lost highway Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Thinking of spending family time up there this summer and wanted to see if any of you had advice. We have a toddler, we like restaurants, art, parks, hikes, wild animals. We often try to split time between the urban and the natural? Good area to visit? Must do's? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Thinking of spending family time up there this summer and wanted to see if any of you had advice. We have a toddler, we like restaurants, art, parks, hikes, wild animals. We often try to split time between the urban and the natural? Good area to visit? Must do's?Been to both but about 15 years ago. Stanley island is great in Vancouver. Victoria is quaint we took the ferry over I remember it being lively. I think it would probably be a wonderful family vacation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuckrh Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 & seattle is only a few hours to the south, if you are so inclined. easy drive except in rush hour seattle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doug C Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Definitely good area to visit. Was in Victoria and Juan de Fuca Provincial Park this past summer. It was our second time in Victoria, glad to have seen more of Vancouver Island this time. Have been to Vancouver twice, but not recently. A fine family vacation spot. Both cities have lots to offer and the ferry is fun. Vancouver, as I’m sure you know, is a “big city”, while Victoria is relatively small. Restaurants, art, parks, and hikes a are part of both. Wild places are not far from either. In Vancouver, Granville Public Market is family fun, as is the aquarium. Who doesn’t love otters. The Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown is beautiful and kid-friendly. My daughter loved the world’s narrowest building, which is in Chinatown. The botanical garden is gorgeous. She also liked the old clock in Gastown. Of course, the waterfront is fantastic. Lynn Canyon is a nice nature retreat and fewer people at it’s suspension bridge than at Capilano, free too and more hikes. Went to both but Lynn is better than Capilano. Lighthouse Park is also great. The Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler is a gorgeous drive. Victoria is on our list, not at the top, for retirement in 4 years. Amazing city. Compact, walkable, beautiful. Try to eat at the Legislative dining room in the Parliament Building. No kids that trip, but they’d like it. The walk along the Inner Harbor is great. You end up where the houseboats are, some good restaurants, also. Beacon Hill Park is great for kids. Fun water feature, beach, petting zoo, and a beautiful scenic drive. The Royal Canadian British Columbia museum would be fun with kids. Lots of First Nations exhibits. If you have the time for Butchart Gardens, I recommend it. We did a whale watching trip on a zodiac. We left from the Vancouver area, but they leave from Victoria, also. Been whale watching off Oregon, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Iceland and Australia. All Orcas, but as far as the sheer number and how close to the boat whales were, that one ranks in the top 2. I hope I didn’t run on too long. I’m certain others know a hell of a lot more than I. Enjoy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 I hope I didn’t run on too long. I’m certain others know a hell of a lot more than I. Enjoy! No, this is great. You guys are confirming my suspicion that it's a really good idea to visit those parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 I've been to both a few times. I don't know if these things are do-able with a toddler, but in Vancouver we really enjoyed the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park (easily accessed by public bus) and a bike ride around the Stanley Park seawall. in Victoria, we loved hiking part of the Juan De Fuca trail out to the coast. Not a particularly long walk, but lovely...and a good way to get away from the cruise ship people. That required a car rental, but was worth it. I always like to go to Fan Tan Alley when I'm in Victoria. It's a very narrow pedestrian street with neat shops and a good record store. If the weather is nice, find an outdoor spot at a British pub for lunch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 I was born in Vancouver, spent a lot of my early childhood, went to college there, and return once or twice a year. I haven't spent a lot of time in Victoria, I've only been there twice but one of those trips was a few days ago! You'll definitely want to check out the Parliament Buildings. I did some record shopping which lead me to wander around downtown, which I really enjoyed. There's a cool artisan area in Chinatown, through some really quaint back alleys which I recommend checking out. One of my coworkers went whale watching which sounds like it was pretty successful and enjoyable.For Vancouver, Stanley Park and Granville Island are two of the biggest attractions for tourists. Granville Island is walkable from downtown but you'll have to take a water taxi which is pretty cheap and a nice way to see the city. Stanley Park has the seawall which has some great views and something you'll probably recognize from lots of tv shows and movies filmed in Vancouver. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 The first time I went to Vancouver was when TV and film production was really taking off in the area. We were having an ice cream, and Chris Kattan went walking by on the sidewalk. You should have heard the squee-ing from the girls working in the ice cream shop. For Chris Kattan, if you can believe that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radiatortunes Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I can't say enough about Granville Island. It's my favourite place in the city (and a 10-minute walk from where we live!) In addition to the Public Market, shops, bars and restaurants there are a ton of interesting things to see/do: Kids Only Market, waterpark (Victoria Day until Labour Day), boat/kayak/SUP rentals, whale watching tours, fishing charters, Granville Island Hotel (and its attached resto/brewery), galleries, community centre, the "big hill" (great for relaxing and picnic'ing), Granville Island Brewery, art supply store (Opus), live theatre stages, yoga studio and more. If you're staying downtown you can take either the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus from various points on the north side of False Creek; or you could walk across the Granville Street bridge. The Island is located underneath the bridge. You can also take public transit. Several buses will get you close to GI but the #50 will take you right to the Island's entrance. The Seawall is pretty special and worth walking/riding/running, even if in small sections. From UBC on the west side it heads east past several beaches, around Vanier Park (a prime viewing spot for our annual fireworks competition), past Granville Island, along the south side of False Creek, through Olympic Village, around Science World (also worth a visit), and continues west along the north side of False Creek, under the Cambie, Granville and Burrard bridges, past English Bay and finally into and around Stanley Park. The Stanley Park portion of the seawall is a 10km loop and popular among runners. More info here: http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/seawall.aspx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/seawall.aspx That looks really nice! We're looking at visiting both Vancouver, and Victoria/Vancouver Island. So we're kind of thinking of spending a couple nights in a hotel in one place, and closer to a week in an Air BnB in another. As a local, where do you think we'll find more value to the longer stay/exploration? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radiatortunes Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 We haven't been to Victoria since maybe 2010 (Wilco at The Royal Theatre) and I'm sure things have changed. However, I think you'll probably want to spend more time here in Vancouver. There are simply more sights and activities here. Victoria is the provincial capitol and much smaller. It's lovely though and worth seeing. You can take the ferry there: Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) to Nanaimo; or Tsawwassen to Schwartz Bay (Victoria). Harbour Air also flies harbour to harbour. Please feel free to post any questions you might have. I'm happy to help! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 As a local, where do you think we'll find more value to the longer stay/exploration? I'm not a local but I've been to both several times, and I will second Radiatortunes' opinion that Vancouver is where you should spend the larger portion of your time. But definitely spend time in both locations. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 Agree with radiatortunes and jff. If I could (afford to) live in either place, I'd probably pick Victoria, but if I had the option to visit both, I'd pick Vancouver. It's just bigger and more tourist friendly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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