Victoria day
 

We are on vacation in Canada during May and it looks like we will be in Vancouver for 4 days over the Victoria day weekend. Does anyone know if hotels or b&b will be a problem as we were not planning to book anything in advance, being unsure of our arrival day.

Thanks Mike and Sue

cannot say for sure, but it is a Canadian holiday ( not American) ; we don't tend to travel so much.

well, vancouver is a huge city. so, if you aren't fussy or don't mind possibly paying premium rates, i'm sure you'll find a place to stay - wouldn't count on a b&b.

OK, so it sounds maybe I'd better book something.
Where best to stay, ie which area of vancouver, I have found a nice b&b on North side, is this too far out, or is a waterfront hotel more central, we shall be touring around by car for 4 days seeing the usual tourist places, (don't know where or what they are yet)

the more central you are the better;
Vancouver is not the easiest city do drive around.

I would book a hotel in the downtown core - Waterfront hotel sounds good. It is within walking distance to the main shopping street (Robson), the Art Gallery, etc.

I would definitely think about booking in advance, even if you have a few hotels in mind and call the day before you plan to arrive.

Vancouver doesn't fill up as much as Victoria (on Vancouver Island) does. Victoria on that weekend has a parade and lots of street entertainment, etc. Went there a few years ago and the city was packed.

In Vancouver, with a car, you can venture out to outlying attractions (Granville Island, Museum of Anthropology), etc.

You can take a bus down to Stanley Park, or if the weather is nice, hit the seawall which runs from the Waterfront Hotel and walk in to Stanley Park. On a nice late spring day, it doesn't get much better than that in Vancouver.

If you want to go to North Vancouver, take the Seabus (located at Waterfront Station - just around the corner from the hotel), which crosses over the inlet every 1/2 hour. It will take you to Lonsdale Quay which is sort of an indoors farmer market.

If you want to explore Lynn Canyon, Suspension Bridge, Capilano Dam, etc., which are all in North Vancouver, I would recommend driving.

Look up this site for the Sylvia Hotel. It is reasonably priced and quite central. Try it on Google as well.The thing to avoid on Victoria week-end is travelling on the Friday or the Monday. That is when all the natives are moving and transportation of all kinds tends to be congested.