VANCOUVER.....HELP!!!!!
 

I am planing a trip for my wife and I to Vancouver. We have heard so many great things about Vancouver. Any feed back on hotels, retaurants, location, etc.. would be very helpful to me. We are going in Mid May. Is the weather ok during this time? Thanks!

Hi Bizman

Best way to get some good suggestions is to do a bit of research first and then ask some more specific questions...

Oh, and the weather is sometimes a bit hit-and-miss in mid-May - should be fairly warm (depending on where you're from), however pack for some rain as well =^D

What is the best time of year to visit Vancouver? I had heard August.

If you are using sunshine as your criterion, July and August both are good months in which to visit Vancouver (on average).

As you move outwards on either side of that, things become a bit more hit and miss.

May and June are fairly good months, as is September.

The winter months, especially November through January, typically get a lot of rain.

The Vancouver page of my website has what I think is a good intro to Vancouver:

http://tinyurl.com/2cvee7

The Vancouver entry in the Destinations section of the Fodor's website has good info on Vancouver. The link is near the top left hand corner of this screen.

Bizman, we don't know where you are, so we don't know your standards for weather and climate.

That said, I was recently observing a list of the "most liveable cities on earth", and the only one in North America to make the top twenty on that list, was Vancouver.

Mid-May would be good because you'd be there before touristy crowds, yet after seasonal attractions were in full swing.

It would be silly for us to remark about the weather, because I'm sure that while you're there, you'll at some point look out and feel miserable about the rain, and then, the next day, you'll be stunned at how clear and beautiful it is.

Even the surrounding scenery is better early in the touristy season, as snow can still be high on the North Shore Mountains, which serve as a backdrop to the city, through May.

As for hotels, if I were you, I would use Priceline.com for a hotel in the "downtown" section... first try the 4-stars, and then the 3-stars...

KNOW THAT a CANADIAN HOLIDAY occurs on Monday May 21, and that things would be a bit more 'busy' on that holiday weekend, as well as the following Memorial Day weekend (U.S. tourists visiting Canada).

If you could have most of your trip done by Victoria Day weekend, then you'd be in great shape.

Downtown Vancouver is so compact and so relatively flat, for reasons of surrounding waterways, that you probably won't go wrong if landing any of the major hotels in that area.

Here is a downtown Vancouver layout with the major hotels marked:

http://www.greatervancouverhotels.co...ctions-map.htm

If it were me going up there (which I tend to do 12-20 times a year), I would hope for a hotel in the top-left quadrant when using the lines of Georgia and Granville streets as dividers.

Vancouver is relatively safe when compared to any other North American city of its size, and even more (RELATIVELY) safe late at night, when "normal people" seem to be walking around all night long, as in no other city I've ever been to (save for Vegas, but that isn't exactly 'downtown', in Vegas).

I think your trip will go smoothly and that it is a can't-miss, based on such a destination.

I've answered other threads on Vancouver, so if you click on my name before scanning the resulting list at left, you might find something else of interest.

PS - Priceline rates are probably quite splendid for mid-May because the heavy demand hasn't hit yet.

I am in Arizona so I get great weather most of the year. May will start to get hot here. We are both in our early to mid thirties with no kids. Any suggestions on what part of town we should stay.... maybe a top 3 hotels from anyone responding. Thanks.

Bizman, if you are terrified of something like "Priceline"... you should read up on it at www.biddingfortravel.com.

There you could find a list of all of the 'possible' hotels you could land via Priceline in Vancouver (and some reviews too).

The rates you get on Priceline make pricey hotels affordable, and I sense that in your situation, the hotel possibilities for (the DOWNTOWN section of) Vancouver (possible at Priceline) would each be suitable.

With that said, I can recall staying at the Hyatt Regency, and the Vancouver Renaissance Harbourside through Priceline, and the locations of both were quite convenient.

The V.R.H. landed me in a view room on the north side which looked out at stunning water/mountain views... (and the Vancouver trademark "Chevron" gas station in the middle of the water - for boats)... all that at a Priceline price.

So, I say, get a nice accommodation for a Priceline price and then spend the savings seeing the sights in Vancouver.

Hey, come to think of it, I know what you can spend that savings on.

I LOVE the "Grouse Mountain Skyride" ... where you drive 10 or 15 minutes out of downtown, to the bottom of a mountain, and then take a gondola car 3700 feet up the side of the mountain to the viewpoint, ski area, restaurant high above.

www.grousemountain.com

It costs $32.95 PER PERSON to go up there !!!!

