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Vancouver 2 1/2 days!


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Hello, all!

 

 

We arrive a bit after midday on Thursday before a Saturday cruise. We are staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott Downtown, which seems pretty conveniently located. After we return from the cruise the following Saturday, June 2, we have another 24 hours, as we don't fly out until early Sunday morning.

 

So, what do you think we should do in Vancouver? I have started to change my thinking...we were going to skip a trip to Victoria and Butchart Gardens and just focus on the city proper, but now I'm having some remorse about flying all the way to Vancouver and skipping one of the most popular attractions, and with 2.5 days, we should be able to fit it in a day trip to Victoria? I found 12-hour tours that would pick us up and drop us off at our hotel for about $160 pp including all transport and entrance fees to garden (no meals). Does that sound reasonable, and do you think it would be worth it?

 

So the plan would be Thursday afternoon/evening Granville Island, Friday day trip to Victoria, Sat-Sat RT cruise, after cruise Saturday HOHO trolley of Vancouver...with maybe afternoon bikes for Stanley Park? Does this sound feasible to Vancouver vets?

 

Thanks for your advice!

 

Eeyore

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Yes it's feasible, but personally I feel that those bus-ferry-Butchart 12+ hour tours are a bad idea - it's an awfully long day, you literally see the gardens (too briefly to do them real justice, certainly no time to take tea, and if there's a ferry delay even less time on-site), a whistle-stop city tour, a bit of free time for shopping, and basically your only dinner option is eating on the ferry coming back. Not great unless school canteens are your idea of haute cuisine;-)

 

The thing that many folks forget is that choosing to go see Site X also means NOT seeing every other possible choice - or in this case trading one not-even-properly-visited site for at least four other possible options due to the lengthy travel time. If you can see all the things in Vancouver that you want to see and still have a whole day leftover - great, book that day tour. But do make sure you've actually had a good think about the multitude of options available here first - check out Tripadvisor 'best of' lists to start with. You know you better than I do - maybe Butchart is a high enough value to you that it is better than doing several Vancouver-area things instead, but you owe it to yourself to ensure you've considered the alternatives.

 

Even if it is the best possible option for you - there are other ways to do it that give you more time there. If you're going to do it, do it right as the old saw goes - spend the big bucks, book flights at least one way to cut back on the wasted travel time (yes, there's some pretty views while sailing - but the same route twice in the same day is not a high quality option). Throw even more money at the issue and you can whalewatch your way to the Island, do the gardens/Victoria, then fly back to Vancouver for about the most efficient day trip possible.

 

This still skips the vast majority of the Island though, including some truly awesome sights (the western coast and Cathedral Grove among others). If you REALLY want to do it justice then book it yourself independently - fly into YYJ instead of YVR, rent a car so you can see more of the island at your own pace, even bring it across on the ferry and drop it at the pier.

 

If it's not a bucket-list thing, and you just want to see nice gardens - you can see more in toto, some even superior examples of the various garden types, without leaving Vancouver and while saving hours of time and plenty of money. Use a transit day pass and you're looking at <US$8pp, but even taking cabs between your downtown hotel to Dr Sun Yat-Sen, Queen Elizabeth Park, Van Dusen, UBC's Nitobe Memorial and back downtown is a significant cost saving at ballpark $100 in total for a carload of folks, with entry fees only ~US$23pp for all these combined (even less if you're a family/seniors).

 

UBC also has a botanic garden with treewalk, a rose garden, the simply superb MOA as well as several other great museums; the campus itself is on gorgeous parkland with cliffs and ocean views - you could easily spend an entire day out there. The North Shore offers free shuttles to Capilano and Grouse (well, 'free' as in 'your entry fee is hiked up to cover the cost'!) and between them that's easily another 6+ hours of time well-spent (going independently to Lynn Canyon - free - is IMO even better than Cap if you have the extra hour for travel time, but both Cap & Grouse are extremely popular sites).

 

Taking a drive up the Sea to Sky Highway - one of the word's most spectacular drives - can be combined with the North Shore if you rent a car (parking is free or cheap once you get outside Vancouver proper), depending how far you travel and how many sites you stop at. There are beautiful waterfalls, a gondola up a mountain to another suspension bridge, the excellent Britannia Mining Museum, all on top of the gorgeous ocean and mountain views - and that's just in the first hour's drive before you even consider Whistler as a possible day trip!

 

In short, 2.5 days in Vancouver barely scratches the surface - we're bigger than all of your Alaskan ports combined. Plus all the other great places relatively close by that demand even more of your time. The best advice I can give is to plan another vacation and come spend a fortnight on land next time around;-)

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Of course you are both right. This was my original thinking...I'm not sure why I started second-guessing my gut. Thanks for the refocus!!

 

Something tells me this won't be our only trip to Vancouver or cruise to Alaska, so no need to feel pressure to cram it all in!:D

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Throwing 2 cents of an opinion in... If you would love to see an amazing garden, consider Van Dusen... it is beautiful, located just outside downtown and easily accessible by taxi or the no. 17 bus.

 

Also consider taking the Sea Bus over to Lonsdale Quay... lots to see and do!

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Throwing 2 cents of an opinion in... If you would love to see an amazing garden, consider Van Dusen... it is beautiful, located just outside downtown and easily accessible by taxi or the no. 17 bus.

 

Also consider taking the Sea Bus over to Lonsdale Quay... lots to see and do!

 

Thanks for the tips! :D

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