Visiting Vancouver

The best time to come

For those planning sightseeing, outdoor activities, or touring, the ideal time to visit is between July and October. However, wildfires have become a recurring issue in recent years, typically affecting the region from late July to early September. If you're considering exploring the backcountry, it's best to avoid these dates. For mountain biking in Whistler, peak season can be particularly crowded, so the shoulder seasons between winter and summer are often a better choice.

While Vancouver enjoys milder winters compared to much of Canada, it does see occasional snowfall, usually from mid-December to mid-January. For winter sports enthusiasts, the prime time to visit is between mid-November and late January.

Need to know more about the climate? Weather Spark has you covered...

Vancouver Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Canada) - Weather Spark

In Vancouver, the summers are short, comfortable, and partly cloudy and the winters are long, very cold, wet, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 2 °C to 23 °C and is rarely below -4 °C or above 26 °C.

Weather Spark

Flights

Vancouver International (VYR) is a large airport, and it's well served by several large airline operators. That said, it's usually much quieter (with less wait time at security and baggage) than Seattle (US), Manchester (UK) and Toronto (CA).

Flair Airlines are Canada's equivalent to RyanAir and have cheap flights internally and internationally (the best deals are usually booked in advance via their newsletter). WestJet are comparable with EasyJet and operate from Vancouver too.

HarbourAir operates from Vancouver Harbour if you want to visit Vancouver Island in style. Prices vary, but usually a return ticket costs around $280-$500 depending on luggage and availability.

Abbotsford Airport (YXX) (1h 30m drive from Vancouver) is a much smaller airport with regular flights to Calgary, Western Canada and the US.

Getting around

Vancouver is a very walkable city so you can always just use your feet or hire an electric scooter (if that's your thing). There are cycle lanes - but they're not a safe haven or as friendly as the Netherlands.

Public transit includes buses, the SkyTrain, SeaBus (across the harbour to North Vancouver) and the West Coast Express (which serves the Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission suburbs). The best way to get around is a Compass Card or Travel Pass - both can be acquired at a SkyTrain/SeaBus/West Coast Express station. If you have a Visa card setup in Apple Pay or Google Wallet, you can tap to pay too. Stations also have ticket machines and friendly staff to help out.

West Coast Express - Port Haney - Waterfront schedule

If public transit isn't for you, Vancouver has a few car ride options, such as Evo, Modo and Poparide. And there's always Uber.

For the rest of us, BC Ferries has you covered. Ferries run year-round (dependent on the weather) from Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay to Swartz Bay (Victoria) and Duke Point (Nanaimo) on the island and the Sunshine Coast. During peak season, booking is essential, and recommended for the lowest ticket price, but usually you can rock up, and drive on with a short wait.

Cell phone

Usually your home network will have options for roaming abroad. I'd suggest looking at that before investigating in prepaid Canadian SIMs/eSIMs, because mobile costs in Canada are some of the highest in the world (the highest?).

If you can manage without calls (data only) and have a phone that supports eSIM (check here), Nomad (use referrer code DAVI73WM for 25% off) are great and we use them whenever we're in the US.

