Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[Pat&Paul]

Hello Canucks!

 

Is there a Duty Free shop or stand prior to immigration and customs at YVR if arriving from Seattle? Or should we buy our Duty Free at SeaTac?

 

Thanks,

 

Pat

[tokyo]

is my favorite, but I like have a nice steak. The only food I dislike is fish, strange, but I have never like it.

[ell52]

is my favorite, but I like have a nice steak. The only food I dislike is fish, strange, but I have never like it.

 

For Italian, you might try Al Porto in Gastown (about a 10 minute walk):

 

http://www.alporto.ca/the_restaurant.html#

 

.

[IDKaren]

When is Canadian Labour day that the rapid transit will be open from airport to cruise terminal area? Cruising on Sep 13- will need to drive up and probably leave car at airport as we fly back in from San Franciso. Guess this would be the cheapest easiest way?

 

 

 

quote=Urban trekker;20104595]Christine - the good news is that yes you can take public transit from the Airport to the Hampton - our new Airport rapid transit line starts operating by Labour Day - it will take you to the new Granville Station and from there you can walk about three blocks to your hotel or you could transfer from the Canada or Airport Line at Granville Station to the existing lines and take it one stop to Stadium station and be about a block to your hotel - as the new line hasn't started and the new stations not opened to the public just how some of the transfers will work is yet to be seen.

 

ScottBee is our resident expert on this new line as he works at the Airport and seems to know all the little tips.

 

The fare will be $3.75 per person - apparently the cars on this line were designed to handle luggage better than the existing ones.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[tokyo]

That Italian restaurant sounds fine to me.

 

I have one whole day in Vancouver and I am into photography. Any suggestion as to what I should take photo's of. It makes no difference what the subject is, as long as I can put togeather a slide show showing the sights of Vancouver. It will be very much a shoot and run day for me, as I want to get as many photo's as I can. I would welcome any suggestion from the locals of Vancouver, if you think a particular place worthy of being photographed let me know.

[orchid72]

That Italian restaurant sounds fine to me.

 

I have one whole day in Vancouver and I am into photography. Any suggestion as to what I should take photo's of. It makes no difference what the subject is, as long as I can put togeather a slide show showing the sights of Vancouver. It will be very much a shoot and run day for me, as I want to get as many photo's as I can. I would welcome any suggestion from the locals of Vancouver, if you think a particular place worthy of being photographed let me know.

 

Just a few I could think of: Go to Gastown, Stanley Park, English Bay, and Granville Island. You should be able to take some pretty cool photos in those places. Also, the view towards the North Shore Mountains from the downtown core is pretty cool - you can take it from Coal Harbour, or from the new convention centre. Oh, and in Coal Harbour, you can take pics of the seaplanes taking off and have the north shore mountains as a backdrop. There's also the coal harbour marina.

Edited June 26, 2009 by orchid72

[tokyo]

I am going to list all the suggestion then work out the best way to get around Vancouver to see them all

[scottbee]

Hello Canucks!

 

Is there a Duty Free shop or stand prior to immigration and customs at YVR if arriving from Seattle? Or should we buy our Duty Free at SeaTac?

 

SeaTac, although for the life of me I can't remember exactly where it is, because most flights to Canada arrive/leave from the domestic areas of SeaTac.

 

Ok, I looked it up, there are two duty free shops;

 

• N concourse (next to N9); QK/Air Canada Jazz (and hence Air Canada/United codeshares) depart from N concourse.
  
• between C & D concourses; QX/Horizon will depart from C2, so this is very close. If you're on the one daily AS/Alaska mainline flight (most of their flights are actually QX), you could leave from C, D or N (last time I did it, it was N, your mileage may vary)
  

 

If you're flying AS/Alaska or QX/Horizon, you'll probably be in the C concourse (

[HillbillyInBC]

is my favorite, but I like have a nice steak. The only food I dislike is fish, strange, but I have never like it.

 

Gotham Steakhouse and Morton's are both quite close to the Fairmont, and both are superb.

[Choozin Croozin]

When is Canadian Labour day that the rapid transit will be open from airport to cruise terminal area? Cruising on Sep 13- will need to drive up and probably leave car at airport as we fly back in from San Franciso. Guess this would be the cheapest easiest way?

