I am coming to Canada for a 7 day cruise in late May and then I will have a week in Vancouver,Victoria and possibly Seattle. I am travelling alone and thus need to keep costs for accomodation, travel etc to a minimum.
Looking for suggestions on where to stay and what to do in these cities and the best way to get around.

go to www.searstravel.ca...they are having a Go Canada promotion on right now, and they have all kinds of tours, and hotels on the web site in Canadian funds.

I strongly reccomend at least a full day trip to Whistler. It's very different from the Southern Alps and there still will be snow on the upper peaks.

Bus trtavel between Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler is the least expensive and most convenient way to travel between them. In all canses the busses let you off pretty close to the action.

In Vancouver you could rent a car for a day if you're comfortable with driving on the right hand side of the road or there are plenty of tour buses. One of the best for an overview of the main sights in the city centre is the Vancouver Trolley company which does a circuit of over 20 sites with on/off priviledges at most of them. Other than that places like Grouse Mountain, Capilano or Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridges and the UBC area can be reached by public transportation and don't really need tour busses.

Vancouver is worth 3 days, Victoria and Whistler one day, (& one night in Victoria) and seattle two days. You should find lots of accomodation for under $100CAD in Vancouver & Victoria but not in Whistler or Seattle.

For an inexpensive, comfortable safe stay in Vancouver why not consider the YWCA Hotel/Residence. Rates in May are $51 or $65 CAD (price does not include 10% provincial room tax)Difference in price depends on bathroom options. I have stayed here myself and found it great. It's location is convenient to transportation, downtownetc. Check out their website: www.ywcahotel.com. Hope that helps

Hi from another Aussie, we are doing a cruise in August and will be looking for accomodation in Victoria, Seattle and Vancouver. Looking to minimize costs also if you find anything that you would suggest can you pass it onto me.

Hi again I am the Aussue traveller who asked the previous question but forgot to put in a reply address if you have any info please contact me at [email protected] Thanks

In Victoria, if you don't mind a bit of a walk or a bus ride to downtown, you could try the Dogwood Manor Manor B&B on Fairfield Rd. Don't let their website frighten you. The house is quite attractive, clean and well maintained in a quiet, pleasant neighbourhood near Cook St. Village and not too far from Beacon Hill Park. My sister stayed there off-season and got a cheaper rate than what was listed on their website. She had nothing but good things to say about it. Fixings for breakfast were provided in the room rather than being served in a dining room.

Take the bus from Vancouver to Victoria as Gary suggests. You don't have to worry about ferry lineups and reservations that way, and you can eat on the ferry if need be. From Vancouver, the later part of the trip through the Gulf Islands is most interesting. The bus lets you off beside the Empress Hotel at the Inner Harbour in Victoria. There, you will also see the parliament building and the museum. Around this area is most convenient for sight-seeing so it might be a better choice if time is tight. There are shops and restaurants and you should feel relatively safe out at night. Hotels tend to be pricey but you may find some B&Bs in James Bay for less.

For simplicity, I'll say that the James Bay neighbourhood is on one side of Beacon Hill Park and the Fairfield neighbourhood (where Dogwood Manor is) is on the other. From either area you could walk to the park, through to the waterfront (Dallas Rd) where pathways follow the coastline and Washington State's Olympic Mountains can be seen across the strait.

If Butchart Gardens is on your agenda, and it should be, you can take a city bus there and back for much less than a tour.