Vancouver/Seattle Trip

Old May 15th, 2017, 07:05 PM
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Vancouver/Seattle Trip

Hello Fellow Fodors - My wife and I have a wedding July 29th in Seattle, but we've decided to make a vacation out of it and go to Vancouver. Our plan is to fly from Chicago to Vancouver on Monday, July 24th and fly back from Seattle on Monday, July 31st. Now, we're not alone as we're meeting family and a bunch of friends in Seattle, but will be on our own in Vancouver. Everyone arrives to Seattle on Thursday.
Chicago to Vancouver (flight) - Roughly 3 days (All Monday afternoon, all Tue and Wed and drive to Seattle Thursday afternoon
Seattle - 3 days (Thursday night, all Friday, all Saturday (wedding day, 5pm) all Sunday, fly back Monday morning to Chicago
I was told Gastown is a good area to stay in Vancouver. Any other recommendations? I want to get the most out of the 3 days in Vancouver without having to rush.
For Seattle, I was told Ballard or Fremont are good spots to stay.
Not really interested in Museums. More about sites, beautiful mountains, bars, food and fun! Might be somewhat broad, but I'm hoping you can help out.
Looking forward to your recommendations. Cheers!
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Old May 15th, 2017, 07:40 PM
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Please don't try to drive a Canadian rental car into the US.
There is an Amtrak Thruway bus that leaves the Pacific Central station at 4PM that gets to Seattle King St. station about 8PM.
Rent another car in downtown Seattle on Friday morning.
There are 2 HI hostels in Vancouver. I remember walking through Gastown but I don't remember any great place to stay.
Stanley Park has probably improved since they had the Olympics there not too many years ago.
You might not need a rental car in Vancouver unless you want to drive out to Whistler.
My familiarity with the Fremont area of Seattle is limited to the area around the world HQ of Groundspeak (geocaching) and the troll under the Aurora bridge.
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Old May 15th, 2017, 08:47 PM
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Yeah Gastown would probably be the best place to stay because you can easily take a bus, train and aquabus to other places.
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Old May 15th, 2017, 10:22 PM
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Yeah, train from Seattle to Vancouver is your best bet.

Where is this wedding? Where will most of the guests be?

Because Ballard and Fremont both have a nice neighborhood vibe, but they are neighborhoods- so if the wedding isn't in one of those, I'd stay downtown (where the main transit would be). Between Ballard and Fremont, I'd pick Ballard. If you really want a great bar scene, I'd pick Capitol Hill. Although you definitely need to tell us budget to get helpful answers; that's high season, and you may be in for a shock if you haven't looked at hotels yet.

I've stayed at the metropolitan hotel in Vancouver and liked it. I'd stay more in that area than gastown, but that's just my preference. Again it depends on budget. Tom mentions the HIs- I don't know if that's of interest to you, as Tom tends to be tangential. But do Central over Downtown. Not that I'm vouching for Central, I haven't stayed there, but I really disliked the downtown HI. And I've stayed at a lot of His.

The aquarium at Stanley park is awesome, and you could definitely spend a day at just the park/aquarium. Rent bikes and bike the sea wall.

You don't want a rental car in either city, although admittedly you may need one for Seattle. If the wedding makes a car necessary, look at the silver cloud hotels. Thoroughly nice chain and one of the rare cases of free parking in Seattle. The one on lake union has great water views and a free shuttle downtown during the day.

Sunday brunch at Saltys is good if you like food. Need more details for further recs. All kinds of food in both cities.

My favorite place in Vancouver is blue water cafe if you like seafood.
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Old May 16th, 2017, 05:14 AM
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Big thanks on the transportation piece. We rather not rent a car in both locations if not necessary. We will definitely take the train now from Vancouver to Seattle now. Can anyone tell me what the ticket per passenger is on the train from VAN to SEA? Budget-wise, I'd like to stay around the $150 per night range in Vancouver, preferably not a hostel. My wife is not the biggest fan. MarvelousMouse, when you say you prefer Central, where is that exactly? Also, when you mention HI and Hls, do you mean hotels or hostels or both?

