What is there to do in Vancouver? How long is the Ferry ride to Vancouver island? Shopping?

There is tonnes to do in Vancouver, depending on the time of year you will be there. There is the art gallery, museum of anthropology at U.B.C., Chinatown, the zoo at Stanley Park and various productions at the Ford Center. Skiing is one of the seasonal things available nearby. Best places to shop would be on Robson or at the Pacific mall in downtown Vancouver. I would suggest a visit to Whistler if time allows and you have a car. Beautiful scenery as well as atmosphere.

Re: Shopping

Please keep in mind that most everything in Vancouver closes at 6:00 p.m., with the exception of restaurants. There are a few souveneir type shops which stay open later. Granville Island has a few shops of interest, I didn't care for many of them. The historic town area has quite a few shops. It really put me at a disadvantage with the 6:00 p.m. closings. Use credit cards as much as possible to eliminate any exchange hassles. Have a good time!!!!

In response to shops closing at 6pm, that is not true. Robson St. in particular stays open quite late. Most large malls are open until 9pm on Thursday and Friday nights and some may open that late on Wednesday nights as well. It also isn't necessary to use your credit card as often as possible. Most businesses give a fair exchange rate and the only problem would be if you didn't want Canadian dollars as change. It is far easier to to spend US dollars in Canada than it is to spend Canadian dollars in the US.

The ferry ride to Vancouver Island is 1hr40min. I take it you may be coming over to the capital city, Victoria? Much smaller than Vancouver, but still lots to do!

S. Moss
Victoria, BC