Vancouver Transit with kids

Hi! My family and I (total of 6 adults and 2 kids under 7) will be flying into Vancouver on 4/29/17 around 12pm. Trying to decide the best way to get to our hotel (YWCA) and a few activities while we are in town for the afternoon and next morning. The 2 kids are still in car seats so if we did cabs we would need to have one that had 2 seats. Is that a common thing in Canada? We are open to public transit (Skytrain, etc). Also we would like to do Granville Island that afternoon/evening and Stanley Park the next morning before boarding. What would be our best option to get to all these places. 3 of the adults are over 70 and 1 definitely will not bike or walk multiple miles! Thanks in advance for any info!

Hi! My family and I (total of 6 adults and 2 kids under 7) will be flying into Vancouver on 4/29/17 around 12pm. Trying to decide the best way to get to our hotel (YWCA) and a few activities while we are in town for the afternoon and next morning. The 2 kids are still in car seats so if we did cabs we would need to have one that had 2 seats. Is that a common thing in Canada? We are open to public transit (Skytrain, etc). Also we would like to do Granville Island that afternoon/evening and Stanley Park the next morning before boarding. What would be our best option to get to all these places. 3 of the adults are over 70 and 1 definitely will not bike or walk multiple miles! Thanks in advance for any info!

So, firstly there is no legal requirement for car seats or boosters at any age in taxis, limos, or transit vehicles - 'professional drivers' are exempt in BC, which means that you will find a grand total of zero cabs with any car seats unless the driver happens to have brought one from home because they're collecting their own kids right after their shift...

This means as long as you as parents are happy the kids are safe, no need to worry about transport. If you would like to maximise the wee ones' safety beyond the law you'll have to schlep your own. If you bring one, cabbies are legally obliged to not run the meter while it's being installed, and they also receive training in how to install most standard types.

Cost-wise, with a group that big it's going to be cheapest to get two cabs to the hotel. Fixed price of CAD$31+discretionary tip (most give $35 total) per car. One minivan cab and one regular should be plenty space for you and luggage.

The reason I say defnitely take cabs from airport is that you are subject to a $5pp inbound AddFare on Transit for anyone who needs a ticket at any age. So perhaps you have an under 5 who is free, but the rest of you are looking at the price of cab already just for the surcharges! Since April 29 is a Saturday, all fares are treated as one Zone on both days you'll be in town - $2.75pp adults, $1.75pp 5-13yrs and 65+. Under 5s are free, which might be applicable for some of your kids.

Transit around town is also likely to compare poorly with cab fare unless you use it A LOT, i.e. a Day Pass is worthwhile for you. For the 65+ folks and 5-13yr olds, a Day pass is $7.75pp. For anyone inbetween it's $9.75pp. Without luggage, two regular Prius cabs will work just fine - split the kids between the cars so one of the kids is in the back of each. From anywhere to anywhere else downtown is rarely much more than $10 - or $2.50pp, i.e. comparable with a transit ticket.

Stanley Park is the only place I'd consider an alternative - driving limits you to the roads (few). Walking is likely too much for most of your group (it's a 5 mile loop once around the Seawall, and that's without considering all the wandering about int he interior to see the train, beaver lake, rose garden, etc. etc. etc.) so I'd propose that you consider renting bikes. For grownups who can balance but perhaps lack strength to pedal much, a tandem with a fitter person works nicely. For grownups with balance issues, adult tricycles can be had. And for kiddies, tagalong bikes or carriages to sit inside are both available.

Bikes definitely hit the sweet spot for the park and Seawall - faster than on foot, but able to go anywhere you want to. Dedicated bike lanes all along the Seawall and through the park mean no concerns about vehicles (although the more aggressive among your fellow cyclists, and tourists who walk out into the bike lane without looking, do need to be watched out for!)

I'd rent bikes at JVs - a full-service all-year-round place that has trikes, tandems and tagalongs and is pretty convenient for access on to the Seawall at False Creek - or Reckless (no trikes, but literally right next to the Seawall). Simons is nearer the YWCA, but is right on Robson, and getting a big group including kids safely onto the separated bike lane network from there would suck. Ezeeriders is another right on the Seawall, but by the convention centre so further to walk from YWCA.

The park shuttle unfortunately never runs that early - at best it starts in June - so your only alternatives to self-powered transport are to take a full HOHO, both of which include several stops in the park, at approx $45pp; pay a cabbie to drive you around (if they turn the meter off and charge by time only expect to pay at least $30 per hour); or hire a car for the day that fits everyone and drive yourselves (all day parking, which includes moving from spot to spot as long as it's inside the park, is only $11 per vehicle) BUT you will of course need car seats if you do this.

A car rental is likely the cheapest in total, although you will need to combine it with a bit of walking (i.e. park in several spots and walk to the sights close by, then move the car and repeat). For most folks it's poor value due to parking costs, but with 8 in one vehicle it becomes much better value... You could replicate this with taxis - get dropped at one site, walk around a bit, call a cab to come take you to the next etc. but you'll do a lot of waiting around even if you download a local taxi app. No Uber here!

I vote for $31 ($24 USD) cab carload from airport to YWCA. You need two cabs with 8 riders.

YWCA to the VCC (Vancouver City Center) station is a 650meter (7min) luggage drag along Georgia to the hotel.

Otherwise, you need to transfer from the subway to the #17 bus.

Love transit without luggage... with luggage, I vote the cab dfor oor to door convenience from the airport.

Three adults on the train on a weekday is $24. With a cab, it will cost you $7 ($6 USD) more to avoid the 7 block luggage drag.

Thanks for the info! Will definitely do cab from airport to YWCA. Do ya'll think we would be ok for walking to Seabus over to Granville Island for the afternoon on that Saturday?

Thanks for the info! Will definitely do cab from airport to YWCA. Do ya'll think we would be ok for walking to Seabus over to Granville Island for the afternoon on that Saturday?

Do you you mean Aquabus instead of Seabus. The Seabus transits passengers from Vancouver proper to North Vancouver while the Aquabus transits passengers around False Creek where Granville Island is located. (There's also a competitor to Aquabus, False Creek Ferries.)

It's a reasonable walk IMO from YWCA to the ferry stop at David Lam Park. Slight downhill grade on the way there along Beatty meaning slight uphill on the way back though.

Yeah, Aquabus is what I meant! Thanks for the info!! After being cooped up on a plane all morning we will need a little walking to stretch the legs out! Thanks again for the reply!

^+1 to what Milhouse said. Consider taking another Aquabus to the Athlete's Village - prettier but a couple hundred yards further - or Plaza of Nations - nearer but boring walk for first chunk - ferry stops and doing dinner in Chinatown if you feel up for some more walking and sightseeing post-GI.

Stick to the Seawall until you hit Carrall, follow that up to Sun Yat-Sen garden (the park next door is free and gives you enough of an idea of what the real garden is about you can avoid wasting ticket price for folks who won't love it). Despite Google thinking it isn't there on this map, you can actually walk all the way around Science World on the water side, and there are a couple of free outdoor exhibits to play with and see if you do.

Sticking to Keefer & Pender streets give you the Chinatown flavour without getting you too far north into the less-salubrious bits of Gastown. The big gate is on Pender, good photo op, just by a huge mall.

Now that I think about it, the Athlete's Village has another attraction these days that you might like for the Sat evening - a beaver family lives in Hinge Park, and if you time it a little before sunset you have a very good chance of seeing them come out to nibble on stuff. Saw a parent, baby, and a blue heron last night all hanging out together! Timing is almost identical now to late April - sunset a little before 8:30pm.