Need recommendations for Vancouver, B.C.

VANCOUVER
We arrived in the early evening of 24 August and settled into the Metropolitan Hotel for 7 days. The hotel was a nice, but slightly older hotel about 5-6 blocks from the cruise terminal in downtown Vancouver. Our room was spacious at a great price, about $160 US per night. The location of the hotel was excellent. We found plenty of restaurants in the area, including inexpensive breakfast places as well as nice dinner choices. Also, there was a small convenience store were we could purchase a hot meal or groceries if we wanted to eat in our room. There was a shopping mall across the street and a museum a block from the hotel.

We did dine in the hotel restaurant for two nights when they has special offers, like a burger and beer for $12 Canadian. The two restaurants where we usually had breakfast were one block north of the hotel. The first was Mario’s Coffee Express. It is a coffee shop run by a very nice proprietor, Mario. The coffee is excellent and we enjoyed breakfast there twice. The other restaurant that we used for breakfast and dinner one evening was close to Mario’s. It was the Joyeaux Cafe and Restaurant with Vietnamese cuisine. They had western breakfasts that were good at budget prices. The Vietnamese dinner was good, but not great. We had breakfast there a couple of times. Also, we took home some good Indian food one evening, along with snacks and wine. I don’t remember the name of the store. There was a drug store on the opposite corner of the intersection that we used as well.

We also had lunch at the Keg, then later at Mahoney and Son’s restaurants that were on the waterfront. Both were a little pricey, but had great locations on the water. The food was excellent at both. The best meal we had in Vancouver was at an Italian Restaurant called Zeffirelli’s. It was recommended by our hotel clerk and we were not disappointed.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g154943-d973325-Reviews-Zefferelli_s-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

We had a week in Vancouver before our Canadian Rockies bus tour. That effectively gave us six full days to see the city and area. We had booked a five day package tour with Viator that included a city tour of Vancouver, tour to Whistler, tour to Victoria (and Butchart Gardens) and a two day pass on the Hop-on Hop-off bus. The tours were with the local Westcoast tour company. The tours were excellent and all guides gave us great tours. The package deal was called British Columbia Super Save 5 Day Tour.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Vancouver/British-Columbia-Super-Saver-5-Day-Tour-of-Vancouver-Whistler-and-Victoria/d616-5313ULTIMATE

The tour was described as follows:

Itinerary Day 1: Vancouver You’ll be picked up from your Vancouver hotel for a 4-hour narrated sightseeing tour of the city. See Vancouver’s most popular landmarks including Stanley Park, offering great city views. Some of Vancouver’s best beaches, fields, walking trails, lookout points and aboriginal sites are located inside this park. Pass English Bay and then enjoy free time on Granville Island, filled with some of the most famous public markets in North America. It’s also home to a large artistic community where local buskers, artists and musicians regularly showcase their unique talents. Visit Canada Place, learn about the origins of Vancouver on a visit to Gastown, and then explore Chinatown, the second-largest Chinatown in North America. Overnight: Accommodation not included. Please pre-book your hotel.

Day 2: Vancouver – Shannon Falls – Whistler – Vancouver You’ll be picked up from your hotel and taken on a day trip along the famous Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler. Enjoy breathtaking views along the way and stop at Shannon Falls for some more scenic vistas. When you arrive, take a guided tour of Whistler with live onboard commentary. Stop at Shannon Falls and the Squamish Adventure Centre, and then have a few hours of free time to walk around Whistler Village and enjoy optional activities (own expense) such as a gondola ride to the Blackcomb Mountains, a floatplane tour to Whistler’s upper glaciers and a zipline adventure over Fitzsimmons Creek. You can also take a spin on a snowmobile or simply relax in the Scandinavian baths. For an extreme adventure, go bungee jumping! You'll be taken back to your Vancouver hotel at the end of the day. Overnight: Accommodation not included. Please pre-book your hotel.

Day 3: Vancouver – Victoria – Vancouver After hotel pickup, your third day begins with a 1.5-hour ferry ride past the spectacular Gulf Islands to Victoria. If you’re lucky, you may see whales on along the way! When you arrive in British Columbia’s capital, you’ll be taken to the Butchart Gardens, boasting 55 acres (22 hectares) of stunning floral gardens. After exploring here, take a sightseeing tour of Victoria to see Parliament buildings, unique shops, the elegant Empress Hotel, Victoria’s Inner Harbour, Chinatown and Beacon Hill Park. At the end of the day, hop on the ferry and head back to Vancouver, where you’ll be picked up and taken to your hotel. Overnight: Accommodation not included. Please pre-book your hotel.

