The skyline of Vancouver with it's big buildings along the waterfront.
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No need to spend endless hours doing Google searches and getting “Analysis Paralysis”. I’ve done the research so you can just choose the activities you want to build your Vancouver Itinerary!


Whether you’re visiting for 2 days, 3 days, 4 days or more, there are SO many things to do in Vancouver, BC. This city truly has something for everyone, whether you’re into food, craft beers, nature and hiking, beaches, history, museums and more. The Vancouver Itinerary options are truly endless.

This Build-Your-Own Vancouver Itinerary covers 4 different areas of the city where you could spend a whole day exploring, plus some options that cover multiple areas.

Mix and match to build your own itinerary for Vancouver, based on your interests and the number of days you will be here. I also recommended some awesome tours in RED to make the most of your time.

This is a very Long guide, but it covers everything you need to know to plan an awesome trip to Vancouver! Use the Table of Contents below to help you narrow it down.

Affiliate disclaimer telling readers that if they click on any of the red links on my website, I may receive a small bit of compensation at no additional cost to them.

Downtown Vancouver Itinerary

The heart of the city is the central business district of downtown Vancouver. Full of hotels, restaurants, museums and breweries, the entire area is very walkable, so you don’t need a car if you stay or visit down here. And I was impressed by how clean the city was!

Our friend Marcia led us on a guided walking tour of her hometown. You could spend a whole day exploring if you take some tours suggested below, visit some museums and eat a good meal. Or you could do it more quickly in a half day, then visit Stanley Park or Granville Island for the rest of the day. Here’s the route we covered:

Map showing a walking path through downtown Vancouver, VC with spots identified to stop and visit.

Canada Place

Canada Place is a large cruise port on the waterfront. Many Alaskan Cruises start and end here in Vancouver. It’s so fun to see the big ships and dream about a Bucket List voyage to Alaska, or maybe to Asia? And the people-watching is fantastic. Located at 999 Canada Place.

The white peaks at Canada Place resemble sails as this is the cruise ship port in Vancouver, BC

There are sculptures throughout the area and artists creating art right in front of you.

An artist paints a enormous mural on a large sheet of white paper on the ground near the water at Canada Place in Downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver Lookout

Take in 360 degree panoramic views of the entire city when you travel up to the observation tower at the Vancouver Lookout. Views include Fraser Valley to the east, the Gulf Islands to the west, Mount Baker to the south, and the North Shore Mountains. It’s such a gorgeous area – I can’t get enough of the views. Located at 555 West Hastings Street.

A disc-shaped observation tower perches on top of a 20 story office building. This is the Vancouver Lookout in Downtown Vancouver.

PureBread Bakery + Coffee

Marcia introduced us to her favorite Bakery in town – the PureBread Bakery. They have several locations in the city – the one we stopped was at 159 West Hastings Street. Mouthwatering aromas and a visual smorgasbord to take in. Marcia said that earlier in the morning, the shelves behind the server would also have been packed full with breads and pastries. Come check out these delectable treats!

The shelves in this shop are filled with yummy breads, pastries, cookies and treats. The shop is called Pure Bread Bakery and it's a "must do" on your Vancouver Itinerary!

Gastown

Gastown is a popular area full of restaurants, pubs and shopping opportunities. The star of the show here is the Gassy Jack, a steam clock on the sidewalk which puts on a show every 15 minutes. It’s a great place to buy souvenirs and people watch too.

People walk along cobblestone sidewalks in a Pedestrian zone called Gastown - it's a popular stop on a Vancouver Itinerary.
Pedestrian Zone in Gastown
A large steam clock spews smoke out of it's top while tourists take photos and videos.
Click to watch Gassy Jack!

We had lunch at the Steamworks Brew Pub with views of the water and delicious food. It was pricey, but pretty much everything in Canada is expensive. Some of us (who shall remain nameless) also got treats at the famous Lee’s Donut Shop, a popular Vancouver tradition, right next to Gassy Jack. Located at 199 Water Street, Vancouver, V6B 1A7.

A corner business called Lee's Donuts features bright yellow and green signage, inviting patrons to come in for a taste.
Bill in his pink shirt takes a big bite out of his yummy donut.

Several walking food tours are offered in the Gastown area. The highly-recommended Elite Walking Food Tour combines a historic tour with a culinary experience.

Another fun evening tour is the Vancouver Lost Souls of Gastown Walking Tour, sharing the rough and rowdy history on a tour of Gastown’s most iconic spots. Or a Gastown Pub Crawl is another great way to explore Gastown.

