Vancouver Shuttle Service Recommendation

[LeDemonBlond]

Flying into Vancouver the day before our cruise. Looking for transportation from the Airport to our Hotel Downtown (YWCA).  There is six in our party plus of course suit cases, back packs.  What would you recommend? 

 

Thank You

[inar]

Two taxis or Ubers.  Around $35-40 from airport to your hotel.  

[martincath]

I'd concur with the 2 taxis - fixed price of exactly CAD$37+ whatever you want to tip per vehicle - if you have any mobility issues in the group, but SkyTrain would save a few bucks if you don't mind a bit of a walk... closest Canada Line station is City Centre, about 700m away.

 

But with 6 people and the inbound AddFare, even if it's an evening or weekend (1 zone, $3.15pp) the extra $5 each means you won't save much over a cab unless you've got some kids in the mix (free under 13) - older kids and seniors save about a buck per ticket...

 

If it's an RT though, going TO the airport is significantly better value on transit - no Addfare!

 

When the Canada Line opened, the local 'shuttle from airport to downtown hotels' businesses all quit - nobody price sensitive was going to pay extra compared to the now super-fast and convenient transit, and as soon as you hit 2+ people cabs were the same price as what the shuttles had to charge to stay in business.

Edited February 9 by martincath

[LeDemonBlond]

Good to know about the Taxi's. That is a very reasonable. We know about the train to downtown but not everyone in our party may want to walk the few blocks to the Hotel from the City Centre Station.  

[jlawrence01]

On 2/8/2024 at 5:01 PM, martincath said:

I'd concur with the 2 taxis - fixed price of exactly CAD$37+ whatever you want to tip per vehicle - if you have any mobility issues in the group, but SkyTrain would save a few bucks if you don't mind a bit of a walk... closest Canada Line station is City Centre, about 700m away.

 

 

I am staying in Richmond, BC about a block from the SkyTrain.  How feasible will it be to use it to Canada Place.  Is there a place to hold on to the luggage for the 35 minute ride on a Sunday morning??

 

I have used rapid transit to get to airports and it is hard to carry luggage on some of them. 

[martincath]

2 minutes ago, jlawrence01 said:

I am staying in Richmond, BC about a block from the SkyTrain.  How feasible will it be to use it to Canada Place.  Is there a place to hold on to the luggage for the 35 minute ride on a Sunday morning??

 

I have used rapid transit to get to airports and it is hard to carry luggage on some of them. 

If you're boarding at Richmond-Brighouse it should be just as easy as at YVR (another terminus station, so almost nobody stays onboard, and a longer delay from train arriving to when it departs again which gives you ample time to slide your big cases under the seats)

 

If it's one of the other stations on the Brighouse fork, e.g. Aberdeen which has the Radisson just across the way, then every additional station will add some bodies but Sunday morning shouldn't be too bad in terms of commuter numbers; I'd say that finding a seat is still likely but you'll only have about 30 seconds to stash your cases underneath (there are no luggage racks, but every seat has significant legroom and space underneath as well - if you're short then a big case may even fit between your knees and the back of the seat ahead so you can get away without slipping it underneath).

 

Bridgeport station is the only one in Richmond I'd be at all worried about - because you'll have all the YVR folks aboard every second train, so lots of fellow suitcase folks plus perhaps a few early shoppers at the big airport mall also taking up space with their purchases. If it's the River Rock casino hotel you're staying in and the first train is packed, wait for the next one - they alternate as to which fork they're from so it should be mostly regular Richmond commuters on the next train, far fewer suitcases.

 

Worst case, you can always ride it backwards to either terminus standing up then when everyone else piles off you can claim a seat, stash your bag, and ride it to Waterfront. The actual ride time is only 25mins on the Brighouse fork, 26mins from YVR, all the way to the Waterfront end so if you were expecting to take 35 you've got a bit of padding to skip a train or take a cheeky backwards trip!

[jlawrence01]

14 hours ago, martincath said:

If you're boarding at Richmond-Brighouse it should be just as easy as at YVR (another terminus station, so almost nobody stays onboard, and a longer delay from train arriving to when it departs again which gives you ample time to slide your big cases under the seats)

 

If it's one of the other stations on the Brighouse fork, e.g. Aberdeen which has the Radisson just across the way, then every additional station will add some bodies but Sunday morning shouldn't be too bad in terms of commuter numbers; I'd say that finding a seat is still likely but you'll only have about 30 seconds to stash your cases underneath (there are no luggage racks, but every seat has significant legroom and space underneath as well - if you're short then a big case may even fit between your knees and the back of the seat ahead so you can get away without slipping it underneath).

 

Bridgeport station is the only one in Richmond I'd be at all worried about - because you'll have all the YVR folks aboard every second train, so lots of fellow suitcase folks plus perhaps a few early shoppers at the big airport mall also taking up space with their purchases. If it's the River Rock casino hotel you're staying in and the first train is packed, wait for the next one - they alternate as to which fork they're from so it should be mostly regular Richmond commuters on the next train, far fewer suitcases.

 

Worst case, you can always ride it backwards to either terminus standing up then when everyone else piles off you can claim a seat, stash your bag, and ride it to Waterfront. The actual ride time is only 25mins on the Brighouse fork, 26mins from YVR, all the way to the Waterfront end so if you were expecting to take 35 you've got a bit of padding to skip a train or take a cheeky backwards trip!

 

 

We will be staying at the LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Richmond that is close to the Lansdowne Station.  We are thinking of leaving the hotel around 9 am, head over to T&T Supermarket for lunch and then head over to Lansdowne station for the trip.  Since we are leaving so early, getting to the ship should not be that much of a problem.

 

Our original plan was to fly PHX - Bellingham, stay in Bellingham and take a shuttle to Vancouver.  However, I could not get the shuttle options from Bellingham to Vancouver to work that well.

 

Thanks for the information.  That was a big help.