We will taking an Alaska cruise from Vancouver in August. We arrive the day before our ship leaves (which is 5:45pm). What should we do with two teens given that amount of time in Vancouver? Fortunately, we were there six years ago (with non-teenage children then!) so we've seen much of Vancouver, just need help figuring out what to do in a brief amount of time with kids the ages they are now!

As a teen, I loved wandering along Robson Street during the summer evenings - lots of shops and cool restaurants. You can then walk down Denman Street to English Bay and walk along the beach, and down the seawall to Stanley Park. In August the sun doesn't set until late, so it's often light out until 10pm.

Don't bother with Gastown or Chinatown in the evening, as the stores are closed then and the neighbourhoods become ghost towns (with exception to the clubs/restaurants open).

With one evening in Vancouver with teens, I'd just stick with the West End.

Peggi, can you clarify when you arrive in Vancouver and when you depart from Vancouver? It's not entirely clear to which event 5.45 p.m. is linked.

We haven't finalized our flight yet but we'll be flying there from the East Coast. My guess is we'll arrive about lunch time?? We'll spend one night and then will check in on our ship the next afternoon...the ship leaves at 5:45pm.

Hello peggi,

Don't know your kids and don't know if they would think this was lame, but the Vancouver Trolley Company does a circuit of the city's attractions that one can do on a hop on / hop off basis. I think it's a good way of getting an orientation to the city.

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

Since you will be in Vancouver overnight, it would be nice to take the gondola up Grouse Mountain towards the end of daylight hours, so you can look down on the city lights coming on. There are restaurants up there all the way from ultra casual through fine dining.

If your teens are fit, you could even challenge them to do the Grouse Grind, a.k.a. Mother Nature's Stairmaster, which simply means walking up Grouse Mountain instead of taking the gondola. (One gains 2,800 feet of elevation in 1.8 miles.)

If you are so inclined, you could even do it yourself.

Carmanah mentioned Stanley Park, and I'd consider that a Must Visit. An optional activity is to do the 5-mile seawall route on rented bikes or rollerblades.

Beyond a Robson Street meander, which Carmanah also mentioned, it's possible they'd be interested in Granville Island Market.

You could easily spend a day bicycling Stanley Park and taking the bikes on the water taxi to explore Granville Island and visit the market there. The water taxi is right along the bike route, directly across from the market. In addition to the market, which is loads of fun, there are great stores on Granville Island, galleries, restaurants. Be sure to rent locks with the bikes.
Bicycling through Stanely Pk, you pass places to swim along the way, so carry swim suits if you are interested.There are totem poles, the aquarium, gardens, a mermaid like in Copenhagen only with scuba gear, if I recall. You can ride your bikes up to the York Town area (I think its called) which is an upscale shopping area with lots of cool places to eat. It's only about a block or two from the bike trails. You can go to the science museum, beaches. It would be very nice to do after a plane trip.
Also, for the night, you could return to Granville Island for a comedy show. The kids would love it, and so would you.