Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite (part 2)

[martincath]

Hi Michelle,

 

Myself, my husband, my brother and sister-in-law are doing an Alaskan cruise in May and disembarking in Vancouver. We would like to get off the ship and get to downtown Victoria, spend the night there and go to Butchart Gardens and return the next evening. I have done some research and have basically concluded that going through Viator is our best option with 3 different legs to the trip, getting to Victoria, getting to and back from Butchart gardens, and returning to Vancouver. We then reserved a hotel in Richmond that can take us to the airport the next morning. We will be dropped off at Pacific Central Station when coming back from Victoria. My question is if you know a better option for getting to and back from Victoria. And also, the best option to get from Pacific Central Station to our hotel in Richmond. I appreciate you helping those of us that are lost with what to do. :)

I'd second SBs advice about checking into YYJ flights.

 

I'd also price a rental car - with four adults it should be cheaper, even paying for the car on the ferry, than booking all the bus/ferry combo tickets and much more convenient.

 

But lastly and most importantly I'd reassess the whole thing - if you are literally going to this much trouble for Butchart, don't! Yes it's a very nice garden, but it's not worth four adult travel costs and time to visit... even ignoring the fact you're missing out on two days worth of seeing other things in and around Vancouver, you can see more and better gardens in total right here in Vancouver for less than the entrance fee to Butchart let alone all the transportation costs & hassle. If you have other business on the island, well great, but if you're going primarily to see Butchart because you've heard it's a must-do then read on:

 

Stanley Park (free!) offers a better Rose Garden, a rhododendron garden, plus of course all the other stuff that one of the largest urban parks on the planet has. Queen Elizabeth Park (free!) has the best views in the city, two quarry gardens, a conservatory (~$7) with tropical plants and birds that Butchart doesn't have at all. Dr Sun Yat-Sen ($12) is the finest city garden in the world as voted by experts, and the most authentic anywhere outside Suzhou, China. The Nitobe Teahouse & Japanese garden ($7) out at UBC is top 5 in the world outside Japan. There are also botanic gardens at UBC and near QEP if you haven't had enough! All visited for a grand total of $9.75pp for a transit day pass...

[Putterdude]

I certainly would not dissuade DVC from going to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens if that is what interests them. Butchart are world class gardens and people from all over the world come to see them if gardens are your interest it would be a shame not to go and see them. The trip over to Vancouver Is. through the Gulf Islands and Active Pass is absolutely gorgeous and Victoria is a wonderful, fascinating city to visit. So yes, go and enjoy.

[PandasRUs]

We will be a group of 4. From what we have read we know we will need to take a taxi from the airport to our hotel (Blue Horizon). Do we just exit the airport and find the taxi area and they will direct us to a vehicle that will take all 4 of us with our luggage? Or is it necessary or possible to book this ahead of time? We keep seeing fixed rates mentioned on here. Would these same rates apply to a vehicle for the 4 of us?

[Putterdude]

We will be a group of 4. From what we have read we know we will need to take a taxi from the airport to our hotel (Blue Horizon). Do we just exit the airport and find the taxi area and they will direct us to a vehicle that will take all 4 of us with our luggage? Or is it necessary or possible to book this ahead of time? We keep seeing fixed rates mentioned on here. Would these same rates apply to a vehicle for the 4 of us?

 

As you exit the customs area you will bear left and exit the terminal building where you will find a taxi line. It sounds as though you may need a mini-van cab and you will be held back until one arrives. Just under 20% of Vancouver's cab fleet are mini-vans so while you may have to wait a minute or 2 for one it won't be long. The same flat rate applies to mini-vans as the regular Prius size cabs...I believe it will be $34 to the Blue Horizon and it is per cab, not per person

[PandasRUs]

 

As you exit the customs area you will bear left and exit the terminal building where you will find a taxi line. It sounds as though you may need a mini-van cab and you will be held back until one arrives. Just under 20% of Vancouver's cab fleet are mini-vans so while you may have to wait a minute or 2 for one it won't be long. The same flat rate applies to mini-vans as the regular Prius size cabs...I believe it will be $34 to the Blue Horizon and it is per cab, not per person

 

Thanks so much. That is very helpful information.