BUT, if you make dinner reservations in advance, the cost to go up is (cough,choke,snort) "free" (if you want to call it that).

THAT is a great spot for someone to take his wife for dinner, in a foreign land.

If you're from (the hot parts of) Arizona, you'd better pack ALL of your winter clothes to wear on that day alone.

(LOL - it is 32 degrees on top of the mountain as I type this, at 1:35pm)

Anyway, let me know if you wish more clarity on something.

how about :

Sutton Place Hotel:
Zagats gave it a good review and is on priceline for a decent rate

warning/clarity: You can NOT determine your hotel ahead of time, using Priceline. That is the key to the savings there.

Any hotel within a certain star/class range (something you DO select - star rating) in the general AREA you indicate (I.E. "vancouver, downtown") which wants to accept you at the price you bid/offered, can just push a button and you're theirs, with no refunds.

bizman, you're on the Priceline area that offers hotel nights at prices pretty much the same as Expedia and the like. Click on the "Name Your Own Price" section to go to the good part that NorthwestMale is describing. And yes, check out www.biddingfortravel.com before hand, to get some idea of winning bids and strategies. We travel to Vancouver (from Florida) at least once a year and use Priceline. I think our favorite was the Sheraton Wall Centre. But choose the "Vancouver" area (there will be several areas offered for Vancouver). We have paid anywhere from $50-$70 for 3 and 4 star hotels in a perfect walking location for the restaurants, tourist stops, shops, waterfront. We have not been disappointed yet.

Mid May is a great time to visit Vancouver; should get some sunny days but be prepared for some rain as well.

http://www.climateandweather.com/Cli...mbia/Vancouver

Stay somewhere in or around the downtown area.

I would recommend the following sights:

Capilano Suspension Bridge (you can take the seabus over to North Vancouver from downtown)
www.capbridge.com

Granville Island Public Market; fresh baked goods, produce, local artisans - pottery, painting etc. www.granvilleisland.com
www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca

Robson Street shopping, eateries
www.robsonstreet.ca

Grouse Mountain
www.grousemountain.com

University of British Columbia
www.ubc.ca
Museum of Anthropology
www.moa.ubc.ca

Dr.Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden
www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

Stanley Park (parts of it is closed though from the storm)
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/Parks/parks/stanley

English Bay/West End
www.englishbay.com

Pan Pacific Hotel (pricier but nice just to visit, have a drink, go to the lounge, just walk around and enjoy the view)it's connected to Canada Place built for Expo'86
www.panpacific.com/Vancouver/
www.canadaplace.ca/cpc/

Vancouver Public Library Downtown (architecure is a modern take on the Roman Coliseum)
www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca

Historic Gastown
www.gastown.org

We have a decent amount of American Express points and can use them on either the Four Seasons which I am reading is not one of the nicer Four Seasons around and either the Westin Bayshore, The Westin Grand, or Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. Which one of these would you recommend? Thanks.

The Western Bayshore is the most scenic out of all of them. The rooms can have fabulous views, but parts of the lobby wouldn't look out of place in a 60s modernist architecture book.

The Westin Grand is more sleek - every room a suite. It's located in a giant grand piano-shaped glass skyscraper in Yaletown.

The Sheraton Wall Centre is similar in ways to the Westin Grand, though it's in a larger building, and there are 2 towers - an older one and a newer one. One of them is the tallest building in Vancouver.

If you're looking for scenery, a laid atmosphere, a spitting distance to Stanley Park and the waterfront, and more of a local neighbourhood feel (with restaurants and shops that locals, as opposed to tourists frequent), go with the Westin Bayshore.

If you're looking for a classy high end hotel that's sleek and modern, where you're within a 3 minute walk to shopping and the cosmopolitan restaurant/boutique shopping scene of Yaletown, go with the Westin Grand.

If you're looking for being in the physical heart of the city where you're a 2 minute walk away from the heart of major brand name stores and busy restaurants, then choose the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Personally, I like all three, but I've only had the pleasure of staying in the Sheraton Wall Centre, and have only done tours of the the others.

