A few notes on Vancouver and the Island

Vancouver:

• One ‘must-do’ is the Stanley Park seawall trail that goes around the Park. You can rent bikes at Spokes just outside the park or run/walk. If you continue around past the park you’ll hit some beaches and the English Bay/inukshuk.

• Robson Street is the main shopping street downtown and fun street to walk down.

• Granville Island has a market and lots of restaurants and views. ‘Go Fish’ is a little fish stand right by Granville Island with great fish and chips/fish tacos with a view overlooking the city.

• Kitsilano (aka Kits Beach) is another nice area just outside the downtown close to Granville Island.

• Gastown is a historic district and popular spot for restaurants and nightlife. There are some good places like Meat and Bread for sandwiches, Ask for Luigi for Italian, Tacofino for tacos. If you continue further down in the Olympic Village/False Creek, you’ll want to try Earnest Ice Cream. You can find these and more on my Gastown/Chinatown tour here.

• Also, you definitely need to get sushi/Japanese food/dim sum etc. You can find great options everywhere in the city.

Outside Vancouver:

• The Grouse Grind is a popular hike (on Grouse Mountain) near the city.

• The Chief in Squamish – halfway between Vancouver and Whistler; views from the peaks and there’s also a gondola/

• There are no shortage of other great hikes nearby, check out AllTrails for one that matches the level of difficulty you’re looking for.

• Lynn suspension bridge (free) or Capilano Suspension Bridge ($) are in North Vancouver and popular attractions.

• Whistler – about 2 hours north; great drive along the sea-to-sky highway with Squamish on the way; some of the best skiing in North America but a year-round destination.

• If you have extra days you can take a ferry out to some Islands from the city – closest is Bowen Island, just a few minutes away, which is a little island that has some nice hikes.

  
  Victoria / Vancouver Island

• The route I did was taking the ferry from Vancouver (Horeshoe Bay terminal) to Nanaimo (grab a Nanaimo bar while you’re here) and then heading up to Tofino (Nanaimo is closer to Tofino than going via Victoria). After Tofino, drive down to Victoria/Swartz Bay and make your way back to Vancouver (Tsawwassen terminal). Alternatively you could go direct to Victoria (well 45 minutes away to Swartz Bay) if you don’t have time to go all the way to Tofino.

• Victoria is nice but pretty small so you can see all the highlights in a day - walk around the harbour where the BC Legislature/Empress Hotel is. There are also museums including the Royal BC Museum as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America. The ferry ride across from Vancouver is scenic too but you’ll need to budget time though because the ferry terminals are 30-45 minutes outside the city on either side.

• A must do for food in Victoria is Red Fish Blue Fish – a little container on the water with great fish tacos.

• Beacon Hill Park is nice park, close to downtown

• Whale watching is also big here, you’ll find many companies offering tours right from the main harbour.

• If you’re heading to Tofino, en route there some great stops at Cathedral Grove (big trees), Little Qualicum Falls, Coombs (closer to Victoria, they have goats on the roof)

• In Tofino – check out Pacific Rim National Park, and of course surfing, kayaking etc. There are many outdoor companies in town. Ucluelet on the other side of the national park is another gem.