I’ve been living in Canada for over 15 years now and never visited British Columbia (or Alberta for that matter) despite my numerous travels. I have a good reason though. Before the last couple of years, flying within Canada was very expensive. It was cheaper to cross the ocean to Europe than to cross the prairies. There were a few deals here and there but not enough to make me pull the trigger.
That all changed when Flair Airlines, a Canadian low-cost airline, announced that they would be flying out of Montreal as of mid-summer 2021. With the announcement came INSANE fares to Vancouver, Halifax, and Toronto. When I say insane, I mean $121 round-trip from Montreal to Vancouver! Needless to say, I booked it without a second thought.
I only booked a week. It was short but good enough to give me a taste of the city and its surrounding areas. Read on for my itinerary in Vancouver and the usual budget breakdown.
But first, let’s talk about traveling during COVID-19
Although cases are much lower these days, the pandemic is not over. I took my second shot of the vaccine right before my trip for peace of mind but do note that domestic travel does not require to quarantine for 14 days at your destination or at your return. You get on the plane, get off, and you’re pretty much free. Masks are suggested/recommended in Vancouver, not mandatory. This applies to grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, and public transportation. The airport is federal property so masks are still mandatory there. Although I appreciated the freedom to choose, I was confused as hell because mask-wearers and non-masked people were pretty evenly split. I settled on wearing my mask when public transportation was crowded and/or if I had a ride longer than 20 minutes.
Now, on to the good stuff.
How to Get Around in Vancouver
Vancouver has a fairly robust public transit system with SkyTrain, buses, Seabuses within the city and ferries to go to the islands. You can pay for the SkyTrain, buses, and Seabuses by simply tapping your credit card or mobile wallet on the readers, but it’s cheaper to purchase a Compass Card and preload a desired amount (kinda like the Oyster Card in London). Day Passes are also available but since I stayed in the downtown core, I didn’t really need Day Passes. I preloaded $40 on my Compass card and still had $16 remaining after my trip. By comparison, one Day Pass is $10.75. Multiply by 5-7. You do the math.
Lyft and Uber are also both available in the city.
Where to Stay in Vancouver
Accomodations are expensive in Vancouver. If you want to stay in a central location, you’ll have to pay. I stayed on the West side of downtown at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel which is a short walk from Stanley Park, Gastown, and Waterfront Station (the Waterfront SkyTrain line goes straight to the airport while the SeaBus gets to North Vancouver in 15 minutes). It was perfect location-wise but EXPENSIVE.
Communication
I live in Canada. My destination was in Canada. I just used my phone like I normally do.
Vancouver Itinerary
Day 0: Montreal – Vancouver: Cheap Flight, Expensive Hotel
Flight from Montreal to Vancouver: $121.12 roundtrip with Flair Airlines
Compass Card: $46
Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel: $1801.31 for seven nights
As mentioned before, Flair is a low-cost airline which means that passengers are only allowed a Personal Item. There are fees for carry-ons and checked luggage. Meals and drinks are also not free but since we’re in COVID-era, meals were not distributed at all. I expected these restrictions but I did not realize that Flair stood for the word “ultra” in “ultra low-cost.” Normally, when flying Basic Economy, passengers have to pay to select their seat in advance but it’s usually free to select a seat during the online check-in period with the exception of Premium Seats. That is not the case with Flair. A seat is assigned to you at check-in. If you want to switch, you have to pay. All seats have a fee. There is no exception. I’m cheap so I didn’t pay to switch and ended up with an aisle seat. As a member of #teamwindowseat, I was annoyed, but at least I was at the front of the plane so I could get off fast.
The flight was ok. My middle-seat neighbor only went to the bathroom twice so I didn’t have to get up too often. However, the seats on the plane DID NOT RECLINE! Not even a little bit. This was very frustrating and I struggled to sleep.
We landed in Vancouver around 11pm local time. Since it was a domestic flight and I had no luggage, I made a beeline for the SkyTrain station. There, I purchased my Compass Card on a self-serve machine and boarded the train to Waterfront Station. From Waterfront, it was a quick, uneventful walk to the hotel.
