Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[scottbee]

We plan to rent a car at the airport and drive over to Victoria (ferry actually) for a day or two and then over to the Olympic Peninsula for another day or two. Then drive back to Vancouver for the cruise.

 

Do any of the companies do airport pickup and cruise terminal dropoff without the extra fees?

 

Dave

 

From Port Angeles to Vancouver is a longish drive (down to Tacoma, across the bridge and back up the east side of the sound. Probably 6-7 hours. If you really want to see the Olympic Penisula and Victoria prior to your cruise, you'd be better off flying into Seattle, drive to Port Angeles, ferry to Victoria, then to Vancouver.

 

Also, with a car in the summer waits for the ferries can be long. On the Port Angeles/Victoria ferry, you need to be there 90 minutes prior to departure just for USDHS security reasons, so being at the ferry 3-4 hours in advance isn't uncommon.

 

Is there a reason you're flying into Vancouver in the 1st place? Flying into YYJ/Victoria (or YCD/Nanaimo or YQQ/Comox if you want to see other than the very southern tip of the island) would make more sense, rather than renting a car in Vancouver and immediately taking to the island.

[Putterdude]

We plan to rent a car at the airport and drive over to Victoria (ferry actually) for a day or two and then over to the Olympic Peninsula for another day or two. Then drive back to Vancouver for the cruise.

 

Do any of the companies do airport pickup and cruise terminal dropoff without the extra fees?

 

Dave

 

There should not be a drop charge for a car rented at YVR and dropped at a downtown Vancouver location, although one can never be sure of Enterprise. National has a location at Canada Place (Pan Pacific hotel) and many others have locations from which you can walk to Canada Place or they will shuttle you...you really need to make some calls.

[redlady62]

Good morning! I was wondering if there is a web cam set up for the Canada Place pier? Have family friends sailing out in May on an Alaskan cruise would like to "wave" to them as they start their journey.....taking into account that BC is 3 hours behind ON, I should remember that sail away time is 'local' :-)

 

Thank you for your time, Susan M

[Putterdude]

Good morning! I was wondering if there is a web cam set up for the Canada Place pier? Have family friends sailing out in May on an Alaskan cruise would like to "wave" to them as they start their journey.....taking into account that BC is 3 hours behind ON, I should remember that sail away time is 'local' :-)

 

Thank you for your time, Susan M

 

There used to be an excellent one overlooking Canada Place but it ceased operation a couple of years ago. Here are links to two but they are not as good as the earlier one.

 

http://www.northvancouver.com/webcams/cruisecam/

 

http://www.westinbayshore.com/cam/

[dnl_in_Illinois]

We plan to take the SkyTrain from the Vancouver airport to the waterfront exit at Granville St. Since we arrive after 6:30pm I understand we can buy discounted or off-prime hour tickets.

 

My question is whether a Day Pass would be useful to us? The way I read the expiration time for the Day Pass it appears that it will expire at midnight on the day of purchase. From the SkyTrain website:

 

>>A DayPass provides unlimited transit use on all buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus for one day from the start of the first transit service to the end of the service day.<<

 

Am I correct, does the DayPass end at midnight on the day purchased OR is it good for 24 hours? I would pay up for the DayPass if I thought we could use the pass on the day following our arrival.

[Putterdude]

You will be taking the train to Waterfront Station then leaving the station via the Granville St. exit. Any day pass will expire per the transit wording it is not a 24 hour pass. If you have plans to use transit in the evening then the pass will have some value to you otherwise just pay the discounted fare which from YVR station will be $7.75.

[redlady62]

Thanks for the links Putterdude!

[dnl_in_Illinois]

You will be taking the train to Waterfront Station then leaving the station via the Granville St. exit. Any day pass will expire per the transit wording it is not a 24 hour pass. If you have plans to use transit in the evening then the pass will have some value to you otherwise just pay the discounted fare which from YVR station will be $7.75.

 

Thanks much. You have been very helpful. We will buy the discounted fare.

[WeRockChalkKU]

Am I remembering correctly that there is someplace at YVR that you can purchase Canada Line tickets at YVR and avoid the additional $5 fee for originating at YVR? Was it at a shop? If so where is it located from the arrival area for US passengers? Is it a long way out of our way? Or is it even worth it to save the $5 per ticket? Thanks for any info.

[Putterdude]

Am I remembering correctly that there is someplace at YVR that you can purchase Canada Line tickets at YVR and avoid the additional $5 fee for originating at YVR? Was it at a shop? If so where is it located from the arrival area for US passengers? Is it a long way out of our way? Or is it even worth it to save the $5 per ticket? Thanks for any info.

