April 15-21, 2019
I wanted to go on anniversary trip and Jason needed CE hours. I did some research because he can get CEUs at a lot of cool places, I found one that gave him the most credits where he only went to class until lunch daily. The issue was what do I do alone for half the day on 4 days of vacation? Enter the travel squad! Vancouver is an extremely pedestrian friendly city that is clean, beautiful, and welcoming.
>>Getting Around
Sky Train – best thing ever, quick and cheap, we paid for passes at the kiosks before getting on & it includes buses (we only spent about $40 on transportation while there for 7 days including to and from airport), map shows you where the 3 train lines run and all the stops, get ON and OFF really fast because those doors slam shut quickly, can reload your paper pass
>>Stay
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver – very fancy, helpful concierge staff, expensive food we didn’t try, high end shops in the lobby, we stayed here bc the conference was here and we got a special rate
Hyatt Regency Vancouver – I put mom and Aunt Martina here because it was really close to us & they had no complaints, restaurants were good, right next to a transit station and a free shuttle to the suspension bridge so I’d say overall it’s probably a better bet
>>Eat
*Tacofino Taco Bar – not your regular ingredients on tacos, very fresh and yummy
*Butcher & Bullock – great beers on tap, kind of sports pub-ish, went for brunch (chicken and waffles!!) & back for supper
*Joe Fortes – this was our splurge, it’s very busy and loud but our food was amazing, well known for seafood
Poke Time – they had pineapple dole whip so I had to go, our poke was good too
*Grain – check out their happy hour, it’s in the Hyatt hotel and the food and drinks were great
Mr Shawrma – food truck next to Hyatt hotel by transit station, so good and filling even though it looks small
Steamworks Brewery – did a huge beer flight here and food wasn’t bad
Tap & Barrel – we all drank here, but the waiter kind of talked us out of eating there lol, it’s a cool spot on the waterfront
Breakfasts:
SMAK – neat little healthier option
Bel Cafe – interesting menu and coffee options, I liked it more than mom and Martina
*Bellaggio Cafe – if you want a regular ass breakfast that’s really good, go here, we went twice
Breka Bakery & Cafe – hectic in there but lots of yummy options, we were walking to the water taxi to go to Granville Island & popped in there
Cafe Crepe – looks a little sketch but their crepes and NUTELLA coffee were yummy
>>Play
*Capilano Suspension Bridge – free shuttle to get there from the Hyatt hotel
*VanDusen Botanical Garden – worth the transit trek (we did skytrain then bus) if you aren’t going to spend a day in Victoria where they have bigger gardens
*Grouse Mountain – snowy mountain with bear enclosure, restaurant there was my least favorite place we ate but the view was beautiful, if you want to go further to see bigger mountains you can go to Squamish or Whistler, wear snow appropriate shoes and hiking socks
*Prince of Whales 1/2 Day – I’ve wanted to go whale watching since I was a little girl and this was everything I dreamed of, not recommended for small children, GORGEOUS scenery even if you don’t see whales, bring food from Granville Island and snacks in your bag
Granville Island – neat place to spend a lot of time leisurely walking around eating and shopping, beware of the giant seagulls, can water taxi there pretty cheap or we took the hop on/hop off bus, the bagel place was so good
Stanley Park – this place is HUGE! we did a hop on/hop off bus to see it all (honestly it kind of sucked from the bus because the roof was on), it would be awesome to have a dinner reservation at the restaurant and take a carriage or shuttle tour, it’s bigger than central park and they make sure you know it
Gastown – there’s a statue of a guy called Gassy Jack and a neat steam clock that are touristy spots, plenty to eat near there, not a must see area IMO
North Vancouver – hop on the water taxi to “Lonsdale Quay” and check out the market area when you get off over there, similar to Granville but much smaller, I liked the water taxi ride toward the mountains
Other Stuff – see if the Canucks are playing at Roger’s Arena if you hockey, poke your head into the Christ Church Cathedral (right by the Hyatt) when the open sign is outside because it’s old and pretty, look into concert tickets ahead of time because a lot of good people were playing for cheap
If You Take Kids – Science World is supposed to be great, there’s also an aquarium and maritime museum worth looking into
>>International Travel Notes
Cell Phones – AT&T cell phones have service in Canada for no extra cost, just turn on international roaming and you’re good to go
Money Conversion – the US dollar was about 30% stronger than Canadian money when we went, so everything SEEMED a little pricey, when really it was pretty cheap
Foreign Transaction Fees – check your credit card for foreign transaction fees before you go; mom brought a bit of cash because hers was a 3% fee for using the card out of the country, which wasn’t bad until she had all this weird Canada change we didn’t know how to use; my credit card had no foreign transaction fees so we used it everywhere
Breauxs Geaux 