Now, about the hotel. This is the most amount of money I ever paid for a hotel room. In fact, this is usually what I pay for an entire trip – flight, hotel, meals, activities included – when traveling solo. However, this was my first leisure trip post-lockdown so I felt like splurging. I hesitated between booking the Westin or the Marriott Pinnacle. I chose the latter because they had High Floor Kingsize rooms while the Westin was sold out and only had basic rooms.
Basic rooms are not bad, but it’s been my experience that North American Marriotts don’t hand out upgrades as easily as international Marriotts so I picked a mid-range room. The view from the room was great. There was a bathtub and a separate standing shower. However, there was no fridge, which was a quite a bummer for such an expensive room.
Day 1: Stanley Park – Gastown: On the Beaten Path
Breakfast at Nero Waffles: $17.06
Taste Vancouver Gastown Food Tour: $98.79
Groceries at Urban Fare: $20.94
Gelato at Bella Gelateria: $10.86
While planning my trip to Vancouver, I made a list of restaurants I wanted to try and Nero Waffles was one of them. Since their Robson location was not far from Stanley Park, I decided to have breakfast there for my first day. Nero Waffles make two types of waffles – Brussels waffles and Liège waffles – over which you can have a variety of toppings. I picked a Fruity Liège waffle which had whip cream, banana, kiwi, strawberries, slices of orange, and blueberries. It was absolutely delicious. Their hot chocolate was also the best I’ve ever had since my trip to Amsterdam.
After breakfast, I made my way to Stanley Park, the #1 Vancouver attraction according to Tripadvisor. I walked alongside the East side of the Seawall, up to the Totem Poles. Then made my way back downtown for the Food Tour. The walk was nice with decent views of downtown but I only explored a tiny bit of Stanley Park. I hope to return and walk alongside the West side of the Seawall.
In the early afternoon, I returned to Waterfront Station to meet my guide for a food tour in Gastown, the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver. Some people had canceled so it was a very small group, only three of us with the guide. One of the benefits of traveling during COVID is the reduced amount of crowds but I can imagine that it’s severely hurting tour companies.
We started at the Starbucks inside Waterfront Station which is the very first Starbucks that opened outside of the United States. After a bit of history, we moved to Steamworks Brewpub next door for a taste of one of their IPA beers. The first sip was good but I don’t really like beer and this sample did not change my opinion. Then, we stopped at Guu with Otokomae, a nice izakaya, where we sampled their chicken. From Guu, we walked to Brioche, an Italian restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We finished right in time to see and hear the world-famous Gastown Steam Clock whistle its hourly tune. It was very underwhelming.
We then walked through Blood Alley for a bit more history before moving on to MeeT, a delicious vegan place, where we sampled some sweet-chili cauliflower. It was finger lickin’ good. The last two stops were dedicated to dessert. First, was Soft Peaks Ice Cream which serves Instagram-friendly handcrafted organic milk soft serve. Then, the tour ended at Trees Organic Coffee Gastown for a slice of traditional cheesecake.
All in all, the food tour was pretty good. Samples were smaller than the Istanbul Food Tour that I did a couple of years ago but it was enough to make me want to go back to these restaurants. Our guide was friendly and suggested some good places afterwards. The tour was a little over 2 hours in total so it’s pretty short and can be easily squeezed in a day of sightseeing.
Later in the evening, I went to the grocery store to stock up on fruits, snacks, and bath salts since I had a big hike the next day. I stopped by Bella Gelateria for a cone of gelato before calling it a night. Both locations were less than 10 minutes walking distance from my hotel which was pretty convenient.
Day 2: Mount Brunswick: The Mountain that Almost Broke Me
Parking at the Mount Brunswick trailhead: $24
Dinner from Uncle Fatih’s Pizza: $25.56
One of the activities that I was looking forward to in Vancouver was hiking. There are numerous trails in the Greater Vancouver Area and there were three at the top of my list: Grouse Grind, Tunnel Bluffs, and Brunswick Mountain. Since I love a good challenge, Brunswick Mountain was at the top of my list.
