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Capliano Suspension Bridge and Granville Island - both the same day?


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We will be arriving in Vancouver on early evening June 1st and will have one full day to tour before boarding our cruise to Alaska on the 3rd. We very much want to visit both the Capliano Suspension Bridge and the public market at Granville island on June 2nd.

 

Is this do-able or too much for one day?

 

If it's do-able, what mode of transportation would you recommend - we are a group of 7.

 

Thanks so much, in advance, for your replies.

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Disagree - no rush whatsoever since you have a full day. You can do Capilano, including transport to and from on their shuttle, in three hours and see everything. That gives you more than enough time to see all of Granville Island, not just the Public Market.

 

The only tricky part is deciding which order to do them in - since both will be busiest in the morning with your fellow cruisers doing Pre- and Post-cruise tours! Personally I'd do Granville in the morning since it handles crowds better than Cap - since everyone goes to the latter to see the bridge, you have zero chance of a photo without hordes of tourists in it, or a not-being-bounced-around-by-other-people-while-crossing experience, unless you get there very early or very late - even the first shuttle gets you to the park a half hour after it opens, so you cannot beat everyone else there unless you take your own transportation at your own cost... visiting later also avoids the vast majority of tourists for your entire time onsite.

 

Food options on GI are also varied, with many delicious options - so it's MUCH better to be here over lunchtime than at Capilano, which has basically nothing except their cafe available. While the public market itself gets jammed by visiting it early you can browse the whole market with minimal crowds. Then even if you decide you want to grab sandwiches etc. or build a picnic from the market stalls, you'll know exactly which ones to visit when it's busier at lunchtime.

 

I'd suggest that the market itself soon after it opens at 9am - best way is likely a ferry across from the downtown core, but this does depend on your hotel location. Walking may be quite feasible for you, or not depending on mobility of your entire group. Taxis from downtown are inefficient - the bridge overshoots a lot, so while ferries only cruise as little as a couple of hundred yards, a cab is probably a $20 fare from most hotels (and you'll need two of them). Public Transit also viable - bus 050 visits GI from downtown, for $2.75pp.

 

Wander, shop, lunch, then head back up to Canada Place (if you walked the whole way over the bridge this is 2.5 miles, but taking a ferry from GI to downtown side drops the distance by half. There are also some other shuttle stops available in summer - the closest one to walk to from a GI ferry would be at the Hyatt Regency Hotel - bang on a mile from the Aquabus dock at Hornby. However, you do run the risk of no seats as the same vehicle starts at Canada Place before heading to the Hyatt (lower risk than Blue Horizon and Westin Bayshore guests though, and many folks have commented about staying at these hotels and using the Cap shuttle).

 

If walking more than a little isn't on the cards, the best value option would be a Day Pass on transit for everyone. $9.75pp ($2 less for over 65s/under 14s) and you could take buses from hotel to GI, GI to Capilano - while you'd have to transfer at least once our transit system is fully-integrated with Google Maps, so it's a one-stop shop to compare walking, transit, cab routes etc.

 

With an entire day, you could even consider HOHO tickets for all (basic price ~$45pp) - this would give you a tour of the city, a stop at GI (including a ferry ticket to use once to cut out a part of the HOHO route that only misses the Maritime Museum stop), and being returned to Canada Place where you can board the Cap shuttle. There's a discount from the usual fare for combining Cap with HOHO, and various other free and paid-book vouchers than can lop a few bucks off here and there. More expensive than transit use, but if you were going to take two cabs to and from GI that would cost you around $80 already - so the HOHO might seem a worthwhile value for you with the included touring.

 

Since Cap stays open late in summer, you could stay downtown until the HOHOs stop running - arriving at Cap after 5pm means a 20% discount, daylight in June goes way beyond the last shuttle back downtown at 8:15pm so it's very feasible to visit Cap late in the day and still see the entire site and get free transport back downtown. Only tricky part is timing it around dinner - if you're all early- or late-diners it can work very well though.

