Vancouver

Vancouver was Dave's idea actually. He'd been there for a teaching conference in 2017 and came home with photos that didn't quite explain it — the mountains right behind the city, the harbour with seaplanes landing, the sushi everywhere. Took us until 2023 to actually go as a family with Mia (11) and Owen (8), and yeah, it's a fab city for kids. Easy as a destination. We did ten days and could have done another week.

[IMAGE: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1559827260-dc66d52bef19?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop | Vancouver's downtown skyline against the snow-capped North Shore mountains, with seaplanes parked at the Coal Harbour float plane base in the foreground]

Quick orientation

Vancouver sits on the southwest coast of British Columbia, on a peninsula between the Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Coast Mountains to the north. Population ~700k in the city, ~2.6m in the metro region. Founded 1886.

The thing that makes Vancouver so liveable (and so good for family visiting) is the geography. You're surrounded by water and mountains, the public transport works, the city is walkable in the centre, and the parks are genuinely huge — Stanley Park alone is about a third the size of Central Park in New York.

The neighbourhoods you'll visit:

• Downtown / West End — the peninsula tip. Hotels, shops, the entrance to Stanley Park.
• Gastown — Vancouver's original 1880s town centre, brick streets, the famous steam clock.
• Yaletown — converted warehouse district, restaurants, the waterfront sea wall.
• Granville Island — small peninsula under the bridge, public market, the kids loved it.
• Kitsilano — beach neighbourhood west of downtown, casual restaurants, the beach.
• North Shore (over the bridge) — Lions Gate Bridge takes you to North Vancouver where the suspension bridges, mountains, and the cable car up Grouse Mountain are.

The bit you'll spend most of your time in is the downtown peninsula and the North Shore day trips.

How to get around

The trick is: you don't really need a car in Vancouver itself if you're staying downtown. The TransLink system (SkyTrain trains, SeaBus across the harbour, buses) is excellent. Buy a Compass Card at any SkyTrain station — works on all three modes. Day pass about $11.45. The kids loved the SeaBus (15-minute ferry to North Vancouver). The SkyTrain to the airport takes 25 minutes.

For the North Shore day trips, you'll want to either rent a car or use the bus-and-shuttle combos. We rented a car for two days mid-trip and otherwise managed without.

Walking is genuinely good in Vancouver — proper sidewalks, separated bike lanes, low car aggression compared to most North American cities. Mia and Owen walked everywhere happily.

What to do with kids

Stanley Park. The headline. 400-hectare park at the tip of the peninsula. You can walk, bike, or take the horse-drawn carriage around the 8km Seawall (the bike rental places near the park entrance hire kids' bikes for $10-15/hour). Don't miss: the totem poles at Brockton Point, the Vancouver Aquarium (which is INSIDE Stanley Park — quite good aquarium, beluga whales, sea otters), the Hollow Tree (a tree you can stand inside), the rose garden, Second Beach (a swimming pool right by the ocean — magical concept).

Full day easy. Bring a picnic. The kids loved it.

Granville Island Public Market. Indoor market with food stalls, fresh produce, baked goods, art and craft. The Kids' Market is a separate building of toy and kid-shops. Excellent lunch spot. We went three times in 10 days. Free entry. About $40-60 for a family lunch.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park (North Shore). 137-metre suspension bridge through rainforest at 70 metres up. Plus the Treetop Adventure (smaller suspension bridges between huge fir trees) and the Cliffwalk (glass and steel walkway on the edge of a granite cliff). About $65 adult, $25 kid. Half-day commitment. Mia loved it; Owen was nervously thrilled.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge Park (also North Shore). FREE alternative to Capilano — smaller bridge but the rainforest setting is gorgeous. Less polished but equally beautiful. Worth doing.

Grouse Mountain. Cable car up the mountain ($65 adult, $26 kid). At the top: grizzly bear habitat (with real grizzlies — Grinder and Coola), a wood-chopping lumberjack show, hiking trails, in winter a small ski hill, in summer a chairlift even higher. Spectacular city views. Half-day to full day. The Skyride down at sunset is the moment of the day.

Science World. Big geodesic dome by the waterfront, science museum, hands-on exhibits, an IMAX theatre. About $30 adult, $25 kid. Reliable rainy-day option.

Stanley Park Train. A small heritage railway through the park forest. The Halloween Ghost Train (October) and Christmas Train (December) are seasonal favourites. About $14 adult, $7 kid.

Whistler day trip. 2 hours north by the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The ski resort village is open year-round — chairlifts run in summer too, plus the bear-watching, alpine hikes, and the Peak 2 Peak gondola connecting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains (10 minutes, partly glass-floored). Full day, expensive but extraordinary. About $80 per person for the Peak 2 Peak.