There were two problems to my plan to hike the mountain. One, there is no public transportation to the trailhead and I don’t drive. Two, as a solo traveler, it would be dangerous to hike an unfamiliar mountain by myself, especially one rated Difficult. Thankfully Facebook exists.
As annoying and terrible Facebook can be, its communities are pretty useful. There is a Facebook group for pretty much anything. Before my trip I joined two women-only hiking groups (one for BC and one for Vancouver) and one BIPOC hiking group. In that third group, I managed to find a hiking partner with a car with the offer to split gas.
There are two places to park if you want to hike Brunswick Mountain. Most people park at a nearby school but there’s also a small paid parking right at the trailhead. The rate is $3/hour or $24 for the day. I decided to pay for the day and off we went.
The hike was unbelievably hard. Although I’ve hiked this distance before, the elevation gain was no joke and really took its toll on me energy-wise (it was also the highest I’ve ever been). The worst section was probably after the last trail junction at 1500m which consists of sun-exposed steep climbing over rocks until the 1730m elevation mark. From there it’s a hard scramble to the summit. Spoiler alert, I didn’t make it to the summit. The climb up to the 1730m ridge was tiring enough, I knew that if I tried to summit, I wouldn’t have the energy to go back down.
And I was right. Although going down is easier, it takes a lot of concentration to be sure-footed and not stumble down the side of the mountain. Surprisingly, my thighs and calves didn’t cramp up but the sole of my feet were in so much pain and I was so feeling so weak that I considered calling the rescues.
Thankfully, my hiking partner let me take as many breaks as needed. I’m pretty sure she would have finished the hike in half the time it took us if she was by herself but she let me whine and complain and lent me her walking sticks to help me out. I had never been so happy to see a parking lot in my life before that day.
I consider myself as someone in good shape and I knew that it was going to be hard, just by the elevation alone, so what went wrong? First, since we agreed to meet really early to be able to find a parking spot, I didn’t really have the chance to get a good, filling breakfast. Two, I drink a lot of water on a regular basis. Although I took more than my usual daily intake, I should’ve basically brought double the amount because I was rationing my water before we had even made it to the top. That is never a good idea. Especially under the hot midday summer sun. Three – I DID NOT BRING GATORADE! Gatorade is a staple for me when I go hiking but since my hotel room had no fridge, I decided to not buy any. BIG MISTAKE! It definitely would have helped my energy level on the way down.
Tl;dr: Eat an actual meal beforehand, bring lots of water and gatorade, bring another meal to eat at the summit (not just snacks), bring walking sticks.
For all the pain and agony this hike cause me, I will definitely attempt to do Brunswick Mountain again in the future. I will definitely be more prepared. But I’ll probably do a few of the other hikes in the area first.
I was back at my hotel room at around 11pm. The delivery options on UberEats were rather limited at this hour so I ordered a classic pepperoni pizza. To my surprise, this particular restaurant put sesame seeds over their pizza and I must say, it was pretty damn good. A good bath and shower later, I was in bed, looking forward to the next few days and hoping that my muscles would not get too sore.
Day 3: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park – Capilano River Regional Park: Skip Tourist Traps, Stick with Locals
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park: $57.70
Capilano River Regional Park: FREE
Dinner from Zaatar w Zeit: $19.88
My legs were sore – but not too sore – the next day so I spent the morning at hotel and set out for Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in the afternoon. The Capilano Bridge is in the Top 10 of Vancouver attractions across numerous touristic websites. There’s more to the park than just the bridge. There’s Treetops Adventure, a series of seven suspension bridges attached to Douglas-firs trees; Raptors Ridge where eagles, hawks, and owls from a nearby conservation center are displayed to the public with their handlers; and Cliffwalk, a walk alongside the cliff overlooking Capilano River. There are a bunch of educational panels around the park about its history and ecosystem. It was interesting but waaaayyyy overpriced for what it was.
