Vancouver for 4 days---where to stay to see the whales??
 

Part of an extended Canadian Rockies vacation includes four days and nights in Vancouver. As this is our first time in this city (or in Canada at all for that matter), we wondered what area of Vancouver should we base ourselves? Our interests are seeing the scenery sights Vancouver has to offer and especially avail ourselves the opportunity to do some whale watching tours. What are the absolute "must sees" in Vancouver so we can adjust our itinerary accordingly?

Thanks for offering your kind opinions!

When are you coming? The peak type for seeing orcas near Vancouver is early summer, but there is a chance of seeing them into the fall. Victoria is the best place to base yourself for whale watching, although there are companies that do trips from Vancouver--but you're on the boat longer as you usually need to travel further to where the whales are. So you might want to include a night in Victoria in your itinerary.

Best to stay in downtown Vancouver.

My must sees include Stanley Park, Granville Island, Yaletown, UBC Museum--but there have been lots of posts on this topic, you might try doing a search and reading previous posts to get a consensus.

&quot;<i>The peak type for seeing orcas near Vancouver is early summer....</i>&quot;

Not at all true-in fact there's been a large pod in the Vancouver area for the past 2 weeks, off the mouth of the Fraser River, in Georgia Strait off Bowen Island and some mornings in English Bay right in front of the city-this is common in August.

This means that local WW companies don't have to travel far at all to see Orcas-saves on gas/travel time and gives customers more time with the Orcas.

http://www.seabreezeadventures.ca/

http://whalesvancouver.com/

Sorry, you're right, my mistake, I was really thinking of whale watching from Victoria. As you note, it is very common for the pods to be up near the Fraser River late in the summer following the salmon.

Thank you both for your kind posts. I should have mentioned that we are planning to visit late July next year. With that time frame in mind, are we almost certain to see whales on a boat tour?

Several people do mention Victoria instead of Vancouver for the whale watching. As someone who is not familiar with either city, how do they differ and should we be splitting our time between the two?? We will only be in the area for 4 nights then we're off to Jasper and Banff.

&quot;<i>With that time frame in mind, are we almost certain to see whales on a boat tour? </i>&quot;

Yes.

Companies from both Vancouver and Victoria are looking at the same Orcas, two main pods that form/split/reform as they wish, Vancouver-based companies often have a longer ride but offer the same experience.