Ideas on what to do Vancouver area with family

[fishead]

Hello all, will be in surey area for kids soccer end of March and have five or six days to burn with the family after. Curious about accomodations and or ideas of where to go and stay. Would like to rent a house or cabin and chill for a few days.
Any advice would be appreciated, as I don't know the area that well. Was thinking maybe Squamish, Harrison hot springs, salt spring?

[I_forget]

Originally Posted by fishead

Hello all, will be in surey area for kids soccer end of March and have five or six days to burn with the family after. Curious about accomodations and or ideas of where to go and stay. Would like to rent a house or cabin and chill for a few days.
Any advice would be appreciated, as I don't know the area that well. Was thinking maybe Squamish, Harrison hot springs, salt spring?

What age are the kids

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

The vanouver aquarium is a nice place to take the kids. I only stopped in surrey once to use the facilities so I'm not familiar with much there.

[From The Hip]

To spend a LOT of money no matter what you do.BC stands for one thing...Bring Cash and a lot of it.

FTH

[ResidentSpokesman]

Drop the wife & kids off at the Aquarium and head for the Vedder. It's Steelhead season!

[I_forget]

A day trip through the gulf islands is fun. Great scenery. I've seen killer whale pods before.

[fishead]

Kids are 15 and 17

[fishead]

Originally Posted by From The Hip

To spend a LOT of money no matter what you do.BC stands for one thing...Bring Cash and a lot of it.

FTH

Well it is only for a week or so, think we will survive.
But thanks though

[I_forget]

Well if there 15 and 17 I'd recommend skiing at whistler, walk the sea wall, ferry ride. Or you could rent bikes and bike around Vancouver on the bike paths.

[fishead]

Thanks

[justsomeguy]

Canucks game, aquarium, get on ticketmaster and look for concerts/musicals/etc.

Do the ferry round trip. Up to Sunshine Coast, then Powell river, stay at desolation sound resort or Lund hotel, eat at laughing oyster or Lund hotel, then ferry over to comox on the island, work your way down the old highway to Nanaimo or Victoria, tea at the empress hotel, Ferry back to Vancouver then home.

[From The Hip]

Catch the laser show at the Planetarium...Last time I saw it it was Pink Floyd....darn good show.

If it were say June/July I would suggest going to a Canadians Baseball game at Nat Bailey stadium....I only got to go to a couple games when I lived in Vancouver but I did enjoy them.

FTH

[JustBen]

Aquarium. Maritime museum. Granville island.

If you head out to the island, rent a car and head to Denman and Hornby islands for a day. Lots of beaches and shoreline to check out.

[csnow]

I used to visit family out there a few times a year growing up. The things I remember most are pizza at Marcello Pizzeria (real Italian wood oven thin crust stuff) and ice cream at La Casa Gelato (200+ flavours).

If you have time to get out to the island Toffino/Ucluelet are always worth the effort.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by I_forget

Well if there 15 and 17 I'd recommend skiing at whistler, walk the sea wall, ferry ride. Or you could rent bikes and bike around Vancouver on the bike paths.

Yup. You can rent bikes right by Stanley park. Ride the sea wall if kids aren't interested in walking it. Go to the aquarium that is also in the park. You can also rent a motor boat and take a ride around the harbor, English bay, up false creek.... Science center by BC place.

[tirebob]

Not sure if it will be open yet, but Playland is always good for some fun. The old wooden roller coaster is a trip!

Queen Elizabeth Park is nice to walk around. The 18 hole par 3 pitch and putt there is cheap good fun for the family is is a nice way to kill a couple hours. The gardens are jice there too. It is too bad there is no baseball. We used to go the games at Nat Bailey all the time.

Steveston is a nice little fishing village to go walk around just outside Richmond. Also head up Grouse mountain for some wicked views.

Vancouver has tons of stuff to do and much of it can be done for free. People who say Van is expensive to do things don't really know. It costs us much more money to go do family things here in Calgary than it ever did in Van. You are visiting... Not buying property or insuring a car and commuting. Your costs will not really be more than anywhere else...

[I_forget]

Well gas is 30-40 cents more in Vancouver. And the port Mann is tolled.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by tirebob

Not sure if it will be open yet, but Playland is always good for some fun. The old wooden roller coaster is a trip!

Queen Elizabeth Park is nice to walk around. The 18 hole par 3 pitch and putt there is cheap good fun for the family is is a nice way to kill a couple hours. The gardens are jice there too. It is too bad there is no baseball. We used to go the games at Nat Bailey all the time.

Steveston is a nice little fishing village to go walk around just outside Richmond. Also head up Grouse mountain for some wicked views.