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Disagree - no rush whatsoever since you have a full day. You can do Capilano, including transport to and from on their shuttle, in three hours and see everything. That gives you more than enough time to see all of Granville Island, not just the Public Market.

 

The only tricky part is deciding which order to do them in - since both will be busiest in the morning with your fellow cruisers doing Pre- and Post-cruise tours! Personally I'd do Granville in the morning since it handles crowds better than Cap - since everyone goes to the latter to see the bridge, you have zero chance of a photo without hordes of tourists in it, or a not-being-bounced-around-by-other-people-while-crossing experience, unless you get there very early or very late - even the first shuttle gets you to the park a half hour after it opens, so you cannot beat everyone else there unless you take your own transportation at your own cost... visiting later also avoids the vast majority of tourists for your entire time onsite.

 

Food options on GI are also varied, with many delicious options - so it's MUCH better to be here over lunchtime than at Capilano, which has basically nothing except their cafe available. While the public market itself gets jammed by visiting it early you can browse the whole market with minimal crowds. Then even if you decide you want to grab sandwiches etc. or build a picnic from the market stalls, you'll know exactly which ones to visit when it's busier at lunchtime.

 

I'd suggest that the market itself soon after it opens at 9am - best way is likely a ferry across from the downtown core, but this does depend on your hotel location. Walking may be quite feasible for you, or not depending on mobility of your entire group. Taxis from downtown are inefficient - the bridge overshoots a lot, so while ferries only cruise as little as a couple of hundred yards, a cab is probably a $20 fare from most hotels (and you'll need two of them). Public Transit also viable - bus 050 visits GI from downtown, for $2.75pp.

 

Wander, shop, lunch, then head back up to Canada Place (if you walked the whole way over the bridge this is 2.5 miles, but taking a ferry from GI to downtown side drops the distance by half. There are also some other shuttle stops available in summer - the closest one to walk to from a GI ferry would be at the Hyatt Regency Hotel - bang on a mile from the Aquabus dock at Hornby. However, you do run the risk of no seats as the same vehicle starts at Canada Place before heading to the Hyatt (lower risk than Blue Horizon and Westin Bayshore guests though, and many folks have commented about staying at these hotels and using the Cap shuttle).

 

If walking more than a little isn't on the cards, the best value option would be a Day Pass on transit for everyone. $9.75pp ($2 less for over 65s/under 14s) and you could take buses from hotel to GI, GI to Capilano - while you'd have to transfer at least once our transit system is fully-integrated with Google Maps, so it's a one-stop shop to compare walking, transit, cab routes etc.

 

With an entire day, you could even consider HOHO tickets for all (basic price ~$45pp) - this would give you a tour of the city, a stop at GI (including a ferry ticket to use once to cut out a part of the HOHO route that only misses the Maritime Museum stop), and being returned to Canada Place where you can board the Cap shuttle. There's a discount from the usual fare for combining Cap with HOHO, and various other free and paid-book vouchers than can lop a few bucks off here and there. More expensive than transit use, but if you were going to take two cabs to and from GI that would cost you around $80 already - so the HOHO might seem a worthwhile value for you with the included touring.

 

Since Cap stays open late in summer, you could stay downtown until the HOHOs stop running - arriving at Cap after 5pm means a 20% discount, daylight in June goes way beyond the last shuttle back downtown at 8:15pm so it's very feasible to visit Cap late in the day and still see the entire site and get free transport back downtown. Only tricky part is timing it around dinner - if you're all early- or late-diners it can work very well though.

 

Thanks so much for a very thorough reply. This is exactly what I was looking for! I just love CC and how helpful folks are!

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Another vote for "doable".

 

@fsdj1097: What time is your flight arriving on June 1st? If early afternoon.... you may even choose to visit Capilano right after checking into your hotel.

  • A 5pm arrival at Capilano offers a 20% discount!
  • Capilano shuts down at 8pm and there sunlight until 9:30pm!!!
  • another option is to hit Capilano on your second day late afternoon... again take advantage of the smaller crowds and discounts for your large group.
  • If you do decide to visit Capilano on Day 2.... you might even have time to cram in nearby Grouse Mountain

BTW.... have you selected a hotel? There is a 8pm John Legend concert at Rogers Arena June 3rd that may impact traffic to some hotels nearby.

