Tours of the City
Walking Tours
The most enjoyable place to walk, which visitors should not miss out on, is the Seawall, which runs around the edge of Stanley Park and continues along False Creek. For guided tours that put the modern city in perspective, Walkabout Historic Vancouver (tel: (604) 720 0006; website: www.walkabouthistoricvancouver.com) offers daily (at 1000 and 1400) two-hour walking tours, one of Downtown Vancouver and Gastown, one of Chinatown and Gastown, and one of Granville Island. Tours cost C$25 and departure points are confirmed following reservation.
The Architectural Institute of British Columbia (tel: (604) 683 8588; website: www.aibc.bc.ca) offers a number of free guided tours, from June to August. These introduce visitors to Vancouver’s history through architecture. Tours take one and a half to two hours. Departure locations vary depending on the tour taken; these are listed online. The Institute also offers a virtual tour on its website.
Bus Tours
There are numerous hop-on, hop-off bus tours in Vancouver, averaging two hours in length for a whole circuit. Options include Gray Line of Vancouver (tel: (604) 879 3363; website: www.grayline.ca/vancouver) for C$30 for a two-day ticket and The Vancouver Trolley Company (tel: (604) 801 5515 or (888) 451 5581; website: www.vancouvertrolley.com) for C$28. Both offer more extensive tours, as does Landsea Tours (tel: (604) 662 7591; website: www.vancouvertours.com), whose four-hour Vancouver City Highlights tour costs C$51.40. Gray Line and Trolley Company both have numerous stops around the city, however, the easiest place for tourists to catch one is in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Robson Square. Landsea Tours arranges hotel pickup.
Other Tours
Dinner cruises are available from Accent Cruises (tel: (604) 688 6625; website: www.dinnercruises.com). The two-and-a-half-hour cruise (usually 1745-2015) costs C$25 or C$59.95 with a buffet dinner – departures are from Granville Island. Harbour Cruises (tel: (604) 688 7246 or (800) 663 1500; website: www.boatcruises.com) is based at the north foot of Denman Street (near West Georgia Street). The company offers trips around the harbour for C$19, as well as lunch and sunset dinner cruises for C$54.95 and C$69.95 respectively. Harbour tours take one hour and 15 minutes and departures are at 1430 daily from April to October, with additional sailings at 1130 and 1300, early May to late September. Lunch tours are from 1100 to 1500 (days vary) and dinner tours from 1900 to 2130 (daily, May to October).
Kayak tours are available from Ecomarine Ocean Kayak Centre (tel: (604) 689 7575 or (888) 425 2925; website: www.ecomarine.com) on Granville Island. A two-and-a-half introductory tour around English Bay and False Creek costs C$49 (daily 0930, 1300 and 1700). They also organize monthly moonlight paddles and rentals. Further afield, Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak Centre, 2156 Banbury Road, North Vancouver (tel: (604) 929 2268; website: www.deepcovekayak.com), offers tours of Indian Arm, an 18km-long (11-mile) fjord, starting at C$80.
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Tours of the City