British Columbia, Vancouver and Seattle

Planning on heading on this route for my honeymoon next May and was wondering if anyone has been to any of the above places recently and would have any advice?

I have search existing threads and read them so no need to reference them.

Lived in Vancouver for six months until Febuary, that part of North Amreica seems to be a popular honeymoon alternative to the luxury beach resort on island - including SF and Oregon. Even met an ex work colleague on his honeymoon there. There is another poster currently living in Vancouver who would be a better guide than me - Seattle is a good town too. You'll definitely need a car. The border can be a bit sticky on both sides. The islands are worth a trip, personally I'd go to the Okanagan region as well. Loads of info on web. Oregon would be really nice at that time as well. All depends on time available.

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

Spent 4 days in Seattle and 4 days in Vancouver a few years back. Both cities are great. Seattle down by the waterfront/markets and all over Vancouver is great. There is practically another city beneath the streets of Vancouver so you don't have to go outdoors when the weather is bad. From Vancouver you could head further Northwards toward Banff or head to Victoria.

'Getaways' the holiday programme on BBC covered Vancouver last night and it looked really appealing, in fact one of the presenters said it was her favourite city in the whole world!

Ok as the 'Vancouver resident' poster here goes!

Vancouver is a great 'little' city. Its population is much bigger than Dublins but it doesn't have that built up, stressed out feel that Dublin has. Its a very laid back kind of place, its a very liberal city.

There is lots to see and do in Vancouver, with the usual galleries, museums, restaurants, shopping and parks etc that you'd expect in any city of this size.
However the popularity of Vancouver is down to the fact in that it is a great base for exploring the wilderness of British Columbia, which is right on its doorstep, literally e.g. I spent the afternoon in work peeking through our office telescope at the skiers and boarders on Grouse Mountain which is 20 mins from the centre of downtown. Last week I was jogging around the beautiful False Creek in lovely weather and in the afternoon was playing around in snow on the mountains.

The weather here is great in May, the first time I came here was in May and I got sunburned! In between april - june (while there's still snow) you could go skiing in the morning and sunbathing in the afternoon. From Vancouver you can explore the beauty of Whistler which is probably the No. 1 winter resort in North America, however even in May there should be a bit of snow, and if not then the hikes up the mountain are worth it.

From there you could venture on a roadtrip around British Columbia, there is plenty to keep you occupied over a few weeks, BC is about 4/5 times the size of Ireland. My parents were here recently for two weeks. They spent a few days at either end of their trip in Vancouver and then spent a week on the road. They travelled to Whistler, Golden, Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff & Kamloops, definitly an option.

If you're after something a bit more laid back there is also the option of a cruise. After the med and the carribbean, the route to alaska is the third busiest in the world. Vancouver is the main start/end point for these cruises and there is usually a number of sailings every day (more at weekends) from May-Oct. You could combine a week in BC with a week aboard a cruise ship also.

If you enjoy,

the Great Outdoors (people here love hiking, fishing, canoeing, skiing, boarding, snowshoeing, running, climbing, rowing, cycling)

Great Food ( a fantastic mix of Canadian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Mexican and good old American!)

and being in a general state of calmness (residents of Hogtown, sorry, Toronto, call Vancouver & BC, Lotusland!)

...then you'll love this part of the world.

Nuts & Bolts

Vancouver & BC are not as cheap as the rest of Canada, Vancouver is the most expensive city in Canada, however figure about 10-15% cheaper than Dublin, however quality of food & accomodation is much higher, more bang for you buck. Eating out is much cheaper here generally, however there is much bigger price range than in Ireland, you could pay $5 for dinner or could pay $200! It's up to you.

Expect to hire a car if you're travelling outside of Vancouver. Van has a good public transit system, outside Van, though there is a fantastic Greyhound bus system, it is very expensive. Trust me, Bus Eireann would put these guys outta business, figure $25 for one-way 2hr trip.

You could organise a package or you could get your travel agent to organise key elements like flights and first couple of hotel nights and then go exploring after that. Flightwise you'll be spoiled for choice, BA via LHR, KLM via AMS, Lufthansa via FRA & DUS. You'll also have the choice of low cost charter/scheduled flights from the UK with Zoom & Air Transat. They both fly from the like of BFS, GLA, MAN, CWL & LGW. Whatever you do don't take Air Canada to Toronto (from DUB & SNN direct in summer) and get a connecting flight to Vancouver. This could add about 4-5 hrs to your journey, also don't bother with any flight connecting via the US, it is not worth the hassle, the eyedentiscan, the fingerprints...........

Pheeewww.......

Majik.....that was a fantastic response and hugely helpful.

I was 99% sure of heading to Vancouver and BC and am completely sure now.

Will be going for 2/3 weeks and just need to work out the best approach re where to go and when.

We will defo be hiring a car so I think that the best option is to fly to Vancouver and spend a few days there and then hit the road and discover BC.

Seems that Seattle is a beautiful city but think that I willl give it a miss as there is so much else to do in Vancouver and BC. Also we are on our honeymoon after all so I think the trip across the border might be unnecessary hassle as it would mean going to Vancouver, then BC and then to Seattle.

i did something similiar this September, Went Seattle - Victoria - Whistler - Vancouver.

i'd recommend not flying Air Canada thru Toronto, old planes and also bumped us off the return flight as it was overbooked, BA thru heathrow would be a better bet...

i would spend more time up around vancouver island and the san juan islands (saltspring is a must), there is loads of lovely places to visit if you take your own time and rent a car. Victoria is also a lovely little city. Whistler is also great with lots to do in the Summer too but it can be quiet their midweek. I wasn't overly impressed by Vancouver, it was particulary quiet at night and the gastown and granville areas are overrated. The park and the city by day are great too.

woodseb said:

it was particulary quiet at night and the gastown and granville areas are overrated. .