[martincath]

^Downtown/Kits cab zone is actually $31 (they have greatly-improved the PDF available on the page, with zone border streets now all named. BH is solidly inside the Downtown, not Canada Place, zone). PDs info is otherwise spot-on, and taxi is definitely the most sensible way to get from YVR to BH for 4 people.

[Magellan321]

Quick question.... any idea of the cost from the cruise terminal to the airport by cab? I notice that the flat rate fares are only to the port. Thanks in advance!!

[martincath]

Quick question.... any idea of the cost from the cruise terminal to the airport by cab? I notice that the flat rate fares are only to the port. Thanks in advance!!

Yes, it's metered in the other direction (although there have been reports of some drivers charging the fixed fare going back to YVR too). The fixed rates were set at the average metered rate to the various parts of town - so expect to pay about $35 +/- a few bucks depending on traffic.

[Magellan321]

Yes, it's metered in the other direction (although there have been reports of some drivers charging the fixed fare going back to YVR too). The fixed rates were set at the average metered rate to the various parts of town - so expect to pay about $35 +/- a few bucks depending on traffic.

 

Thanks so much for the quick reply!!

[Putterdude]

Quick question.... any idea of the cost from the cruise terminal to the airport by cab? I notice that the flat rate fares are only to the port. Thanks in advance!!

 

MC has pretty much nailed it. My experience has been that I have never paid more than $35 out to YVR plus tip. You will likely be going out after 0900 so the traffic should have lighten up.

[Disney vs cruising]

We are taking an Alaskan cruise ending up in Vancouver Sunday, May 29th. There will be 4 of us and we would like to look around Vancouver some and go to Victoria to Butchart Gardens and to look around there. We have hotel reservations Sunday night in Victoria and Monday night in Vancouver. We have rented a car. In order to give us more leeway to choose what to do when and not have to be tied to a schedule I am wondering if we would be okay not making a reservation for the ferry or if we will end up waiting a long time trying to catch one without a reservation at that time. I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you for your time.

[Kamloops50]

We are taking an Alaskan cruise ending up in Vancouver Sunday, May 29th. There will be 4 of us and we would like to look around Vancouver some and go to Victoria to Butchart Gardens and to look around there. We have hotel reservations Sunday night in Victoria and Monday night in Vancouver. We have rented a car. In order to give us more leeway to choose what to do when and not have to be tied to a schedule I am wondering if we would be okay not making a reservation for the ferry or if we will end up waiting a long time trying to catch one without a reservation at that time. I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you for your time.

 

Reservations are highly recommend on the ferries during the summer especially on Canadian holidays. To make sure I would make a reservations on the ferry . Reserve on one of the Spirit Class ships. They have a nice buffet that serves locally sourced products . It is also quiet and relaxing.

[Disney vs cruising]

We are taking an Alaskan cruise ending up in Vancouver Sunday, May 29th. There will be 4 of us and we would like to look around Vancouver some and go to Victoria to Butchart Gardens and to look around there. We have hotel reservations Sunday night in Victoria and Monday night in Vancouver. We have rented a car. In order to give us more leeway to choose what to do when and not have to be tied to a schedule I am wondering if we would be okay not making a reservation for the ferry or if we will end up waiting a long time trying to catch one without a reservation at that time. I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you for your time.

[Putterdude]

We are taking an Alaskan cruise ending up in Vancouver Sunday, May 29th. There will be 4 of us and we would like to look around Vancouver some and go to Victoria to Butchart Gardens and to look around there. We have hotel reservations Sunday night in Victoria and Monday night in Vancouver. We have rented a car. In order to give us more leeway to choose what to do when and not have to be tied to a schedule I am wondering if we would be okay not making a reservation for the ferry or if we will end up waiting a long time trying to catch one without a reservation at that time. I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you for your time.

 

You will likely be OK without a reservation, however, this is the Sunday of your memorial day weekend and there will be extra traffic even though it is not a holiday in Canada. So if you want to be 100% safe I would be inclined to make a reservation for an early evening sailing and eliminate the worry and stress.

