**** Vancouver FAQ Thread **** A few updates in main post!

[Schachteles]

I'd really look into this. You have to travel a fair distance in a boat to get to possibly see whales from Vancouver. Whale watching is better out of Victoria on the West Coast. Plus, you are not guaranteed to see any whales. If you want to see whales - do a tour while in Alaska. Juneau operators guarantee you will see whales.

I know what you are saying, but we are doing things for our excursions that are more one in a lifetime things that you can only do up there. Whale watching can be done multiple places. How far of a drive is it to Victoria? Might be a nice day trip for us since we are staying in Vancouver for 3 days after the cruise. I did read about it being a longer boat ride. And just like in Alaska it is NOT guaranteed that you will see whales, but I know with one on the cruise they will give you $100 if you don't see any. With the one I found out of Vancouver they will let you go back out again if you see none.

 

[discruiser]

Train Station is in Downtown Vancouver and very close to the Port.

Right now we are planning on flying to Seattle, taking the Amtrak to Vancouver and staying one night at the Comfort Inn Downtown near Nelson and Granville. Is a cab our best bet to get from the train station to the hotel? What about the hotel to the port?

Thanks!
Kim

 

[smeecanada]

I know what you are saying, but we are doing things for our excursions that are more one in a lifetime things that you can only do up there. Whale watching can be done multiple places. How far of a drive is it to Victoria? Might be a nice day trip for us since we are staying in Vancouver for 3 days after the cruise. I did read about it being a longer boat ride. And just like in Alaska it is NOT guaranteed that you will see whales, but I know with one on the cruise they will give you $100 if you don't see any. With the one I found out of Vancouver they will let you go back out again if you see none.

Victoria is a day trip. It's a 1.5 hour ferry ride from Vancouver. I live in Victoria. If you have a car - maybe look for a whale tour out of Steveston in Richmond, so you don't have so far to travel in the boat. I saw some advertised from there awhile back. You have less of a chance seeing whales in Vancouver/Victoria than in Alaska and the operators in Victoria let you know up front that you are not guaranteed to see whales.

 

[smeecanada]

Right now we are planning on flying to Seattle, taking the Amtrak to Vancouver and staying one night at the Comfort Inn Downtown near Nelson and Granville. Is a cab our best bet to get from the train station to the hotel? What about the hotel to the port?

Thanks!
Kim

I would say a taxi is your best bet. They are all relatively close together the charge shouldn't be too high. According to Mapquest it's less than a 10 min drive.

 

[mellers]

Does anyone know the BEST tour company to use to go whale watching out of Vancouver??

THANKS

I can't promise this is the BEST tour company, but we've had good luck when we've used them to go to Victoria:

http://www.clippervacations.com/whalewatching/

 

[mellers]

I was looking at options, and it looks like the sky train (public transit) has a station right near Amtrak that takes you to the port. Google sky train vancouver and you should be able to look at maps. But then there is the issue of hauling luggage...

If you ever want to get public transit options for Vancouver and its suburbs, check this out: http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca/ It will map your route, and give you schedules and times.

 

[smeecanada]

I can't promise this is the BEST tour company, but we've had good luck when we've used them to go to Victoria:

http://www.clippervacations.com/whalewatching/

Clipper Vacations will be subcontracting to another operator for whale watching. They run a highspeed passenger only ferry between Victoria/Seattle.

 

[Schachteles]

Victoria is a day trip. It's a 1.5 hour ferry ride from Vancouver. I live in Victoria. If you have a car - maybe look for a whale tour out of Steveston in Richmond, so you don't have so far to travel in the boat. I saw some advertised from there awhile back. You have less of a chance seeing whales in Vancouver/Victoria than in Alaska and the operators in Victoria let you know up front that you are not guaranteed to see whales.

Thanks, I know there isn't a guarantee. If we end up not being able to go on another excursion because of it being booked, then we will pick up a whale watching one in Alaska.

 

[discruiser]

I would say a taxi is your best bet. They are all relatively close together the charge shouldn't be too high. According to Mapquest it's less than a 10 min drive.

Thanks!

 

[MrsG]

We are staying in Victoria for a few days after the cruise. Anyone have an idea as to the best way to get there? A few scenarios:

1) Should we take quickcoach and rent a car once we get to Victoria, then take quickcoach back to the airport?
2) rent a car in Vancouver, drive (and ferry) to Victoria and return the rental car to the airport?


By cost, would it be more expensive to rent in Vancouver and drive to Victoria and then the airport, or use quickcoach, and only rent a car for a few days in Victoria?

 

[smeecanada]

We are staying in Victoria for a few days after the cruise. Anyone have an idea as to the best way to get there? A few scenarios:

1) Should we take quickcoach and rent a car once we get to Victoria, then take quickcoach back to the airport?
2) rent a car in Vancouver, drive (and ferry) to Victoria and return the rental car to the airport?


By cost, would it be more expensive to rent in Vancouver and drive to Victoria and then the airport, or use quickcoach, and only rent a car for a few days in Victoria?

Another option is that you can take the bus to the ferry, walk off and get a cab to the airport and rent the car there. You need to find out, if there is a drop fee for the rental car. Ferry will cost you approx. $75 - car/driver and 1 passenger.

Are you flying into Vancouver and out of Victoria? What are you planning on doing while in Victoria?

 

[MrsG]

Another option is that you can take the bus to the ferry, walk off and get a cab to the airport and rent the car there. You need to find out, if there is a drop fee for the rental car. Ferry will cost you approx. $75 - car/driver and 1 passenger.

