Hi, we are going to Vancouver and Vancouver Island on the last two weeks of April. We are a family of two adults and a 5 year old. We are arriving at Vancouver on friday, renting a car from the airport and going by ferry/car to Tofino. We are staying there for 5 dias and then going to Victoria for 3 days. We will spend our last 5 days in Vancouver. In Vancouver we are planning to stay at Fairmont Pacific Rim and visit: Grandville Island, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Grouse Mountain or Squamish,
I am debating whether to leave the car at Victoria and fly to Vancouver and then move with public transport or day rental cars or to just use our car until the end.

Thanks for the help

That is a challenging question. IF you are two adults by yourselves... then I would comfortably say "no, don't worry about a car in Vancouver, perhaps after keeping it for a FIRST day/night IN Vancouver so you can take stock of your general area, just to have a better sense for what's there when on foot."

But WITH a 5yo... that is a whole additional burden which boosts the probable convenience OF having the vehicle.

If by yourselves, it would be easy enough to take a city bus to Grouse Mountain and then go up (you should DO it)... but it would be SO much more convenient in a car, particularly with a young child.

Central Vancouver is wonderful in that it is mostly surrounded by water, and thus fairly FLAT... AND there are normal humans walking to and fro on the streets all night long (as in relatively few other cities). But, say, what is a simple walk for two adults... the 1.7 flat-ish miles to (whatever counts for "Stanley Park" on the digital internet)... becomes an aggravating marathon for a young child.

THEN, when you get there... the young child is wiped-out by the time you arrived... and already you know you'll have to carry/push her back... and you're not inclined to DO too much there... (sure, the Aquarium, as much to REST from your journey as to enjoy the visions) ... but IF you have the convenience of a car... you can DRIVE all around the park... perhaps see deer in various spots... (envision seeing them out the window, and pointing them out to a 5yo who is content and comfortable in the car).

I think maybe you can finesse your visit so as to [joyride to Stanley Park] EARLY in the Vancouver window, and drive around for a better sense for what is within walking distance... and turn the car in early (avoiding the massive overnight parking fees at some places, for at least SOME nights)... and going on foot alone for the final days... might make sense.


But it is more challenging a question than it seems, given the child involved. (being in the Vancouver Aquarium, and KNOWING that there are 'supplies' in the car, for the kid... just outside... is much more comfortable than is the thought that you are a couple of strange-city miles from your hotel room.

OH, lastly, a bit of a suggestion here...

Somehow get the child UP-to-date on the average candy counter (gas station, supermarket.. just all of the candy bar options) in your home (state?) ... and then pause and linger at the similar candy counters in Canada... where some products are the same, with different packaging, and other products are completely new and different.

Buy some, depending upon your personal standards.

Thank you so much NorthwestMale for you detailed answer! I think you made many great points, and we will probably keep the car....I think it will be easier on all of us!

On your other post you were asking for kid's activities, I see now you are going to Victoria. They have a bug museum which most kids seem to really enjoy.
​​​​​​https://www.victoriabugzoo.ca/visit

Thanks! looks creepy for us, but probably he would love it!

I mean, if you're the type of person who enjoys driving around Manhattan when you visit NYC, you might enjoy having a car in Vancouver. But it could be frustrating for you, you'll need to pack your patience, and you'll be paying for parking everywhere. It's a city where street parking is always metered, if it exists at all, surface level parking lots have mostly been demolished and turned into high density condo towers, and car break-ins are frequent enough that you won't want to leave anything visible in your car while it's parked.

You'd want the car for your drive up to Squamish from Vancouver.

You'd want it for Vancouver Island, definitely, especially for the drive to/from Tofino, though you likely won't use it for exploring Victoria. And flying from Victoria to Vancouver via Harbour Air is such a treat so if that's an option, go with it. Just check the luggage restrictions.

But for your non-travel days in Vancouver, you do not need a car. I'd even make the argument that you wouldn't even want one.

My rationale? Given it's just two of you with a five year old, and not, say, a family with two or more toddlers AND given you're staying at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, which is bulls-eye ground zero for public transit and walkability? Given all the places you're planning to visit in Vancouver, I honestly wouldn't bother with a car.

Do you have a stroller for the 5 year old? Is that a thing for 5 year olds? You can walk from your hotel to Stanley Park in 30 minutes, or hop on a bus and be there in 5 minutes. Or take an Uber and be there in 5 minutes from your hotel.

For Granville Island, you can hop onto the Canada Line (Waterfront station is less than a 5 minute walk from your hotel), and get off at Yaletown Roundhouse station, which is only two stops south, and walk down to the docks at Yaletown Marina, where you can hop on a beautiful little False Creek Ferries or Aquabus boat to Granville Island. A car is utterly useless at Granville Island. You can also just hop on the number 50 bus a short walk from your hotel and it will take you to Granville Island's entrance, but the boat ride there is so much more fun, especially for a 5 year old.

Capilano Suspension Bridge has a free shuttle to their attraction. The stop is across the street from your hotel. Grouse Mountain is just further up the road. To get to Grouse from Capilano, you could hop on the city bus (the two of you just need to tap your credit cards to board it, the 5 year old rides free) and in 10 minutes or less, you'll be there. Or even if you wanted to scrap the Capilano shuttle, you could take the SeaBus from Waterfront station (again, a 5 minute walk from your hotel) and ride it 10 minutes across to Burrard Inlet, which is a family-friendly area full of restaurants and waterfront walkways and such, and then from there, transfer onto the bus to both Capilano and Grouse.

The SeaBus, the Canada Line, and the city bus are all a part of Translink, Vancouver's public transit service. You pay once by tapping your credit card to board, and then you can ride for as long as you'd like for up to 90 minutes on that one fare. After 90 minutes are up, the next time you tap your card to board the SeaBus, Canada Line, or regular city bus, it charges you a new fare. That's how it works.

But even so, Vancouver is soooo walkable and taking little boats across is part of the experience of the city. And a 5 year old will love those little boat rides. And you can also pay for those boats with a credit card.

A car is also handy, sure, but just expect no freeways in Vancouver proper (they've been banned) so it's all stop-go traffic.

As I said, expect to pay for parking absolutely everywhere, all the time. Your hotel will charge you $65 every night to park there. Capilano Suspension Bridge, Stanley Park, Grouse, and Granville Island will charge you for parking. Everywhere else in the city you'll need to feed the PaybyPhone app to pay the parking meters, which run from 9am-10pm, 7 days a week including holidays. So feeding the meters, finding somewhere to park, getting stuck in stop-go traffic like bottlenecks over the bridges, making sure nothing is visible in the car - these are all realities when you're driving in Vancouver.

Obviously if you're staying at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, these parking fees re just pocket change in the big picture, but compared to most cities, downtown Vancouver is about as walkable as it gets. The city planners deliberately have developed the infrastructure so that cars are a frustrating, expensive, and inefficient way to get around. They purposefully have built the city so that walking or using boats or public transit are easier, cheaper, and more efficient.

Thank you very much for your detailed answer! I really appreciate it!!! i think a very important point is to check luggage allowance in the plane from Victoria!
Thank you so much