Chinatown

Chinatown was once a big hub of commerce in downtown Vancouver and now it’s a popular entertainment district with restaurants and pubs.

My favorite spot is the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden, a beautiful oasis of greenery, stunning pavilions and enchanting pathways in the middle of the city where you can relax and reflect. Located at 578 Carrall Street. Get your tickets here.

A large gate marks the entrance to Chinatown in downtown Vancouver.
Entrance Gate to Chinatown

Or take “A Wok Around Chinatown: Culinary and Cultural Walking Tour” to get a guided tour to the history and fantastic foods of the area, led by a local Chef.

Science World

The Science World museum is a great place to visit if you have kids or grandkids traveling with you, or maybe on a rainy day. Otherwise, it’s a great photo op of a cool building from across False Creek! Located at 1455 Quebec Street.

A silver ball represents the Science Museum in Vancouver, located on the shores of False Creek.

False Creek

The False Creek area in the southern part of downtown is where the Winter Olympics Athletes Village was housed in 2010. The surrounding area is all built up now with towering skyscrapers, apartments and restaurants. It’s also a popular place to catch the water ferries to Granville Island.

We enjoyed a walk through Cooper’s Park (located at 1020 Marinaside Crescent) along False Creek with our friend Marcia, sitting on benches in the shade to watch the boats go by. And if we’d kept walking along False Creek to the west, we would have eventually been able to see Granville Island.

Two women stand in front of the waterway that is False Creek in downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver Public Library

Where else in the world can you find a Public Library that looks like the Coliseum in Rome? Located at 350 W Georgia Street.

A public library that looks like a Roman Coliseum!

Vancouver Art Gallery

Built in 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery has an array of permanent and rotating exhibits. It is world renowned for it’s innovation of visually appealing art galleries. Located at 750 Hornby Street.

A large building with banners hanging off of it, representing the different exhibits in the Vancouver Art Gallery, and an interesting cobblestone pattern of pavers on the plaza in front of it.

Seawall Water Stroll

We finished up our walking tour back along the waterfront, taking a stroll along the Seawall located at 1199 West Cordova Street. From here we could see Stanley Park and the Vancouver Harbor, plus the marinas and cruise port. It was the perfect ending to our explorations of downtown Vancouver.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have a friend like Marcia, check out Free Tour or Guru Walk for walking tours in different parts of Vancouver. At the end, tip the guide what you think they are worth, based on the info shared. It’s a great way to get an overview of the area.

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Greater Vancouver Itinerary

Just outside of Vancouver, there are so many fun things to explore! Here are some of our favorites:

Queen Elizabeth Park

Located on Little Mountain in East Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Park offers great views of the city and the surrounding mountains, plus beautiful gardens, Pitch and Putt Golf, tons of sports activities and loads of hiking trails. We thought we just “stop by” and 4 hours later, we were still there exploring it. Learn more about the Best 8 stops at Queen Elizabeth Park. Located at 4600 Cambie Street, Vancouver BC V5Y 2M4

Kari and Bill pose in front of a low stone wall with the city and trees in the background.

The Park also home to the Bloedel Conservatory, one of the most affordable activities in the Vancouver area (under $10 USD). Home to dozens of exotic birds like my favorite toucans, vibrant koi fish and hundreds of tropical plants.

A metal and glass domed building is the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver, BC.

VanDusen Botanical Garden

Check out the Hedge Maze at the VanDusen Botanical Garden and see if you can find your way out! This is another affordable place to stop in Vancouver and you could spend hours touring the world-themed gardens and water features for under $10 USD.

There are also two dining establishments onsite – the Shaughnessy Restaurant and the Truffles Garden Cafe. Located at 5251 Oak Street, Vancouver BC V6M 4H1

Granville Island

Granville Island is a neighborhood adjacent to Downtown Vancouver by ferry. Besides the huge and famous Public Market, there are other fun areas to explore (and to EAT!). Hundreds of restaurants, galleries, shops and outdoor parks and spaces, all waiting to be discovered.

You could easily spend an entire day and evening here. See our recommendations for 10 best places to visit on Granville Island and how to take the ferry there.

Kitsilano Beach

Offering panoramic views of downtown Vancouver, the Burrard Inlet and the North Shore Mountains, the popular Kitsilano Beach is a favorite of locals and visitors alike. Known as “Kits” by the locals, the area offers a wide range of activities such as beach volleyball, pickup basketball games, a large playground and of course, swimming and sunbathing opportunities.