Are you flying into Vancouver and out of Victoria? What are you planning on doing while in Victoria?

We're flying in and out of Vancouver. Not sure what to do in Victoria. Any suggestions?

 

[mellers]

We're flying in and out of Vancouver. Not sure what to do in Victoria. Any suggestions?

I think Butchart Gardens is the very best thing to do. It's just beautiful.

Me myself, I would avoid high tea. It's expensive for what it is. (and I hate to dress up )

 

[smeecanada]

We're flying in and out of Vancouver. Not sure what to do in Victoria. Any suggestions?

If you like flowers - absolute must is the Butchart Gardens. Go, so that you can see it both in daylight and at night. There is nightly entertainment - July and August (not sure when your cruise is) with fireworks set to music on Saturday night. There is a nice restaurant, a smaller one and a really nice gift shop.

Walk around the Inner Harbour/Empress Hotel/Legislature Buildings. Possibly visit the Royal BC Museum or the oldest Chinatown in Canada.

If you want no hassles - there is a bus from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria. Pacific Coachlines. The ferries generally run hourly in the summer from 7am - 9pm. The depot in Victoria is right beside the Empress Hotel. You can rent a car once you are here, use the HopOn/Hop Off Bus (it's not called that - but same idea), or use Grayline Tours for going out to the Gardens.

 

[geoffrey]

I think Butchart Gardens is the very best thing to do. It's just beautiful.

Me myself, I would avoid high tea. It's expensive for what it is. (and I hate to dress up )

+1 for Butchart Gardens.

I didn't think I would like high tea either, but I really liked it the one time I did it. I found it to be rather relaxing. You really can't make it go any faster, and that was nice. Had a nice atmosphere too.

 

[NWmom]

One thing that I probably should mention, for those heading north to Alaska, particularly in June and July, is that the sun comes up VERY EARLY and goes down VERY LATE (to put it into perspective, near the Summer Solstice, in Seattle, which gets much less summer sunshine than Alaska, the sun is usually up before 5 in the morning and down after 9 at night.)

You might want to make sure any portholes or windows are covered before you go to bed, and warn children that they do have to go to bed in the daytime.

We live in Seattle and have this problem every summer so decided to book an inside passage just to guarantee sleep in Alaska.

We'll do our sightseeing off a public deck area when needed.

 

[NWmom]

Whale watching really depends on the month of your cruise and which kind of whale you are hoping to see.

The whales migrate farther north in the summer. Whale watching outfits move their boats mooring as the whales move. For an idea try this site to get an idea. island-adventures.com/whalewatching-tours/anacortes-benefits.php (I'm too knew to post the link so please copy and paste and add the usual three w's in front to make it work)

We took a school trip tour for gray whales last April out of Everett (between Seattle and Vancouver) with this company. Orcas were seen in the area a few weeks later picking on the gray whales. Within a few more weeks they were up by Anacortes(farther north of Everett).

So if you want to see Orcas, try this tour. Just be careful what month you are going matches up to the migration of the whale you want to see.
If you want to see humpbacks I am told Juneau is the place to go.

In the summer you can also sometimes see Orcas off the west side of San Juan Island or riding the ferries in that area. Local laws do restrict how close you can get to the whales so be sure and bring binoculars.

 

[poohj80]

Whale watching really depends on the month of your cruise and which kind of whale you are hoping to see.

The whales migrate farther north in the summer. Whale watching outfits move their boats mooring as the whales move. For an idea try this site to get an idea. island-adventures.com/whalewatching-tours/anacortes-benefits.php

Thanks so much! This may alter our plans to go whale watching before our cruise so we can focus on other excursions during the cruise.

 

[Schachteles]

Whale watching really depends on the month of your cruise and which kind of whale you are hoping to see.

The whales migrate farther north in the summer. Whale watching outfits move their boats mooring as the whales move. For an idea try this site to get an idea. island-adventures.com/whalewatching-tours/anacortes-benefits.php (I'm too knew to post the link so please copy and paste and add the usual three w's in front to make it work)

We took a school trip tour for gray whales last April out of Everett (between Seattle and Vancouver) with this company. Orcas were seen in the area a few weeks later picking on the gray whales. Within a few more weeks they were up by Anacortes(farther north of Everett).

So if you want to see Orcas, try this tour. Just be careful what month you are going matches up to the migration of the whale you want to see.
If you want to see humpbacks I am told Juneau is the place to go.

In the summer you can also sometimes see Orcas off the west side of San Juan Island or riding the ferries in that area. Local laws do restrict how close you can get to the whales so be sure and bring binoculars.

Thanks for the information. Is the link you gave us for out of Seattle? Would we better off doing the tour out of Seattle Vancouver? Thanks for your insight

Thanks so much! This may alter our plans to go whale watching before our cruise so we can focus on other excursions during the cruise.

Us too!

 

[DenverVal]

If you like flowers - absolute must is the Butchart Gardens. Go, so that you can see it both in daylight and at night...If you want no hassles - there is a bus from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria. Pacific Coachlines. The ferries generally run hourly in the summer from 7am - 9pm. The depot in Victoria is right beside the Empress Hotel. You can rent a car once you are here, use the HopOn/Hop Off Bus (it's not called that - but same idea), or use Grayline Tours for going out to the Gardens.

Awesome. This sounds like a great plan. Thanks!