Vancouver Info if needed

[martincath]

I do need it in the inhaler form. It's back to the internet!! Thanks so much for the info.

No problem - the inhaler is definitely the most convenient way to take it so I understand you'd want to continue using that, especially if you only need to take it for animal-allergy-induced situations rather than constantly.

 

Fortunately for me my asthma ceased troubling me after childhood, years before I came to Canada so I have no personal experience of which pharmacies here are more likely to get stock in from the UK.

 

I have heard of a few folks in similar situations to you - i.e. infrequent users rather than multiple puffs per day every day like I was - who found that taking the nasal spray version of the drug works for them. It's available over the counter as APO-CROMOLYN NASAL SPRAY DIN:02231390

 

NB: I am not a medical professional and this should not be construed as me advising you to take the drug in this form! Talk to a pharmacist about the product since it's OTC.

[MLindaG]

Interesting info on the nasal spray but since it's my bronchial tubes that go crazy not my nose..... I doubt that a nasal spray would do the trick! :)

[Nylsor]

So sorry if this question has already been asked but I don't have time to read the 118 pages on this thread! We will be disembarking the Century on September 15th. There are four of us and our flight to the UK doesn't leave until 18.30pm so we have some time to kill before leaving for the airport. As we are spending 3 days in Vancouver prior to our Alaskan cruise, we don't want to purchase expensive excursions with Celebrity to go on after leaving the ship. We are also being picked up to be taken to the airport so don't need a drop off. Is there anywhere we can leave our luggage for a few hours? We are staying for 3 nights at the Pan Pacific prior to the cruise.

Grateful for any ideas.

[ell52]

So sorry if this question has already been asked but I don't have time to read the 118 pages on this thread! We will be disembarking the Century on September 15th. There are four of us and our flight to the UK doesn't leave until 18.30pm so we have some time to kill before leaving for the airport. As we are spending 3 days in Vancouver prior to our Alaskan cruise, we don't want to purchase expensive excursions with Celebrity to go on after leaving the ship. We are also being picked up to be taken to the airport so don't need a drop off. Is there anywhere we can leave our luggage for a few hours? We are staying for 3 nights at the Pan Pacific prior to the cruise.

Grateful for any ideas.

There is luggage storage at Canada Place by Priority Baggage. BTW, don't try to get information about them on their website, it's not operational! But, I assure you it is there. You could also try taking your bags back to the Pan Pacific and asking the porter/doorman if you could leave it with them (for a nice tip, of course). :)

Edited August 17, 2013 by ell52

[mopedmom1]

If you do go with the Uptown on Friday 20th feel free to ask if you want a personal walking tour - not many visitors consider staying in my neck of the woods, I'd love to show it off!

 

Martincath I wish to thank you for your wonderful information on the area around the BW Uptown Hotel. It really sounds intriguing! I was TOTALLY prepared to stay there and enjoy your recomendations and even a personal tour! However, I had to go with the BW Sands, mainly because the Uptown only had 2 double beds available. This just wasn't going to work out for our travel needs. I will be in search of a cronut however! I can't believe Portland, the city with a walk up waffle window, has no cronut outlet!

 

Also many thanks to Putterdude and Urbantrekker as well. Your wealth of knowledge is greatly appreciated.

 

As it stand now we will be coming in via Alaska Air arriving at 10:30 am, and probably taking a taxi to the hotel. With two young ladies we may be adventurous enough to tackle mass-transit. My dd just got home from six months in Thailand and India and looked at me as if I had two heads when I said we would probably take a taxi. Ahhh, youth! Any tips and pointers on NOT taking a taxi would be appreciated.

 

I see that we will be near Stanley Park. What will two young adult girls be interested in seeing there. It looks like it is near a beach. We live in Oregon so I imagine September/Vancouver is not conducive to swimming and sunning oneself. :cool: Any other must do things for the remaining 8 hours of daylight?

 

And what about Victoria? Pretty sure no matter how much pleading and talking I do I will NEVER convince them to go to Buchart Gardens. :(

 

Thanks again for your help.