I'm a big time foodie, so food is important on this trip. We would also love to see snowy mountains. Not sure where in Vancouver or Seattle we can see those relatively close. Is there public transportation to Whistler such as a train?

As for Seattle, the wedding is in Ballard. That's where I'm thinking most will be. There's a group of 4-6 of us that are looking at Air BNB, but we want to make sure we get the most out of our stay with the location we choose to stay in. We will most likely be Ubering all over the place.
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Old May 16th, 2017, 05:15 AM
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Agree that a car is unnecesary in either town, although might be more useful in Seattle. In Vancouver I stay at the YWCA, but that is definitely a budget choice. In Seattle I stayed in the Capitol Hill area, which was a nice area to wander around.
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Old May 16th, 2017, 06:55 AM
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The reason I gave the Amtrak Thruway bus answer is that it leaves Vancouver at 4PM (#8957) and gets to Seattle by 8PM.
The late train leaves VAC at 5:35PM and doesn't get to SEA until 10PM.
The fare for the bus is $40pp for adults unless you have a discount (senior over 62, AAA membership etc.)
The train will cost $42pp.
I don't think you want to be arriving at your lodging after 10PM.
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Old May 16th, 2017, 03:58 PM
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Your options are really limited at $150 a night. I would do the same as Thursdaysd for that budget- the ywca is in a really good location. Seattle is a bigger problem- I really think you're going to have to up your budget or stay in a hostel in a family room or stay in an airport hotel.

I mean to put this into perspective: the Travelodge is selling their cheapest room for 239 that Friday. Courtyard is $400. holiday inn express is 269. (Courtyard and Travelodge are "good" downtown locations. That Travelodge is the pits. Courtyard is what you'd expect a courtyard to be. HIX is okay but definitely a downgrade from its neighbor, the holiday inn.)

Less convenient, but still in the city- Udistrict silver cloud is 239.

Basically: Anything even close to your price range is out at the airport, comes with shared bath, is unreachable without a car, I wouldn't send my worst enemy there. I mean, we can help you find something. But that's what you're facing hotelwise.

If you are ok with airbnb, then sure, go with that. It'll probably be best bang for your buck. If that falls through, look at hotel hotel hostel. It's partly a hostel and partly a hotel. I think your wife will approve, it'll be in Fremont, and then you'll be walking distance- or at least a very cheap uber ride- from the wedding.

After hotel hotel, I'd look at the ace hotel and then the Moore hotel. Be sure to read the rate descriptions. Both are downtown and great locations. Both are less expensive- the cheapest rates have bathrooms in the hall. Both have good customer service. I don't know about ace, but Moore doesn't have A/c. However. If that is important, you need to make sure your airbnb picks have a/c. If they don't list it, they usually don't have it. We need a/c for such a short period of time that a lot of houses don't have it.

If like Tom assumes, that train gets in too late for you, skip Amtrak entirely and do bolt bus. It's nicer than Amtrak bus.

There is a bus to Whistler. I actually don't know how often it runs off season- or if it runs off season. But it would be a long day trip and I don't see much of a point. And I don't know how much snow you'd actually see at village level either.

To clarify: "HI" is the hostel chain Tom is talking about. There are two in Vancouver, named after their locations. So I was using "central" to refer to specific hostel, not a region.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 09:37 AM
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Any take on the Days Inn ($439 no breakfast) and Comfort Inn ($510 breakfast included) in Vancouver? Seeing great prices for 3 nights. Both located in downtown.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 10:14 AM
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Better rates at the YWCA (even better if you are seniors) but limited availability.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 10:28 AM
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I just booked Days Inn (free cancellation). My wife prefers the privacy. We're in our 30's. Thursdaysd, what can you tell me about the YWCA? What's included and would it be a better option than Days Inn other than the price? If so, why?
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Old May 17th, 2017, 10:44 AM
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I haven't stayed in a Days Inn in years, so it is probably unfair to say that the last one was a dump. The YWCA is cheap and cheerful and clean, and close to transport.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 12:11 PM
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Well, YWCA is sold out July 24th thru July 27th.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 01:11 PM
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That was quick, it still had rooms for those dates when I checked.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 03:33 PM
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I haven't stayed at either in Vancouver.