Nearby 4th Street is a hip, trendy area full of terrific cafes and shopping. It’s also fun to stroll along the waterfront and so some great people-watching.

Museum of Anthropology at UBC

The Museum of Anthropology offers a unique blend of cultural information about the Indigenous People, First Nations History and Pacific Northwest artwork. It’s home is on the University Endowment Lands, a green space protected from development by the city of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia. Located at 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z2

Pacific Spirit Regional Park

Last up is Pacific Spirit Regional Park, just a bit farther along the coastline from MOA. At 2100 acres, it surrounds the UBC campus and offers almost 50 miles of walking and hiking trails, plus amazing coastal views of the Georgia Strait. It even includes Wreck Beach, Vancouver’s only “clothing optional” beach!

A view out over the Georgia Strait at low tide.

The Foreshore Trail is well known for finding seabirds and shorebirds. Plenty of parking or easily accessible by public transit. Roads running through the park include Marine Drive, 16th Avenue West, University Blvd and Chancellor Blvd. The Park Center is located on West 16th Avenue.

A map showing the area that is included in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, located just outside of Vancouver BC.

North of Vancouver Itinerary

If you head north out of Vancouver, you find a wealth of beautiful mountain scenery, stunning waterfalls and so much more. For Nature Lovers, this is the direction to head!

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

The #2 most popular activity for Vancouver visitors (after Stanley Park), the Capilano Suspension Bridge offers the thrill of walking 460 feet across a wide open canyon, suspended high above the river, surrounded by dramatic scenery. After that, there are a ton of other activities available including a Cliff Walk for adrenaline seekers, hike through the rainforest canopy at Treetops Adventures, or seeing the birds of Raptor’s Ridge.

Kari’s Travel Tip: Capilano is a popular excursion for cruisers on Port Days so it can get extra crowded, even sell out. Here’s a website where you can check to see how many ships are in port on any given day. So if you have flexibility, try to choose a day when there are fewer cruise ships in town.

Whether you drive yourself up or catch the free 15 minute shuttle from downtown Vancouver to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, it’s still recommended to buy your admission tickets in advance. Tickets are sold for a specific 1 hour window to enter, and discounts are given for Seniors age 65+ and for evening visits. The park is located at 3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver, BC V7R 4J1

There are also lots of tours available that combine several different activities in one day. The Grouse Mountain & Capilano Bridge Tour with Fish Hatchery is a popular full-day tour where you get to see even more of the stunning area north of Vancouver.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge Park

Less well known is the nearby FREE Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. None of the tour groups or cruise excursions go here so it tends to be less crowded and definitely more affordable.

A smaller suspension bridge at only 130 feet long, it is surrounded by dozens of beautiful hiking trails. Located at 3663 Park Rd, North Vancouver, BC V7J 3K2

I wrote a blog post comparing the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge with the Capilano Suspension Bridge so you can see the pros and cons of each experience.

Take a Gondola Ride up the Mountain

Many of the local ski resorts offer summertime opportunities to take a Gondola or Chairlift Ride up the mountain to get stunning panoramic views. These experiences also offer hiking, restaurants and other activities at the top.

  • Cypress Mountain offers a chairlift up to Cypress Provincial Park where you can take a scenic hike to viewpoints overlooking the Howe Sound. Located at 6000 Cypress Bowl Road, North Vancouver.
  • The Grouse Mountain Skyride has a gondola up to the top where you can find enough activities to fill a whole day. From Ranger talks to guided Eco tours and more, it’s a true mountain playground.

    Many locals and visitors challenge themselves to attempt the Grouse Grind – a tough uphill 1.5 mile hike with 2600 feet of elevation gain. You can record the time it takes you and compare it to others here.

    You can even meet Grinder and Coola, two large Grizzly Bears or listen to a ranger talk about the wildlife in the area. And if you want to bring your mountain bike up the chairlift, you can ride it back down! Located at 6400 Nancy Green Way, North Vancouver, BC
  • The Sea to Sky Gondola is about 45 minutes north of Vancouver in Squamish, BC. The drive to get there is along the beautiful Sea to Sky Highway, also known as Hwy 99. From the top, it offers amazing views of the mountains, as well as their own suspension bridge (in case you didn’t get to the ones in the city). Located at 36800 Highway 99, Squamish, BC.

Shannon Falls Provincial Park

Just before you get to the Sea to Sky Gondola on Hwy 99 is Shannon Falls Provincial Park. This free park offers easy access to the Shannon Falls, British Columbia’s 3rd tallest waterfall at 1100 feet. Look for signs along right side of the highway as you get close to Squamish.