[martincath]

Martincath I wish to thank you for your wonderful information on the area around the BW Uptown Hotel. It really sounds intriguing! I was TOTALLY prepared to stay there and enjoy your recomendations and even a personal tour! However, I had to go with the BW Sands, mainly because the Uptown only had 2 double beds available. This just wasn't going to work out for our travel needs. I will be in search of a cronut however! I can't believe Portland, the city with a walk up waffle window, has no cronut outlet!

 

Also many thanks to Putterdude and Urbantrekker as well. Your wealth of knowledge is greatly appreciated.

 

As it stand now we will be coming in via Alaska Air arriving at 10:30 am, and probably taking a taxi to the hotel. With two young ladies we may be adventurous enough to tackle mass-transit. My dd just got home from six months in Thailand and India and looked at me as if I had two heads when I said we would probably take a taxi. Ahhh, youth! Any tips and pointers on NOT taking a taxi would be appreciated.

 

I see that we will be near Stanley Park. What will two young adult girls be interested in seeing there. It looks like it is near a beach. We live in Oregon so I imagine September/Vancouver is not conducive to swimming and sunning oneself. :cool: Any other must do things for the remaining 8 hours of daylight?

 

And what about Victoria? Pretty sure no matter how much pleading and talking I do I will NEVER convince them to go to Buchart Gardens. :(

 

Thanks again for your help.

No worries MM - unless I'd been to Vancouver at least a couple of times before a location near the park would be my preference too. Getting there on transit from the airport is easy - see this Google Map with appropriate time/date pre-selected for you - but unless you're planning to take transit around town you may find a taxi almost as cheap and more convenient...

 

Fare can be paid CAN cash, credit or debit - $9 per person including the Airport AddFare at the station platform - but with three of you it will save you money by picking up a 10-pack of 1 Zone Adult Faresaver tickets for $21 at the 7-11 inside the airport then adding $1.25 per person AddFare (you can use CAN cash, credit or debit again for this - or to avoid hassles of upgrading tickets, buy a pack of 2 Zone for $31.50).

 

Tear off one ticket each, stick them in the machine at the station, press the on-screen option to Add Fare to 2 Zones if you have 1 Zone tickets - or if 2 Zone just put them in the blue Validator machine. They should come back out with a time/date on the back and confirm the extra fee was paid, giving you 90 minutes of transfer time on the entire Translink network.

 

Just don't lose the tickets, you'll need to use them again to get on the bus at Yaletown. The C buses are Community Shuttles - a minibus, without much in the way of luggage room. Should be pretty quiet c.11am, but if you have a lot of luggage grab a cab from the rank on Davie Street right outside the skytrain station - it'll probably run you $10 to get to the hotel.

 

NB: just getting a cab direct from YVR to the Sands should cost <$40, so if you do have a lot of luggage it's probably about as economical to do this and it'll save any hassles of transferring to a small bus with luggage. Where the transit gets cheaper is if you continue using more of those FareSaver tickets around town - you've bought 10 so have 7 spare for other trips...

 

Never having been a young adult girl my views on fun stuff to do around English Bay are probably a little out of synch! I've never met a 19-21 year old American of any sex who didn't enjoy being able to sample a grown-up beverage when in a civilized country though;)

 

If they haven't been to Stanley Park go for a wander - unless they're rabid nature-haters there should be *something* of interest inside it's 1000 acres! I suggest walking there along the seawall - straight down Davie from your hotel brings you to Beach Avenue, cross that and you're in the right spot. There are some nice statues at the intersection.

 

The beaches usually close early September (well, they stop having lifeguards and the outdoor pools shut) but if it's a sunny day there will probably still be some people enjoying the sea and sun. Renting bikes will let you cover more of the seawall and park than on foot.

 

If the weather is bad there's not an awful lot of indoor cultural stuff at English Bay, but downtown is pretty small - you could easily get to the Art Gallery and Aquarium, and you're less than a kilometre from one of the much less busy attractions: Roedde House at Barclay Heritage Square. It's a restored historic home that shows what it was like to live in Vancouver c.1893 - not as fancy as Downton Abbey but quite interesting. The Art Gallery is where most of the Tour Guys tours start from - they offer free tours as well as paid ones (most of these include food & drink).

 

The C23 bus will take you from your hotel all the way through Yaletown and into Chinatown - from here you can walk up into Gastown. If you've visited Portland's Chinese Garden, why not go check out the one it was based on - the Dr Sun Yat Sen Garden. Even if you don't fancy springing for the $14 apiece to get in, there's a free park next door which shares the same pond & fish.

