Vancouver - Transportation & Things to Do

[Kwami]

Hello,

We're thinking about a cruise to Alaska this summer. We've never been to Vancouver. I've looked around a bit, and I've observed that:

1. There's a convenient train from the airport to the cruise terminal area.
2. Public transportation is otherwise not great.
3. Most of the attractions seem to be in places that the limited trains and rapid buses don't go.

We don't want to deal with a car rental, so we're looking for things to do that are accessible with public transportation. We'll be there for 1-2 full days before the cruise.

Any ideas?

 

[behappyJules]

Throughout the day, there is a bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park that leaves from where the cruise ship docks.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

The free bus also goes out to Grouse Mountain. Stanley park is within reasonable walking distance from the cruise terminal. They have an aquarium there to visit. We took a horse drawn trolley ride around the park.

Granville Island is also a fun place to go. You can take a taxi there.

 

[Tenkawa]

I hard disagree with points #2 and #3, but it depends on your comparison city. Coming from Europe, Asia, or New York, I can see your point. From Australia, NW, or the Americas, then I respectfully disagree.

Vancouver has an amazing transit system, comprising of trains, buses, and ferries. It is all connected together, which means you don't pay separate fares either, and most of the major things are very transit accessible. But the key is to know what you are looking for.

So lets start with this (Note: we refer to the rapid transit as "skytrain"):

The CANADA LINE train goes from the Airport to Downtown vancouver. It also goes to Richmond (a very asian centric area). Key areas are Richmond Center, Broadway/City Hall, Granville, and Waterfront.

The EXPO/Millenium line trains go from Waterfront to a lot of other areas of Vancouver. As a tourist, your key point is Metrotown (In Burnaby), which is a large mall complex, and Stadium/Chinatown, which is the closest to Chinatown.

Seabus goes from Waterfront (Notice a theme here) to the North Shore. Lonsdale Quay is a good spot there, and the trip is worthwhile to get in the harbour.

Almost every skytrain station is also a transit hub. This makes it great to get to a location then hop on a quick bus ride.


Key tourist things and how to get there:

Grouse Mountain / Capilano Suspension bridge: Both are on the North Shore, on the same stretch of Road. 2 options: Take the Seabus from Waterfront to Lonsdale Quay, then the 236 bus. Nice and easy, both Seabus and the 236 is norrmally every 15-30 minutes, and align pretty well. The other option is both run shuttles from just outside Canada Place (Beside Waterfront station) and include it in the cost of admission.

Stanley Park: Hop the #19 bus on Pender St. (between Waterfront and Granville)

Gastown: Steps from Waterfront Skytain Station

Granville Island: Take the #50 on Granville@Georgia st and it drops you off just outside.


Check https://translink.bc.ca for the transit site, and google maps will do all the heavy lifting for you.


Key crossover points:

-Waterfront: This has all of the downtown rapid transit lines, seabus, and several buses.
-Bridgeport Stn: Crossover point to Airport vs Richmond on Canada Line. Major bus loop for transit to ferries to Vancouver Island
-Granville@Georgia St: all the downtown rapid transit lines, key bus changeover for many directions
-Broadway/City Hall: Canada line (N-S) crossover with 99B rapid bus (Broadway corridor, E-W)
-Commercial/Broadway: End of Millenium line (E-W), crossing with Expo/Millenium line (E-W), end-point of 99B rapid bus (E-W)
-Columbia Station: Split of Expo/Millenium lines
-Lougheed Center: Millennium Line (E-W) / Evergreen line crossover (N-S)



I am a local, feel free to ask me questions. It helps if you can provide specifics about what kinds of things you want to see / ages of the party

 

[lilsonicfan]

Public transit within Vancouver itself, and some of its neighbouring cities (suburbs) is really quite good. So many places you can easily get to. I agree with Tenkawa as to those being the main attractions. Even as a local, I like the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

The Canada Line makes it insanely easy to get downtown from the airport, though there are also some good stops along the way.
- Aberdeen Station - two (or one big connected) Asian shopping malls; the food court is an attraction in itself here, tons of great food and also restaurants
- Vancouver City Centre - the penultimate stop when going to downtown - takes you right into the main shopping area of Vancouver, super close to the Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson St
- Waterfront - okay this is the last stop but from here you can get to the port/cruise terminal, Flyover Canada (same idea as Soarin' at DL and WDW), Olympic cauldron, etc

Renting a car is of course a viable option but if you plan to stay in Vancouver itself, or close by, you might find that parking is a hassle and is expensive. In the lot where I work, daily parking is close to $40/day. Not far off what many of the hotels charge.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

We were there last May for our first Alaskan cruise and stated at the Fairmont Waterfront, which was right across from the cruise terminal. We flew in Friday night, so we had 2 days before the cruise to sightsee. We either walked to where we wanted to go (Stanley Park and the Aquarium and along the waterfront) or paid to use the Hop on Hop Off tour bus, to go where we wanted to go. While not the cheapest option, it enabled us to go to the Robson Shopping District, Granville Island and a few other places on Sunday which were outside of walking distance.