You remember correctly. A book of 10 FareSaver tickets may be purchased at both the 7-11 and the Pharmasave which are located in the domestic portion of YVR and they will save you the YVR add-on fee of $5. However the add-on is only paid on the YVR to Vancouver leg, not on the return. So if there is only one or two of you and you do not intend to use transit other than that....then there is no economy in purchasing the ticket books....unless of course you want them for a scrapbook.

[WeRockChalkKU]

You remember correctly. A book of 10 FareSaver tickets may be purchased at both the 7-11 and the Pharmasave which are located in the domestic portion of YVR and they will save you the YVR add-on fee of $5. However the add-on is only paid on the YVR to Vancouver leg, not on the return. So if there is only one or two of you and you do not intend to use transit other than that....then there is no economy in purchasing the ticket books....unless of course you want them for a scrapbook.

 

Thanks for your response. If we did purchase a ticket book can two of us share the same book? And if we had tickets left over couldn't we just give the remaining tickets to someone else? Appreciate everyone's helpfulness with all of this.

 

Also, does the 7-11 and Pharmasave allow you to use a credit card to purchase this or will we need Canadian money?

Edited April 21, 2013 by beachdreaming
typo

[scottbee]

Thanks for your response. If we did purchase a ticket book can two of us share the same book? And if we had tickets left over couldn't we just give the remaining tickets to someone else? Appreciate everyone's helpfulness with all of this.

 

Also, does the 7-11 and Pharmasave allow you to use a credit card to purchase this or will we need Canadian money?

 

Yes, two people can share the same book, it's just a book of 10 tear-out tickets, just remember to validate them on the platform (the machines are silver boxes you stick the ticket into and it stamps it). From the airport you need two zone ($31.50 for 10) tickets (or one zone $19/10 if you're only doing this during the evening or weekends), vs the $9 ($7.75 eve/wkend)/ea you'd pay on the platform. They can also be used on all buses, Seabus and Skytrain lines, so if for instance you're heading to Grouse Mt, or Capilano Suspension bridge, a 2-zone ticket will get you there too; it's a very effective way of getting around town.

 

The 7-11 and the Pharmasave will take debit, credit and even US$, so it's an easy purchase. The 7-11 is probably the easiest to find, it's located directly below the DOMESTIC luggage area. exit onto the street from the intl arrivals area, turn right, and walk about 100 yards and turn right again to re-enter the airport, and then go down one level.

[martincath]

Thanks for your response. If we did purchase a ticket book can two of us share the same book? And if we had tickets left over couldn't we just give the remaining tickets to someone else? Appreciate everyone's helpfulness with all of this.

 

Also, does the 7-11 and Pharmasave allow you to use a credit card to purchase this or will we need Canadian money?

Didn't see SB's reply when typing mine - his was more expansive so deleted!

Edited April 21, 2013 by martincath

[WeRockChalkKU]

Thanks for the quick responses about the transit ticket books. Just checked out the seabus schedule and maybe we could take it over to Lonsdale Quay for a look around and a meal. Looks interesting. Any one have favorite food places there? thanks

Edited April 21, 2013 by beachdreaming
Typo

[vbmom87]

This is the first time I am reading about the Fare Saver Tickets. Can you help me decide if these would be worthwhile for my DD and SIL?

 

They are arriving in Vancouver on the evening of June 10. They will head to their hotel (Best Western Downtown). They have the full day June 11 in Vancouver. They board their cruise ship on June 12. They return from their cruise on June 19 and have the full day again in Vancouver. They fly home on June 20. I know they want to go to Stanley Park and will head to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge if the weather is good. However, I read you can get free transportation there anyway. If they have the time they will probably head to Granville Isand. Does it seem like a good idea for them to take advantage of the Fare Saver Tickets?

[scottbee]

This is the first time I am reading about the Fare Saver Tickets. Can you help me decide if these would be worthwhile for my DD and SIL?

 

They are arriving in Vancouver on the evening of June 10. They will head to their hotel (Best Western Downtown). They have the full day June 11 in Vancouver. They board their cruise ship on June 12. They return from their cruise on June 19 and have the full day again in Vancouver. They fly home on June 20. I know they want to go to Stanley Park and will head to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge if the weather is good. However, I read you can get free transportation there anyway. If they have the time they will probably head to Granville Isand. Does it seem like a good idea for them to take advantage of the Fare Saver Tickets?

 

Absolutely worthwhile. For $31.50 (less than the cost of a taxi from the airport to downtown) they can cover pretty much all of their Vancouver transport while in town. And while the shuttle does go as far as Capilano, it doesn't go as far as Grouse Mt, and then only goes to capilano once per hour. Technically you could even buy the cheaper 1-zone tickets and buy add-fares at the machines when you do need to travel more than one zone (during the day, it's all one zone evenings/weekends), but we're only talking a $10 difference to start with.

