Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[smslms]

I agree that walking is great, I do a few miles every day. Also agree that you should take a cab to Chinatown and back. Vancouver is a great place in many ways but like all major metropolitan cities it has areas that it is best to stay away from. Lots of good restaurants in Chinatown and I'm sure someone on these boards can give you suggestions for a fantastic meal.

 

BTW have visited Orlando a number of times, years ago when the kids were little and later just because we really enjoyed your city.

[scottbee]

You would have to compare the Vancouver rush hour traffic to a real city for the comparison to really mean something. I don't think Orlando traffic is very bad! :D

 

If rush hour starts by 3:30 in Vancouver then that would make the trip to the attractions less attractive - the ticket price and limited time have already got me thinking that it will not be worthwhile to try to pack either into our day.

 

Appreciate the help!

 

Rush hour is from 5:30am until about 6:30pm -- by 3:30 in the afternoon, it's getting pretty busy. if you want to head to the north shore (grouse mt, capilano), you're much better off taking seabus and then a local bus

[CMcG]

Rush hour is from 5:30am until about 6:30pm -- by 3:30 in the afternoon, it's getting pretty busy. if you want to head to the north shore (grouse mt, capilano), you're much better off taking seabus and then a local bus

 

Thanks - we'll keep that in mind in case we have the energy!

[CMcG]

I agree that walking is great, I do a few miles every day. Also agree that you should take a cab to Chinatown and back. Vancouver is a great place in many ways but like all major metropolitan cities it has areas that it is best to stay away from. Lots of good restaurants in Chinatown and I'm sure someone on these boards can give you suggestions for a fantastic meal.

 

BTW have visited Orlando a number of times, years ago when the kids were little and later just because we really enjoyed your city.

 

I'll check back through the posts looking for restaurant recommendations - I'm sure I'll find many more ideas than we have time for since we only have dinner & breakfast and we'll probably do breakfast at the hotel just because it will be easier.

 

Hope you got to see the non-tourist parts of Orlando!!!

[ell52]

We just got back from a 5-6 mile round trip walk for a late lunch - we don't mind a bit of a walk. :D

 

I guess we take a cab to & from Chinatown and sightsee a bit either before or after dinner if we want authentic Chinese.

Just so you know, the best Chinese food in Vancouver is not in Chinatown. Unless, you have your heart set on Chinese, there are many better alternatives downtown and closer to the Westin.

[smslms]

I'll check back through the posts looking for restaurant recommendations - I'm sure I'll find many more ideas than we have time for since we only have dinner & breakfast and we'll probably do breakfast at the hotel just because it will be easier.

 

Hope you got to see the non-tourist parts of Orlando!!!

 

You should ask our kids, they were always squawking about getting dragged all over the place.:D

[Alaska_2012]

I hope this hasn't been asked; I didn't go through all 100+ pages. :)

 

We are staying at Delta Vancouver Suites (won on Priceline) on West Hastings Street.

 

How far is this hotel from the Amtrak station? Best way to get here from the train? We are taking the LandSea pre-cruise tour and they will drop us off at Canada Place. Will we will located near the sites/restaurants? Any info would be appreciated!! :D

[CMcG]

Just so you know, the best Chinese food in Vancouver is not in Chinatown. Unless, you have your heart set on Chinese, there are many better alternatives downtown and closer to the Westin.

 

We'll probably be looking for a moderately priced meal - nothing fancy. I was thinking that Chinese might be a nice change from what we'll get on the cruise & near Denali National Park.

 

I am going back through this and other threads looking for recommendations - want to suggest something for my list? I'm aiming for $50 or under for the two of us (not planning on wine that night).

[scottbee]

I hope this hasn't been asked; I didn't go through all 100+ pages. :)

 

We are staying at Delta Vancouver Suites (won on Priceline) on West Hastings Street.

 

How far is this hotel from the Amtrak station? Best way to get here from the train? We are taking the LandSea pre-cruise tour and they will drop us off at Canada Place. Will we will located near the sites/restaurants? Any info would be appreciated!! :D

 

It's about 3km. A taxi should be $10-12; or alternately Skytrain is $2.50/ea (main st station is across the st from Pacific Station, Waterfront stn is a block from the Delta).

 

You'll find your hotel is downtown in the middle of all the 'downtown' sites. The popular tourist destinations of Grouse Mt and Capilano bridge are on the north shore, but easily accessable with Seabus/bus

 

this map should get your oriented, your hotel is at W.Hastings & Seymour (approx)

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212770407613531027445.000467645fcda21dd87b2&msa=0&ll=49.281088,-123.106556&spn=0.022957,0.038238

Edited January 29, 2012 by scottbee

[martincath]

We'll probably be looking for a moderately priced meal - nothing fancy. I was thinking that Chinese might be a nice change from what we'll get on the cruise & near Denali National Park.