 

Gastown has a lot of new & trendy spots to eat and little boutiquey shops, as well as some typical tourist traps to pick up your inukshuk fridge magnets and amusing T-Shirts. Chinatown has a fair few not-so-Chinese things too - an uber-authentic German sausage & beer place just opened for example. The Night Market closes Sep 8th unfortunately.

 

There are some less-than-salubrious streets, especially walking between Gas- and China-town areas, but they're not really much skeevier than a lot of downtown Portland nooks & crannies. I would suggest cabs at night for those unfamiliar with the area though. Down by your hotel is very safe - there will be a lot of clubbing & pubbing going on Friday night, but the local tone tends to be more tolerant fun less drunken buffoon than on Granville Street in the evenings.

[mopedmom1]

Fare can be paid CAN cash, credit or debit - $9 per person including the Airport AddFare at the station platform - but with three of you it will save you money by picking up a 10-pack of 1 Zone Adult Faresaver tickets for $21 at the 7-11 inside the airport then adding $1.25 per person AddFare (you can use CAN cash, credit or debit again for this - or to avoid hassles of upgrading tickets, buy a pack of 2 Zone for $31.50).

 

Holy cow martin! You MUST be in the travel/hospitality industry. Can you teach me how to ride the bus in Portland! LOL

 

So if I am understanding this right, if we buy our booklet of tickets in the airport 7-11 we do NOT need to pay the airport Addfare of $5?

 

The girls have decided they want to do the Caprilano suspension bridge. I understand there is a free shuttle about 1 km from our hotel. If we want to stay later than the last shuttle at 4:30 I assume we will be able to use the bus tickets to return to the hotel on public transit.

 

Are these bus tickets good for use in Victoria as well, or just Vancouver? They think the Butterfly Gardens is something that interests them, I am just not sure how to get there. I saw a free shuttle but it will have stopped its run for the season.

 

Never having been a young adult girl my views on fun stuff to do around English Bay are probably a little out of synch! I've never met a 19-21 year old American of any sex who didn't enjoy being able to sample a grown-up beverage when in a civilized country though [/Quote]

 

So as long as they are the required drinking age in Canada it will make no matter that their ID is American? Will they only be able to have beer and wine, no liquor?

 

I can not thank you all enough for your helpfulness. Do you ever want to just ignore all the stupid questions? (Don't answer that! :D)

[ell52]

So as long as they are the required drinking age in Canada it will make no matter that their ID is American? Will they only be able to have beer and wine, no liquor?

 

Legal drinking age is 19 years old in BC and applies to all alcohol (beer, wine, hard liquor). They just need to have some form of government photo ID (doesn't matter what country). :)

[martincath]

Snipped just to your Qs:

So if I am understanding this right, if we buy our booklet of tickets in the airport 7-11 we do NOT need to pay the airport Addfare of $5?

 

Correct!

The girls have decided they want to do the Caprilano suspension bridge. I understand there is a free shuttle about 1 km from our hotel. If we want to stay later than the last shuttle at 4:30 I assume we will be able to use the bus tickets to return to the hotel on public transit.

 

Also correct - if the trip back is after 6:30pm a 1 zone ticket will do, but if it's before that you need a 2 Zone or to pay the $1.25 Addfare. If you're all going to Capilano this is where the 2-zone ticket booklets start to make more sense - they are only actually *cheaper* if you take 9 or 10 multi-zone trips, but finding exact fare in Canadian coins for a bus could be very annoying so the convenience factor kicks in...

 

Are these bus tickets good for use in Victoria as well, or just Vancouver?

 

Nope - different transit system.

 

So as long as they are the required drinking age in Canada it will make no matter that their ID is American? Will they only be able to have beer and wine, no liquor?

 

As Ell52 already mentioned, legal is legal. Most bars operate a 'card if you look under 25' system, sometimes even under 30, so expect to show it.

[mopedmom1]

Thanks Ell52 and martin.

 

Since I will have turned 50 :eek: by then don't think I will need to show MY ID.

