Vancouver and Victoria with Kids

Vancouver and Victoria are great places to entertain children, especially ones who like the outdoors. Check the calendar for family-oriented special events, like the Vancouver International Children's Festival in May and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in July.

In Downtown Vancouver

Allow a day to enjoy the kid-friendly activities in Stanley Park: the miniature train, aquarium, pool, water park, and beaches are great for all ages. And getting around this huge park—on a horse-drawn wagon or the park shuttle—is half the fun. Make sure you also plan a trip on the mini Aquabus ferry to Granville Island, home of North America's largest free public water park and the Kids' Market, a two-story complex of toy stores and play areas. The Granville Island market is a great place for lunch or snacking, and even the pickiest kids should be able to find something they like. You can check out the interactive displays at Science World, or hop a foot-passenger ferry to see one of the kid-friendly museums at Vanier Park: the Maritime Museum or the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

Beyond Downtown

Outside downtown Vancouver, the North Shore is a wilderness playground. Older kids will no doubt enjoy terrifying their parents by trying to wobble the Capilano Suspension Bridge (or the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge). The Treetops Adventure at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and the salmon-spawning displays at the nearby Capilano Salmon Hatchery tend to be big hits, too. Take a Skyride trip up Grouse Mountain, where you can skate or take a sleigh ride in winter, or hike and visit the bear refuge in summer. For a day at the beach, head west to Spanish Banks or Locarno for warm, shallow water and wide stretches of sand. Kits Beach is busier, but has a playground and a saltwater pool.

Don't underestimate the entertainment power of public transportation. For a few dollars, a SeaBus ride across Burrard Inlet (a larger ferry than the Granville Island Aquabus) provides a water-level view of the harbor; the same ticket gets you on an elevated SkyTrain ride across town.

In Victoria

Like Vancouver, Victoria has small foot-passenger ferries zigzagging across the harbor, and Fisherman's Wharf, with its houseboats, seals, and fish-and-chips stands, is popular. Preschoolers are mesmerized by the tiny displays at Miniature World and charmed by the friendly critters at the Beacon Hill Park petting zoo, while older kids enjoy the Victoria Bug Zoo, the Royal British Columbia Museum, and shopping for allowance-priced souvenirs in Chinatown. Easy hikes, bike rides, and picnics are also popular. For serious "what I did on my summer vacation" material, you can't beat a whale-watching trip. For a night out, try a movie at the IMAX theaters or the spectacular fireworks displays on summer evenings at The Butchart Gardens.

At The Butchart Gardens

If The Butchart Gardens is on your Victoria to-do list, you can make a full day of it by meandering through the peninsula—Sea Cider (about a 10-minute drive from the ferry and about 15 minutes from the gardens) is the place for craft cider (for moms and dads) and delicious local fare. Nearby, the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre has amazing touchy-feely exhibits to entertain everyone from 8 to 80 years old.