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Getting There By Air:

Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Tel: (604) 207 7077.
Website: www.yvr.ca

The airport is located 15km (9 miles) southwest of the city center and is a major gateway between Pacific Rim and North American destinations. It serves over 16 million passengers annually, making it Canada’s second busiest airport. The international and domestic terminals are connected directly to one another. The South Terminal (linked by shuttle bus) handles float plane and helicopter services, which are also available to the Downtown waterfront on Burrard Inlet.

Approximate flight times to Vancouver: From London is 9 hours 40 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 30 minutes; from Los Angeles is 2 hours 40 minutes; from Toronto is 4 hours 50 minutes and from Sydney is 18 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel, duty-free and other shops, newspaper stands, restaurants, bars, nursery, bank, bureaux de change, ATMs, left luggage, Internet payphones, WiFi access, DVD rentals, chapel, hair salon, health spa, showers and visitor information. Car hire is available from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National and Thrifty.

Business facilities: In addition to airline lounges, there is the CDS Business Center, open 0500-2300 (tel: (604) 303 4500) in the international terminal. Services include fax, photocopying and computer workstations.

Transport to the city: The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, under the name TransLink (tel: (604) 953 3333; website: www.translink.bc.ca), operates city buses and the SkyTrain, which combine to provide a convenient route into the city center from the airport. Bus 424 takes passengers to the Airport Station bus terminal. Travelers heading toward  downtown Vancouver must transfer to bus 98B, which takes them to the central Burrard Station (total journey time - 45 minutes). Departures are around every 8 minutes at peak times and about every 15 minutes evenings and weekends.

A coach service to downtown Vancouver hotels and the main bus depot is provided by Airporter (tel: (604) 946 8866 or 1 800 668 3141; website: www.yvrairporter.com) every 20 minutes 0855-1915 and then 1915, 2025, 2055 and 2125 (journey time - 25-45 minutes). Coaches are also available to Seattle, Victoria and Whistler.

The taxi fare to Downtown is about C$25 (journey time - 25 minutes).

Getting There By Water:

The Port of Vancouver’s 25 marine terminals are looked after by the Vancouver Port Authority (tel: (604) 665 9000; website: www.portvancouver.com) and is one of the busiest ports in North America. Although most of the traffic is cargo, a dozen cruise lines operate over 300 trips to Alaska, carrying around one million passengers per year. The port contains two passenger terminals. The downtown Canada Place Terminal offers restaurants, hotels and left-luggage facilities, while Ballantyne Terminal, about 2km (1.2 miles) to the east, has fewer facilities, with food and drink concessions.

Ferry services: Scheduled services from Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast are offered by BC Ferries (tel: (250) 386 3431 or 1 888 223 3779; website: www.bcferries.com). The major routes from Vancouver Island are Victoria-Vancouver, with ferries sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawassen (journey time - 1 hour 35 minutes), and Nanaimo-Vancouver, with ferries arriving at either the Horseshoe Bay or Tsawassen terminals (journey time - 1 hour 35 minutes or 2 hours, respectively). Pods of orcas (killer whales) can sometimes be seen on the trip from Victoria.

Transport to the city: Canada Place Terminal is a short walk from Waterfront SkyTrain Station and the main shopping and hotel districts. Taxis are readily available at Ballantyne Terminal and all westbound buses on Powell Street and Hastings Street (a few blocks south of the pier) lead Downtown. A free shuttle bus connects the two terminals.

From Tsawassen, foot passengers can book a seat on Pacific Coach Lines coaches (tel: (604) 662 7575 or 1 800 661 1725; website: www.pacificcoach.com) to the main bus terminal (tickets may be purchased aboard the ferry). Public transit is available on bus 620 (first bus at 0640, then hourly 0800-2300), which leads to the Airport Station transfer point, from where bus no.98B heads downtown (total journey time - 60-75 minutes). From Horseshoe Bay, express bus 257 (journey time - 40 minutes) and bus 250 (journey time - 55 minutes) both travel directly to downtown Vancouver.

Getting There By Road:

A system of provincial highways links Vancouver with cities in the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, as well as the US border. Traffic drives on the right. Road signs are international. Maximum speed limits are 100kph (62mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on rural highways and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. It is legal to turn right at a red light. An International Driving Permit is recommended, although it is not legally required unless the driving license is in English. Visitors to British Columbia may drive on their national driving licenses for up to six months, and third-party legal liability insurance is required. The minimum driving age is 16 years.

There are often random road checks to catch intoxicated drivers; the maximum legal alcohol-to-blood ratio for driving is 0.08%, although drivers may be charged with driving under the influence at any blood-alcohol level. Seatbelts are compulsory for all passengers. Radar detection devices are strictly prohibited and may not be carried in automobiles. Although there is very little snowfall in Vancouver, it can be heavy throughout the rest of the province in the winter: snow tires (and chains in mountainous regions) are a necessity.