Once I let my hiking partner from the day before know that I was at Capilano, she proposed to come pick me up and take me to a nearby park where the locals go. There, we walked through a couple of forested trails with suspension bridges overhanging the Capilano river, and even went down to the riverbed (it was low tide). It was really enjoyable and I probably would have never found out about this place if I hadn’t met someone who lived in the area. So, rule number one when visiting Vancouver is to befriend a local.
I returned to the hotel fairly late again so I ordered UberEats and took a bath for my sore muscles. The meal was completely forgettable to be honest so I won’t go into further details.
Day 4: Downtown Vancouver: My Legs Went On Strike
Dinner from Brioche: FREE (with DoorDash coupon)
The following day, my legs were extremely sore. Getting out of bed was painful and walking to the bathroom took every ounce of willpower I had. I did not feel any better after taking shower. Just slightly bending the knee caused immense pain. I just could not walk. I decided to stay in and have a Netflix day.
In the evening, I did not feel any better so I had to resort to food delivery once again. Thankfully, I had a $25 coupon code and I used it on a nice plate of Cheese Tortellini and fresh squeezed lemonade from Brioche, the Italian place we had tried on the Food Tour on Day 1. It was delicious and the portion was very generous.
Day 5: Victoria: Visiting Old Friends
Ferry from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria): $17.30
Gelato on Government Street: ~$15 (I don’t remember the exact price since I paid cash)
Ferry from Swartz Bay (Victoria) to Tsawwassen (Vancouver): $17.30
There was one thing on my itinerary that I absolutely needed to do before flying back to Montreal and that was to visit old friends who lived in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Getting to Victoria from Vancouver using only public transportation is over 3 hours each way. There’s an airport but by the time we had nailed down the date, flights from Vancouver to Victoria were way too expensive, even by using airline miles. (I also realized only the day of that it was a long weekend in British Columbia which explained the high prices for flights and hotels). So I had no choice but to use the ferry.
I managed to cut down the commute time from Downtown Vancouver to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and from Swartz Bay to Downtown Victoria by catching a ride with friends so instead of spending an hour on the bus each leg, we managed to cut it to 35-45 minutes. Unfortunately, the morning ferry was almost an hour late and the return ferry in the evening was 20 minutes late, making me miss the return bus to downtown Vancouver. So in the end, I spent even more time commuting than I expected. I left the hotel around 8:30am and was back after 1am. It was a long day.
I didn’t actually do much in Victoria. We walked by the picturesque harbour, stopped in front of the Parliament, strolled down Government street, and visited an art gallery. Victoria is a small city but there’s obviously a lot more to do there, we just didn’t have time. We had a late lunch / early dinner from an Indian restaurant, and then it was time for me go back to the ferry terminal. I’ll come back for a two-day stay if I ever fly back out West.
Day 6: English Bay Beach – Granville Island – Chinatown: Walking the City
Breakfast at Nero Waffles: $17.81
False Creek Ferries: $6
Lunch at Granville Public Market: $14.95 at La Tortilleria and $10.27 at Fraser Valley Juice and Salad
Lyft to Chinatown: $18.67
Ice Cream at Soft Peaks Ice Cream: $5.78
On my last full day in the city, I met up with my cousin who flew in the night before and we went for a walk alongside the beach on the West side of the city, stopping by Nero Waffles first for another delicious breakfast. It was an overcast day so the beach was not crowded at all. That side of the city has lots of interesting sculptures to photograph. The area is also very California-vibes with joggers, dog-walkers, yoga on the beach, and paddleboarders instead of surfers. While downtown Vancouver felt like any other Canadian city, the beach really gave me the West Coast vibes that I was expecting when I arrived.
We took a tiny little boat near Sunset Beach to cross over to Granville Island. Granville Island is a peninsula between Downtown Vancouver and South Vancouver. Its public market is a very popular touristic attraction and that’s where we had lunch. I bought a wet burrito at La Tortilleria and a smoothie at Fraser Valley Juice and Salad. The smoothie was excellent. The burrito – not as good.
After lunch, we returned to my cousin’s apartment to rest a bit. Exhausted from all the walking, we took a Lyft to Chinatown later in the afternoon. There, we set on foot again to visit the neighborhood. And that’s when we accidentally ended up on East Hastings Street.