 

Same as U.S. - Sept 7 - So you should be good to go.:)

[TCF]

More photo ops....

Gardens...San Yet Sen (Chinatown)...Queen Elizabeth Park (Locals call it Little Mountain...great pans of the city too from this spot.)...Van Dusen Botanical Garden.

Landscapes... Lynn Creek Park....Capilano Suspension Bridge....Clevland Dam... Grouse Mountain....spots all along the Stanley Park Drive.

There are a ton of other places but I have tried to keep in mind the suggestions made by others and the fact you only have one day.

Good luck with the project....and make sure you are on the port side deck on the ship as you leave the harbour....there are some terrific shots to be had as you approach and pass under the Lion's Gate Bridge.

[scottbee]

When is Canadian Labour day that the rapid transit will be open from airport to cruise terminal area? Cruising on Sep 13- will need to drive up and probably leave car at airport as we fly back in from San Franciso. Guess this would be the cheapest easiest way?

 

Canadian Labour Day is exactly the same, 1st Monday in September. The new subway should be working by then. If you're driving in, and then flying back, parking at the airport will be about $70/week at the long term lot (which is one of the stations on the new subway). Info on the long term lot is at http://www.yvr.ca/guide/parking/longterm.asp , plus there's a coupon you can download from there for a couple of bucks off. The long term lot is the 1st stop on the subway once you leave the airport terminal building, so when you fly back, you actually just take the subway (actually elevated around the airport) to it's 1st stop, and it's free within the airport property.

[IDKaren]

Thanks for the info on airport/parking etc. We have never cruised out and flown back from a different city so want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row! WOW- that is some pretty hefty airport parking fee! At our Spokane it runs about $50 for the week- nice to be blessed with a "small"airport sometimes

[Birder6]

Wow, I have finally finished reading all 87 pages of this thread. Many thanks to you great Vancouverites who have provided such wonderful information. I have learned a great deal, but still have a few questions.

 

We (me, DW and two children -- 9 and 12) arrive very late August 4. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency ($100 on Priceline -- fairly reasonable I think), and are leaving on the Carnival Spirit the next day. We really wanted some more time in Vancouver, but limited options for frequent flyer miles and desire to add land time in alaska limited our options. Anyway, the questions are:

 

1. We expect to use High End from the airport to the Hyatt. Will there be sedans at the airport at around midnight, or should we reserve one?

 

2. The Spirit departs at 5:30, and I am sure we must be on earlier. It sounds like the best thing to do for us and the kids is to explore Stanley Park -- aquarium etc., maybe even do a little bird watching there. (a) Can we walk there from the Hyatt? (b) If not, or if there is rain, what are alternative modes of transportation?

 

3. I assume, but am not sure, that Stanley Park will take us pretty much all of the free time we have on 8/5. Is it likely we will have time for anything else and still embark on time with an adequate margin of safety? If so, what else might we still have time to do of interest to both us and the kids?

 

Thanks very much. This is a great thread.

[ell52]

Thanks for the info on airport/parking etc. We have never cruised out and flown back from a different city so want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row! WOW- that is some pretty hefty airport parking fee! At our Spokane it runs about $50 for the week- nice to be blessed with a "small"airport sometimes

 

Make sure you check the YVR Long-term parking page for coupons and promotions. Their current promo runs until September 7, 2009, but they will probably have something else after. It's worth keeping an eye on.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://www.yvr.ca/guide/parking/longterm.asp

 

ell

[nevertolate]

Went on the web site could not find a map where you can pick it up at the airport.Will it be within walking distant.

Christine

[scottbee]

Went on the web site could not find a map where you can pick it up at the airport.Will it be within walking distant.

Christine

 

Yes, you'll walk further from your gate to get your luggage than you will from there to the new transit line. I'm afraid the maps on yvr.ca are really bad. As soon as the new line opens, I'll post a bunch of pictures and instructions.

[nevertolate]

Thank you will be waiting for map and details.

Christine

[scottbee]

Thank you will be waiting for map and details.

Christine

This should explain things. You have a couple of choices, the fastest is to exit the terminal building toward the parkade, and the train station is right there (ride up the elevator)

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=49.195033,-123.177617&spn=0.004249,0.011362&t=h&z=17&msid=100934763039761071004.00046d4bf2bef93cbaad3

[N&PJ]

We are sailing from Vancouver on the Mercury on 12th Oct 09. We love Vancouver and have been a couple of times before, including a lovely visit to Victoria.

