Doing Vancouver with a broken ankle

[WildEyed]

We are going to Alaska next week (yay!) and will be in Vancouver for 4 days ahead of time to explore that city. Unfortunately I just broke my ankle and some of the plans we have made for getting around Vancouver, and to and from the port, will need to change. If anyone has any advice on the situations below, please feel free to share!

We are staying at a hotel near Stanley Park for 4 nights. We will have to take a car service to the port and as we have 5 people a regular taxi won't work. Can anyone recommend a good car service that we can arrange in advance?

At the end of the cruise, we were going to walk to the SkyTrain after disembarking and get to the airport that way. I can walk with crutches and might have some sort of scooter thing but would it be better to just order another car service in advance, and get a ride? Again with the 5 people I'm worried about getting a regular taxi. Our flight (domestic, we are Canadian) leaves at 12:30 so I want to be sure to get to the airport early enough. We are doing walk-off with our own luggage also, to save time (our kids are old enough to help with luggage).

Can anyone recommend some activities in Vancouver that would be fun for 3 elementary school kids but do-able for their mother on crutches? We are normally super active people so I'm having a hard time figuring out how to make this work! There is no way I'm going on the Capilano suspension bridge or climbing Grouse Mountain now.....

Is public transit ok in Vancouver - or should we seriously consider renting a vehicle? We didn't really want to drive around downtown Vancouver over a busy summer weekend and then have to somehow return it before the cruise. I always use public transit at home.

I know there aren't any right answers but interested in people's opinions, for example if you have experienced mobility issues in Vancouver, or fun things to do that work for varying abilities.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Public transportation in Vancouver is great, but hobbling up and down the stairs of a bus would be a challenge.

Good call on avoiding Capilano Bridge.

 

[mmdreamer]

I live in Vancouver and we take cabs quite regularly to the airport. Most cabs only seat 4 passengers, even the vans only seat 4 as the back seat is removed to hold a wheelchair. The Skytrain is very accessible, all stations have elevators and it is a level entry from the platform to the train. Almost all of the busses are wheelchair accessible. Many are called kneeling busses as the front end can be lowered so the step up is very small, or it will have a wheelchair ramp. You shouldn't have a problem getting around on public transit. To get to the port, I would just ask the conceierge at your hotel to recommend someone. You shouldn't need to book it too far in advance. Worse case, you could just take 2'cabs.

Grouse mountain and Capilano would be very difficult with crutches! You could try a hop on hop off bus around the city. Stanley Park and Granville Island should be fairly easy for you to get around and have enough fun stuff for the kids.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Stanley Park, Van Duesen Gardens, the public market. That would keep me occupied for 3 days. Stanley Park is huge, and just the aquarium could take half a day.

Day trip to Victoria, maybe for afternoon tea, and the Royal BC museum. Although you probably don't want ferry time if going on a cruise.

I don't know if I'd stay near Stanley Park. I'd probably stay more central to downtown, in the thick of things, But if Stanley Park is a chief interest, maybe that would work out fine.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Also, I have done Vancouver with and without a car, transit is great, but without involves a lot of walking. Parking rarely is a problem, so I would rent a car with your ankle.

 

[dcassetta]

I would definitely recommend booking a car service at both ends of your cruise, just to make things easier on yourself. And as far as getting around, have you considered at all renting a wheelchair or an ECV? Long touring days around Vancouver might be more pleasant if you didn't have to rely just on crutches.

 

[Quellman]

You could always take 2 taxi cabs? Or you and a guest could take a taxi to the sky train with the luggage, and then wait for the rest of your party. Those are just two examples if you don't want to look for a car hire for 5. I would also think that there are some taxi vans around as well. Just remember that you need to fit your luggage too!

 

[dvcdisney]

We've been to Vancouver many times and one of them was to take a DCL Alaskan cruise. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Vancouver which is directly attached to the cruise port of the our cruise. It may be too late for you to get a room there, but this help us a lot by being there already...especially since they picked up our luggage from our room and delivered it to the ship.

I'm not sure I can be of help since Vancouver is all about hiking, ziplining and mountains for my family and I. We spend quite a bit time doing outdoor activities with a lot of walking and climbing. I will admit that Stanley Park is one of my favourite places and it's a nice walk or jog or bike around. You can go at your own pace. There isn't much elevation unless you go further into the centre of the park. Also, we did go to Whistler, but you can choose to spend the time at the bottom and browse through shops instead of going up the mountain.

There are other parks there as well, but we did not have time to go to them since our priority was the ziplining from mountain to mountain which was one of the best experiences we had.

Since you only have a few days, I would stick with Stanley Park and spend time leisurely walking. You may even be lucky enough to spot a whale or cute little otters. I'm sure your little ones would love that.

 

[elvispursley]

To chime in on "getting around", depending on where your fracture is and your weight-bearing restrictions, you might consider getting a knee scooter. Your arms won't get as fatigued and you won't risk having someone bump into your crutches in crowded places, potentially knocking you off-balance and causing a fall. They're small enough that you could store them in your room on the ship and should fold up easily to put in a trunk (although depending on number of people and amount of luggage, may end up needing 2 cabs if that's how your are getting to the port). As a therapist, I just want to mention that if you keep your crutches, just make sure they are properly sized to you. They should never be up into your arm pits but sit about 4 finger-widths below when the truth is standing upright next to your arm pit. If not, it can cause pain and numbness (most common issues). Also, make sure to elevate your foot as much as you can when sitting (another plus for having the knee scooter--built-in place to put your foot up when sitting down somewhere). Good luck!!