vancouver?
So… recently our honeymoon plans have changed and we are currently thinking about doing a week or so in Vancouver. Neither of us have ever been, but we have heard good things 
If you have been there, or live there, what do you recommend we do/don’t do, where should we stay/not stay? Thanks!
11 comments
When are you getting married again? No matter the season, I really suggest a dau or so in Whistler. It’s beautiful. We stayed at the Four Seasons (got a great deal) and the hotel is worth the trip just to hang out in, but the town itself is beautiful in the winter and I hear it’s great in the summer too. Also, find a Tim Horton’s and get some apple cinnamon TimBits. Yummy!
Kate: Thanks! We are getting married mid July. I heard it is kinda rainy there all summer… but we don’t mind a little rain
Vancouver is fun! We are actually heading up there this weekend to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (we live in Seattle, so it only a 3 hour drive for us). We find that you can get really good hotel deals there. We have stayed at the Pan Pacific which is really nice. We are staying at Hotel Soliel this time and it looks great from the pictures.
Stanley Park is beautiful. Granville Island is fun to walk around. You can also take an overnight trip to Victoria from Vancouver (or a day trip if you take the short flight there instead of the ferry). In Victoria you can have tea at the Empress and go to Buchard Gardens.
Not sure all we are going to do this weekend, but if I discover anything cool I can pass it along
About the rain–I think that July should be beautiful weather in Vancouver. The weather is similar to Seattle’s, and July is probably our best month.
I recently moved to Vancouver and have been trying out the touristy spots.
Stanley Park is great. It’s this beautiful long walk around the tiny tree-filled island. The Aquarium is also located in Stanley Park, so that’s a fun diversion. There are three beaches located along the walk, so bring your suits and a lunch – you can easily make a lunch date out of it. And I haven’t done this yet, but there is a shop where you can rent uni-bikes and bikes.
Granville Island is amazing. It’s this huge market filled with cute, artsy shops, amazing food and treasures you won’t find anywhere else. I try and go every three weeks for fun and it’s always something different. You can easily spend hours there and not notice time fly. Be prepared to spend a lot of time drooling over the desserts.
The suspension bridges are on my to-do bridges. There are a mite expensive (I think around $35/person) but it’s a once in a lifetime experience! It should be beautiful in July.
There are plenty of mountains (Grouse Mountain, anyone?) where you could take a lunch and go hiking. There’s also the ferries, whale watching tours, shopping, and fantastic restaurants everywhere.
You’re gonna love it.
oohh thanks so much for the recommendations! I am getting more and more excited about it! Keep them coming!
I wasn’t particularly crazy about Capliano Suspension bridge when I went there last year (particularly for the price). But, I found out that there is a bridge that rivals this one and is free–so we might check that out this weekend. My husband is a photographer-in-training so he will probably take a lot of pictures and I will post them on my blog when I get back!
Also–Robson street is a fun place to people watch and shop.
I live in Vancouver. I find it so exciting to hear about someone wanting to honeymoon here! What to do really depends on the time of year. I would suggest coming during the symphony of fire if you can… it’s a fireworks festival that we have every year, where groups from various countries compete in fireworks displays timed to music. People pack picnics and cuddle on blankets on the beach, and watch the fireworks. you can go for all day and play Frisbee, Rollerblade, use the outdoor pool on the beach, and then have a barbecue at night, or you can go at night after having dinner at a nice place.
you could also come during Dine Out Vancouver, where a lot of the major, high end eateries offer promotional rates – a set menu for a reasonable price like 30 dollars a person. Places to eat that I recommend are The Fish House in Stanley Park, and Gotham Steakhouse. There are a lot of super nice boutique hotels, or you could go for a more mainstream one, there are a ton of options.
Granville Island is a MUST, it is one of my favourite spots. There is even a hotel right there. You can easily spend a full 8 hours there, going at a relaxed rate. It’s a great place, and has tons of wonderful stories, such as the bakery that gives it’s bread that it baked that day but did not sell to the homeless instead of selling it the next day as ‘fresh’, or throwing it out.