Information on road conditions is available from the Ministry of Transportation (tel: 1 800 550 4997; website: www.drivebc.ca). The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) offers travel planning, insurance and other services to motorists (tel: 1 800 5646 222/JOIN CAA; website: www.bcaa.com).

Emergency breakdown services:
BCAA (604) 293 2222 (Lower Mainland only), 1 800 222 4359/CAA HELP (other areas of Canada and US)

Routes to the city: The Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) passes through the Rockies on its way from Calgary and the rest of Canada. From Seattle, Interstate 5 becomes Highway 99 at the border; north of Vancouver, Highway 99 is known as the Sea to Sky Highway and follows the coast from Whistler to the city. Ferries from Vancouver Island arrive at Tsawassen or Horseshoe Bay ferry terminals, which are linked to Vancouver via Highway 99, to the south and north of the city respectively. Victoria is reachable via the Swartz Bay-Tsawassen ferry.

Approximate driving times to Vancouver: From Whistler is 2 hours; from Victoria is 2 hours 30 minutes (including ferry crossing); from Seattle is 3 hours and from Calgary is 11 hours 30 minutes.

Coach services: Pacific Central Station is the main coach station and is directly adjacent to the main rail station at 1150 Station Street (see Getting There By Rail). A number of carriers operate from the station, each covering different routes.

Greyhound Canada (tel: (604) 661 0328 or 1 800 661 8747; website: www.greyhound.ca) runs frequent services from destinations within the province (including Nanaimo and Whistler) and further afield. Pacific Coach Lines (tel: (604) 662 7575 or 1 800 661 1725; website: www.pacificcoach.com) operates a daily service from Victoria at least every 2 hours (journey time - 3 hours 30 minutes). Cantrail Coach Lines (tel: (604) 294 5541 or 1 877 940 5561; website: www.cantrail.com), Quick Shuttle (tel: (604) 940 4428 or 1 800 665 2122; website: www.quickcoach.com) and US-based Greyhound (tel: 1 800 231 2222; website: www.greyhound.com) offer services from Seattle (journey time - about 4 hours).

Getting There By Rail:

VIA Rail (tel: 1 888 842 7245; website: www.viarail.ca) is the national rail service provider. The infrequent rail services are generally reliable and standards within the carriages are high. A large number of passengers choose rail for the scenic trip, rather than to get from A to B.

Pacific Central Station is the terminus for the main transcontinental lines. It is located at 1150 Station Street, adjacent to the main coach station. Facilities include bureau de change, food and drink concessions, gift shop and newsagents.

Rail services: VIA Rail operates the transcontinental Canadian service. This thrice-weekly train passes through Winnipeg, Edmonton and Jasper on its 3-day journey from Toronto. Both economy and first-class services are available. Amtrak (tel: 1 800 872 7245; website: www.amtrakcascades.com) provides a daily service from Seattle (journey time - 4 hours). A service from Calgary is offered by the privately run Rocky Mountaineer (tel: (604) 606 7245 or 1 877 460 3200; website: www.rockymountaineer.com), with an overnight stop in Kamloops so that the entire rail journey through the scenic Rockies is in daylight. The thrice-weekly service runs from mid-April to mid-October and advance reservations are required. A similar service, the Whistler Mountaineer (tel: (604) 606 8460 or 1 888 687 7245; website: www.whistlermountaineer.com) travels along the Sunshine Coast and then inland to Whistler from May to October.

Getting Around:

Public Transport
The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, under the name TransLink (tel: (604) 953 3333; website: www.translink.bc.ca), operates city buses and the SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express services.

A regular bus service (branded Coast Mountain Bus) runs from about 0500-2400 and is supplemented by the limited ‘Owl’ night bus service.

Vancouver’s clean and efficient SkyTrain is a metro system with four underground stops Downtown and an elevated track for the rest of its 49.5km (30-mile) journey through the suburbs. It is the world’s longest automated light rapid transit system. Trains on the original Expo Line run from Waterfront Station via New Westminster to Surrey; those on the newer Millennium Line follow the same route as far as Columbia Station, before branching off for the eastern suburbs and then looping back to connect with the Expo Line at Broadway/Commercial Drive Station. Trains depart every 2 to 8 minutes (services start at about 0530 Monday to Friday, 0630 Saturday and 0750 Sunday; last trains are around 0115 Monday to Saturday and 2415 Sunday). Transfers can be made at most stations to bus services and at Waterfront Station to the SeaBus, a catamaran ferry that connects Downtown with North Vancouver every 15 minutes during the day and 30 minutes in the evening (journey time - 12 minutes). Weekend services are slightly less frequent.