Tantalus Lookout Roadside Viewpoint

After you pass through Squamish on Hwy 99, keep an eye out for the Tantalus Lookout Roadside Viewpoint on the right. The sign is quite small and you drive up a steep, dirt road. If the clouds cooperate, you can get stunning views of Mount Tantalus to the West.

On the day we went, the clouds were moody and churning. We sat on the rocks and ate our lunch here, waiting almost an hour for the clouds to clear. But we only got a few glimpses of the mountains.

Lots of heavy white clouds create opacity for the views of Mount Tantalus, just north of Vancouver, BC

Kari’s Travel Tip: There is another more established viewpoint called Tantalus Lookout on the west side of the highway. We stopped there on the way back, but I think the potential for views are better on the east side of the highway because it’s at a higher elevation.

Kari’s Travel Tip: Also note that the highway is divided here by a median. We had to drive quite aways north before we found a place to turn around and head back to Vancouver. So allow extra time for that if you’re not going all the way up to Whistler.

The Shipyards at Lonsdale Quay

In the evenings, the Shipyards Area at Lonsdale Quay in North Van is a fun place to have a drink or dinner with multiple restaurants to choose from and views of the water. On Friday nights during the summer, there is a popular Night Market with live music and multiple food vendors.

A few other areas north of Vancouver that we visited or that our friends recommended include:

  • Cypress Mountain Lookout on Cypress Bowl Road – no chairlift or gondola needed for free views of the city and the Burrard Inlet
  • Whytecliff Park on Marine Drive in West Van – great views of Horseshoe Bay, good bird-watching and a really nice picnic area. Google Maps says it also has a scuba diving site?
The White-crowned Sparrow is a light brown bird with dramatic black and white stripes on his head sits on a delicate tree branch.
  • Quarry Rock Hike – a very popular, moderately challenging hike in the community of Deep Cove. Lots of steps, but offering amazing views of the water. Those who have done it said it takes 1-3 hours to complete.

Stanley Park Itinerary

The #1 most popular activity in Vancouver is exploring nearby Stanley Park. We spent a whole day here, but you could also hit the highlights in a couple of hours.

Adjacent to downtown Vancouver on an enormous peninsula, Stanley Park features miles of walking trails and a paved seawall popular for walking, biking and rollerblading. The Vancouver Aquarium is located here plus a close-up area of gigantic totem poles.

Renting a bike is a popular way to see the park. Or you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride if you’re short on time. Read more about all our Stanley Park itinerary recommendations, including how to get around, where to park, top spots to hit and more!

Other Fun Things to Do in Vancouver

For some options that cover unique interests and hobbies, check out these highly-rated tours:

Photography Tour of Vancouver Highlights

Don’t waste your time trying to figure out all the best photo spots in Vancouver – Go with a professional guide who will show them all to you, including some secret spots that most people miss.

This full-day tour covers a lot of the best spots in Vancouver and is sure to give you elevated photos and lasting memories. I wish I had known about this one when we were there – my friend recommended it after we left!

Whale Watching Adventure Aboard a Catamaran

This 5 hour Whale Watching Cruise takes you searching for whales, eagles, sea lions and other wildlife native to the area. Board a comfortable catamaran at Granville Island and set out for amazing scenery along the coast and wildlife sightings. Depending on the time of year, you might get to see Orcas or Humpback whales!

Two Orca whale fins show in the ocean waters. Whale watching is a fun activity that should be part of everyone's Vancouver itinerary.
Orcas!

This same company also offers a Sunset Whale Watching Cruise if that fits your schedule better.

Snorkel, Swim and Kayak with Seals Adventure: 

We have snorkeled all over the world and never knew that Vancouver was also a spot for that. This highly-rated adventure combines stunning vistas with the opportunity to kayak, snorkel and swim with the Harbor Seals. How cool is that?

Vancouver Behind-the-Scenes Brewery Tour

This popular Behind-the-Scenes Brewery Tour takes you to the best 3 breweries and pubs in the area with access to places that most people never get to experience.

Continuing on the Food and Beverage theme, here’s a Fraser Valley Wine Tour or the Delicious Donut Adventure & Walking Food Tour, sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

OR

Still looking for something different? Here are all of the best rated tours available for your Vancouver Itinerary.

Free Things to Do In Vancouver

When we travel, Bill and I are always looking for free things to do to stretch our travel budget farther! And while in general, traveling in Canada is quite expensive, Vancouver delivers a ton of options for things to do at no cost.

