A Perfect Couple of Days in Vancouver

I had a trip to Alaska planned for the end of August. The cruise portion of my Alaskan trip departed from Vancouver, so I decided to spend a long weekend there prior to boarding the cruise. I had a perfect two and a half days in Vancouver!

Vancouver is a beautiful, eclectic city with wonderful restaurants and great sites. My flight to Vancouver was part of my cruise package so it was, unfortunately, not nonstop (which is typically my preferred way of traveling). The second flight from Toronto to Vancouver was delayed six — yes, six — hours! However, we made the best of it and got a bonus travel day in Toronto. After storing our airplane bags at the Toronto airport, we had enough time to see the CN Tower and the Blue Jay Stadium, and then we took a scenic harbor cruise around Lake Ontario. We then got back on track to Vancouver.

While in Vancouver, we stayed at Hotel Blu, a wonderful boutique hotel (the hairdryers were Dysons), that we found very central to most of the sites and restaurants and within walking distance to Vancouver's gorgeous waterfront. Most of the rooms are bilevel with a lovely sitting area, balcony and bathroom on one level and then a set of stairs up to the bedroom loft. The two-floor full glass windows had electrically controlled blackout curtains. We really enjoyed this hotel and how cozy it was.

From our hotel, we were able to walk to most of the sites we wanted to see. First, we explored the waterfront, where Canada Place, an iconic landmark with flags on top and a large-scale event space, is located. This is also where the cruise terminal is located. In addition to walking along the lovely waterfront space, we rode the FlyOver Canada ride (similar to Soarin' at DisneyWorld’s Epcot – one of my favorite rides), a flight simulation ride that “travels” over Canada!

Next, we walked to Granville Island, an indoor market of various food and produce items along with products made by hand and unique gifts. We then had cocktails and appetizers at an outdoor location overlooking "Giants," a spray-painted mural on six concrete silos.

Vancouver is well known for its Asian dining establishments. We ate at the award-winning Thai restaurant Maenam for dinner, where we partook in the chef’s menu. The tastes and presentation were wonderful, even if we had no idea what exactly we were eating!

The next day, after a wonderful sweet breakfast at Purebread, we took a several-hour bike tour of Stanley Park. Named for Lord Stanley, one of the first governor generals of Canada and the namesake of hockey's Stanley Cup, Stanley Park is a huge green area of the city that is part planned park and part forest. It abuts several bodies of water and contains gorgeous views of mountains and some of the largest cedar trees you’ve ever seen. Our guided bike tour took us along the Vancouver seawall and introduced us to some of the famous sites and statues of the park, such as the totem poles and "Girl in a Wetsuit."

After our amazing bike ride, we walked along famous Robson Street and did some shopping — after all, we don’t have Roots stores in the United States — and had brunch at Forage on the outside patio. In the early evening, we saw the Olympic cauldron from when Vancouver hosted the Olympics and strolled through the Gastown area of the city, where we saw the still-working steam clock on our way to dinner. We had another amazing dinner, this time at Boa Bei in Chinatown, a very hip, modern Asian fusion bistro.

On our last day in Vancouver, we woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast at Le Petit Belge near our hotel. We then took the free shuttle from Canada Place along the waterfront to the iconic and historic Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Once you cross the amazing suspension bridge — my first time crossing one, which was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be — you enter the wonderful Treetop Adventure, which is a series of boardwalks and bridges through a rainforest canopy. The scenery is stunning — we even spotted a few bald eagles! We then walked the very narrow Cliffwalk, which I found much scarier than the bridge. The park has beautiful stores and restaurants to check out before you board the shuttle back to town.

It was then time to gather our suitcases and get ready for the next part of our trip: a cruise and land trip to Alaska. I definitely could have spent a couple of more days exploring all that Vancouver had to see and do, but now I have a reason to return to this great city!

I recommend staying in a part of the city that is walkable to much of what is offered. I also recommend going when the weather is fair/warm so that you can take advantage of the outdoor activities. As Vancouver is a busy pre-cruise destination, the hotels do book up quickly, so plan well in advance! Contact me to help you further.

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Vancouver. In need of further inspiration? Check out my trip report, Alaska by Land and Sea.