On our upcoming cruise we will be visiting Nanaimo - do you have any suggestions please for the best things to do in just one day at Nanaimo?

 

Many thanks

[Urban trekker]

A walk along the promenade - a short trip over to Newcastle Island, bungee jumping, if you have a car a drive up island to McMillan Park and the stunning old growth trees - these are just a few that come to mind.

 

There have been a couple of threads on Nanaimo as cruise ships occasionally visited there in the shoulder seasons - so do a search and see if you can find one.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[LiftLockCouple]

Looking for some local advice. We will be leaving on the Serenade July 25. I expect to be at the hotel by noon on the 24th so we will have the afternoon and evening of the 24th to do some exploring. We were in Vancouver and Victoria for 6 days 2 years ago and have done Stanley Park, Grouse Mtn, North vancouver etc. This time I have been looking at the False Creek area, Granville Island and the Space Center. We will not have a car, will be staying downtown close to the Burrard Skytrain stop. My thought was to take the skytrain to the Science World stop ( Main st. ) and then board the False Creek Ferries ( small water taxis ) for a water tour of False Creek stopping and spending some time at Granville Island and the Space center ( planetarium ) etc. It is just the two of us old(er) folks , no kids. From what I can see we would have to be at Granville Island in time to catch the last ferry back by 7:30PM. ( or just take a cab when done I suppose ). Do any of you local folks have any sage advice or suggestions how to spend the time to best effect. I suspect we may want to eat dinnner at the Keg on Granville Island or a good seafood place if there is one.

Edited June 27, 2009 by LiftLockCouple

[scottbee]

We are sailing from Vancouver on the Mercury on 12th Oct 09. We love Vancouver and have been a couple of times before, including a lovely visit to Victoria.

On our upcoming cruise we will be visiting Nanaimo - do you have any suggestions please for the best things to do in just one day at Nanaimo?

 

Nanaimo is a pretty utilitarian city which services all of the other towns north of it on Vancouver Island. Most of the real pretty/interesting stuff is a little way away. North of town is Parksville and a huge beautiful beach, and west of town is Port Alberni, a logging town at the end of a very long fjord. If you're adventurous, there's a bungy jump just south of town.

 

However, I'd second the concept to try and get to Cathedral Grove/MacMillan park (towards Port Alberni). http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/macmillan/

 

Transit options for visiting these places is much more limited, so a car rental or organized tour is probably the only way to go.

[Putterdude]

Nanaimo has been doing a lot lately trying to promote itself as a tourist destination and I will provide a link below to their website. I also agree on Cathedral Grove and if you do decide to go then plan a stop at the unique Coombs country market with the goats on the roof.

 

http://www.tourismnanaimo.com/

 

http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/

[Putterdude]

Looking for some local advice. We will be leaving on the Serenade July 25. I expect to be at the hotel by noon on the 24th so we will have the afternoon and evening of the 24th to do some exploring. We were in Vancouver and Victoria for 6 days 2 years ago and have done Stanley Park, Grouse Mtn, North vancouver etc. This time I have been looking at the False Creek area, Granville Island and the Space Center. We will not have a car, will be staying downtown close to the Burrard Skytrain stop. My thought was to take the skytrain to the Science World stop ( Main st. ) and then board the False Creek Ferries ( small water taxis ) for a water tour of False Creek stopping and spending some time at Granville Island and the Space center ( planetarium ) etc. It is just the two of us old(er) folks , no kids. From what I can see we would have to be at Granville Island in time to catch the last ferry back by 7:30PM. ( or just take a cab when done I suppose ). Do any of you local folks have any sage advice or suggestions how to spend the time to best effect. I suspect we may want to eat dinnner at the Keg on Granville Island or a good seafood place if there is one.

 

I am thinking that you have planned out a very good itinerary and realy don't have many suggestions. If you want to have a seafood dinner.. on the island then you may want to consider the Sandbar or Bridges and on the north side of False Creek then perhaps a Kettle of Fish or the Boathouse.

 

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

 

http://www.bridgesrestaurant.com/

 

http://www.akettleoffish.net/

 

http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/