Vancouver travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Vancouver, planned over three days
Best time to visit Vancouver
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer, driest and longest days, beaches, patios and festivals, with peak prices and crowds.
Locals' favourite shoulder, summer light with fewer people and lower prices.
Spring, cherry blossom then spot prawns, gardens peak and whale season opens in April.
Autumn colour, salmon runs and harvest menus, with rain returning late in the month.
Dark, wet and cheap, with the best hotel rates, ski season and indoor food and museums.
What's on
- Dine Out Vancouver Festival late January to early February
Hundreds of restaurants on fixed price menus, the best value eating weeks of the year.
- Vancouver Christmas Market November to December
German-style Christmas market with mulled wine and a carousel at Jack Poole Plaza on the waterfront, ticketed at busy times.
- Lunar New Year in Chinatown January/February
Lunar New Year celebrations in historic Chinatown.
- Vancouver International Wine Festival February/March
One of North America's biggest wine festivals, with tastings from hundreds of wineries at the convention centre.
- Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival late March to mid-April
Cherry blossom across the city, with Sakura Days Japan Fair at VanDusen.
- Vancouver Sun Run April/May
A 10 km run through downtown and over the Burrard Bridge with tens of thousands of runners and walkers.
- BMO Vancouver Marathon early May
The city's marathon in early May.
- BC Spot Prawn season from May
Festivals and dock sales at Granville Island for the short spot prawn season.
- Vancouver International Jazz Festival late June
Ten days of jazz and much more, with free outdoor stages downtown and on Granville Island.
- Dragon Boat Festival June
Dragon boat racing on False Creek in June.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Vancouver
Stanley Park
A coastal rainforest park on downtown's edge, with an 8.8 km seawall loop, totem poles, beaches and old growth trails.
Talaysay Tours
An Indigenous led Talking Trees walk on Coast Salish plants, medicines and history in Stanley Park.
Granville Island Public Market
The city's best grazing stop, with produce, cheese, bakeries and stalls to build lunch from.
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Monumental Northwest Coast carving and Haida houses that give context to everything else in the province.
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
A polished 137 m suspension bridge with treetops walk and cliffwalk, spectacular and expensive.
Lynn Canyon Park
The local suspension bridge answer, free, with the 30 Foot Pool swimming hole and real forest trails.
Vancouver Aquarium
Canada's largest aquarium and marine rescue centre, the best rainy day or kids fixture in the city.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
A tranquil scholar's garden in historic Chinatown, a calm break from the surrounding streets.
Where to stay in Vancouver
Coal Harbour / Downtown Waterfront
first trip and the splurge
Harbour, Canada Place and seawall at hand, quiet at night and easy everywhere, with the city's best hotels.
Downtown core / Robson
all-round mid-range base
Shopping, SkyTrain, restaurants and the Art Gallery, busier and more generic than Coal Harbour and cheaper for it.
West End (Denman / Davie)
character, beaches and LGBTQ+ Vancouver
Residential towers, Davie Village, English Bay sunsets and Stanley Park at the end of the street.
Yaletown
restaurants, nightlife and couples
Warehouse blocks turned into patios and cocktail bars, with False Creek ferries and SkyTrain at the door.
Kitsilano / Point Grey
second trip and a local, beach-led stay
Kits Beach, West 4th cafes and quiet residential streets, with almost no hotels and early evenings.
Mount Pleasant / Main Street
food-first repeat visitors
Breweries, vintage shops and the city's creative strip, with downtown a bus or SkyTrain ride away.
Think twice about
- Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Blocks of East Hastings around Main have severe street homelessness, open drug use and petty theft. Do not base here or arrive with luggage at night.
- Granville Street entertainment strip as a bedroom
Downtown's bar strip is loud until late and rowdy on weekends. Visit it, but sleep a block or two west if you are a light sleeper.
- Kingsway motel strip
Car dependent motels on a fast arterial with nothing walkable nearby.
- Far suburbs sold as Vancouver
Burnaby, Richmond near the airport and Surrey can halve the rate and double the commute for Vancouver sightseeing.
Best restaurants in Vancouver
AnnaLena
Vancouver's first two-star restaurant, contemporary Canadian tasting menus in a small Kits room.
Published on Main
Foraged, BC driven tasting menus that best explain what modern Vancouver cooking is.
Kissa Tanto
A hidden upstairs jazz age room for Japanese Italian crudo and handmade pasta, made for date night.
Miku Restaurant
The home of aburi flame seared pressed sushi, with salmon oshi sushi and a harbour patio.
Sushi Masuda
A small, chef led, starred omakase counter booked weeks out.