Take a Free Walking Tour

As mentioned above, a free walking tour is a fantastic way to get an overview of a new city. Check out Guru Walk or Free Tour for several different free walking tours in various parts of Vancouver. At the end, tip the guide how much you think they are worth based on the job they did. It’s a great way to get an overview of the area from a local.

Visit one of the Wonderful Vancouver Parks

We have visited parks all over the world and Vancouver has one of the best FREE park systems we’ve seen. Clean, well maintained and with lots of benches = my favorite kind of park.

You usually have to pay for parking (and yes, they monitor it closely in the City of Vancouver), but admission to the park is always fee.

Check out our favorites: Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Deer Lake Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Pitt Meadows Lake, Whytecliff Park and Pacific Spirit Regional Park

Go visit Shannon Falls

About an hour north of Vancouver, Shannon Falls is free to visit and free to park. Don’t miss your chance to check out this spectacular waterfall.

Cross the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

The free alternative to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, hiking the trails around Lynn Canyon is a amazing way to spend an afternoon. You have to pay to park, but compared to Capilano, it’s still a way cheaper suspension bridge.

Go Birdwatching to Find New Birds

If you’re a twitcher like me, going birding is a great way to get exercise, be outside in the fresh air and get a thrill when you discover a new bird for your Life List. Check out all the British Columbia birds that Bill and I discovered during our time in the Vancouver area!

Head to the Beach

Who would have thought that Vancouver would be famous for it’s beaches? Not me. But they do have quite a few pretty fantastic beaches that are frequented by both locals and visitors. Kitsilano Beach, English Bay Beach and Sunset Beach Park are among the best for swimming, sunbathing and playing beach volleyball.

Check out the Vancouver Public Library

If you need to get out of the heat for awhile or there is rain in the forecast, head over to the Vancouver Public library to explore and find a good book to read. My friend Sheila said that’s one of her top favorite places to just hang out in downtown Vancouver.

People Watch

Almost any place you go, it is fun to sit back and watch the world go by. You can try to guess where people are from, imagine stories about their careers or relationships. It’s also a good opportunity to appreciate that people from different backgrounds make up this interesting tapestry called life and value the diversity that brings us.

In my opinion, the best places to people watch are Granville Island, Stanley Park, Shipyards at Lonsdale Quay, Gastown and Canada Place.

Festivals and Celebrations

Vancouver and the surrounding areas play host to hundreds of festivals and celebrations throughout year. There is something for everyone and most are free to attend. See what’s happening during the month you plan to be in Vancouver.

Day Trips from Vancouver

When you’ve seen everything there is to see in the City, it’s time to add some day trips to your Vancouver Itinerary. Here are a few special ones to get you started!

Whistler

The ski Town of Whistler, located almost 2 hours north of Vancouver is a popular day trip destination. Site of the major ski events at the 2010 Olympics, there are tons of trails to explore for spectacular mountain views and all kinds of outdoor adventure activities.

One of the most popular things to do in the summer months is to take a gondola up the mountain at either the Blackbomb Resort or the Whistler Resort. If you really want the full experience, the Peak 2 Peak glass-bottomed Gondola connects the two mountaintops to each other.

Whistler also offers tons of adrenaline activities such as ziplining, bobsled adventures, and 4WD All Terrain Vehicles as well as guided fishing, wine tastings and miles and miles of hiking trails. See all the options available.

Kari’s Travel Tip: Make sure the weather is clear before you drive up there. If it’s cloudy or foggy, you won’t see too much from the top of the mountain at 7100 feet of elevation.

Bill visited the Whistler Mountain Peak on a previous trip and the views were amazing!

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens is near the top of many people’s Vancouver Itinerary wish lists. But it’s over on Vancouver Island, not on the mainland. So lots of people think they have to skip it.

Never fear, there a several ways to get there. This highly-recommended Butchart Gardens and Victoria Sightseeing Tour gives you a chance to see both the beautiful city of Victoria and the gorgeous Butchart Gardens in one combined (long) full-day trip. Don’t miss your chance to see either of these great spots – we enjoyed our time at both Victoria and the Gardens!

Pitt Meadows Lake

For those craving some water recreation or time in nature, head about an hour east of Vancouver to Pitt Meadows Lake. This beautiful area offers boating, paddling, hiking and bird-watching opportunities. Learn more about all the fun outdoor adventure things to do at Pitt Meadows Lake.