 

I am told I look young for my age, but it's been over a year since I've been carded. :D

[Urban trekker]

Vancouver's most beloved Park and tourist attraction has a big birthday coming up the weekend of Aug 24 - 25, 2013. It's turning 125

 

Lot's of activities planned and most are free.

 

Here's a link to their web site for all the necessary information.

 

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation...-park-125.aspx

 

Working as a volunteer so see you all there.

 

Posted this here and there is a separate thread on the West Coast boards as well

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Aegis1984]

Maybe I'm looking el-cheapo, but any idea if I can find a "Destination Alaska" book at Canada place?

 

I've been there many times, being a fellow British Columbian walking around the Canada Trail on the outside, but I've never been inside. Is it pretty well a straightforward layout once you get there? Go in a set of doors and follow the signs, not that the hordes of people won't already be an indication of what I'll be facing. If that has already been answered, sorry! Still reading through the thread.

[martincath]

Maybe I'm looking el-cheapo, but any idea if I can find a "Destination Alaska" book at Canada place?

 

I've been there many times, being a fellow British Columbian walking around the Canada Trail on the outside, but I've never been inside. Is it pretty well a straightforward layout once you get there? Go in a set of doors and follow the signs, not that the hordes of people won't already be an indication of what I'll be facing. If that has already been answered, sorry! Still reading through the thread.

Never looked for a coupon book at the pier - I'd suggest downloading the free electronic version and just printing ones you think you'll actually use.

 

It's very easy to navigate around inside Canada Place - there are staff all over the place pointing you to luggage drop, taxi queues, security lines, correct line for your vessel etc. I really think you'd have to try pretty hard to get to the wrong place...

[Aegis1984]

Never looked for a coupon book at the pier - I'd suggest downloading the free electronic version and just printing ones you think you'll actually use.

 

It's very easy to navigate around inside Canada Place - there are staff all over the place pointing you to luggage drop, taxi queues, security lines, correct line for your vessel etc. I really think you'd have to try pretty hard to get to the wrong place...

 

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm the type where I have to know exactly what I'm doing so even though I've spent hours wandering around outside Canada Place, I've never bothered to go inside and that was my mistake.

[Urban trekker]

Here's the correct link to see the Stanley Park 125 celebration web site:

 

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park-125.aspx

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[travelingtriumphess]

Here's the correct link to see the Stanley Park 125 celebration web site:

 

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park-125.aspx

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

It just so happens we will be in Vancouver that weekend. How serendipitous! I love happy accidents! :D And yes, the second link worked.

[mr green]

Never looked for a coupon book at the pier - I'd suggest downloading the free electronic version and just printing ones you think you'll actually use.

 

Coupon books for Alaska have always been easy to find at Canada Place. I assume that they are still available.

 

john

[maylee7615]

Hey guys!

 

This is quite the thread, I hope to read through of some of the past posts when I have some free time tonight, but meanwhile I figured I'd ask some questions and get some input. We will be arriving in Vancouver on Aug 22nd at night, and are leaving for a cruise Monday morning. We will be staying at the Marriott Pinnacle in downtown. We are not planning on renting a car.

1. Best way to get from the airport to our hotel? I am surprised to find out that the hotel does not offer a shuttle. There will only be two of us traveling so I'm thinking a cab would not be the most economical way.

2. Restaurant recommendations? My husband doesn't eat Asian food and I do not eat Mexican food and am also a vegetarian, so we tend to not always have the easiest time finding somewhere to eat. We do enjoy Italian and American food, and like to stay within a $-$$ budget. We're not big foodies, but I would hate to waste the few meals we have in Vancouver on bad places!

3. What should we do! I know this is very general but, we need help planning! We debated taking a day trip to Whistler or Victoria but decided against it. I read about some of the free walking tours, I can't recall the name at the moment, but we are definitely planning on taking one or two of them. We will also be visiting Stanley Park. I recently found out that 2/3 days we will be there SP will be celebrating their 125th birthday, I'm not sure if it will be too crowded on those days and were better off going the other day. We also plan on visiting one of the suspension bridges, I've read that Capilano is more popular butLynn Canyon Park is more scenic and free. Opinions? We are interested in visiting north Vancouver but I've heard it's difficult to get to. We also plan on wandering Yaletown, gaslight and Granville and potentially a trip to Kits beach. Were from NYC so were perfectly fine and happy with simply wandering neighborhoods and exploring the sites, which seems to be what most

Tour guides I've read have recommended, but if there's anything specific to do in these neighborhoods please let me know. The only thing I will say we're opposed to art gallery's, most of the time it's not worth it to drag my husband along ha.

