3 days in Vancouver in August w/kids
 

My wife, my two children (6 and 3) and I are flying to Vancouver from SoCal. Excluding flight time we have about three days. We are staying at the Pan Pacific Hotel. We have traveled extensively with our children and it has been our expereince that it is better to spend more quality time on a few worth while excursions rather than trying to see everything.

Typically we enjoy sight seeing, light hiking, easy water sports, good book stores, outdoor concerts, fun dinners, etc.

With that in mind we were seeking suggestion about the advisability of renting a car.

Last year we went to Seattle for about three days and rented a car but really used it on just one when we took a day trip. We probably could have just rented a car for a day versus four days.

We were also seeking suggestions about easy things to do in the area of our hotel.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

I would just rent a car for one day and go up to Whistler for a day trip which has all sorts of great family activities (but do be aware of the construction on that highway which may cause delays--but IMO the drive is still worth it).

You can easily fill two days in downtown without needing a car--Stanley Park (incl the aquarium) and Granville Island in particular are two places that you'll want to spend time in. The hop on hop off bus might be a good alternative to walking if your kids aren't up to longish walks.

Here's a suggested itinerary.

<b>DAY 1</b>

Visit Stanley Park. This alone could occupy you for a full day, in fact a couple of days. It's a beautiful, 1,000 acre park. Besides that, it has a miniature train, a petting zoo, and an aquarium. There also are a couple of outdoor swimming pools that my kids greatly enjoyed when they were young. A popular activity is to rent bikes and ride around Stanley Park. If you don't feel like doing that, however, there is a FREE shuttle bus that you can use to get around the park. Admission to the park itself is free, but the attractions within the park (aquarium, swimming pools, etc.) do charge entrance fees.

<b>DAY 2</b>

Visit Granville Island Market. It is not a true island, in that it is connected to land. Technically you can drive there or walk there. However, it is fun to use one of the cute miniature ferries that takes just a few minutes to cross False Creek.

Then visit Science World. It has fun hand-on exhibits that kids enjoy. Again you can use one of the False Creek ferry services to get there.

<b>DAY 3</b>

Visit Whistler, as NWWanderer suggested.

The mountains in which Whistler is situated are lovely, and the area has plenty of activities, as NWWanderer stated.

I think a day trip to Whistler would be very worthwhile.

If you don’t want to go as far as Whistler, however, you could visit Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver, drive west along Marine Drive to Horseshoe Bay, and then drive along lovely Howe Sound to Squamish.

Lynn Canyon is situated in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, which is a charming forested area in which it is great to walk. One of the neat features of Vancouver is that it has so much natural space right in the city. Lynn Headwaters Regional Park is in the suburb of North Vancouver.

Squamish is about an hour out of Vancouver and about half of the way towards Whistler. There is a RAILWAY MUSEUM in Squamish that is fun for kids. Just before you reach Squamish, you might like to stop and look at Shannon Falls.

You have to make a choice here. If you go to Whistler, you’ll need to skip Lynn Canyon. However, the forests on the way to Whistler and around Whistler are every bit as nice as the forest in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. Besides that, the mountains around Whistler are more impressive than the mountains on Vancouver’s North Shore.

If you do go all the way to Whistler, you might like to stop just before Whistler to see Brandywine Falls.

North Shore attractions that are a rip off and that I believe you could miss are Grouse Mountain and Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge. But I guess it depends what your kids like. Things that I think are hokey – like the display of lumber jack skills on Grouse Mountain – may be fun for kids.

Anyway, the broad choice for this day, I think, is Whistler OR Lynn Canyon plus Squamish.

More in next post .......

Let me check your wish list.

LIGHT HIKING

You would get that in the Whistler area or in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and, for that matter, in Stanley Park.

EASY WATER SPORTS

I don't know how suitable this is for kids, but one can rent kayaks at Granville Island. Then there's swimming in Stanley Park or at Kitsilano Pool on Kitsilano Beach (across English Bay from Stanley Park).

GOOD BOOK STORES

Barbara-Jo’s Books To Cooks. This is at 1740 2nd Avenue West, not too far from Granville Island Market.

Vancouver has some neat bookstores, like Kestrel Books, that sell antique books, etc. However, they are a bit out of your way.

A bookstore that would be more centrally located for you would be Chapters on Robon Street. It’s quite a nice bookstore with arm chairs and a coffee shop, but it’s not an independently owned store. Rather, it’s a chain, something like Barnes &amp; Noble.

There may be other bookstores that would meet your needs that I am not aware of.

OUTDOOR CONCERTS

See the 2007 schedule of Vancouver Festivals:

http://www.bcpassport.com/vancouver-...festivals.aspx

and the Special Events page of the Find Family Fun website:

http://findfamilyfun.com/eventthismonth.htm

FUN DINNERS

See the Dine Here website. It covers Vancouver as well as Whistler:

http://www.dinehere.ca/

OTHER WEBSITES

A fabulous website about Vancouver is Find Family Fun. It was created by a real life Vancouver family with three children. One of the things I like about it is that you can sort attractions by geographic location, which is very useful because of Vancouver's layout. It really makes sense to plan your sight seeing in such a way that you will visit places that are close to each other on the same day.

http://findfamilyfun.com/

TRANSPORTATION

There are hop-on / hop-off tourist buses that do a circuit of the centrally located tourist attractions, as NWWanderer mentioned. They are very convenient.

If you’re interested in using the city’s public transportation system, which is pretty good, but which requires more research, you can use the Trip Planner feature of TransLink’s website:

http://www.translink.bc.ca/

PLACES TO AVOID

Touristy places that I think you should avoid are Gas Town and Chinatown. They are close to a scuzzy district that is noted for drug addicts, hookers and homeless people. These people won’t harm you as such, but it is not an edifying area to visit. The tone of that part of the city really goes downhill at night, so I particularly warn you against going there after dark.

Hope that helps.

Judy_in_Calgary forgot to mention in detail what a great place Granville Island is for kids! Besides the Public Market (which is fun for the whole family) there is a &quot;Kid's Only Market&quot; AND there is an awesome playground with water park (during the summer) ... I really enjoyed watching the children splashing around and having fun on my last visit. I was almost tempted to join in, but since I was in my early 30's and I was by myself, I thought better of it. :D

Oops. I forgot to add something ...

You can EASILY will up 3 days in downtown Vancouver alone. I would strongly advice you to save any day trips for a return visit.

I spent 2 weeks in Vancouver in 2003 and it wasn't enough time! (That is why I am going back in August)

With a 6 and 3 year old (who I assume still need afternoon naps and a fairly early bed time) I would not even attempt to do Whistler! ... If you feel you need some sort of &quot;day trip&quot; I would recommend just going to the north shore. (You can take the sea bus) There are some beautiful parks there.

There's a great children bookstore in Vancouver called Kid's Books that carries a wonderful assortment of books for all ages of children -- many by Canadian authors. For years everytime I had a business trip to Vancouver I stopped at Kids Books for gifts for the nieces and nephews.

I know there's one in North Vancouver and one in Kitsilano and I believe there are others. If you're interested in books this might be a great stop with your children.

Thanks a million for your suggestions. By the way, long does it take to drive from Vancouver to Whistler? Thanks.

Vancouver to Whistler is nominally 2 hours, but may take longer owing to widening of the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Hwy #99) in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Thanks to everyone, especially Judy in Calgary. You have been great. I will let you know how our trip goes.

Judy, just a question: How in the world have you accumulated all this knowledge??

BarbaraJo's Book to Cook is also in Granville Island as well, in the Nest Loft.