From what we saw the public transport was real good compared to here in the Carolina's. The Skytrain had plenty of stops and there were Taxi's everywhere. Best part is if you were on foot and had to cross the street, drivers didn't try and run you over while crossing Which was nice. It made walking around the city a joy.

Psy

 

[BrokeMack]

Hello,

We're thinking about a cruise to Alaska this summer. We've never been to Vancouver. I've looked around a bit, and I've observed that:

1. There's a convenient train from the airport to the cruise terminal area.
2. Public transportation is otherwise not great.
3. Most of the attractions seem to be in places that the limited trains and rapid buses don't go.

We don't want to deal with a car rental, so we're looking for things to do that are accessible with public transportation. We'll be there for 1-2 full days before the cruise.

Any ideas?

Where do you live that Vancouver's public transportation is not great? Public transportation in Albuquerque is a bathroom on wheels and you don't ride the bus unless you want to get stabbed (still cost $120m to upgrade though).

 

[soniam]

Where do you live that Vancouver's public transportation is not great? Public transportation in Albuquerque is a bathroom on wheels and you don't ride the bus unless you want to get stabbed (still cost $120m to upgrade though).

That’s what I’m thinking. I guess if you are from a city with amazing public transport, then it might seem mediocre. Looks way better than anything in Texas, well maybe not the DART train in Dallas.

 

[Van@Disney]

Also keep in mind walking is quite enjoyable here, if that’s an option for you. But yes, the bus system is excellent. type in ‘translink trip planner’ in your search engine and you can put in where you are, where you want to go and it will give you the option. It links trains with buses, for the most efficient route.

 

[Kwami]

Thanks, everyone!

I didn't mean to be down on Vancouver or its transportation system. I guess it's just not what I expected it to be. I often hear about how great the city is and how livable it is, so I expected a transportation system like what you'd find in NYC, DC, or just about any European or Japanese city. Where I live isn't important. The public transportation here consists of local buses and a small tram. I don't know how good they are because I'm not traveling here. I have a car.

I think that some of the replies here actually support my initial position, too. Many of the suggestions mention hop on, hop off buses or shuttle buses or taxis, none of which are normally considered "public transportation". I suppose that these days, a lot of public transportation is actually owned by private companies or public-private partnerships, so "public transportation" might be a misnomer...

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! I'll certainly look into them. I'm hesitant to rely too much on local buses, though. I looked at the route to the botanical garden at UBC and it's about 1h10m - 1h20m, depending on which bus I take. That's a long time for ~7.5 miles! I'm not sure if we'd go there, though. I was just clicking on big things that popped up on the map while I was looking around.

Also keep in mind walking is quite enjoyable here, if that’s an option for you. But yes, the bus system is excellent. type in ‘translink trip planner’ in your search engine and you can put in where you are, where you want to go and it will give you the option. It links trains with buses, for the most efficient route.

Is it? There was another topic here just the other day that talked about all the homelessness, drug use, and crime that you might see walking in the areas outside of Gastown. Which areas are nice and which should we avoid walking in?

 

[Tenkawa]

Thanks, everyone!

I didn't mean to be down on Vancouver or its transportation system. I guess it's just not what I expected it to be. I often hear about how great the city is and how livable it is, so I expected a transportation system like what you'd find in NYC, DC, or just about any European or Japanese city. Where I live isn't important. The public transportation here consists of local buses and a small tram. I don't know how good they are because I'm not traveling here. I have a car.

I think that some of the replies here actually support my initial position, too. Many of the suggestions mention hop on, hop off buses or shuttle buses or taxis, none of which are normally considered "public transportation". I suppose that these days, a lot of public transportation is actually owned by private companies or public-private partnerships, so "public transportation" might be a misnomer...

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! I'll certainly look into them. I'm hesitant to rely too much on local buses, though. I looked at the route to the botanical garden at UBC and it's about 1h10m - 1h20m, depending on which bus I take. That's a long time for ~7.5 miles! I'm not sure if we'd go there, though. I was just clicking on big things that popped up on the map while I was looking around.



Is it? There was another topic here just the other day that talked about all the homelessness, drug use, and crime that you might see walking in the areas outside of Gastown. Which areas are nice and which should we avoid walking in?

See my post regarding the Downtown East Side area. Nothing else is around there other than Chinatown and the edges of Gastown. That is the only area to be aware of.

For the transport system, for a city of 2-3M people, Vancouver has been selected the best of North America for many years. Sure it doesn't compete with the 20M people New York system, but is miles better than anything else.

Time of day matters a lot when going certain places, and there are some tricks to certain things. The UBC Botanical Garden is one of the worst places to get to, as it is quite far, in an isolated area, and there is nothing else around it. If you look at the breakdown of your 1h10min trip plan, it includes a 30 minute walk to get there from the UBC bus loop. The problem is UBC is designed as get everyone to the core area, but things like the gardens are not friendly, even to cars. Now I know that it is more like a 15 minute walk if you cut through some places and walk faster than google. But it is still one train and 1 bus to get there, which is pretty simple.