 

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I would do both in one day as I cannot see spending more than 3 hours at each location not including travel time. Weather is a bit of a consideration in terms of time spent at each location because while they do have their covered area, I don't know how fun it'd be if it was a heavy shower day.

 

The order is debatable IMO. Agree that there's better food options downtown or on Granville Island than in and around Cap bridge but I can see getting back downtown by 1pm at the latest for a late lunch if the suspension bridge is the first stop.

Conversely, if the Cap bridge is visited in the afternoon via transit, you'll possibly connect in the Lonsdale Quay area. There's a nice Night Market that kicks off at 5pm on Fridays a block away the seabus terminal/bus loop.

 

BTW, I think the Vancouver International Children's Festival is running that week on Granville Island so certain areas might be more crowded than usual with school groups on field trips but conversely might make for a more lively visit with additional random entertainment outside the festival areas.

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Thanks again for your replies. We don't arrive YVR until around 7:30 on June 1st, so we're going to be ready for supper and bed after arriving at the hotel. We're staying at the Metropolitan. We were there last September for a couple of days pre-cruise on a Pacific-Coastal down to San Diego. We love the location of the hotel, as we can walk to Canada Place for embarkation (weather permitting).

 

With all of your excellent suggestions, I believe we're going to Granville Island after breakfast on Friday and plan on lunch there. Based on where we're staying where would we catch the ferry over to GI?

 

Then, after returning to the hotel, we'll plan on catching the shuttle over to CSB from Canada Place, arriving after 5pm for the 20% discount. Then the shuttle back to Canada Place for dinner.

 

How's that sound to you folks?

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From the Met I'd head straight down Howe St and jink over 1 block (take any right then next left) whenever the lights allow you to get onto Hornby - the Aquabus dock is right at the bottom of Hornby St.

 

If you're up for two sit-down meals in the same day, I'd eat in Edible Canada (as the name suggests it's very Locavore, though they bring in interesting items from across the country not just the local area - finally got to try Seal this year, very tasty).

 

On the way back, rather than go all the way to Canada Place consider hopping off at Blue Horizon and visiting Forage for another super-locavore resto including actually-foraged fare. Lots of other dining options around BH, on Robson and Alberni especially, to suit many pricepoints. If you do come back to Canada Place there certainly are good options - Five Sails inside the PP is great, and if you get lucky with a window table sunset views are good. Cactus Club Cafe at the convention centre is a cheaper alternative that delivers very consistent food for a good price with views, and Tap & Barrel patio is the bees knees for pub grub.

 

Ordinarily I'd put links to all of the above places and the map, but with the evil robot security captcha still incompetently-set I'll leave you to Google (name + Vancouver BC) yourself to find menus etc.

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From the Met I'd head straight down Howe St and jink over 1 block (take any right then next left) whenever the lights allow you to get onto Hornby - the Aquabus dock is right at the bottom of Hornby St.

 

If you're up for two sit-down meals in the same day, I'd eat in Edible Canada (as the name suggests it's very Locavore, though they bring in interesting items from across the country not just the local area - finally got to try Seal this year, very tasty).

 

On the way back, rather than go all the way to Canada Place consider hopping off at Blue Horizon and visiting Forage for another super-locavore resto including actually-foraged fare. Lots of other dining options around BH, on Robson and Alberni especially, to suit many pricepoints. If you do come back to Canada Place there certainly are good options - Five Sails inside the PP is great, and if you get lucky with a window table sunset views are good. Cactus Club Cafe at the convention centre is a cheaper alternative that delivers very consistent food for a good price with views, and Tap & Barrel patio is the bees knees for pub grub.

 

Ordinarily I'd put links to all of the above places and the map, but with the evil robot security captcha still incompetently-set I'll leave you to Google (name + Vancouver BC) yourself to find menus etc.

