A 2-to-4-day Vancouver Itinerary

Good morning!

If you are looking for a 2-to-4 day Vancouver Itinerary, you have come to the right place! Our family headed out to Vancouver at the end of June. We loved it! The best part about coming from Eastern Standard Time is that we had the entire day despite being in the air for about 5 hours. Our hotel was in Coal Harbor. Instantly, we noticed all of the kid-friendly activities. Also immediately, we were asked approximately 100 gazillion times about checking out the outdoor swimming pool and renting bikes. But before I babble on, giving a play-by-play, here is a 4-day Itinerary (followed by a 2-day Itinerary, if you are short on time/not required to spend quite so much time at the hotel pool ;). If you aren’t interested in the narrative (It’s fine- I totally get it!), just scroll to the bottom for the condensed version. 

Day 1: Vancouver Itinerary- Stanley Park

Lunch at Cardero’s. With stunning bay views, outdoor seating (complete with warm blankets), and delicious dishes, this was the perfect introduction to to the relaxed Pacific Northwest lifestyle. We got there a little before 11:30am (when it opens) and were glad that we did. Even on a weekday, the tables filled up quickly; the patio even faster.

After we checked in, we started to walk to Stanley Park, noticing all of the bikes and, frankly, being a little tired from our 3:45am wake up time, we decided to go back to the hotel to rent bikes. There were bike rentals in Stanley Park but we didn’t have the app and needed smaller bikes for the kids. (If you have kids but are staying in an airbnb or hotel without bikes, there was a bike shop that rented bikes a few blocks into the West End called Spokes. It was still quite close to Stanley Park.)

There was a bike path around the outer edge of Stanley Park. As we began to bike, we commented how similar this was to biking around Mackinaw Island back in Michigan. (You can read about that here.) It was about the same distance, a perfect family activity, and had beautiful water views. Then, we turned a corner and saw Lions Gate Bridge. This giant bridge spans 5,981ft and was reminiscent of the Golden Gate in San Francisco connecting the larger city with smaller towns. (Check out our SF recs here.) And then, we went around a corner and there was a tree on top of a rock in the middle of the bay and we promptly thought about the Lone Cypress on 17-mile Drive. (Read about one of our favorite trips to the Central Coast here.) But really, it is unfair to compare the bike path to any of these because it is amazing all on it’s own. With every curve, there is a breathtaking view. It is calming and a great activity on a sunny day. In addition to the sites mentioned above, there are beaches, splash pads, a pool overlooking the ocean, a hidden lagoon, beautiful rhododendrons, a lovely rowing building, etc., etc.

We were all both relaxed and worn out after the 6-mile bike ride, but the kids still insisted on a little pool time. Meanwhile, we looked into restaurants to check out for dinner. We wanted something very close, knowing that after a day of travel, biking, and swimming, we were on borrowed time. Fortunately, my husband has a friend who lives in Vancouver and gave us some really great recommendations. We ended up at Tavola, a stylish and quaint restaurant in the West End. I highly, highly recommend this restaurant regardless of where you are staying. With house-made pasta and larger sharing dishes, Tavola is one that you will not want to miss. It reminded us quite a bit of The Little Owl in NYC (You can read about that trip here.) The servers are genuine, friendly, and very knowledgeable. There aren’t uniforms and it isn’t stuffy at all, yet it is very, very professional. Of course, I didn’t take any photos of the food we ordered. (Why can’t I ever remember to do this?!?!) So, you are just going to have to trust that the food is both beautiful and delicious! I’ve recently become a person who would like to tell you exactly what to get- ha! Just kidding. You can get what you want here. I’m pretty sure it’s all good. But, I really do think you should try the Burrata as an appetizer. Okay, that’s it. No more bossing. (You can find Tavola on Open Table if you have the App and want to make a reservation.)

An option right around the corner, is Tavola’s sister restaurant, Nook. It is adorable and quite fittingly named. It also has pasta dishes in addition to several pizzas from which to choose.

The other option that was given to us was Lift Bar and Grill. This restaurant has magnificent views of the harbor and mountains. It seemed to be a bit more upscale than we were looking for given our tired kiddos.

Day 2: Vancouver Aquarium

The kids and I decided to check out the Vancouver Aquarium. It sounds much like the celebrity Clearwater Marine Aquarium (think Dolphin Tale), the Vancouver Aquarium helps to rehabilitate animals or take care of animals that won’t be able to survive in the wild. It is also used to bring awareness to our pollution habits and how they affect the animals. Some of the animals are fine but are said to be “ambassadors” to help educate us to the dangers to their counterparts out in the real world. The highlights for us were the tree frogs, otters, seals, and sea lions. There is an outdoor component, so it is nice to be able to periodically get some fresh air and see the sunlight.

