eurotraveller

I will be heading up to Vancouver from Seattle on Friday to pick up my passport.

I understand there is a big international fireworks competition and I have seen the website but I am still unsure of where the best place to watch them would be.

We will be staying with a friend in North Vancouver and would like to take the sky train.

I would appreciate suggestions as to what area would be the easiest to get to via sky train from North Vancouver and what time we should arrive in order to get a spot on the lawn/beach.

Any other tips and tricks are greatly apprieciated! I have only been to Vancouver twice and once was over 25 years ago so I won't know any landmarks but I am good at googling to get further info.

Thanks in advance!

Sam_Salmon

The Skytrain does not extend to North Vancouver it's eiothet the bus or SeaBus.

I'd love to be able to tell you a wonderful spot to watch the fireworks but being as how <b>over 400,000 people</b> are expected there is nowhere that won't be overrun and unspeakably crowded.

klam_chowder

Take the Seabus from Londale Quay in North Vancouver - it disembarks in downtown Vancouver. You get to enjoy a good view of the dtwn Van skyline as it pulls towards the stn!

If you're mobile, I'd just suggest walking down a east-west street, like say Robson, until you hit Denman. This is called the West End. It's a great place to live and a fun place for locals to check out too. Walk down Denman until you hit Davie. This is English Bay and the BEST place to watcht them, IMHO. You can even hear the music to which the fireworks are synchonized to from here.

If you're not into a longish walk (half hour?) then just catch any bus, say on Burrard, get off at Davie and catch another bus down to Denman. Ask for a transfer when you get on a bus to get to Londsdale Quay. Your transfer will be good for the Seabus and your ride down to English Bay. Check out the public transit website - they have an excellent trip planner.

Find a place on the beach - remember to bring a mat, etc. to sit on - and it's extremely helpful to have some way to communicate with everyone in your party (cell/walkie talkies, etc.). Once you're on the beach and the throngs of people come up behind you, when someone leaves your party for food/bathroom, etc. it can be pretty challenging to find one another again, even if you think you've &quot;landmarked&quot;; this is especially true for people who aren't good in crowds and youth.

A lot of people go down early in the day and make a beach day of it. If you want a nice relaxing spot on the beach, head down early and make a picnic out of it. We used to stop and pick things up (falalfels, etc.) from the shops on Denman and take them to the beach.

One other tip - the lifeguards usually have poles stuck in the sand to indicated the high tide mark. Of course, people get there hours in advance, want the best spot right near the water, start to build sand dams and moats as the water rises, the dams break, the moats fill and the people have to scamper away to avoid sitting in English Bay!

You can check out an on-line map to give you an idea of what directions I'm referring.

As you can tell, I used to LOVE going to the fireworks - it was the sweetest when we just lived in the West End and didn't have to battle the crowds to get on a bus to go home...those were the days...

Enjoy-la!

eurotraveller

Great info klam!! Thanks!

If we get there at 6 or so will it be too late to land a nice spot for two people to sit? Can we bring low beach chairs?

Sounds like the sky train and then walking a mile or so is our best bet.

If anyone else wants to chime in I am all ears!

Carmanah

It won't be too late to find a good spot by 6pm. It's perfect timing. Keep in mind that you will literally be sitting blanket to blanket, towel to towel, at English Bay as the evening continues. I used to always aim for 7pm there, as the fireworks set off at what... 10pm? 9:30pm?

Again though, you will *not* be using the Skytrain during this journey. The Skytrain line heads east out of downtown Vancouver into the eastern suburbs of Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Surrey. There is no skytrain line between North Vancouver, downtown, and English Bay.

Perhaps you meant the Seabus?

eurotraveller

Carmanah, I didn't really &quot;mean&quot; anything as I don't know Vancouver from a hole in the ground!

Glad to hear we can find a place if we arrive at 6ish. We have a HUGE blues festival on the waterfront in Portland on the 4th of July weekend so I am familiar with the blanket to blanket scenario.

Are lawn chairs allowed?

Thanks again!