Things to do in Vancouver

• Seabus from Waterfront to North Vancouver - this is cheap as chips and is just such a nice thing to do. You get off at Lonsdale Quay and there's a nice market area there and some great breweries (Shaketown is my great).
• Bike along the Arbutus Greenway to Milltown Bar & Grill. You can watch planes land and logs flow down the river.
• Stanley Park: rent a bike and bike around it and through it. Stop off at the totem polls in Stanley Park. When you do the interior loop you bike up a hill and have a great view of Lions Gate Bridge.
• Bike around the whole sea wall. This is the best way to see all of Vancouver. You can rent a bike and follow the sea wall from downtown and go all the way to the end of the seawall in Kitsilano.
• Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park is pretty good for kids.
• Granville Island - great little island to visit in Vancouver. You can get a little taxi ferry there from one side of the city to the other and it's really nice. Very compatible with the seawall bike, stop there for lunch/coffee.
• Kitsilano is a nice beach area and they have some nice pubs around there.
• Take the SeaBus (ferry) from Waterfront station over to North Vancouver. Lonsdale Quay Market is good for a potter, and there's Waterfront park next to it.
• Lynn Valley - there's some nice (easy) hikes here and they have a suspension bridge. A lot of people rave about Capilano suspension bridge but it can be expensive so this is a good alternative.
• English Bay - Cactus club on the water there is nice. The restaurant is a chain but it's got a nice view. Alternatively the patio at the read of CRAFT Beer is nice too.
• Vancouver Public Library – interesting architecture and lovely rooftop garden
• Deep Cove – easy scenic Quarry Rock hike and the delicious Honey’s Donuts. Kayaking (which you can hire) is very popular. Can be tricky to finding parking on busy days though.
• Science World (for kids up to pre-teen)
• Museum of Vancouver usually has something interesting, but best to check which exhibitions are on when you're visiting.
• The Museum of Anthropology at UBC on the other hand always has something interesting.
• Tripadvisor has an excellent list of art galleries in Vancouver.
• Take a whale watching tour with Prince of Whales.
• Visit the Gastown steam powered clock.

Places to avoid

Downtown Vancouver, like the rest of west coast cities in North America, unfortunately has a serious drug and homeless problem. The areas affected most are marked in red, and you should avoid them entirely.

Breweries

• 33 Acres Brewing Company
• Brassneck (Passive Aggressive was my favourite there)
• R&B Brewing
• East Van Brewing Coompany
• Strange Fellows Brewing
• Superflux - they have one of my favourite beers
• Container Brewing
• Bomber Brewing
• Luppolo Brewing
• Strathcona Beer Company -> good beer and pizza
• Stanley Park Brewing - Super popular brewery and you'll pass right by if you visit Stanley Park 😄
• Shaketown Brewing
• Alibi Room - nice atmosphere
• Sing Sing – great spot for food and beer
• The Cider House in Kitsilano
• Port Moody - it's a skytrain ride away, but with 2 breweries, a retro bar and cocktail bar all right next to each other, it's a decent night out
  • Yellow Dog Brewing
  • Twin Sails Brewing - always a new creative and interesting brew
• Self-Guided Brewery tours in various neighbourhoods (bike friendly!):
  • North Vancouver https://www.insidevancouver.ca/2022/03/21/take-a-self-guided-north-vancouver-brewery-tour/
  • Powell Street brewery tour
  • Clark Drive brewery tour
  • Mount Pleasant brewery tour
  • Port Moody brewery tour
  • Langley brewery tour
  • Maple Ridge brewery tour

Bars & pubs

• Jacksons has great food and beer
• The Local is right by the water
• The Butcher & Bullock pub

Cocktails

• Pourhouse
• Nightingale
• Shameful Tiki
• Guilt & Co
• Lobby Lounge
• Grapes and Soda
• Bartholomew – warning…eat before you go here. They have tapas style stuff and it’s not enough to soak up the booze.

Coffee

• Revolver
• Nemesis
• Small Victory
• Pallet Coffee Roasters

Breakfast

• Their There
• Great breakfast in Kits
• Sophie’s Cosmic café in Kits – brunch
• Jam Café – brunch (be ready to queue)
• Zen Café - great breakfast
• Fable Diner on Main St - best breakfast in Vancouver in my opinion :-)
• Nero – brunch / waffles
• Great donuts
• Luckys donuts
• Lees donuts
• Cartems (fancy but nice)
• Ice cream
• Rain or Shine