You can get to the Aquarium any number of ways. It is part of the Hop On Hop Off Park Route. We were able to walk from our hotel through Stanley Park. Of course, for the second day in a row, I turned around to see only our son’s hands hanging from the sea wall as he lowered himself onto the mud to search for crabs and clams. We also had to stop at the climbing tree once more. But, we had nothing else on the agenda (aside from the hotel pool, which only came up about every 10 minutes). Anyway, side trips aside, we probably spent about 1.5 hours at the Aquarium. I have one child who loves to rush through stores, museums, parks, etc and one who could stare at every little thing forever. That said, I’m guessing the typical amount of time one would spend at the aquarium could range from 1-3 hours. We did have in-and-out privileges, so if there is something else you want to do in Stanley Park, you could always do that and then come back.

After hitting up the pool, we headed to Gastown. Gastown feels historic, as it should having been the first downtown area. There are several restaurants from which to choose mixed in with retail shops. We ended up at The Flying Pig for dinner. It felt like we were in the hub of the neighborhood. My husband loved the 80s playlist and I loved that it was loud enough to drown out our somewhat loud children. We ended up ordering several dishes to share from the Happy Hour menu since it was before 6pm. Everyone left full and happy. We wandered a few blocks up the street just in time to see the Steam Clock whistle. Our kids’ reactions were sweet and made the trip to Gastown worth it. 

Day 3: Vancouver Itinerary- Granville Island

I considered a Hop On Hop Off trip for the day (and semi-regret not doing it), but we ended up taking a cab to Granville Island. The Public Market there is amazing and my kids’ choice for lunch was lots and lots of fruit. The market smelled of fresh flowers, various cuisines, several coffee options… basically, all of my favorite things. There were some cute shops on the island, and many places to get souvenirs. And a HUGE toy store with several stores within the store. This was definitely the kids’ favorite part of the day.

On the way back to Coal Harbor, we stopped at Robson and Thurlow to check out the shopping scene. Robson Street is home to many favorite big box stores including JCrew, Banana Republic, and CB2. There were also cute smaller stores. And stores with essential oils that my kids begged to go into. Apparently, we were all feeling a need for some help calming down- haha! One of the Saje ladies even offered to let me sample a headache and tension reliever. It was amazing! I wonder how she guessed I needed that as the kids walked throughout the store “wafting” all of the vapors into their faces and sampling all of the samples 😉

We ended up just eating at the hotel. I really shouldn’t say that we just ate at the hotel. It was so good and I’ll be attempting to recreate the salad I ordered once we are home. It was perfect with greens, pomegranate seeds, feta, and farro. Soooo good!

Day 4: The Lost Lagoon, Second Beach, and English Bay Beach

(Day 3 and Day 4 could be combined into one day if you are short on time.)

On Day 4, we really just took it easy. The kids and I grabbed breakfast at a local bakery and then headed back into Stanley Park. We walked on the pathway by the Lost Lagoon and took in all of the nature. We ended up by Second Beach. The kids played on the play equipment for a bit. As we started to walk back toward the hotel, we lost the 6-year old to the beach and crab hunting again. Fortunately, he found one and we were able to keep walking to English Bay Beach. After English Bay Beach, we caught Denman Street and headed back to stop at the grocery for lunch and walk back to the hotel for…. wait for it…. more pool time.

The afternoon consisted of a scavenger hunt and then we were off to dinner in Yaletown. Yaletown is great place to grab a bite to eat. There are rows and rows of restaurants. I’ve heard Yaletown referred to as a “little Soho” and I’d agree that it definitely has that vibe. Once a warehouse district, the redbrick buildings have platforms that were once used for loading but have been repurposed for ultimate outdoor brunching. But back to dinner. We ended up at Earls, based on a recommendation from a woman on the street who overheard us debating where to eat. Once again, we were early enough for the Happy Hour dinner specials. The Crispy Tofu Zen Bowl was amazing and the rest of the family was very happy with their orders as well. We even got some ideas for kitchen lighting back home!

If you are looking for something a bit fancier, Brix and Mortar looked lovely! It seemed a bit to fancy for us that night, but if you are celebrating a special occasion or adults-only eating, this looks to be a gorgeous option.

Afterward, we wandered up to Homer Street to get gelato. Yaletown Gelato is an adorable eatery with delicious gelato, and the owners are very welcoming! 

