translink.ca/

 

A great choice for visitors are day passes $9 on Translink (our bus/subway/seabus system). You can get to everything you hear mentioned in this forum easily on the local transit system

 

Thanks for this info and the next one about renting bikes.That is what we plan to do in Stanley Park.:)

[scottbee]

As you can see, http://maps.google.com/maps?q=bike+rental+vancouver&hl=en&ll=49.276541,-123.093052&spn=0.069548,0.206165&sll=49.288047,-123.125196&sspn=0.017383,0.051541&vpsrc=6&fll=49.276765,-123.122063&fspn=0.069547,0.206165&z=13 most of the bike rental places are right near Stanley Park on Denman street.

[browniegirl]

Hi all! I have another question - we are a family of 5 plus my Mom is coming, so that makes six of us going on the NCL pearl repositioning cruise on Sept 25th for 5 nights out of Vancouver. The ship is apparently going to be at Ballyntyne Pier and we've never left from there before. My Mom is going to fly over that morning from the island (we are coming over day before and staying at a richmond hotel and leaving our car there for the duration of our holiday and getting a car service down to Ballyntyne the morning of the cruise). My question is this - when my moms flight comes into the vancouver harbour at approximately 9:10 am and then she will have about an hour and 20 minutes to kill before meeting us down at Ballyntyne nice and early, ie: before 11am. Is there anything or anywhere near the cruise terminal for her to do, ie: a coffee shop?? Or would she be better off waiting down around the harbour and grabbing a coffee down there before catching a cab to Ballyntyne?

 

thanks,

 

Leah

[ell52]

Hi all! I have another question - we are a family of 5 plus my Mom is coming, so that makes six of us going on the NCL pearl repositioning cruise on Sept 25th for 5 nights out of Vancouver. The ship is apparently going to be at Ballyntyne Pier and we've never left from there before. My Mom is going to fly over that morning from the island (we are coming over day before and staying at a richmond hotel and leaving our car there for the duration of our holiday and getting a car service down to Ballyntyne the morning of the cruise). My question is this - when my moms flight comes into the vancouver harbour at approximately 9:10 am and then she will have about an hour and 20 minutes to kill before meeting us down at Ballyntyne nice and early, ie: before 11am. Is there anything or anywhere near the cruise terminal for her to do, ie: a coffee shop?? Or would she be better off waiting down around the harbour and grabbing a coffee down there before catching a cab to Ballyntyne?

 

thanks,

 

Leah

There is really nothing around Ballantyne for your mom to do. It is an industrial area. I take it she's coming over on Harbour Air? If so, she'd be better off walking over towards the Vancouver Convention Centre or Canada Place for a cup of coffee. It's also a good place for people-watching.

[scottbee]

There is really nothing around Ballantyne for your mom to do. It is an industrial area. I take it she's coming over on Harbour Air? If so, she'd be better off walking over towards the Vancouver Convention Centre or Canada Place for a cup of coffee. It's also a good place for people-watching.

 

I'll second this. Ballantyne is near nothing interesting; and there really is nowhere nearby to wait. Just hang out downtown, and then around 1pm grab a couple of taxis to Ballantyne ($10 from downtown)

[tutuwahineLV]

Hi, have you stayed at L'Hermitage before? If so, how far is it from the ship and do they have a shuttle to Canada Place? Won't be there until 2012, but always looking for the best info on places to stay. Thanks

Donna

Hi Donna,

Haven't stayed there before. will be sure to let you know what I find out though, when I get back. I'm taking my parents up to put them on the Repo Cruise for the NCL Star, they chose the hotel. I'm looking forward to actually getting to explore the city this time, ;)

[tutuwahineLV]

Thanks ML for the Boathouse suggestion. Their menu looks wonderful. Have you any experience with Society on Hamilton, ?? Google maps says thats just a 10 min walk from the hotel, and their menu is intrigueing as well....

 

Tutu

[MrsBBuffalo]

Just found this huge thread, and forgive me if this question is buried somewhere in the 3000+ posts, but we would appreciate some good, moderately-priced restaurant suggestions within walking distance of the Pan Pacific hotel. Let's say under a mile. We will be there on Thursday night, Sept. 8.