A blue-white fishing boat churns through the water at Pitt Lake as it leaves the boat launch area.

Great Food in Vancouver

We typically don’t recommend restaurants in the areas we travel to. But the Vancouver area has tons of ethnic restaurants with food and flavors from around the world. Even better, it has 72 Michelin starred restaurants! 72!! Check them out on the Michelin site.

My friend Sheri who lives there said they love the East Van area near Commercial and Main because of all the hip restaurants with great ethnic food, Michelin star restaurants, shops and cocktail bars. She also recommends the Kitsilano Beach area, saying “4th Street has great cafes and shopping. Danbo Ramen on 4th is so good!”

Vancouver Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Best Time to Visit Vancouver?

Summer has glorious weather and tons of outdoor activities. Because everyone is visiting, activities tend to be more crowded and lodging is harder (and more expensive) to find. I’ve visited Vancouver three times in the summer and it’s been amazing. Don’t miss the Celebration of Light, an impressive fireworks competition on English Bay.

Fall has amazing foliage in the trees as the colors turn to shades of gold, orange and red. It’s also cooler for hiking and outdoor activities. And there are tons of Fall Festivals for Halloween and the Autumn Harvest.

Winter has Skiing in the nearby mountains, and don’t miss the Hot Chocolate Festival in January – February. My friends who live in the city say the winter temperatures are moderate and any snow that falls in the city tends to melt quickly.

And Spring brings the Cherry Blossom trees from February to the end of April and even a Cherry Blossom Festival. The flower gardens are starting to bloom, adding a colorful lens to everything in Vancouver.

There really isn’t a bad time of year to come tackle your Vancouver Itinerary!

How Can I Get Around In Vancouver?

  • Public Transit – Bus and Sky Train – Vancouver has an excellent public transit system that can get you to many different parts of the city. Visit the Translink website or use the app to help you navigate. There are stations located all across Vancouver and Greater Vancouver.
  • Ferries – the ferries on False Creek are so much fun! Mostly used to get to Granville Island, there are two separate companies – Aquabus and The False Creek Ferry Company. You really can’t go wrong with either of them – same price, same stops.

  • Evo Car Share – the Vancouver Area has a very popular car share program called Evo. We saw them everywhere we went! For those who don’t want to rent a car, but want to travel a little farther out, this is an awesome option!

    You use the Evo app to reserve a car, pick it up at a location near you, use it for as long as you want, then return it to a designated “home zone” to check it back in. This option gives you great flexibility to go wherever you want to go!
  • Take a tour that picks you up at your hotel – if you are staying downtown Vancouver, most of the tour offerings (like those shown in red above) will offer hotel pick up and drop off.
  • Rental Car – Bill and I chose to rent a car for our 3 weeks in the Vancouver area because we like the flexibility it gives us.

    This was the first time we rented through Turo and it went very smoothly, at a lower cost. I would try it again if we need to rent a car. It’s currently available on the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

    Otherwise, check out RentalCars.com – In Vancouver, picking up your rental car at the airport is usually the cheapest way to go.
  • Uber or Lyft – if you have an account with Uber or Lyft, you can use it in Vancouver, no problem. We used Uber to get from the airport to where we picked up our Turo Car rental, and then back to the airport again.

How many days do I need in Vancouver?

As many as you can manage! We stayed a whole week (on this most recent trip) and we still didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do. I would say 3 full days absolute minimum, 4 or 5 days is even better.

Where should I stay in Vancouver?

First of all, lodging in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island is very expensive. We paid a lot more per night than our usual target of $100 USD per night. And we had to go quite aways out of the city to find affordable lodging.

Downtown Vancouver is where the vast majority of the hotels are located. It’s great from a visitor perspective because you have easy access to all the tours, shuttles and a great public transportation system.

Nearby, some hip and trendy neighborhoods to consider would be North Vancouver (lots of our travel friends prefer to stay there), Kitsilano Beach area (easy access to Granville Island) or the Yaletown neighborhood.

Note that Airbnbs are strictly limited within the city of Vancouver and there are only 4 high-rise condo buildings that are still allowed to have Airbnb Rentals.

I had to go pretty far out from the city to find lodging under $200/night. We ended up staying out in Burnaby, about 30 minutes east of downtown, in a basement Airbnb. It was fine because we had a rental car and many of the places we wanted to go were away from downtown anyway.

More Info on Canada

Here are some more posts about Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver, including some that I’m still working on. If you’d like to receive emails when I’ve posted new content to the site, please complete the short form above.

Vancouver:

Vancouver Island:

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