Sushi Hyun
A small, chef led, starred omakase counter booked weeks out.
Masayoshi
Masayoshi Baba's omakase on Fraser Street, a small starred counter booked weeks out.
Blue Water Cafe
The seafood institution for sablefish, spot prawns, Dungeness crab and a big West Coast occasion.
Best coffee in Vancouver
Revolver
Gastown's serious coffee bar, with a rotating list of roasters on pour over and espresso.
Nemesis Coffee
Specialty coffee and a strong pastry counter, with several Vancouver cafes including one in Gastown.
Outdoor things to do in Vancouver
Shannon Falls Provincial Park
A 335 m waterfall minutes from the car park on the Sea to Sky drive to Whistler.
Sea to Sky Gondola
Summit trails, a suspension bridge and Howe Sound views without a hike to earn them.
Peak 2 Peak Gondola
The gondola linking Whistler and Blackcomb in summer, above the village and valley.
Whistler Blackcomb
One of the world's great ski resorts in winter, with village wandering and summer mountain access.
Grouse Grind Trail
2.5 km and 2,830 stairs straight up Grouse Mountain, the climb locals time themselves on.
Grouse Mountain
The Skyride to a summit with a grizzly refuge, lumberjack show, views and winter snow activities.
Cypress Mountain
A locals' North Shore ski hill, closer and cheaper than Whistler, with city and ocean views.
Mount Seymour
The other locals' North Shore ski hill, closer and cheaper than Whistler.
Best hotels in Vancouver
Fairmont Pacific Rim
Rooftop pool and the Botanist restaurant, the luxury default on the harbour.
Pan Pacific Vancouver
Directly over the cruise terminal on the waterfront, in the middle of Coal Harbour.
Loden Hotel
A quiet, polished boutique hotel a block from the Coal Harbour seawall.
Rosewood Hotel Georgia
The 1927 landmark downtown, with Hawksworth restaurant in house.
Wedgewood Hotel & Spa
Family run Relais and Châteaux hotel, the mid luxury local favourite downtown.
The Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver
Classic downtown hotel on Burrard with a full spa and indoor pool, the dependable mid range base.
Hyatt Downtown Alberni
Mid range downtown hotel on Alberni Street, a short walk to Robson shopping and Coal Harbour.
YWCA Hotel
A non profit hotel with private rooms, shared kitchen and gym, the outstanding downtown budget pick.
Is Vancouver expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CA$120 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CA$260 a person |
| Splurge | CA$680 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Talaysay Tours: a few days ahead
- Capilano Suspension Bridge Park: a few days ahead
- Harbour Air Seaplanes: a few days ahead
- Sea to Sky Gondola: a few days ahead
- Peak 2 Peak Gondola: a few days ahead
- Whistler Blackcomb: weeks ahead
- Grouse Mountain: a few days ahead
- Prince of Whales Whale Watching: a few days ahead
- AnnaLena, Published on Main, Kissa Tanto and the small omakase counters need weeks ahead.
- Capilano, Grouse Skyride, whale watching, Sea to Sky Gondola and Harbour Air scenic flights need days ahead or timed tickets.
- Summer and Celebration of Light weekend hotels downtown, and Whistler hotels and tee times in season, book early.
Is Vancouver safe?
- Avoid basing in or walking East Hastings in the DTES, especially at night.
- Leave nothing visible in a parked car anywhere, including trailhead and beach car parks. Car break ins are the signature crime.
- On North Shore trails carry water, tell someone your route, and take bear and sudden weather warnings seriously.
Vancouver travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Capilano at full price on a cruise ship day, when Lynn Canyon gives a free bridge and better swimming.
- The Gastown Steam Clock as a destination. It is a three minute photo on the way to dinner.
- Granville Island by car. Ferry, bus or walk over the bridge instead.
- Robson Street chain dining. Eat in Yaletown, Gastown, Main Street, Kits or Richmond instead.
- FlyOver Canada and the Vancouver Lookout at full price on a grey day, when there is no view to sell.
Getting around Vancouver: public transport and more
- Do not rent a car for a city only trip. SkyTrain Canada Line runs from YVR to Waterfront in about 25 minutes.
- A Compass Card or contactless tap covers SkyTrain, bus, SeaBus and West Coast Express.
- Downtown, Yaletown, the West End and Coal Harbour are a walkable grid. False Creek Ferries and Aquabus hop to Granville Island and Kits.
- Rent a car only for Furry Creek golf, Harrison or a self drive Sea to Sky day.
Who Vancouver suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Vancouver your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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