[Disney vs cruising]

Thank you for the advice to rent a car. I don't know that it saves too much but we decided to go that route for more freedom to go when and where we want. We do want to hit Victoria while we are out that way as who knows we will return. My husband and I saw it over 30 years ago on a trip with parents and it was beautiful. The others have not seen it. I am hoping that we will see enough of Victoria and Vancouver to make us happy. I'm sure we will. We had already booked our flights long before or it would've been tempting to extend the stay. We have put a lot of thought and planning into this cruise/trip. It is our first and I think it's going to be so perfect and memorable. Thanks for all your tips. It is helping to make it so much better, even down to the perfect ferry ride. :)

[martincath]

Since you went with the car rental option, I'd also consider doing two different ferry trips - Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay on one leg and Tsawassen to Swartz Bay (for Victoria) on the other. This will let you see various points on the island other than just Butchart (e.g. Cathedral Grove) without having to loop back to Victoria.

 

On the mainland, Horseshoe Bay is on the Sea to Sky highway - even if you don't go all the way up to Whistler, just going as far as Squamish has some tremendous views and offers the chance to try the new gondola ride up the mountain for even more.

[CeeCee59]

Looking for a reasonable place for breakfast. We will be dropped off at Canada Place at around 10:00 AM so can leave our luggage with the porters but will have some carry-on with us. Looking to have a nice leisurely breakfast then board. Thanks in advance!

[Putterdude]

Looking for a reasonable place for breakfast. We will be dropped off at Canada Place at around 10:00 AM so can leave our luggage with the porters but will have some carry-on with us. Looking to have a nice leisurely breakfast then board. Thanks in advance!

 

My personal fave is Scoozis at 445 Howe St. which is about 3.5 blocks up Howe St. from Canada Place.

 

http://www.scoozis.ca/

 

While I am not a huge fan of the De Dutch they nonetheless have a large following and their location about 3 minutes west of Canada Place in Burrard Landing with its water views makes it rather hard to ignore.

 

http://dedutch.com/locations/burrard-landing/

Edited March 29, 2016 by Putterdude

[martincath]

If you don't mind a 15min walk, Medina remains THE hot ticket for breakfast in the city - and one of only two spots I'm willing to cheat on my carbs with a waffle. Even with the new space having significantly more seats, expect waits of up to an hour for a two-top at peak weekend brunch times. If you're cruising on a weekday the demand is significantly less, you should swan right in at 10-10:30.

 

PDs suggestions are also solid - Scoozi's is probably still the best value breakfast near the pier, and I actually quite enjoyed pancakes at De Dutch before my diabetes took them off my list of brekky options.

[silkismom]

On May 6 there are supposed to be 3 (one source says 4) ships in. We will be heading to YVR for a 2:38 flt to DEN, had thought about doing the train, but wondering if the cruise ship shuttle(much more expensive) might be less hassle with that many people. What do you think?

[Putterdude]

The Port of Vancouver sked is calling up 3 ships on May 6th however 2 of the 3 are larger ships .... so yes there is going to be congestion at Canada Place. If you are able bodied and can handle your own luggage then the 3 block walk to Waterfront Station and the Canada Line is the least expensive way to YVR and it shouldn't be to congested. A cab will run you about $35 but you may have to wait 15 to 30 mins in the queue, alternatively you could walk to the Pan Pacific which forms part of Canada Place or the Fairmont Waterfront which is across the street and take a cab from there. The cruise ship's shuttle is the seamless way of doing it but I personally would have a problem paying what they charge.

[silkismom]

Thank you!

[scottbee]

On May 6 there are supposed to be 3 (one source says 4) ships in. We will be heading to YVR for a 2:38 flt to DEN, had thought about doing the train, but wondering if the cruise ship shuttle(much more expensive) might be less hassle with that many people. What do you think?

 

The train will be the fastest, and in my mind the least hassle. You'll be travelling well outside of rush hour, and starting at the end stop, so getting on will be zero issue.

 

Exit the cruise terminal, walk one block ahead to your left until you reach Cordova St. Ignore that tempting Skytrain [the name for ALL subway/elevated rail service in Vancouver] entrance to Waterfront station at the corner of Howe/Cordova, it leads to the wrong tracks; and is way more hassle than it's worth.

 

Turn left on Cordova St, walk about a block and a half and it's the big brick building on your left. Enter and turn to your left for the "Canada Line" which leads to YVR Airport.

[Urban trekker]

Just to add a little to Scottbee's post - every second Canada Line train goes to the airport - so just either listen for the announcement or watch the overhead departure board - it will also show how long the wait will be.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[silkismom]

Thanks again