Science World is fun, I highly recommend the ‘Shadow Room’. And seeing a movie in the Omnimax theater is an awesome experience. Think of half a golf ball for a movie screen, with you sitting in the middle. If they are playing ‘The Ring of Fire’ I HIGHLY recommend it. It was breathtaking.
There is a very neat, and free suspension bridge if you just keep driving a little bit past the Capilano suspension bridge. and Since you’re up there, make sure that you take a gondola up to Grouse Mountain. amazing scenery, and sometimes they even have fun festivals. If it’s during the winter you can skate on an outdoor pond, visit Santa’s Village and meet real reindeer. They have several eating options for different price points and moods – a posh romantic dinner, a laid back, sit down, table service eatery, and smaller more touristy burger and hot dog places.
Other favourite spots of mine are New Westminster Quay and Lonsdale Quay. You have to take a sea bus to Lonsdale Quay! It’s like being in a boat, but it’s a bus. You can get ice cream, feed the birds, wander trinket shops, sit and take in the sea breeze, peruse fresh produce… it’s great!
If you can, spend a day or two and take the ferry over to Vancouver Island, and visit Victoria. You can still take the ferry and make it a day trip, without flying, but you always end up wanting more time no matter how long you go!’ You want to have high tea at the Empress Hotel, visit the Parliament Buildings, go to the museum, and spend the day wandering around that area of Victoria. They have an AMAZING old bookstore, some awesome tea shops, Rogers Chocolates (a very old choclatier) and some fun and kitschy souvenir shops. One of my favourite stores sells only locally made jewellery – and I’m not talking macrame necklaces, they have some AMAZING stuff. If it’s summer, you can walk along the boardwalk and there will sometimes be street performers, such as stilt walkers, mimes, and so on. There is a guy that plays the violin, while dressed as Darth Vader. This area of Victoria feels a LOT like it should be somewhere in Europe. I suggest having Dim Sum in China Town (it’s all within walking and wandering distance). They also have one of my favourite paper stores in this area.
Go to the Vancouver Art Gallery, take a ride on the Skytrain, and visit Burnaby Village (especially to take a ride on the restored 1920’s carousel!)
This is what I would recommend that you do if you visit – it’s so many of the places I love! I hope this helps!
Here are some pictures I took on Granville Island one time, it’s mostly macros so it might not give you a good visual, but it might give you a bit of a feel for the place: http://flickr.com/photos/arksiel/sets/72157601545839413/
and here is some shots I took in Victoria:
http://flickr.com/photos/arksiel/sets/72157600062430352/ – same sort of ‘warning’.
Oh, I nearly forgot – in Victoria, make sure to visit Craigdarroch Castle!
And yes, Robson street in Vancouver is also a lot of fun!
If you can get out to White Rock beach, do it. It has a huge boardwalk, a GORGEOUS beach to walk out for miles, and amazing authentic fish and chips. (my mom worked there as a teen for a summer job – she said it was always her favourite job). It has lots of places to eat that face the beach directly (my fave is The Giraffe, for formal sit down dinners)
Lumieres is generally considered to be the ‘best’ place to eat in Vancouver, they serve fine french cuisine but are costly, in the splurge category.
I should stop, I could go on and on, lol!
Here’s my blog post about our trip last weekend. Hotel Le Soleil is very nice, probably our favorite of the hotels that we have stayed in there (and we have stayed in about 5 I think).
http://blonde_lawyer.blogspot.com/2009/01/vancouver-bc.html
We’re thinking about Vancouver for a honeymoon too, and want to get in some time kayaking with the orcas! All these other events mentioned here sound amazing as well.
We’re getting married Aug 1, so may be there just after you!
Wow, thanks for all of the great suggestions! If we decide on Vancouver as our destination I will make sure we check all of these things out! It is so much better to go somewhere new when you have inside knowledge of the place! Thanks!!!
[...] in advance And I also want to thank everyone who gave suggestions for Vancouver from when I posted this. We will go one day, and I will come back to those comments and love [...]
Leave a Comment