 

Again, thanks so much for your reply. We enjoyed the Cactus Club last September when we visited Vancouver and totally agree with your comment about very consistent food at good price. Will probably eat there at least once on this trip.

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fsdj - perhaps my sloppy grammar was confusing you. When I suggested hopping off earlier than Canada Place, the 'way back' I was referring to was on the shuttle from Cap rather than the ferry! Both Aquabus and FCF stick to the False Creek side of the downtown peninsula, with Canada Place on the opposite side. You may also be conflating info about the Seabus with Aquabus - the former comes in to Waterfront Station, very close to CP, and is part of the regular transit system, but just goes back & forth to North Vancouver.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are doing the same before our May 26th cruise. Not landing until 8:30 pm, so a little nervous about the late arrival but glad to have the whole next day! Staying at the Hotel Blu. Thanks for all of this great information!

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  • 2 weeks later...
fsdj - perhaps my sloppy grammar was confusing you. When I suggested hopping off earlier than Canada Place, the 'way back' I was referring to was on the shuttle from Cap rather than the ferry! Both Aquabus and FCF stick to the False Creek side of the downtown peninsula, with Canada Place on the opposite side. You may also be conflating info about the Seabus with Aquabus - the former comes in to Waterfront Station, very close to CP, and is part of the regular transit system, but just goes back & forth to North Vancouver.

 

thanks for the clarification....what is the distance from the Metropolitan Hotel to the Aquabus station to get us to Granville Island?

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  • 1 month later...

If you want to get to Granville Island quicker from the Metropolitan, catch

the #50 bus south bound, it will take you to Granville island, you can always Ferry back.

 

You would be walking roughly 30 mins to the David Lam, Auquatic Center, or Yaletown Ferry Dock

 

Bus stop is on Granville street between Pender and Dunsmuir by Holt Renfrew.

 

Edible at the Market is a great choice, you could always go to Granville Island

brewing for some beer (not the best local beer but a nice space).

 

I also enjoy the Sandbar's upstairs patio, a bit pricier though.

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If you want to get to Granville Island quicker from the Metropolitan, catch

the #50 bus south bound, it will take you to Granville island, you can always Ferry back.

 

You would be walking roughly 30 mins to the David Lam, Auquatic Center, or Yaletown Ferry Dock

 

Bus stop is on Granville street between Pender and Dunsmuir by Holt Renfrew.

 

Edible at the Market is a great choice, you could always go to Granville Island

brewing for some beer (not the best local beer but a nice space).

 

I also enjoy the Sandbar's upstairs patio, a bit pricier though.

 

Thanks so much for your reply S&C! I was looking at the #50 bus and that looked like a better option for our group.

 

Best regards!

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Thanks so much for your reply S&C! I was looking at the #50 bus and that looked like a better option for our group.

 

Best regards!

 

No problem, this is my neighborhood haha,

i understand wanting to do as much as you can in the days you have in town.

Feel free to ask anything!

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No problem, this is my neighborhood haha,

i understand wanting to do as much as you can in the days you have in town.

Feel free to ask anything!

 

Well, since you offered....we're arriving Vancouver around 7:30 pm on June 1st and we'll be staying at the Metropolitan Hotel before embarking the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska. We were thinking about hitting the Cactus Club for dinner after checking in.

 

We were there last September for a couple of days as well and fell in love with Vancouver!

 

We were thinking of eating breakfast at Scoozi's the next morning before heading over to Granville Island. And then looking for something there for lunch before heading back to downtown for a rest before heading to Capliano later that afternoon.

 

There'll be 7 of us, and we're wanting something 'local' for dinner Friday night. Any suggestions?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello Everyone, I want to check back in after our trip and thank everyone who contributed to this thread.

 

As things turned out, we were not able to make the trip out to Capliano for a variety of reasons.

 

However, we loved our stay in Vancouver prior to embarking on our Alaska cruise. This is one of our favorite cities, for so many reasons. Friendly locals, great public transit, incredible food, just to mention a few.

 

Thanks again to everyone who contributed on the thread.

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