Even driving with a car it is 30 minutes to get there. It is all surface streets and lights. No highways, for one of the worst places to get to.

If you want to see gardens, try the Van Dusen Botannical Garden, which is a single bus from Waterfront in 30min or less. Queen Elizabeth Park is right there too, and has gardens as well. Not to mention Stanley Park right by downtown.

 

[Flossbolna]

Many of the suggestions mention hop on, hop off buses or shuttle buses or taxis, none of which are normally considered "public transportation".

I get your point, but actually the term “public transport” does not mean something is run by the state, but that it’s a means if transport that is open to the general public. Taxis are a classic means of public transportation, that’s why they are so regulated about what they charge and often have rules that they cannot refuse a fare.

But I know that people think more about classic means if mass transport like busses, trams, local trains etc.

Looking at Vancouver I do agree with your assessment that it seems not like a great system, but it seems workable. To be honest, I like taking busses in new cities as I get to see something. Underground trains just spit you out at your destination.

 

[bcwife76]

Just wondering what the draw is for the UBC botanical gardens? I've lived in the Vancouver area my whole life and never been. As a PP mentioned Van Dusen and Queen Elizabeth are both closer and easier to get to and they are both lovely. I would never rent a car in Vancouver unless you wanted to get to Vancouver Island or Whistler. As a local I avoid driving downtown like the plague and even my husband who drives around the city would prefer public transport (and being 45 minutes from downtown means public transportation really isn't very good where we are so we drive to the closest skytrain station 20 minutes away and take the train downtown).

 

[Kwami]

Just wondering what the draw is for the UBC botanical gardens? I've lived in the Vancouver area my whole life and never been. As a PP mentioned Van Dusen and Queen Elizabeth are both closer and easier to get to and they are both lovely. I would never rent a car in Vancouver unless you wanted to get to Vancouver Island or Whistler. As a local I avoid driving downtown like the plague and even my husband who drives around the city would prefer public transport (and being 45 minutes from downtown means public transportation really isn't very good where we are so we drive to the closest skytrain station 20 minutes away and take the train downtown).

I honestly have no idea. As I wrote previously, I was just clicking on the landmarks that came up on Google Maps to see how long it would take to get to various places with the transit system. For all I know, UBC's garden is terrible! There is also the anthropology museum out there, though. Maybe!

I'm definitely not renting a car. As you said, driving in the city is the worst. And, parking is expensive.

 

[ILovePixieDust]

Uber is always an option too!

As far as driving goes in Vancouver, it is honestly like driving in any other city and probably comparable to say Houston, Seattle, or Miami. If you drive in a city, it's no biggie. And much easier than places like New York or LA. But I can see if you are coming from suburbs or smaller communities it could be intimidating. It is paid parking most places downtown and big lots at places like the Aquarium and UBC. You'd find free parking around QE park.

As others have said though, the transit system is pretty decent and the skytrain is very efficient. I too, do not know anyone who has gone to UBC Botanical Gardens. Anthropology museum, yes (as a school field trip). It's not bad there. You can sometimes find deals on Groupon to go there, along with Groupon for the UBC Biodiversity Museum. They wouldn't be among my top choices of things to do here though if your time is limited.

I will suggest you eat! The food scene in Vancouver is top notch.

 

[holula]

Where do you live that Vancouver's public transportation is not great? Public transportation in Albuquerque is a bathroom on wheels and you don't ride the bus unless you want to get stabbed (still cost $120m to upgrade though).

I’m English and even I think Vancouver’s public transport is pretty good! I’ve visited several times and never needed a car. The only thing that does take a long time to visit from downtown is any of UBC.

I also wouldn’t rent a car. I’ve never needed one until I did went up to Whistler or went over to Vancouver Island.

 

[lilsonicfan]

So funny that so many locals haven’t been to the UBC botanical gardens. I have, they are beautiful. The Nitobe Garden is so peaceful and pretty. And there is a pretty cool tree walk at the gardens. UBC is my alma mater though and I spent years there! But okay, I will admit, without a car and with a focus on downtown, it’s not the easiest of places to visits. Soon it will be better with sky train extending closer there, but anyway maybe not great now.

I drive everywhere including downtown every day, it’s truly not that terrible - but parking is quite pricey.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

We used Uber and they also have city taxis that are readily available we took one and it was fairly cheep. We also walked a lot

 

[DisneyConvert]

If you're up for some mild exercise, and it's a nice day, I highly recommend heading towards Denman St., renting a bike for 4+ hours and touring Stanley Park. Incredible museums and views.

 

[Flossbolna]

There is also the anthropology museum out there, though. Maybe!

I looked up the anthropology museum and it’s closed this year for seismic reenforcement construction. I also found out that this is the museum I visited in 2003 and couldn’t remember where it was. I loved it back then. But I guess no one can visit until 2024.