Click to expand...

The words tourist and trap spring to mind. Avoid these places at night. Gastown is ok during the day but is the Vancouver equivilant of Temple Bar, likewise with Granville St. If you're looking for a good mid-week nightlife, head to the likes of Yaletown and Davie St. Davie St is busy most nights. Because Van is spread out there are a lot of cool neighbourhoods you may miss if you stay to the well worn path. My recommendations would be

Kitsilano (nice bars & restaurants, used to be old hippy colony, also got the beach there too)

Commercial Drive (multicultural mix of restaurants and shops, another good area for mid-week nightlife)

Davie St/Westend/Denman ( best place for cheap eats. The Gay village is here so the nightlife is very lively, lots of good bars, right by the beach and Stanley park)

Yaletown (very hip to the bone, converted warehouses and high-rises. Good restaurants and cocktail style bars)

Main St (very boho, cool clothes stores and funky restaurants)

Granville Rise/Fairview Slopes (not to confused with Granville st downtown) Great shopping and cool stores.

There is definitely nightlife - not as much as Toronto but who cares on their honeymoon. Loads of real Chinese restaurants in Richmond but might need an interpretor. Authenic Vietnamee Pho restaurants there too and on the Eastside as well.
There is a famous sushi bar in Kits and Commercial Drive has a very popular Cuban restaurant. There is a Greek place on Davie that has queues before it even opens.
The Orpheum Theatre is a really good concert venue, saw Arcade Fire there. Makes the Point look very plain indeed. Well worth a fancy night out.
You can rent cabins around Whistler to get out of the city.

I flew Air Canada & BA - neither were good, even business class in Air Canada. A lot of people I worked with from UK recommend Zoom as they have a better seat pitch in Premium Economy & is cheaper than BA economy. You can fly via Manchester avoiding Heathrow hell and getting cheaper flights from Dublin too. Plus only 35 minute flight from Dublin.
It only goes once a week and sells out fast so you would want to book well before Xmas - economy from £300 rtn, premium almost double that £600 - that's with tax and surcharges.

www.flyzoom.com

Go on, do it!!!

was in vancouver a couple of years ago, easy to get around, plenty to do.... sightseeing, took a seaplane up the coast, cycled around small island, took a dinner cruise, etc. plenty of shops etc, then hired a car and drove to kaslo which is in BC, but there are plenty of towns along the way and roads are excellent...so plenty of choice

Vancouver is cool and indeed Vancouver Island well worth a visit.

You could take the car ferry across to Nanaimo or Victoria and then you can work north towards Tofino, Campbell River, Port MacNeill and Port Hardy where you can go whale watching at certain times of the year.

A fantastic journey is to drive upto Part Hardy and then take the ferry up along the coast to Prince Rupert or Bella Coola. You do need to book the ferry well in advance. Of course when you get there you have to find your way back either across the centre of BC to Prince George or back down the coast the way you came.

I have to say I think the best of BC is the far north up near the Yukon on the Alaska highway. Very quiet, not may tourists and great wildlife (bears, caribou, bison, porcupines, moose, bald eagles, mountain sheep/goats) right along the road. But you may not have time for that. You could always fly into Whitehorse and work around that but it would be a bit colder in spring.

Another option is to do the more touristy Vancouver to Calgary or vice versa. That way you can visit Banff, Jasper, Yoho national parks together with the Columbia Icefields, Lake Louise and Banff town.
Drop into the Banff hotel for a coffee and wander around the shops in the town.

A couple of things to mention; if early in season then some roads may still be impassable in the interior and up north but on the plus side you won't have forest fires and the bears will just be coming out.

The sights in BC are magnificent/awesome and in this case the words are truly apt. If the future wife likes gorgeous emerald green lakes, snow capped peaks, jaw dropping mountains, soothing hot springs and a chance to see magnificent wildlife then BC is the the place.

I'm just repeating what's been said already, but if you're in that neck of the woods I wouldn't miss out on Vancouver Island. We headed for the west coast of the island (time constraints meant we had to miss out on Victoria) - we stayed between Ucluelet and Tofino. Gorgeous coast, and lots of outdoorsy stuff like whale waching and coastal walking. Probably not as spectacular as further north on the island, but was our best option during a two and a half week trip.
As for the BC interior - we headed from Vancouver to Calgary, did the pretty standard route through Yoho National Park and around to Banff. We stayed for a few nights in Emerald Lake Lodge (got a great deal through Trailfinders). I can only describe it as breath taking. Every day we thought the scenery couldn't be bettered, but every day we were just amazed. You really are in for a treat.
Oh, and it was pretty simple to fly into Vancouver, hire a car, and then fly out of Calgary.

Thanks a million to everyone who replied, it all sounds simply fantastic and will be much easier to plan the itinerary as a result of the above info.

Defo going to Vancouver for honeymoon in May, will stay in nice hotel for 3/4 days and then rent a car for 2/3 weeks and explore BC.

Am looking at hotels now and using tripadvisor but was wondering if anyone had stayed in any hotel in the last 12 months in Vancouver and how they found it, thanks.

WIll be staying in a nice hotel given the occasion