But if I had to roll the dice, I'd do Comfort Inn. It usually has nicer beds or more modern rooms than Days inn. I looked at the reviews for both and that seems to hold true in Vancouver.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 03:39 PM
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And ywca is still showing availability? How many people are with you? 2 twin beds are maybe a bit more than your Days Inn price, but I know YWCA is good while Days Inn usually fails to impress.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 07:36 PM
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It's just my wife and myself. It looks like Comfort Inn is better, but Days Inn in better location? Comfort Inn includes the breakfast and a lot of people seem to like it, but I'm a foodie and wanted to try some of the breakfast spots. I'm still on the fence however with where to stay as Comfort Inn does seem to be better. Reminder, we will be there 3 days.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 08:49 PM
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Downtown is so small, it honestly makes little difference where you'll stay. The Comfort Inn is right on Granville Street. I walked past it today during my lunch break. You could walk to Yaletown in 5 minutes. You could walk to the West End in 10 minutes. You could walk to Gastown in 10 minutes. You could walk to Stanley Park in 30 minutes.

Granville had its glory days in the 1950s and is considered the "Entertainment District", which is a contrived district due to zoning laws that demolished former nightclubs and turned them into condos, and brought all the previous nightclubs to one strip along Granville. So you have top 40 nightclubs, theatres and concert venues, cheap hangover fast food joints (poutine, dollar slice pizza), other restaurants, backpacker hostels and their associated backpacker pubs, plus clothing shops along that stretch of Granville. On weekends, Granville Street is a gong show of suburbanites who come into the city to party at the nightclubs. It's not dangerous but it can be noisy. But again, going back to the fact that Vancouver's downtown is so small, you can literally walk 2 minutes away and you'll be in a completely different neighbourhood.

The Days Inn downtown is a block away from where I work. It's a quieter neighbourhood, for sure - it's the business district of downtown. You're closer to Gastown and the foodie cocktail bars, restaurants, and craft beer pubs. Stanley Park's only a short walk away. The immediate few blocks are sterile and bland and dead at night, but if you're only sleeping there at night, that's exactly what you want. Again, you're only a short walk away to more interesting areas, and when you get back to your hotel, you're not going to have to trip over drunken suburbanites 20-year-olds and their bros.
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Old May 17th, 2017, 08:50 PM
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p.s. the Twisted Fork Bistro and Medina Cafe are closer to the Comfort Inn, if you're seeking a good brunch.

p.s.s. Honestly, either hotel is fine. You can walk between the two of them in less than 10 minutes.
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Old May 18th, 2017, 05:38 AM
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BC_Robyn, this is awesome feedback. So, sounds like Comfort Inn is in a happening area. I don't mind that. I'm sure once in your room, noise shouldn't be an issue? We'll be there Monday early afternoon through Thursday early afternoon, so not sure if that will make a difference. I live in Chicago and the business districts are quiet and boring, but if everything is within walking distance, then shouldn't be bad if staying at the Days Inn.

Have you been to the Jam Café on Beatty? Looks delicious. Have you been to Meat and Bread? Also looks great. Any other food and bar/pub joints that are close to must-go as can be? I also love craft beer. We will be going to Stanley park and the Capilano suspension bridge. Given our time of about 3 days, before doing more research, what are other must-do's? We just went to Paris and Italy in September and did tons of walking, even in Rome and Paris, so we don't mind the walking at all unless public transportation is necessary. Paris was the only city we really needed public transportation or taxi. Any walking or bus tours worth doing? We didn't do much of that in Europe except for the Vatican tour. Thanks again for your feedback.
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