Lunch / Dinner

• Bao Bei - Asian fusion - this is kinda pricey so if you don't want a fancy meal don't do it
• Hundy - great burgers
• Small Victory -> great coffee and breakfast
• THANK YOU PIZZA is my absolute favourite pizza place.
• Via Tevere Pizzeria
• Fat Mao - great ramen
• Pepinos - great Italian food
• Meat and Bread - great sandwich place, there's a few downtown, one right by the office
• Tacofino
• Budgies Burritos
• Pourhouse - one of my absolute favourite downtown restaurants. Kinda fancy but the burgers are good!
• Sandbar on Granville Island
• Salmon House – fancy, amazing views for sunset
• Portland Craft - love this spot too for beer and food
• Queen Elizabeth Park - this has pitch and putt and frisbee golf too. It's also about 15 blocks from where I lived and is a great little park
• Seasons in the Park is a restaurant up there. You can sit on the patio which is covered in winter (I think) and has heaters. Great views of the park from here and you can come for just a drink but their burgers are good too.
• Salmon n’Bannock Bistro – book in advance, native food
• Miko Sushi – great service

Everything else

• Ernest Ice Cream in North Vancouver
• Soft Peaks Ice Cream in Gas Town

Things to do in the suburbs

• Belcarra is a village on the shore of Indian Arm, and has some absolutely beautiful river/forest walks. Start at Belcarra Pier.
• There's a nice loop walk around Sasamat Lake, and kayaking too.
• Watch the beavers and bears (but don't get too close!) at Minnekhada.
• Our local provincial park is Golden Ears. There's Alouette Lake, beaches, trails, stunningly clear rivers, waterfalls, kayaking, fishing, 3 campgrounds, hiking, climbing and boating. All in the shadow of Alouette Mountain and Golden Ears Mountain to the West and Blue Mountain and Mount Crickmer in the East. From May through to September you may need a day pass to enter, which you can obtain from BC Parks.
• Further afield is Stave Falls and Hayward Lake, one of our favourite places to kayak. There's a sandy beach and shallow area for kids to play in the water, picnic benches, and Powerhouse Visitor Centre which has all sorts of stuff to keep kids (and Dads) interested.
• Visit historic Fort Langley, explore the old rail station and kaboose, enjoy the cake and coffee at Wendels, the Village Antiques Mall. Saba for Sunday brunch on a sunny day is fantastic.
• Pitt-Addington Marsh (aka "the dykes") has lots of beautiful walks, surrounded by mountain views.
• Aldergrove Community Pool is our favourite outdoor water park and has a lazy river, 3 slides, a hot tub, wave machine, and dedicated little kid area.
• Gary Point Park is a nice sunset walk in the summer.
• Secret Garden near Centennial Beach is a hidden gem.
• White Rock Pier and prom is a chill walk in the summer.
• A small ferry takes you across the Fraser River to Barnston Island - a small, quiet island - with a nice loop you can walk or ride easily.
• Terra Nova Adventure Play is a nature-focused play area for kids with zip lines, slides and a climbing wall
• Capilano Suspension Bridge is ohhhkay, I guess. It's better at Christmas time when they have the lights up and it's snowy in my opinion.
• The Grouse Grind (and gondola back down) is a punishing (but scenic) climb up Grouse Mountain. Start around 6am to be back in downtown Vancouver for work. Don't forget plenty of water!
• Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, Sasquatch Mountain and Whistler are the closest and most popular places to ski, but there's also tons to do when it's not ski season. Grouse Mountain has aerial walkways, owl talks, paragliding, axethrowing, ziplines and loads more.

Things to do in Squamish and Whistler

You'll need to take the bus or hire a car, but it's worth the trip. Squamish is around an hours drive from downtown Vancouver, and Whistler is a further 40 minutes. Whistler is a bit far for a day trip, recommend staying over if you have the time.

• The Sea to Sky Gondola is one of the best views in BC. It's not cheap, but they sometimes offer 40% off for rides after 4pm until 8pm - the view of the mountains with the sunset backdrop is incredible.
• Former Britannia Mine is now a historic mine where you can pan for gold, ride on a minecart, and mine in the dark just as the original miners did. The exhibiton/show at the end of the tour is great.
• Go to Fergies for breakfast/lunch in Squamish it's fab!

Touring

Driving routes: https://explorenorth.com/library/roads/bc_driving_routes.html

Weekend getaways

Weekend Getaways from Vancouver - Google My Maps

Weekend Getaways from Vancouver

Google My Maps