Day 4-5: Vancouver Enjoy a hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour on your last day. Aboard a vintage double-decker or luxury open-top convertible bus, explore the city at your own pace, hopping off at any destination you like to explore independently. Highlights include Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown, Yaletown, Chinatown, the Robson Street Shopping District and English Bay. On board, enjoy live commentary about Vancouver’s history from your friendly guide. This tour is great opportunity to do some in-depth exploring of Vancouver sites that you saw on your first day. Your pass is valid for up to two days, so you can choose the amount of time you spend using the hop-on hop-off service.

The tour met all our expectations. The guides were excellent and tours well planned. Our only difficulty was a late ferry that cut into our time at Butchart Gardens. The gardens were the highlight of the Victoria tour and we lost some time there due to the late ferry, that was not the fault of the tour company.

The first day, we enjoyed the 10am start time, since we had just flown into the city the evening before. The half day city tour was extensive, covering Stanley Park, Chinatown, Gastown and more. Granville Island was ok, and but I didn’t find that it would be worth a separate trip there on your own. It was ok in a city tour. We did have lunch there. At the end of the tour, we visited the Vancouver Overlook Tower, which was skyscraper, with a rotating restaurant on top and just below a nice viewing platform that had stations pointing out notable sights to view.

The Whistler tour was a full day tour and just getting there was part of the fun. The scenery in route was great. We stopped a few times on the way to see waterfalls, a harbor and other places to take photos. Whistler was the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the village there was interesting, as well as the scenery. We visited the local museum and very much enjoyed the Squamish Lilwat Cultural Center and Museum of the first nations (we call them native Americans in the USA) peoples of the area.

The Victoria tour on the third day was over 12 hours, but excellent. The ferry ride to Vancouver Island added to viewing more great scenery. Victoria was the capitol of BC and a small city with a British sense. Still the gardens were the high point of the tour. There were huge rose gardens, a Japanese Garden and many, many beautiful flowers to see. We had about an hour and a half there due to the ferry delay and could have used another half hour. While in Victoria we had a nice, but expensive lunch at Bard and Banker in the downtown area. Food and beer were excellent but pricey.

The fourth and fifth days we used the HoHo bus just enough to justify having it. Visiting Gastown, Chinatown and Stanley Parks to see the aquarium. The aquarium was great, it had a beluga whale show, which we had never seen before. Also, the exhibits were well done and the jellyfish exhibits were exceptional. On day five we also visited the Capitano Suspension Bridge Park. The park was easily assessable via a free shuttle bus that we picked up about a block from our hotel. Also, the shuttle bus could be found at Canada Place. The tour cost us about $30 US, which wasn’t bad. The suspension bridge was not to bad to cross, even with many people stomping their way across. The bridge crossed some 450 feet to a forested area that included treetops. Treetops was a collection of platforms built into the trees in the rain forrest. It was fun to walk the platforms and bridges from tree to tree. This venue is definitely worth a visit, if you have time in the city. On day four, we also visited the local museum, near the hotel for a Picasso exhibit. I am not a huge Picasso fan, but the exhibition was well done and I Iearned more about the artist’s life. Amazing that he lived in Paris during the German occupation.

The last day in Vancouver, prior to our Rockies tour, we visited Grouse Mountain. This venue, like the Capitano Suspension Park is located in North Vancouver, across from the main city. It also has a dedicated free shuttle bus leaving from Canada Place to take visitors to the cable car that takes you up the mountain. We didn’t try to see Grouse Mountain and Capitano in one day, but it could be done if you had fewer days in the city. Grouse Mountain had zip lines, hiking, paragliding, but we deferred to simpler entertainment. The highlight of the trip was seeing the two grizzly bears in the park (they have their own 7 acre wooded area). When we first arrived at the grizzly compound it was hard to see the bears, but we visited the Summer of Flight show (bird show), which was good and came back to see the bears and they were out of the woods in the area where water was available for them. We saw them up close and personal, with a fence and electrified wire as well(good for that). The lumberjack show was entertaining and quite good. Also, we took ski chairlift to the top of the mountain for great views. Grouse Mountain is definitely a must see for Vancouver.

Well, geovagriffith's plan should fill your time pretty well! ;-)

Effectively you have one full day in Vancouver, and I'd spend it in the city. Highlights for us included Stanley Park, the Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Chinatown, and the collection of totems at the University of BC Anthropological Museum. Some kind of harbor tour would also be worthwhile.

I haven't been to Grouse Mountain, but I have been on the Capilano Suspension Bridge and I don't plan to return. Great scenery but a little scary for me.