 

Thank you very much for this thread! I already see an answer to my question about getting to Stanley Park. ;)

[Putterdude]

Just found this huge thread, and forgive me if this question is buried somewhere in the 3000+ posts, but we would appreciate some good, moderately-priced restaurant suggestions within walking distance of the Pan Pacific hotel. Let's say under a mile. We will be there on Thursday night, Sept. 8.

 

Thank you very much for this thread! I already see an answer to my question about getting to Stanley Park. ;)

 

It's an easy walk to the sea walk to Cardero's which is a marine pub overlooking the Coal Harbour yacht basin. Or you could walk east into gastown where you will find a host of restaurants including the Old Spaghetti Factory and Steamworks.

 

http://www.steamworks.com/

http://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos/home.html

 

 

http://www.oldspaghettifactory.ca/locations/british_columbia/

[Poohx2]

We are staying at the Pan Pacific too.How far is Stanley park? Can you walk or is there public transportation? Thanks for all your info.

 

Yes, you can walk, it is a mile or so. You can take the #19 bus,. Public transportation is so easy there. Also you can rent bikes to use in the park but you have to rent them outside of the park. There are several bike rental places about a block or so before you enter the park. Have fun!!

[Cruise_More_Often]

It's an easy walk to the sea walk to Cardero's which is a marine pub overlooking the Coal Harbour yacht basin.

We LOVED Cardero's when we were there in May, and we plan to return again next May.

 

My favorite way to get there from the Pan Pacific is to walk the Seawall, right along the water. The scenery is gorgeous!!! My favorite walk of all times.

[bbunch04]

We are staying on Barclay Street and want to use the public transit system to get to Grouse Mountain. We plan on doing the Grouse Grind and then ziplining. Please suggest transit, where to catch it, cost and approx time frame.

Thx,

KB

[Putterdude]

We are staying on Barclay Street and want to use the public transit system to get to Grouse Mountain. We plan on doing the Grouse Grind and then ziplining. Please suggest transit, where to catch it, cost and approx time frame.

Thx,

KB

 

Your best bet would be to walk the 3 blocks down to W. Georgia St. and catch a #240 bus which will take you through the Stanley Park causeway and over the Lions Gate bridge, get off at Marine Drive and Hamilton St. and transfer to #236 bus which will take you right to there. Tell your driver on the #240 what you are up to, get a transfer and ask him/her to tell you are at Hamilton St. Your travel time will be about 40 mins either way and the cost is $3.75 each way, $2.50 on weekends.

[scottbee]

We are staying on Barclay Street and want to use the public transit system to get to Grouse Mountain. We plan on doing the Grouse Grind and then ziplining. Please suggest transit, where to catch it, cost and approx time frame.

Thx,

KB

 

You can find a full route planner at http://translink.ca/ A few useful things to note about the Vancouver transit system (Skytrain/Bus/Seabus)

 

• single tickets are good for as many rides as you want, in 90 minutes. Two zones to most places outside of the Vancouver core $3.75
  
• you can buy day passes ($9 unlimited), or books of 10 tickets (10 two-zone $31.75) from most convenience stores
  
• If you choose to use the Skytrain from the airport (also two zones), remember the $5 airport surcharge doesn't apply to faresavers (10 packs) or day passes (and available from the 7-11 in the airport)
  

If you're going to and from Grouse mt by transit, it's an interesting experience to take the 'Seabus' going in one direction (runs from Waterfront Station to Lonsdale quay)

[bbunch04]

Thanks to you both Putterdudue and Scottbee. KB:rolleyes:

[Urban trekker]

Here`s a link to my Facebook page with my photos of hiking up the Grouse Grind a week ago - I made it a public album so you should be able to view it without being on Facebook.

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.268713689821834.85176.100000496166660&type=1

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Urban trekker]

FYI - to all you locals - the Aqua Ferry terminal near Science World will be moving to a new location in the coming months - it is being located to the Plaza in the Olympic Village - a little longer walk but there are several restaurants going in the Village so that will be a plus - it will also resolve the conflict with the Dragon Boat people especially during raqce season when the teams are trying to load their boats and the ferries are trying to dock and load and unload and I can tell you that from experience having work as a volunteer for the Dragon Boat races for a number of years.

 

Will let you know when the actual move takes place.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[ell52]

Dennis, thanks for the update about the ferries.

