How we spent two days in Vancouver
We finished our two weeks in Canada with a weekend in Vancouver. You could spend much longer here, but we fit everything we wanted to do into two days fairly easily. Lots of people choose to drive from Banff to Vancouver, but this takes a really long time and since we’d only have been dropping our car off as soon as we arrived, we decided to save on the rental and gas prices and fly from Calgary which cost about £30 per person.
Read about our full two week Canada itinerary here.
Where to stay in Vancouver
There are so many places to stay in Vancouver, but we chose Level Yaletown as we got a full suite with a kitchenette (although we didn't end up using it!) Accommodation in Vancouver, like everything else in Vancouver, is not cheap. We paid £575 for three nights here. But it was easily in walking distance from most things in Yaletown, Gastown, Downtown, and even Stanley Park.
How to get around Vancouver
We mainly got around Vancouver on foot, but we did hire bikes to cycle around Stanley Park, and caught taxis if we were going further afield like Mount Pleasant. We also caught the water taxis to and from Granville Island and Kitsilano Beach.
The best things to do in Vancouver
I’ll explain our Vancouver itinerary in more detail below. But if you just want a quick list of the highlights, here it is:
Stanley Park and English Bay
Explore the city by bike
Robson Street and Downtown
Gastown
Granville Island
Check out the craft beer scene
Kitsilano Beach
Deep Cove
Eat and drink…
Where to eat and drink in Vancouver
Nightingale, Downtown
Clough Club, Gastown
Granville Island Brewing
Miko Sushi, Robson Street
cafeclub, Downtown
Oshi Nori, Yaletown
Provence Marinaside
33 Acres Brewing, Mount Pleasant
The Greek, Yaletown
Cycle round Stanley Park
Stanley Park sits on the water’s edge in Vancouver, and it’s pretty big. So the best way to see it all (or most of it) is by bike. We hired two bikes for $35 for two hours from Yes, close to the entrance to the park in Downtown Vancouver. We cycled along the shore, stopping at English Beach for 20 minutes or so before heading back. It was a peaceful and relaxing morning despite being fairly busy.
You can choose to do this with a tour guide, but we headed out on our own as we were fairly short on time.
Wander Robson Street and Downtown
One of my favourite things to do in any new city is to explore Downtown. On a Saturday afternoon this area in Vancouver was fairly buzzy and we found lots of great places to eat and drink including cafeclub for brunch and coffee, Miko Sushi for lunch, and Nightingale for dinner.
Explore Gastown
Gastown is the oldest and one of the most famous neighbourhoods in Vancouver. It's also sadly one of the centres of its fentanyl epidemic, meaning you can’t wander too far without stumbling across one of the tent cities. But the central area here still feels historic and there are lots of good places to eat and drink.
Catch a boat to Granville Island
From the ferry terminal at David Lam Park we caught a water taxi to Granville Island, which cost about $8 per person and was very quick and easy. We stopped on Granville Island for a beer at Granville Island Brewing, but we could have spent hours here exploring the markets and shops.
Get another boat to Kitsilano
From Granville Island we caught another water taxi to Kitsilano Beach, which cost $6 per person. At Kitsilano, we walked along the water before stopping for a while to watch the locals playing beach volleyball among other sports. We eventually caught an Uber back to Yaletown, which took under 20 minutes.
Visit Deep Cove
If you want to explore further afield, Deep Cove is a beautiful fishing village about a 20 minute drive north of Vancouver. If we’d had more time we would have spent a full day here, walking and relaxing at the beach.
Find out more about our long weekend in Vancouver Island here.
Note: I chose and paid for my bike ride around Stanley Park independently. This post is not an advertorial and is a true reflection of my experience hiring my own bike and riding around the park. However, if you book yours through my Viator link, I might make a little bit of money through affiliation.