 

Thanks on advance // sorry if these questions have been answered a million times.

[martincath]

Snipped to Qs

1. Best way to get from the airport to our hotel? I am surprised to find out that the hotel does not offer a shuttle. There will only be two of us traveling so I'm thinking a cab would not be the most economical way.

 

Cheapest = Skytrain ($15.50 total since you're arriving after 6:30pm - you can pay by credit or debit at the station). This is the route you want to take (I've arbitrarily set time at 10pm, you can change it to your actual ETA but the frequency will be the same all evening)

There are also packs of tickets available which avoid the $5 airport surcharge each, so if you do plan to use transit while in town go to the 7-11 and ask for a pack of 1 Zone FareSavers for $21 total. Tear out two of these and insert them into the blue Validation machine on the platform)

Fastest = cab at that time of night, approx $35 total.

Best = up to you!

I'm surprised you're surprised about lack of shuttle - it's 10 miles from YVR to downtown. I can't recall getting a free shuttle to any hotel anywhere that wasn't within a couple of miles of the airport.

 

2. Restaurant recommendations? My husband doesn't eat Asian food and I do not eat Mexican food and am also a vegetarian, so we tend to not always have the easiest time finding somewhere to eat. We do enjoy Italian and American food, and like to stay within a $-$$ budget.

Bad choice of city for someone who doesn't like Asian food:p Seriously though, give him a slap upside the head for writing off an entire continents cuisine. Go on, I'll wait...

OK, if the slap has not brought him around, you can hit local pubs - Mahonys or Tap & Barrel at the Convention Centre (right next to the pier); The Keg (a chain of good value Steakhouses - only a few veggie choices) has a branch on Thurlow c. 500 yards away; Milestones at 1145 Robson is only 10 mins walk and has a very broad menu. There's also a decent-sized food court under the Bentall Centre just around the corner from you - with a Joey (like Milestones but pricier).

If the slap did bring him around, take him to an Izakaya like Guu, Hapa, Kingyo or Alpha - plenty of pub staples like chicken wings, pork chops, sausages just with Japanese names. Or grab some Ramen - start him with a chicken broth rather than Miso, who doesn't like chicken noodle soup???;)

3. What should we do! I know this is very general but, we need help planning! I read about some of the free walking tours, I can't recall the name at the moment, but we are definitely planning on taking one or two of them. tourguys.ca are who you're referring to. Their downtown tour is quite informative; the Granville Island one much less so IMO.

 

We will also be visiting Stanley Park. I recently found out that 2/3 days we will be there SP will be celebrating their 125th birthday, I'm not sure if it will be too crowded on those days and were better off going the other day.

It will be busier, but unpredictable how much so. If all you want to do is see the park, go on Friday if the weather behaves - most folks will be at work. OTOH, check out the park website to see what's being put on for the celebrations - if you like the sound of something, go see it 'cos it may never happen again...

 

We also plan on visiting one of the suspension bridges, I've read that Capilano is more popular butLynn Canyon Park is more scenic and free.

Not so - simple logic dictates that if Lynn Canyon were both more scenic and free Capilano would not be a viable business... Capilano is the big daddy, longer & higher, with a fancy new cliff walk. Whether that is worth the rather steep entry fee in comparison to a quieter, still very scenic option is up to you...

 

We are interested in visiting north Vancouver but I've heard it's difficult to get to.

Not from your hotel - even if you're not doing a free shuttle (Capilano & Grouse both offer one), you could walk to the Seabus within a few minutes and from there it's a 12 minute cruise over to North Van. Lonsdale Quay is the only spot I can think of, other than the canyons/grouse, that is frequently visited - it's a bit like a mini-Granville Island Public Market. If you were going to Lynn Canyon, you can get the #228 bus from here too. You can also take an all-bus route over one of the two bridges.