 

I am going back through this and other threads looking for recommendations - want to suggest something for my list? I'm aiming for $50 or under for the two of us (not planning on wine that night).

 

As has already been mentioned most locals would recommend going elsewhere than Chinatown for the best Chinese food in the area (e.g. Richmond). I agree, but there are some tasty meals available in Chinatown proper. Foos Ho Ho http://fooshoho.com/ is a truly old-school restaurant that has a passionate following - just skim the extensive history on their website to get an idea of their 'vibe.'

 

Bao Bei http://www.bao-bei.ca/ is the exact opposite - a very new style of food. Without drinking you should see your $50 getting you a reasonable amount of food here but still not a big meal - it's more of a small plates/tapas bar sort of concept.

 

Somewhere in-between is Phnom Penh http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/181389/restaurant/Chinatown/Phnom-Penh-Vancouver a Vietnamese place that has a huge number of overwhelmingly positive reviews on Yelp, Urbanspoon etc. A wide menu too so you'll find something with the right sort of flavour/spicing to suit, and $50 will go a long way here.

 

There's also New Town Bakery & Restaurant http://newtownbakery.ca/ which is commonly mentioned whenever good steamed buns come up in conversation. I've only ever taken buns away from here, so can't confirm the quality of the rest of the menu - but it usually smells pretty good in there:)

[scottbee]

As has already been mentioned most locals would recommend going elsewhere than Chinatown for the best Chinese food in the area (e.g. Richmond). I agree, but there are some tasty meals available in Chinatown proper. Foos Ho Ho http://fooshoho.com/ is a truly old-school restaurant that has a passionate following - just skim the extensive history on their website to get an idea of their 'vibe.'

 

Bao Bei http://www.bao-bei.ca/ is the exact opposite - a very new style of food. Without drinking you should see your $50 getting you a reasonable amount of food here but still not a big meal - it's more of a small plates/tapas bar sort of concept.

 

Somewhere in-between is Phnom Penh http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/181389/restaurant/Chinatown/Phnom-Penh-Vancouver a Vietnamese place that has a huge number of overwhelmingly positive reviews on Yelp, Urbanspoon etc. A wide menu too so you'll find something with the right sort of flavour/spicing to suit, and $50 will go a long way here.

 

There's also New Town Bakery & Restaurant http://newtownbakery.ca/ which is commonly mentioned whenever good steamed buns come up in conversation. I've only ever taken buns away from here, so can't confirm the quality of the rest of the menu - but it usually smells pretty good in there:)

 

Wild Rice would be another option for good fusion asian. http://wildricevancouver.com/

[martincath]

Walking to Chinatown is doable so long as you really enjoy walking because it's quite a distance. While Chinatown itself is safe enough to walk around in I would not recommend walking in some of the areas you would have to pass through to get there. Some of these areas are bad enough in the daytime let alone at night.:(

 

Totally agree with this, but as someone who enjoys wandering around downtown Vancouver I've found a few compromise routes which avoid the really unpleasant parts but still get you to the interesting bits with minimal detours. I was going to PM CMcG specifically with a route from the Westin Bayshore to Chinatown, but of course we have no PM functionality on these boards! So I've set up a Gmail account - CMcG, if you'd like me to send you a safe-but-interesting walking route to Chinatown drop me a line: cruisecriticmarty at gmail dot com

[Putterdude]

I would prefer not to walk into Chinatown because of the neighborhoods you have to walk thru to get there...they are safe enough but just not desirable. A cab fare into Chinatown will be less than $10 from most downtown hotels or you could take SkyTrain to Stadium station but even those couple of blocks are not the most pleasant. A couple of more restaurant standbys in China are the Flota Seafood Restaurant and Hons Wun-Tun House. If you do don't want to venture into Chinatown there is the Victoria Chinese Restaurant which has been around for at least 25 years in Royal Centre....but no website.

 

 

 

http://www.floata.com/index_main.htm

 

http://www.hons.ca/

[CMcG]

Totally agree with this, but as someone who enjoys wandering around downtown Vancouver I've found a few compromise routes which avoid the really unpleasant parts but still get you to the interesting bits with minimal detours. I was going to PM CMcG specifically with a route from the Westin Bayshore to Chinatown, but of course we have no PM functionality on these boards! So I've set up a Gmail account - CMcG, if you'd like me to send you a safe-but-interesting walking route to Chinatown drop me a line: cruisecriticmarty at gmail dot com

 

thanks - will do!