Vancouver Public Library Central Branch. Weirdly enough — the architecture by Moshe Safdie is striking, kids love the curved colosseum-style atrium, and the children's library is excellent for an hour of quiet on a rainy afternoon. Free.

Eating in Vancouver with kids

Vancouver has one of the world's great food scenes — particularly for sushi (huge Japanese community), dim sum (huge Chinese community), and Indian food. Plus the standard Canadian-North American comfort food.

Japadog — Japanese-style hot dogs from food trucks all around downtown. Each kid gets to pick their own variation. About $8-12 each.

Miku (Coal Harbour) — sushi restaurant on the waterfront. The Aburi salmon oshi (pressed sushi torched on top) is the signature dish. Kids' menu available. About $40-80 per adult.

Cactus Club Cafe (multiple locations) — chain restaurant, family-friendly, reliable Canadian-American menu with some Asian fusion items. About $25-45 per adult.

Dim sum in Richmond (south of the city, half-hour drive or SkyTrain) — Chinese suburb with the best dim sum in North America. Sun Sui Wah is the legendary place. Family-friendly. About $30-50 per adult for a substantial dim sum lunch.

Granville Island Market food stalls — the easiest family lunch in Vancouver. Pick stalls, share. About $40-60 total.

Tim Hortons (everywhere) — Canadian coffee-and-donuts chain. The kids loved the Timbits (donut holes). Cheap reliable breakfast.

Salmon. Pacific salmon is the local specialty — grilled, smoked, in sushi, in chowder. Get it everywhere. Owen's new favourite food.

Where to stay

Downtown / Coal Harbour — most central, walking distance to Stanley Park, the harbour, Gastown. Mid-range hotels around CAD $250-450/night. We stayed at a 2-bedroom suite at a hotel near Coal Harbour — kids had their own room, kitchenette for breakfast, walking distance to everything. Fab decision.

West End — quieter residential area west of downtown, walkable to the park and the beaches. Cheaper boutique hotels around CAD $200-350.

North Shore — if you have a car and want quieter, cheaper accommodation with mountain views. About CAD $180-280.

Avoid: the airport hotels (too far from anything), the Yaletown business hotels (more for solo business travellers).

When to go

June through September is the goldilocks. Long daylight (10pm sunsets in midsummer), dry, warm (20-25°C). July and August are peak — book months ahead. The summer rate premiums are real.

October-November is good for shoulder visits — costs drop, fewer tourists, mild weather, but the rains start mid-October.

December-March is wet and grey but cool, not bitterly cold (4-8°C typical). Whistler is in full ski mode. The city itself is quieter and prices drop.

April-May is shoulder, mild, increasingly dry, beautiful flowers and Vancouver's famous cherry blossoms (late March-early April).

We went in late August. Was perfect.

Practical bits

Currency — Canadian dollar (CAD). Cards work everywhere. Apple Pay, contactless. Tipping 15-20% is standard at restaurants.

Power — North American flat-pin plugs (same as US). 110V.

Phone — most international plans work fine; Canadian SIMs available at airport if needed.

Pharmacies — Shoppers Drug Mart is the major chain. Most have a clinic for minor things.

Language — English everywhere. Some service staff Cantonese or Mandarin first. French is officially co-official in Canada but rarely heard in Vancouver in practice.

Combining the trip

Vancouver is a great starting or ending point for a longer western Canada trip — the Rocky Mountains (Banff, Jasper) are a day's drive or short flight east, Vancouver Island (Victoria, the Pacific Rim) is a ferry away. Or head south into Washington State / Pacific Northwest USA — Seattle is 2.5 hours by car.

The Canada country guide covers the regional routes. For tours in Canada, most start in Vancouver or Toronto.

Official sources

Destination Vancouver, the official city tourism site, has practical visitor info, current event listings, and the major attractions' opening hours. Parks Canada's Vancouver-area pages cover the national parks if you're doing a Whistler or Vancouver Island extension.

Last word

Vancouver was the easy Canadian holiday I hadn't realised I was looking for. With Mia and Owen in tow it just worked — walkable, parks everywhere, water in every direction, food they liked. Ten days felt right; another week would have given us proper Vancouver Island time. Dave reckons we'll go back when the kids are teenagers and can do more of the mountain stuff. Mia's already negotiating that.

A week minimum. Stay downtown. Do Stanley Park slowly. Day-trip to the North Shore. Eat sushi every other night. A goer for sure.