Burrard Hotel vs YWCA Hotel? Also suggestions to tour plan, please.

[shuyak]

This is a duplicated posting from Tripadvisor, seeking advise from the local and the experienced.  Thank you!

 

We will stay in Vancouver for 3 nights prior to our 19 night Alaska cruisetour in mid-June 2022.  Both Burrard and YWCA have good reviews and with comparable pricing that fit into our budget.  Any pros/cons comments from the local and the experienced are appreciated! 

Update:  With the input from a Tripadvisor contributer, Burrard appears to work better for our plan.

 

Since our flight will arrive late, we will have 2 and half days pre-cruise, and 1 full day post-cruise prior to the 10 PM red-eye-flight home.  Below are our thoughts/tentative plan (we both are in late 60th and ok health):

 

Pre-cruise:

1st full day: tour around city (Stanley park, Granville Island Public Market, etc.), possibly rent e-bike or join e-bike tour.

2nd full day: join Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain tour.

Half day before boarding: wander around city.

 

Post-cruise;

In consideration:

(1) Sea to Sky post-cruise tour (will this be much similar to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain tour?)

(2) Store luggage near port and Hop-on-Hop-off to the areas we missed during pre-cruise and/or would like to revisit .

Any suggestion to further enhance our Vancouver experience will be great!

[Milhouse]

As a precaution, be prepared for showers though the weather starts getting more consistently dry in June.

 

I always like to recommend walks/rides along stretches of the seawall as it an easy activity and runs through nice parts of Vancouver.  Note the separate pedestrian and wheeled paths.

Don't leave your e-bikes unattended as petty theft in the downtown area has increased during the pandemic.

 

To me, Sea to Sky generally means West Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay to Britannia Beach to Squamish to Whistler; not Capilano and Grouse.  I would suspect a Sea to Sky tour would include stuff like Shannon Falls, Britannia Mines (kind of tourist trappy though I haven't visited in years), and Squamish/Squamish Gondola.  The first part of the highway from has some beautiful views of Howe Sound.  I doubt it would go all the way to Whistler since that's a very long day for a return trip (though people do, do it for a day of skiing).  The highway does get jammed up if there is a accident but it's been much better after the improvements for the 2010 Olympics.

HOHO will get you to a few further out places beyond what you're likely planning for day 1.  Might be a good option for a drizzly day. 

 

[shuyak]

@Milhouse, thank you very much for the feedback!

 

We decided guided e-bike tour will be a great introduction of the city; it will also eliminate issues related to renting e-bikes.  The tour we look at offers rain cancellation, which alleviate weather related uncertainty.

 

You are correct about the Sea to Sky tour stops, and the 7.5 hr tour (without traffic) will make it a really long day. 

 

We likely will leave the post-cruise plan open for now and decide after our day 1 touring.  Be it HOHO to explorer beyond the core area, e-bike tour to a different route, walking food tour, or just wander around and absorb the beautiful/vibrant city, we will have wonderful memory for certain!

[Musigurl]

I stay at the YWCA every time I'm in Vancouver (was recommended here on CC). It's clean, "cheap" and very conveniently located -- highly recommended.