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Vancouver hotels

Overview                    Prepare                    Get Around                    Highlights

Hotels in Vancouver range from cheap and cheerful to expensive luxury hotels, and cover all bases in between.  That said, accommodation does tend to be on the expensive side in Vancouver.

 There are a number of Greater Vancouver districts which offer different atmospheres....

The cheapest of the Vancouver hotels are mostly to be found in the eastern part of downtown, as well as in Chinatown, and most of the high end hotels are in the city centre, with the West End proving most popular for a range of hotel options.  Main Street, an up and coming area within the East Van district, is a location with an arty feel, whilst New Westminster, once the province's capital, has a Victorian style, and a park and a mall of its own.

There are a number of Greater Vancouver districts which offer different atmospheres and hotel options, such as Coquitlam, which has trails, hills and parks, and Richmond, with plenty of dining and retail therapy options.  Burnaby has a number of attractive parks and North Shore a distinct character.  Surrey is Vancouver's biggest suburb, and is well connected to the main city by public transport.

Our price comparison is the best way to find cheap hotels in Vancouver, and rooms should always be booked immediately to secure the reservation and rates.

 

Overview

Overview

Ringed by snow-capped, forested mountains dropping down to miles of sandy beaches, Vancouver is a city where you can snowboard and sail on the same day. Spectacular natural wilderness inspires outdoor recreation with a laidback, cosmopolitan edge.

See

Take the gondola to the top of Grouse Mountain for lunch and a panorama of the Coast Mountains, and the glittering waters of English Bay and Juan De Fuca Strait beyond Lower Mainland.
Spend

Buy yoga-inspired athletic apparel along West 4th Avenue in what was once the city's hippie enclave, and is still the heart of the hip Kitsilano neighbourhood.
Get Out

Rollerblade or bike around the seawall or stroll along forested trails in sprawling Stanley Park. Mountain bike through woods near Deep Cove, the cradle of the sport. Fly a kite in Vanier Park between visits to the H R MacMillan Space Centre and the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
Culture

Take in a Shakespeare play at Bard On The Beach from May to September. Enjoy home-grown theatre at the Arts Club Lounge or the Stanley Theatre.
Eat & Drink

Find Greek food on Fourth Avenue, Italian on Commercial Drive and Asian in Chinatown. Vancouver treats vegetarians well with dozens of restaurants in the city.
New Perspective

Nibble on a wild prawn tempura (battered) roll with avocado while lounging on a sofa bed at the new restaurant hot spot, Sanafir, downtown. For the best in pub fare and alternative music visit the Morrissey lounge just down the street on Granville.

Prepare

Prepare

Pack hiking and biking shoes to climb the Lions Peaks. In winter, bring a touque (knitted cap) and gloves for a day's skiing on Cypress Mountain, and in summer a bathing suit for an afternoon on Jericho Beach. Rent windsurfing gear at Locarno Beach or at the mouth of the Squamish River.

Vancouver Year

Watch the experts at the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival on Whistler Mountain (Apr). Take in the Illuminares Lantern Festival at Trout Lake Park (Jul). Ooh and aah at the Celebration of Light international fireworks competition around English Bay in July and August.
Public Holidays

New Years Day (1 Jan), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Victoria Day (May), Canada Day (1 Jul), British Columbia Day (Aug), Labour Day (Sep), Thanksgiving Day (Oct), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day (26 Dec).
Weather

November, December, March and April are the wettest. Even though the mountains get heavy snow, temperatures in the city below rarely dip below freezing. The summer months from May to September are warm (17°C to 24°C). Vancouver does get the odd heatwave, otherwise count on warm and dry conditions in July and August.
Electricity

240V AC, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard. 60 to 220 V AC, two- and three-pin plugs are standard.
Dialling Code

+1 (national), + ten-figure number (Vancouver).
Money

Canadian dollar (C$) is the currency.
GMT

- 8 hours.
Vancouver Tourism Info

Tourism Vancouver website

Fit In

From fashion-savvy looks downtown to sports gear for recreation, dress to match the activity. As it's America's west coast, the laidback hippie look is in vogue along the Drive and at the Vancouver Folk Festival.

Get Around

Get Around

Vancouver is embraced by mountains and protected from the full force of the Pacific Ocean by a cluster of islands.

Much of the city can be explored on foot downtown or by Skytrain, Seabus or public bus. In the centre, find trendy Coal Harbour and in the West End, the gay village along Davie Street. Take the bus over Lions Gate Bridge, through West Vancouver and a short ferry ride across the fjord of Howe Sound to the artisan community of Bowen Island.
Bus

Buses cover the whole city and are used by all walks of life.
Skytrain and West Coast Express

The above-ground railway goes all the way out to Surrey's residential parts. The Skytrain will also take you to the original capital of British Columbia in New Westminster.
Seabus

The Seabus from downtown goes across Vancouver's Harbour to North Vancouver and the shopping hub of Lonsdale Avenue for anything from antiques to audio-visual and health foods to sporting goods.
Taxi

Taxis, which are usually in blue or yellow liveries downtown, are plentiful. As everywhere, drivers are a good source of knowledge and like to chat.
Foot

You can walk to Stanley Park, a number of beaches such as Sunset Beach, and trendy Yaletown restaurants all from downtown. Gastown and the West End are a few minutes' walk from the city centre. Walk over the Burrard Bridge to Kitsilano Beach and go boutique shopping on West 4th and West Broadway.
Transport Tips

A Day Pass card gives unlimited access to all public transport except the West Coast Express. They are available at Vancouver Airport, the Peace Arch Border Crossing and downtown. Driving in Vancouver is fairly easy and parking is widely available.
Time Travel

Explore old canneries and buy fresh fish off the docks at Steveston in Richmond, the centre of the old fishing industry. Puffs of white shoot out of a replica 1875 steam clock that plays tunes every 15 minutes in historic Gastown, Vancouver's original downtown.
Vancouver Transit Link

Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority's TransLink website

Highlights

Highlights

Vancouver has one of the most densely populated downtowns per square metre but there are as many things to see and do on the outskirts of the city as there are downtown.

Take an educational stroll among the artefacts of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia at Point Grey, then join the thousands of sun-worshippers at nearby Wreck Beach. Cheer on your team at a Vancouver Canadians baseball game at quaint Nat Bailey Stadium at the foot of Queen Elizabeth Park, or head to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens to take in its 22 hectares of plant collections from around the world. The Vancouver Art Gallery is home to an excellent collection of Emily Carr works that focus on west coast nature and native culture.
Sightseeing Tips

Vancouver's Science World charges affordable fees and free activities abound. Try the Free Historic Walking Tours of Gastown which run every day in summer.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.



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