I had heard that the West Coast (both in the States and in Vancouver) had a problem with homelessness but I hadn’t seen much of it during this trip apart from a couple of individuals that we ran across during the Gastown Food Tour. East Hastings Street was like a different world. There was litter all over the street. A ton of homeless, drug addicts, and individuals with mental health issues milled about. It was a such a contrast to where I had been spending my time over the past few days. It was sad.
We walked a block further to take a parallel street and returned to Gastown, bringing my trip full circle. We grabbed organic ice cream at Soft Peaks and then spent some time at Canada Place before I returned to my hotel.
Day 7: Vancouver – Montreal: Lounge and Delays
Breakfast at the Plaza Premium Lounge: FREE
I considered going one last time to Nero Waffles to get breakfast before returning to Montreal but they opened too late so I went straight to the airport after checking out of the hotel.
One benefit that both Vancouver and Toronto airports have over Montreal’s airport is the lounges in the Domestic terminal. I was very happy to learn that Vancouver had a Plaza Premium lounge like Toronto. Although Plaza Premium lounges are no longer part of the Priory Pass lounges, I still had access with my Platinum American Express. These lounges are not as fancy as international lounges but it’s better than nothing.
Since we are in COVID-era, passengers no longer self-serve for food. Instead an attendant fills up your plate. I had scrambled eggs with sausage and potatoes. There was sadly no spinach (a breakfast staple for me) but they did have a salad bar with quinoa and other leafy greens.
I was doubly happy to have a lounge when I learned that my flight was delayed by 45 minutes. I was able to hang out a bit longer. When I finally walked over to my gate, I didn’t have to wait long before boarding. This time around, the Flair airlines lottery assigned me to a middle seat – you cannot imagine the look of disgust on my face when I got the assignment – but the flight wasn’t full so I was able to move to an aisle seat with no one in the middle seat. And back to Montreal I went.
In Montreal, there were no checks whatsoever since it was a domestic flight. I just walked straight to the 747 bus stop and took the bus home just like in pre-covid times – except with a mask on.
Final Thoughts
I feel ambivalent about Vancouver. I definitely would like to return for more hiking – and perhaps whale-watching – but the city itself left me meh. It doesn’t help that I lost an entire day were I intended to explore more. I had bookmarked a bunch of picturesque spots to check out but didn’t even get to see half of them. I think I would need a longer trip to be able to rest after hikes and have time to explore the city, rather than trying to cram everything in one go. Lesson learned. I would still recommend people to go if only for the hiking.
Trip Breakdown
Flight: $121.12 roundtrip nonstop with Flair airlines
Accomodations: $1801.31 for seven nights at Marriott Pinnacle Downtown (no breakfast included)
Transportation: $105.27
– Compass Card: $46
– Ferry from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria): $17.30
– Ferry from Swartz Bay (Victoria) to Tsawwassen (Vancouver): $17.30
– False Creek Ferries: $6
– Lyft to Chinatown: $18.67
Food: $119.36
– Breakfast at Nero Waffles: $17.06
– Gelato at Bella Gelateria: $10.86
– Dinner from Uncle Fatih’s Pizza: $25.56
– Dinner from Zaatar w Zeit: $19.88
– Dinner from Brioche: FREE (with DoorDash coupon)
– Gelato on Government Street in Victoria: ~$15 (I don’t remember the exact price since I paid cash)
– Lunch at Granville Public Market: $14.95 at La Tortilleria and $10.27 at Fraser Valley Juice and Salad
– Ice Cream at Soft Peaks Ice Cream: $5.78
– Breakfast at the Plaza Premium Lounge Vancouver Airport: FREE
Activities: $156.49
– Taste Vancouver Gastown Food Tour: $98.79
– Capilano Suspension Bridge Park: $57.70
Other Expenses: $74.94
– Groceries at Urban Fare: $20.94 (this is how I had breakfast on the days where you don’t see breakfast marked)
– Parking at the Mount Brunswick trailhead: $24
– Tips: ~$30
Total: ~2378.49 CAD
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