I just did Priceline for a night in July ( we won't be able to make the flight back to the midwest on the 16th, from an Alaskan cruise so we get a day in Vancouver) and I got the Holiday Inn Vancouver Center on W. Broadway, a 3 star for $ 120.00.. does anyone know if public transportation is nearby..and only having one day - what would you recommend for a family with 2 daughters, 16 and 18 ? I will be doing research soon....
thanks much for any and all input...:)

Frugaltraveler, with one day in Vancouver, I suggest you visit Stanley Park and Granville Island Market and, if time permits, walk along Vancouver's main downtown street, which is Robson Street, and visit the funky shopping district of Yaletown.

My web page on Vancouver has a link to the Trip Planning feature of TransLink, which is Vancouver's public transportation system. Plug in the address of your hotel and plug in the place to which you want to go, e.g., Stanley Park, and the Trip Planner will tell you which combination of buses, trains and ferries to catch (although in your case I'm sure it'll be buses only).

If the Trip Planner feature will not yet allow you to look up a July date, choose a closer date that is the same day of the week. That is relevant because transportation timetables are different on Saturdays and Sundays than they are from week days.

Although Vancouver is a compact city, and you should be able to do what you need to do by walking and using public transportation, there also is the option of a hop-on / hop-off tourist bus that continually does a circuit of the centrally located attractions.

I've told you the main things I think you need to know, but here is my web page on Vancouver in case you want to read more:

http://tinyurl.com/2cvee7

Thank you Judy in Calgary !
I wish I had more time but I have to be satisfied with the 1 day, we will have been gone 16 days to Alaska already.
Thank you again...

That Holiday Inn on Broadway is located next to a major bus stop that takes you a few blocks west to Granville. From Granville there are at least a dozen different buses coming every few minutes taking you into downtown. The corner of Broadway and Granville is just up the hill from the Granville Bridge that takes you downtown. Once downtown, you can pretty much walk everywhere, although you might want to take the bus to Stanley Park first just to save time.

From Stanley Park I'd recommend walking along the seawall to English Bay and then along False Creek to the False Creek Ferries stop across to Granville Island. It's like a 2 minute boat ride across - very fun. Spend a few hours at Granville Island (the market closes at 7pm). When you're done with Granville Island, take the False Creek Ferries or the Aquabus to Yaletown. From Yaletown there are boutiques and a lot of great restaurants, although the boutiques close down relatively early (by 6-7pm).

From Yaletown, you can walk north to Robson Street and then head down Robson if you want some shopping and more restaurants - a very busy shopping district with people nonchalantly strolling the sidewalks. Whether or not you intend to do any shopping is irrelevant... it'll just give you a taste of downtown Vancouver. Then pick up a cab or a bus back to your hotel, and you've had a very busy day in Vancouver!

thank you Carmanah..
such a wealth of information, now I wish I had several days but this will give me a taste of Vancouver and now I know I will be back.
thanks again ! :)

Wow, one day in Vancouver... it's a great challenge and a great city for that challenge.

IF the weather is nice, heck, I'd just walk across the Granville bridge into downtown Vanc.

The views as you cross, with sprouting (and long-ago-sprouted) Hong Kong-like apartment growth is unique to North American cities.

The streets are safe, and 'normal' people walk the streets all night long (lol - not the same ones all the time).

IF all of the troops are healthy and able walkers, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to walk as far as you can from hotel, to Granville, to Robson, to Stanley Park (the Vancouver Aquarium is there, and it is excellent).

The park has some awesome views, and perhaps you can stop at stores/eateries and buy picnic-like items for that meal.

Something tells me that your timing won't even let you have a full "day" there, so it would be helpful if we knew what you really are looking at in terms of time in Vancouver.

If I had daughters 16 and 18 I think I would take them to Robson street with a generous shopping budget and let THEM decide how the time in Vancouver is spent.

In the event that lots of your time in Vancouver is restricted to after-dark (at least it is July, where it will be light out until nearly 10:00pm), I would restrict the walking tour to Robson, Granville and Broadway streets for the most part, and wouldn't expect a worry at all from those environs (save for the occasional young drifter asking for spare change).

I couldn't begin to pick ONE PLACE for a meal in the area... and if I were a mom I would let the daughters decide

(a) because then you won't have to

(b) because theeeeey will have more fun if feeling so central to choosing the destination

Vancouver will be a nice little punctuation mark on the end of your trip.

If you can think of further specifics about the area layout, be sure to ask!

Gee! This thread alone has Everything you ever wanted to know about Vancouver!!
Great information, thanks!