We also plan on wandering Yaletown, gastown and Granville Island and potentially a trip to Kits beach. Were from NYC so were perfectly fine and happy with simply wandering neighborhoods and exploring the sites, which seems to be what most Tour guides I've read have recommended, but if there's anything specific to do in these neighborhoods please let me know.

Yaletown is basically eating, drinking and shopping. It's an old warehouse district now with lots of condos.

Gastown is the heart of 'old Vancouver' and has two sights that are required to be photographed by all tourists - if you don't have pics in your camera we won't you leave the city:p - The Steam Clock and Gassy Jack statue. Also plenty of shops, food and drink.

Granville Island has the public market (think permanent indoor farmer's market), tons of little boutiquey shops (mostly artisanal types who make stuff), a couple of breweries and a sake maker, and plenty of dining options.

Kits beach is -well, a beach... If you're beach people it would be easier getting to English Bay, Sunset, or Second than Kits. If you mean the neighbourhood of Kitsilano, a multitude of buses (2, 4, 7, 32, 44) run from close to your hotel over bridges and along Cornwall and 4th Ave.

 

Popular things to visit (that aren't art galleries!) include the Aquarium, several museums (of Vancouver, Maritime, HR MacMillan Space Centre - all of these are next to each other & very close to Kits), the Dr Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden - all suitable for bad weather too, since Friday forecast is potentially a little rainy.

[maylee7615]

@martincath - that's so helpful! Thank you so much :) looking forward to our trip!

[ronbarb]

We will be in Vancouver for 4 days mid-April, 2014. We are staying at the Fairmont Waterfront. We would appreciate restaurant recommendations. We had fabulous Chinese food on our only other visit to Vancouver (but of course don't remember the name of the restaurant). Any suggestions for authentic, spicy Chinese food? Also, any recommendations for fine dining? We are open to any suggestions- we like almost every nationality/type of cuisine. Thank you for your time and suggestions.

[ell52]

We will be in Vancouver for 4 days mid-April, 2014. We are staying at the Fairmont Waterfront. We would appreciate restaurant recommendations. We had fabulous Chinese food on our only other visit to Vancouver (but of course don't remember the name of the restaurant). Any suggestions for authentic, spicy Chinese food? Also, any recommendations for fine dining? We are open to any suggestions- we like almost every nationality/type of cuisine. Thank you for your time and suggestions.

For northern-style (i.e. spicy, Szechuan) Chinese food, try Kirin Downtown on Alberni Street. (There are other Kirin locations, also very good, but are more Cantonese in style). It could also qualify as a fine dining restaurant,-- so two birds/one stone? Other good Chinese restaurants will be outside of the downtown core or in Richmond.

 

.

[ronbarb]

Thank you for your quick response. Kirin sounds perfect. We'll try it one of our nights in Vancouver.

[martincath]

You should also consider Bao Bei in Chinatown - it's a rather interesting modern Chinese Cocktail/Tapas venue, cuisine is mostly small plates of Shanghai-style food with plenty of robust flavours. Bambudda I've only tried once as it just opened is of similar concept but Cantonese in genre - all dishes were very good to excellent, decent service too, for somewhere only open a week at the time they exceeded expectations across the board.

 

Oru in The Fairmont Pacific Rim is very nice and very close to you. Hawksworth remains the finest of fine dining establishments in town in terms of service and the food is also top-notch. Blue Water in Yaletown is probably the best seafood you'll find.

 

A notch down in fanciness but still with excellent food l'Abattoir and Boneta in Gastown are regular faves of ours - at the former my wife always orders the sweetbread appy, one of the very few restos in town that consistently stocks them. Boneta has been our favourite restaurant in Vancouver for over a year now - considering how much we eat out that's basically the highest praise I can give!

 

We recently tried Burdock & Co and will definitely be returning regularly - Andrea Carlson was the chef at Bishop's until she went out on her own and while it may be a very laid-back service environment the food remains extremely seasonal & local, less seafood than Bishop's but with a wealth of obscure-but-tasty vegetables. It's like having a mad auntie with her own farm who raises all her own food and just happens to be a cordon bleu chef.

[ronbarb]

Hi Martincath,

You've given us a lot to research. Some of the menus look really interesting (believe it or not, we were just saying the other day that you never see sweetbreads on a restaurant menu!). Thanks for taking the time to help us out-much appreciated.