Restaurants we enjoyed in Vancouver include Rodney’s Oyster House, Cin Cin-Italian on Robson Street, and The Salmon House in West Vancouver( great food and incredible views back of Vancouver.)

Highlights for us included Stanley Park, the Sun Yat-Sen Garden in
Chinatown, and the collection of totems at the University of BC
Anthropological Museum.

I concur with this, those were my my top highlights too (Stanley Park is a real gem if you love the outdoors and the museum is outstanding). I also really liked walking (or you can take a ferry across False Creek) to Granville Island and its market. Vancouver is stunningly beautiful, you're in for a treat. If you like sushi, there are lots of great places in the Yaletown neighborhood, not far from Robson Street, the public library, and False Creek. Minami Restaurant was a place I really liked (https://minamirestaurant.com). The sushi is so incredibly tasty and fresh (it's a big deal for those like me who no longer live on the West Coast).

This website will have everything, problem is you have too little time to take it all in:
https://www.tourismvancouver.com

Becky,

Two nights is only about one full day of touring, so you're not going to have time for many of the activities described in previous replies in this thread. You'll have to be very selective and decide which sights you're most interested in.

Which area of Vancouver will you be staying in? That may have some bearing on which activities will be easiest to accomplish in the short time you have available. Is there any possibility you could add a few days? This website may give you a few ideas - https://www.tourismvancouver.com/events/seasonal-events/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_I_z_ZqC3AIVw7rACh3zdgh8EAAYASAAEgL8PvD_BwE .

Vancouver is quite a "foodie" city, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding good restaurants. A few thoughts.....

• If you'd like to try something a bit different from the usual fare - http://www.salmonandbannock.net/ . It serves many First Nations traditional foods.
• I posted this in another thread on the forum. Something very unusual and will only appeal to the fearless with a large wallet - https://dinnerintheskycanada.com/ .
• If you like Italian food, some choices to consider - https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurants-g154943-c26-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html . There are some good ones on Robson Street, if you'll be staying in the downtown core.
• you might want to try some of the food trucks also, as they tend to serve good food.
• have a look at Anthony Bourdain's suggestions on Vancouver - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RrC3-dX0EU .

Enjoy your stay!

Thank you all for your replies.we will be staying at an Airbnb in Surrey near Bridgeport Park. We have been to Vancouver before, but many years ago. We know it’s a short trip, but figure we can hit a few sites.
We love Indian food.

Will you have access to a car? The public transport works well but I didn't realize you were staying on the outskirts. There is some great Chinese food in Richmond, closer to your Airbnb. I didn't visit an Indian place during my stay but I heard this one is really good. We were planning on going there, but didn't get a chance.
Vij's Restaurant
http://vijs.ca/vijs-restaurant/

Agnes, We will have our car. Is there a particular Chinese restaurant you know of in Richmond?

Hi Becky.
I live in Vancouver, and cannot find a Bridgeport Park anywhere in Surrey.
Are you sure the Airbnb is not near Bridgeport in Richmond??
You really wouldn't want to be staying out in Surrey for such a short visit, if you plan to see Vancouver proper.
Can you put the link to the Airbnb on here?
If it is in Richmond, you would be better taking the SkyTrain from Bridgeport Station in Richmond into the city .
Parking in Vancouver is very expensive, and you may pay up to $25 Canadian to park for a day in the centre!
You can park at the Bridgeport Station for $3. for 24 hours, then get the train in.

Oops. It is in Richmond.

Hi Becky,
No, I don't have a particular Chinese place in mind, but Richmond's Night Markets are legendary.

Having taken a harbor tour a couple of years ago, that would be low on my list for the short amount of time you'll have in Vancouver.

I would suggest you select the top two or three things you would like to do first. Then decide, if they are easier by car or public transport. As an example, you can park at Granville Island for free for a limited time, or pay at meters for more time. If you want to go downtown, traffic and parking is terrible. But, you can take SkyTrain in, if you have destinations that fit.

The last couple of trips we chose to eat lunch at a couple of restaurants downtown that were more difficult to get into and much more expensive at dinner - CinCin and Blue Water Cafe. We were able to reserve times at lunch and the restaurants were fairly quiet. Then we had plenty of afternoon time to be tourists, and then enjoy a couple of drinks and some appetizers for dinner.

You have a very limited amount of time and need to select what it is you want to do. Vancouver is wonderful and we always stay downtown (with parking) to maximize our time. Traveling in from Richmond and back will cut into your day. (as a note, we lived in South Surrey - Crescent Beach).

Time your border crossing carefully (hope it's not on a weekend). It's been noted that on certain days the backup can be up to 2 hours.

Good luck!