Vancouver has tons of stuff to do and much of it can be done for free. People who say Van is expensive to do things don't really know. It costs us much more money to go do family things here in Calgary than it ever did in Van. You are visiting... Not buying property or insuring a car and commuting. Your costs will not really be more than anywhere else...

^^ Bingo!
Bob nailed it.
I grew up in Vancouver. 40 years there, and I've lived in pretty much every neighbourhood, as well as worked all over the lower mainland for 20 of those years. I've lived in the West End, East End (blocks from PNE), the North Shore, as well as the Fraser Valley in later years. (Sorry you're in Surrey...ew! )

Anyways, OP; you're going to be hard pressed to find a house to rent for such a short stay. Cabins maybe, if you're looking at going to the Gulf Islands, or up the Sechelt, but that's a whole 'nother vacation. West Coast of Van Isl is at least a weekend trip and expensive. Realistically you're looking at just finding a half-decent hotel. Downtown Van will be expensive (same as DT Calgary). But a hotel like a Best Western Express in outlying areas like south of false Creek (Broadway area, etc) will be a little cheaper. But if you're staying in Surrey already, you can do pretty much any daytrips right from there.

• White Rock (The pier! Awesome sidewalk cafes. Boathouse restaurant on the patio and watch the sun go down from your table is awesome)
• Drive down to Bellingham, USA (bring your passports)
• Semiahmoo Resort is a stone's throw across the water from White Rock, but in the US. A cool 30 minute drive from Surrey. Beautiful seafood lunch at the resort.
• Steveston (Richmond) (fishing village)
• New Westminster Quay (think farmers market on the River)
• Stanley Park (rent bikes for sure! Do the seawall a few times, pack cold sammy's and fruits and picnic somewhere on the Ocean like 3rd beach)
• Aquarium
• Gastown
• Robson St
• Granville Island (take a water taxi tour of False Creek)
• English Bay
• Londsdale Quay (park downtown, take the Seabus over on foot)
• Canada place, Coal Harbour, walk along the water, watch the planes take off from the harbour. Good souvenir shopping.
• Grouse Mountain (sky ride and lunch at the top)
• Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge (like Capilano, but LV is free)

There isn't an area or event or tourist attraction that I haven't done a million times, so don't be afraid to shoot me a PM if you want an questions answered. For example the Planetarium is award winning, on the list of "must see" attractions for tourists...but really, unless your kids are specifically into astronomy, it's really boring. I don't know how many times I went there as a kid on field trips. *YAWN*.
If you guys are skiers, then yes, Whistler, but be prepared for about a $1,000 day for the family, not to mention 3-4 hours of driving. A LONG day and tiring!
Grouse or Seymour would be more suitable for a day's skiing, and half the price and a 20 minute drive, and a better view!!

All of those above things to do can be done in a day or less. Easy half hour drive in from Surrey, if you wait til rush hour has subsided. If you hit good weather, you'll wonder why everyone doesn't live there, it's like paradise in springtime! But you could also hit a week straight of rain, clouds and 5 degree temps which make a lot of those things kind of a downer.

Here's a sample of pictures of a weekend trip my wife and I did for our anniversary. Gives you an idea of a weekend in March in and around Vancouver:

Vancouver day 1
Vancouver, day 2

Google Image search any of those things I listed for a general idea of what it is.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by I_forget

Well gas is 30-40 cents more in Vancouver. And the port Mann is tolled.

So you spend an extra $20 on gas for a weeks worth of driving.

I've crossed the PM and Golden Ears about a dozen times so far, with both my Alberta vehicle and a rental vehicle. Haven't received one invoice.
They don't bother out of province vehicles.

No plans yet to enforce out-of-towners to pay Port Mann tolls

The Crown Corporation that runs the Port Mann Bridge says it has no plans to try and collect outstanding tolls from out-of-Province drivers.

[fishead]

Thanks clgy Dave.

[Positrac]

My wife always wanted to go to Beijing so every time we make it to the lower mainland I take her to Burnaby and hit the Metrotown Mall for her fix.

[Rangifer]

You can hike up the back of the Squamish Chief for great views of the Sound, or ride the new GONDOLA. There are also a ton of trails to explore in the Smoke Bluffs where all the rock climbing is.

Lighthouse Park in West Van is also worth a wander:

http://www.lighthousepark.ca/

[Skybuster]

Clgy-Dave mentioned Robson St. I wish to second that, and do it at lunchtime, leave the kids and your wife at home though. May not be as refreshing for you as it was for me. Me being a twenty year lifer of small town Northern Alberta. But when lunchtime hit and all those young secretaries hit the streets, all dressed to the nines, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Pack a lunch and sit in the courtyard across from the skating rink.

Enjoy.