Fares for all three modes of transport are based on a zone system. Transfers are valid for 90 minutes from the start of the journey. Exact change is required on buses, while tickets for the SkyTrain and SeaBus are available for purchase at ticket windows and machines. Tickets must be validated before entering the fare zone.

Day passes valid for all of the above modes of transport in all zones are available. So are books of 10 tickets.

Other transportation options include the West Coast Express, a commuter rail service connecting Waterfront SkyTrain Station with a number of cities in the Fraser Valley. The Downtown Historic Railway (website: www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/streetcar) links Granville Island with Science World on summer weekend afternoons (late May-early October).

Connecting a number of points on either side of False Creek are tiny bath-toy-like passenger ferries operated by two private companies - Aquabus (tel: (604) 689 5858; website: www.aquabus.bc.ca) and False Creek Ferries (tel: (604) 684 7781; website: www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca). Fares depend on the route traveled. Day passes are available (concessions available).

Taxis
Taxis are readily available at taxi ranks or by telephone and can easily be hailed in the Downtown area, although they can be difficult to find elsewhere in the city. The main taxi firms are Yellow Cab Company (tel: (604) 681 1111 or 1 800 898 8294; website: www.yellowcabvancouver.ca) and Black Top & Checker Cabs (tel: (604) 731 1111 or 1 800 494 1111; website: www.blacktop-checkercabs.ca). Minivan taxis are available upon request. A tip of 15% is customary.

Driving in the City
As Vancouver is spread out over a series of islands and peninsulas, the main traffic bottlenecks are the region’s many bridges, notably during rush hours (0700-0900 and 1600-1800). There are no highways in the center of the city, so driving is slower and more time should be allowed to reach a destination. It is usually easier to take public transport and/or walk in downtown Vancouver.

Outside of Downtown, north-south roads are named Streets and east-west roads are numbered Avenues. It is easy to locate addresses on north-south streets by subtracting 16 from the first two digits of the address, to find the corresponding block (for example, 2630 Main Street would be between 10th and 11th Avenues). Ontario Street divides the city into East and West (all of Downtown’s streets are West).

Parking is readily available in underground and multi-story car parks in the Downtown area - parking lots are run by EasyPark Vancouver (website: www.easyparkvancouver.com). Locations and rates are available on their website.

Car Hire
All the major car hire companies are represented in Vancouver. Central locations include Alamo, 1185 West Georgia Street (tel: (604) 684 1401; website: www.alamo.com), Avis, 757 Hornby Street (tel: (604) 606 2868; website: www.avis.ca), Budget BC, 416 West Georgia Street (tel: (604) 668 7000; website: www.bc.budget.com), National, 1185 West Georgia Street (tel: (604) 609 7150; website: www.nationalcar.ca), and Thrifty, Empire Landmark Hotel, 1400 Robson Street (tel: (604) 681 4869; website: www.thrifty.com). Rent-A-Wreck, 1349 Hornby Street (tel: (604) 688 0001 or 1 888 665 3777; website: www.rentawreck.ca), is usually cheaper than the major providers.

Drivers under 25 years of age may face certain restrictions and those aged 19-21 may have to pay a surcharge. All drivers are required to pay the Passenger Vehicle Rental Tax and other government fees, federal and provincial sales taxes, plus a surcharge of around 15% for airport rentals. Rates do not include taxes or other incidentals (such as insurance, drop-off fees, petrol or mileage charges, etc). Those hiring a car should always check whether or not the minimum insurance requirements are included in the price of hire.

For excursions into British Columbia’s wilderness, a motorcamper or motorhome (known as a recreational vehicle or RV) offers a great deal of flexibility. Westcoast Mountain Campers, Voyageur Way, Richmond (tel: (604) 279 0550; website: www.wcmcampers.com), and Traveland RV Supercenter, 20529 Langley Bypass, Langley (tel: (604) 530 8141 or 1 888 513 9434; website: www.travelandrvcanada.com), are two options.

Bicycle Hire
The best place to hire a bicycle or the popular in-line skates is around Robson Street and Denman Street, near Stanley Park. Bayshore Bicycle & Rollerblade Skate Rentals, 745 Denman Street (tel: (604) 688 2453; website: www.bayshorebikerentals.ca), is open daily 0900-2100 (0900-dusk in winter). Spokes Bicycle Rentals, 1798 West Georgia Street (tel: (604) 688 5141; website: www.vancouverbikerental.com), offers guided tours in summer, in addition to bicycle hire.

Along the seawall and within Stanley Park, cyclists should watch for signs indicating if trails may be shared with pedestrians or are pedestrian-only. Elsewhere, the city has a well-marked system of bike paths, although hills and heavy traffic on the bridges may be challenging for inexperienced riders. Bicycle helmets are required by law and the same traffic rules for automobiles apply to cyclists. The City of Vancouver website (www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/cycling) provides further information.

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