 

BTW, I can't click through to your FB photos on the link you gave for the Grouse Grind hike. I get a window that says, "This content is currently unavailable". :)

[Urban trekker]

Ellen - its there - at least it works for me - I made it public album - if you have FB - my log in is YVR Cruiser - otherwise do any of you FB experts have any tips.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[ell52]

Dennis, okay - got it now. I can see it if I sign into my FB account. Otherwise, I get the "currently unavailable" message.

[imacruizer]

Those of you who live in Vancouver have been so kind to answer all of our questions. I'm sure you have answered many questions multiple times. We look forward to spending several days in Vancouver later this month. Could you give us a few suggestions for dinner. We enjoy seafood and would like to try at least one great seafood restaurant. We would also enjoy dining at places with a great view. We will be staying downtown and plan to spend our time downtown, at Stanley Park and on Granville Island. Are there good restaurants on Granville Island or it is better to just pick up things to eat at the market? Are there some moderately priced places that have really good food? We welcome any suggestions. Thanks so much! We are very excited about visiting your beautiful city.

[maryh307]

Packing for a cruise leaving out of VC next Friday. We are staying 2 days pre-cruise. What are your average temps during day and evening. Trying to figure if we need to pack any long sleeve casual shirts/blouses. We are cruising to Hawaii and trying to not over pack but think it may be a little cool early AM and late PM. Living in NW New Jersey, we are a good 10-15 degree's cooler than southern NJ. We have great sleeping temps but not quite swimming weather any longer.

[Putterdude]

Those of you who live in Vancouver have been so kind to answer all of our questions. I'm sure you have answered many questions multiple times. We look forward to spending several days in Vancouver later this month. Could you give us a few suggestions for dinner. We enjoy seafood and would like to try at least one great seafood restaurant. We would also enjoy dining at places with a great view. We will be staying downtown and plan to spend our time downtown, at Stanley Park and on Granville Island. Are there good restaurants on Granville Island or it is better to just pick up things to eat at the market? Are there some moderately priced places that have really good food? We welcome any suggestions. Thanks so much! We are very excited about visiting your beautiful city.

 

Good seafood in the downtown area...with a view:

Carderos

The Lift

The Boathouse on English Bay

Aqua Vera

Five Sails

The Fish House in Stanley Park (some view)

Joe Fortes (great but no view)

As for Granville Island there certainly nothing wrong in picking some food in the market and eating in the food fare. Your restaurant options include:

The Keg

The Sandbar

Bridges

This list is by no means comprehensive but a decent start.

 

 

www.liftbarandgrill.com/

 

http://www.aquariva.com/

http://www.fivesails.ca/

http://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos/home.html

http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/vancouver-restaurant-locations.php

http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/downtown-vancouver/granville-island-keg/

http://www.fishhousestanleypark.com/

www.joefortes.ca/

http://www.vancouverdine.com/theSandbar0experience.aspx

http://www.bridgesrestaurant.com/

[Putterdude]

Packing for a cruise leaving out of VC next Friday. We are staying 2 days pre-cruise. What are your average temps during day and evening. Trying to figure if we need to pack any long sleeve casual shirts/blouses. We are cruising to Hawaii and trying to not over pack but think it may be a little cool early AM and late PM. Living in NW New Jersey, we are a good 10-15 degree's cooler than southern NJ. We have great sleeping temps but not quite swimming weather any longer.

 

Temps right now look pretty good thu next week but I would think in terms of daytime temps of about 65/70* ; evening and early morning in the range of 55/65*. I would also back a light weight rain jacket...just in case.

[maryh307]

Putterdude,

 

Thanks for the info. DH and I have a very light weight windbreaker that we pack. I remember the Sutton Place had an umbrella in the room for use last year. We will now pack a long sleeve shirt to wear early morning or late evening. I have to try and be very selective of what we take with the cost of bringing luggage. Last year we had to shift items among the suitcases because we were over the 50 lb limit leaving Honolulu. We would have had a $75 surcharge. I was going to wear 2 layers if need be going home. I loved when you could take 2 suitcases on board for free. We are flying Air Canada from NJ and Continental coming home. AC allows one checked bag and one take on. Wish Continental did the same.

 

Thanks for answering all my questions these last few months.

 

Mary