Anything to do walking distance from Vancouver port?

[cruisehopeful]

I'm very far away from the cruise, but we're staying one night at the Fairmont waterfront, which is across the street from the Vancouver port where we'll board the ship. Looking at flights now (just to get ideas of flight times), it looks like I have a lot of options for arrival. I'm trying to decide if I should arrive early and do stuff within walking distance or just arrive for dinner and a sleep.

It's just 2 adults, with one being an old fuddy duddy. When I stayed in Vancouver before, I was with one of my daughters and we stayed downtown and had a great time, but we walked and took buses around. Traveling with my husband is often a lot of work, so I just plan on doing the cruise and maybe doing something close to the hotel/port. Is there anything good/interesting to see right there? If not, I'll choose a later flight and just plan on dinner and loitering around the hotel.

 

[Chemist]

Walking along the waterfront was actually really enjoyable. We also enjoyed the view from the observation deck at Vancouver Lookout. (We spent about 45 mintues up there.)
Soaring over Canada is also at the Port itself.

(I wanted to go to Stanley Park but my kid was being a party pooper.)

 

[BrokeMack]

Plenty to do. Gastown is a few blocks east, food and shopping, plus the steam clock. Head south from the port and there's parks, dining, really neat architecture. If you're up for a bit of a hike (32 min according to Google maps) you can walk to the Aquabus and take it to Granville Island.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Depending on the budget, you can always take a seaplane tour right from the port area. Or with a smaller budget find a nice place to sit along the water front and watch the sea planes take off and land. Stanley Park isn't to far a walk to get to the edge, but the park is massive and to really get into it, you'll be checking off your steps for the day.

Most things I've done in that port are walking and sight seeing focused (walking the seawall, walking Granville island, walking Stanley Park). It feels like a walk and see heavy place to me. I usually really enjoy just walking around Canada Place and looking at the ships. Fly Over Canada was a fun one and done.

I'd say if none of that interests your husband, finding a nice place for dinner and going that route might be just fine. I always prefer to arrive early though, I'd rather wait in the hotel then be stressing in an airport if my flight is delayed.

 

[Geomom]

We stayed in the West End on Robson St, bussed to Van Dusen Garden one day, and walked all over downtown the other. Flyover Canada is right at Canada Place. It's a ride similar to Soarin' at Disney World. Tix are cheaper in advance. We went to the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coastal Art on Hornsby St. There is an Art Museum right across the street from it as well. If you're interested in Capilano suspension bridge or Grouse mountain, I believe there are free shuttles from some spots in downtown.

 

[abdgeek]

As OP have said, there’s a lot to do in that area. I would definitely get an early flight in to be able to sightsee. The Olympic Torch is across the street at the Convention Center and you can walk or bike Stanley Park while your other half rests in the room.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

We spent half the day leisurely walking to and exploring Stanley Park - ate lunch right on the water. It was a lovely, and stress-free way to spend a day.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I didn't realize that Stanley Park was that close to the port. It's one of the places I wanted to visit last time and didn't have time to explore.

 

[Geomom]

I didn't realize that Stanley Park was that close to the port. It's one of the places I wanted to visit last time and didn't have time to explore.

It's a little over a mile walk from the Fairmont to the start of Stanley Park. We did Stanley Park on our first cruise to Alaska in 2016, when we stayed at what was then the Westin Bayshore, did the Aquarium, the miniature railway (currently closed), totem poles, girl in a wetsuit sculpture, etc with our kids who were 12 and 16 then. They did complain about the walking on the way back,

 

[dopey617]

Agree with the soarin over Canada, I have done the seaplane before although not for a cruise. I also walked and took a ferry to take an orca watch cruise. (This may be beyond your idea of walking in the immediate area ) However, I thought it made room for more excursions on the cruise as whale/orca watching was an interesting. We saw an amazing pod of
Orcas and the boat had to shut its engine down because they were close.
There is also good food and pubs- nice sushi if you are a foodie. There are several museums if I recall. Have fun!

 

[Mathmagicland]

If you’d prefer not to do much walking within Stanley Park, there is a nice horse-drawn trolley tour which will has a route around the outer edge of the park. It made a stop at the totem poles display. Lasts about an hour.

https://www.stanleypark.com/

 

[BrokeMack]

There's so much good food in Vancouver. A large immigrant population makes for diverse and authentic restaurants.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Agree with the soarin over Canada, I have done the seaplane before although not for a cruise. I also walked and took a ferry to take an orca watch cruise. (This may be beyond your idea of walking in the immediate area ) However, I thought it made room for more excursions on the cruise as whale/orca watching was an interesting. We saw an amazing pod of
Orcas and the boat had to shut its engine down because they were close.
There is also good food and pubs- nice sushi if you are a foodie. There are several museums if I recall. Have fun!

I didn't think about whale watching in Vancouver. That's a great idea to do it separate from the cruise so we can focus our excursions on other things.

If you’d prefer not to do much walking within Stanley Park, there is a nice horse-drawn trolley tour which will has a route around the outer edge of the park. It made a stop at the totem poles display. Lasts about an hour.

https://www.stanleypark.com/

Wow, that looks perfect.