Cheryl

[CMcG]

I would prefer not to walk into Chinatown because of the neighborhoods you have to walk thru to get there...they are safe enough but just not desirable. A cab fare into Chinatown will be less than $10 from most downtown hotels or you could take SkyTrain to Stadium station but even those couple of blocks are not the most pleasant. A couple of more restaurant standbys in China are the Flota Seafood Restaurant and Hons Wun-Tun House. If you do don't want to venture into Chinatown there is the Victoria Chinese Restaurant which has been around for at least 25 years in Royal Centre....but no website.

 

 

 

http://www.floata.com/index_main.htm

 

http://www.hons.ca/

 

 

Thanks! We're not wedded to the idea of Chinese or Chinatown - I just thought it would be different from what we'll be eating for the next 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Any general suggestions for close to Westin Bayshore where two can eat for $50 or so?

 

I'm going to end up with enough food recommendations that I'll want to come back just for the food!!! :D

 

Cheryl

Edited January 29, 2012 by CMcG

[Putterdude]

Thanks! We're not wedded to the idea of Chinese or Chinatown - I just thought it would be different from what we'll be eating for the next 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Any general suggestions for close to Westin Bayshore where two can eat for $50 or so?

 

I'm going to end up with enough food recommendations that I'll want to come back just for the food!!! :D

 

Cheryl

 

You may care to try Cardero's which is an upscale, marina, pub style restaurant which is about a nine iron from the Bayshore. They have great food to go with terrific views of the Coal Harbour yacht basin. There is also the Lift near by but it may be a bit of a challenge to keep the tab at $50.

http://vancouverdine.com/carderos0experience.aspx

 

http://liftbarandgrill.com/

 

 

[CMcG]

You may care to try Cardero's which is an upscale, marina, pub style restaurant which is about a nine iron from the Bayshore. They have great food to go with terrific views of the Coal Harbour yacht basin. There is also the Lift near by but it may be a bit of a challenge to keep the tab at $50.

 

http://vancouverdine.com/carderos0experience.aspx

 

http://liftbarandgrill.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks. Cardero's is already on the short list and may win mainly due to proximity! I'll check out the Lift also - may decide to splurge a bit.

 

Appreciate your help.

Cheryl

[Putterdude]

I'll throw out another...if the weather is nice you may care to stroll down Denman St. to the Boathouse on English Bay (wonderful sunsets).

 

http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/

[mr green]

I seldom go to Vancouver now, except to cruise, and I never knew that Vancouver now has a 'Boathouse'. In the distant past my wife and I used to enjoy eating there, at other venues.

 

john

[CMcG]

I'll throw out another...if the weather is nice you may care to stroll down Denman St. to the Boathouse on English Bay (wonderful sunsets).

 

http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/

 

That would be wonderful if we can stay up that late!

 

We'll have to see how much energy we have after getting up at 4am to get ready and get to the Orlando airport - I'll probably want to be in bed by 6pm Vancouver time!

[ell52]

That would be wonderful if we can stay up that late!

 

We'll have to see how much energy we have after getting up at 4am to get ready and get to the Orlando airport - I'll probably want to be in bed by 6pm Vancouver time!

If you decide to walk over that way, you could get your Chinese food at Hon's Wun Tun on Robson. Very inexpensive, tasty noodles and homestyle cooking:

 

http://www.hons.ca/hons_english.htm

[Lyn2005]

We will be spending a few days on Vancouver Island then want to take a ferry from Nanaimo after dropping off our rental car and head to our hotel in downtown Vancouver to spend the night prior to our cruise. I am a bit confused on which ferry to take. There is a ferry terminal both north and south of Nanaimo so I wasn't sure which was the correct one.

 

Also found a link to Harbour Lynx which operates a passenger-only express island ferry between Nanaimo on Central Vancouver Island and Vancouver Downtown. I'm wondering if this sounds more like what we should be taking since we will won't have a vehicle.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Putterdude]

The Harbour Lynx has been defunct for a number of years now, this must be an old link that you found.

From Nanaimo to Downtown Vancouver your best bet is to take the ferry from the north terminal (Departure Bay) to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. From there you can take a bus into downtown Vancouver or grab a cab. A cab fare will likely run you about $50, transit $3.75 pp. Transit runs frequent direct buses into the city with only a couple of stops in West Vancouver and then downtown, the bus trip is about 40 mins.

[Lyn2005]

Thanks so much! Yes I just realized that ferry is defunct, too bad.

[Lyn2005]

One quick question, are Tsawwassan and Departure Bay the same place?