[Putterdude]

This is the first time I am reading about the Fare Saver Tickets. Can you help me decide if these would be worthwhile for my DD and SIL?

 

They are arriving in Vancouver on the evening of June 10. They will head to their hotel (Best Western Downtown). They have the full day June 11 in Vancouver. They board their cruise ship on June 12. They return from their cruise on June 19 and have the full day again in Vancouver. They fly home on June 20. I know they want to go to Stanley Park and will head to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge if the weather is good. However, I read you can get free transportation there anyway. If they have the time they will probably head to Granville Isand. Does it seem like a good idea for them to take advantage of the Fare Saver Tickets?

 

It really depends, if they are going to only use transit to go to and from YVR then no they make no sense. However if in addition to that they intend to use transit to go to and from Stanley Park then are $5.50 ahead and have two tickets left to go to Granville Is. and then pay the $2.75 pp cash fare back. Yes, both the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain offer free shuttle service to and from convenient locations in the downtown area.

[Putterdude]

Thanks for the quick responses about the transit ticket books. Just checked out the seabus schedule and maybe we could take it over to Lonsdale Quay for a look around and a meal. Looks interesting. Any one have favorite food places there? thanks

 

A trip across the harbour and back is always fun, however I should tell you in all fairness that Lonsdale Quay not of the same magnitude of Granville Island. That said here are some restaurants in the vicinity of the Quay that you may enjoy:

 

 

Fishworks http://www.fishworks.ca/

 

Gutso di Quattro http://www.quattrorestaurants.com/

 

Pasparos Taverna http://www.pasparos.com/index.htm

 

Pier 7 http://pierseven.ca/team/

[cruiserjanet]

Is Granville Island very far from Canada Place? We would like to walk there if it's doable. I mapped it out as far as directions are concerned and it said roughly 2 miles (which is not very far) but I wanted to check with those in the know. Also, any restaurants any of you can recommend on Granville Island?

[Putterdude]

That would be correct, about 2 miles. You can take one of the ferry services back if you wish which cuts the need of walking over the bridge or take transit.

As to restaurants, Bridges and the Dockside have always been a hit with us. Here is a link to Granville Is. restaurants:

 

http://granvilleisland.com/directory-type/directory-type/dining/restaurants-pubs

[MilliesMom]

Watching Guy tonight on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. They are a restaurant in Vancouver called Peaceful Restaurant (Asian food - pot stickers & noodles).

 

The noodles are hand pulled (they showed how they made them ... WOW). Authentic Chinese recipes. Another specialty is pan fried dumplings.

 

http://youtu.be/0NLmP5X8sf8

Video link if anyone would like to see that segment of the show.

 

Trip Advisor: http://www.yelp.com/biz/peaceful-restaurant-vancouver

Website: http://www.peacefulrestaurant.com/

 

Anyone ever been there? Any thoughts? How far from Canada Place?

Edited April 23, 2013 by MilliesMom

[scottbee]

Watching Guy tonight on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. They are a restaurant in Vancouver called Peaceful Restaurant (Asian food - pot stickers & noodles).

 

The noodles are hand pulled (they showed how they made them ... WOW). Authentic Chinese recipes. Another specialty is pan fried dumplings.

 

http://youtu.be/0NLmP5X8sf8

Video link if anyone would like to see that segment of the show.

 

Trip Advisor: http://www.yelp.com/biz/peaceful-restaurant-vancouver

Website: http://www.peacefulrestaurant.com/

 

Anyone ever been there? Any thoughts? How far from Canada Place?

 

It's excellent. From Canada Place (or the airport) take Canada Line Skytrain to the "Broadway-City Hall" station (4 stops form downtown). Exit Skytrain, turn left out the station, cross cambie at the light and it's 1/4 block ahead on your left.

[MilliesMom]

It's excellent. From Canada Place (or the airport) take Canada Line Skytrain to the "Broadway-City Hall" station (4 stops form downtown). Exit Skytrain, turn left out the station, cross cambie at the light and it's 1/4 block ahead on your left.

 

Thank you.

[Kenswing]

Is there anyplace close to the Westin Bayshore that you'd recommend for dinner?

 

Not looking for anything fancy or formal, just good eats..

[Urban trekker]

White spot restaurant is across Georgia St from the Bayshore. http://www.whitespot.ca - it's being around since 1928 and is a favorite to locals and tourists alike.

 

For something a little more upscale - more price wise than anything else there is Cardero's http://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos

which is basically next door to the east of the hotel. It is a lively place and I will be there again in May when friends from California are in town pre-cruise and want to go there for the third time.

 

Hope this helps and enjoy your visit.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Edited April 23, 2013 by Urban trekker