Victoria or Vancouver?
Sep 3rd, 2009, 11:50 AM
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Victoria or Vancouver?
Im clueless about either of these cities. If you only had a day and a half to spend in either of the places, which would you choose and why? Thanks for the help!
Sep 3rd, 2009, 12:49 PM
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Victoria and Vancouver are two very different places offering similar things in some places, but completely different experiences otherwise. They're really apples and oranges. Which one we'd recommend depends on what your interests are. Are you elderly? Are you young? Do you enjoy museums? Trendy shopping? Foodie dining experiences? Chain restaurants? Scenery? Wilderness? Touristy attractions? etc, etc.
Victoria's got the quaint and charming while Vancouver has the cosmopolitan and dramatic scenery.
Victoria's a small city of 300,000. Vancouver's a large city of 2 million
Victoria you can actually see a lot of in a day and a half. With only a day and a half in Vancouver, you can only see part of the city, (but the best parts, ie: Stanley Park).
There's a poster on here named annetti who spent several weeks in Vancouver last year, and now she's spending several weeks in Victoria this year. You can look up her posts and see how her experiences in both cities compare and differ.
Victoria's got the quaint and charming while Vancouver has the cosmopolitan and dramatic scenery.
Victoria's a small city of 300,000. Vancouver's a large city of 2 million
Victoria you can actually see a lot of in a day and a half. With only a day and a half in Vancouver, you can only see part of the city, (but the best parts, ie: Stanley Park).
There's a poster on here named annetti who spent several weeks in Vancouver last year, and now she's spending several weeks in Victoria this year. You can look up her posts and see how her experiences in both cities compare and differ.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 05:15 PM
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I have been to both Victoria and Vancouver - as stated previously, they are very different cities. For a first time visitor I would recommend Vancouver - Stanley Park is amazing - it has the outer cycling seaside pathway with amazing views of the ocean and the mountains, the inner part of the park has the totem poles and tall trees. You can also visit English Bay beach, Grouse Mountain or Granville Island with its brewery, market and restaurants.
Victoria does have the harbour and the Empress Hotel with its traditional tea, which I have yet to partake. There is also Butchart Gardens. With a day and a half, have you considered the amount of time that it takes the ferry or flight to get there?
Vancouver/Whistler will be the site of 2010 Winter Olympic Games and construction of the sites is ongoing - ex. the Sky Train from sites in Vancouver to Richmond - if that is of interest to you. Vancouver to Whistler by the Sea to Sky Highway has amazing scenery by car!
Victoria does have the harbour and the Empress Hotel with its traditional tea, which I have yet to partake. There is also Butchart Gardens. With a day and a half, have you considered the amount of time that it takes the ferry or flight to get there?
Vancouver/Whistler will be the site of 2010 Winter Olympic Games and construction of the sites is ongoing - ex. the Sky Train from sites in Vancouver to Richmond - if that is of interest to you. Vancouver to Whistler by the Sea to Sky Highway has amazing scenery by car!
Sep 4th, 2009, 02:46 PM
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It sounds like Vancouver may be more our speed- we want good scenery, get a feel for a slice of life in BC. We are looking into the float plane from Seattle... Any experience with that? We are hoping to avoid driving/border crossing etc with the limited time as we have to be back in Seattle at a fixed time. Any recs on top notch places to stay in Vanc? Thanks so much!
Sep 5th, 2009, 07:34 AM
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I'm in Vancouver now at the Four Seasons which was recently renovated and it's very comfortable. I also like the new Shangri-la, and if you like boutiques, the Loden.
There's no float plane service direct between Seattle and Vancouver however. You'd either need to take Kenmore to Victoria and Harbour Air from Victoria to Vancouver, or take the train--that's how I got here yesterday and it's a nice trip along the water (so nicer than driving in that respect) but it's not any faster than driving--took about 6 hours all in, from the time I left my house for the train station to the time I pulled up at the Four Seasons (the line to go through immigration was slow, and there was a long slow line for taxis at the Vancouver train station). If you do business class however, you get to go through the immigration line first.
There's no float plane service direct between Seattle and Vancouver however. You'd either need to take Kenmore to Victoria and Harbour Air from Victoria to Vancouver, or take the train--that's how I got here yesterday and it's a nice trip along the water (so nicer than driving in that respect) but it's not any faster than driving--took about 6 hours all in, from the time I left my house for the train station to the time I pulled up at the Four Seasons (the line to go through immigration was slow, and there was a long slow line for taxis at the Vancouver train station). If you do business class however, you get to go through the immigration line first.
Sep 7th, 2009, 11:31 AM
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"Victoria you can actually see a lot of in a day and a half. With only a day and a half in Vancouver, you can only see part of the city, (but the best parts, ie: Stanley Park)."
I'd go with Victoria if I only had a day and a half, You are just missing out on too much that Vancouver offers by limiting it to such a short time. With Victoria, you will get more a sense of the city. You can spend some time in the Inner Harbor, walk in downtown, see the beautiful bldgs, see the Royal British Columbia Museum if you are inclined, and even make it to Butchart Gardens. See Carnanah's statement above. My 2 cents' worth.
I'd go with Victoria if I only had a day and a half, You are just missing out on too much that Vancouver offers by limiting it to such a short time. With Victoria, you will get more a sense of the city. You can spend some time in the Inner Harbor, walk in downtown, see the beautiful bldgs, see the Royal British Columbia Museum if you are inclined, and even make it to Butchart Gardens. See Carnanah's statement above. My 2 cents' worth.
Sep 8th, 2009, 11:18 AM
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I tend to agree with annetti and Carnanah's advice as well. Victoria is beautiful and do-able in a day and a half. I would worry that you would end up being stuck in traffic for much of your stay in Vancouver. I love Vancouver, too, but it requires at least 3 days to really get into the swing of things there.
Having said that, though, if you are still looking for hotel recommendations for Vancouver, the Listel Hotel on Robson Street is very cool - I think they borrow artwork for the Art Gallery, so there are some amazing pieces of art on the walls. They also have a great lounge that has live music.
Have fun!
Having said that, though, if you are still looking for hotel recommendations for Vancouver, the Listel Hotel on Robson Street is very cool - I think they borrow artwork for the Art Gallery, so there are some amazing pieces of art on the walls. They also have a great lounge that has live music.
Have fun!