Day 5: Grouse Mountain

This was one of our favorite days. I’ve mentioned before that our kids are happiest at home when hiking and the same holds true for vacations. We wandered down to Canada Place for the free shuttle to Grouse Mountain. (The shuttle line is about a block from Canada Place.)

There is also a free shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, so be sure to ask to make sure you are in the correct line. We were given letter cards and told our time to return for the bus. In the meantime, we wandered around Canada Place to check out the cruise ships and grabbed some Gatorade (you 100% are going to want to bring water/gatorade/etc on this hike). The bus ride took about 20 minutes, was comfortable, and very picturesque. There was a Starbucks as we got off the bus, but we were focused on finding the hiking trail. A worker saw us and warned that this would likely take us 2-hours and was basically stair climbing the entire time. (I’ve since read that Grouse is “nature’s stairclimber”- this statement couldn’t be more true!) Challenge Accepted.

Our kids were super focused on getting to the top and we were soooo surprised and pleased that there really wasn’t any whining (especially after it was almost impossible to walk the 3 blocks to dinner the first night-haha!). Nature is definitely our kids’ happy place! The climb took us a little over an hour and there was the reward of fried food at the top (there are also healthier options ;-). We took the Gondola down the mountain. It seemed like this was the only option, and we did have to pay for tickets down. There are also several activities at the top of the hill that you can pay to play in. If you aren’t up for the climb but don’t want to miss the sweeping views of Vancouver, you can take the gondola up the mountain as well.

Tips:

*There is no “easy” in this climb- it is more of a “hard, harder, hardest” sort of deal

*Wear athletic clothes, sweating is inevitable

*Bring water

*Wear good hiking shoes

*Take breaks as needed

*Plan to buy tickets for the gondola down

Day 6: Vancouver Capilano Suspension Bridge

On Day 6 of our Vancouver Itinerary, we opted to take the free shuttle from Canada Place to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Again, we knew that we would all be happy outside in nature. But first, we had to make our way through all of the crowds celebrating Canada Day by Canada Place.

Capilano is definitely geared toward less fitness and more sightseeing. The bridges are amazing and they had a cute scavenger hunt for the kids. We all learned quite a bit about the rainforest. We also did the Cliffwalk, which was very fun! I think we spent around 2-hours at Capilano. I’m not sure if it was because it was summer or Canada Day but the park was very crowded and they really kept everyone moving across the largest bridge. We also went in the middle of the day, so if you want a quieter park, I’m guessing it might be best to go directly when it opens.

When we returned to Canada Place, we walked back into Gastown for our last meal in Vancouver. Again, we were early enough for Happy Hour at Water Street Cafe. While we probably weren’t white-table-cloth ready, the crowds from Canada Day had spilled into Gastown and we were ready for the quiet of eating indoors. The food at Water Street Cafe was very good! The restaurant had been recommended to us by a couple of people, and it definitely held up to its reputation. Then, it was a walk back to the hotel, a quick swim, and off to bed for an early departure in the morning.

We felt so lucky to get spend so much time in Vancouver! My husband is already planning our return visit 😉 

Here is the shorter version of what to do in Vancouver (including a recommendation that we didn’t get to but my parents did). We usually just ate granola bars for breakfast and something quick from the grocery for lunch, so this list mainly includes only dinner recommendations. 

4-Day Vancouver Itinerary

Day 1:

Stanley Park- Rent bikes to ride around the edge, stopping to take in the views at the bridge, tree, and Second/English Bay Beaches. If you’re with kids, let them play at the splash pads and/or parks along the way. Get an ice cream at the concession stand by the pool.

Have dinner at Tavelo’s (make a reservation on Open Table) or around the corner at Nook.

Day 2: 

Hop On, Hop Off Bus Park Route- get off in Granville Island for the Public Market (get lunch there, too), do some shopping on Robson, and hop off at Stanley Park for the Aquarium. Also feel free to get off anyplace else you like.. after all this is your vacation 😉

Dinner: Water Street Cafe in Gastown. Or, The Flying Pig.

Day 3:

Grouse Mountain- take the free shuttle, climb the mountain if you are feeling adventurous or take the gondola up. Either way, take in the stunning views of the city.

Dinner: Earl’s in Yaletown.

Day 4: Capilano Suspension Bridge- again, take the free shuttle, explore, do the cliffwalk, and ride back to the city.

Dinner: Brix and Mortar in Yaletown.

2-Day Vancouver Itinerary

Day 1:

To start your 2-day Vancouver Itinerary, purchase tickets to the Hop On Hop Off tour. Get off at Stanley Park, rent bikes, ride around the park, Hop On the bus to Granville Island to get a late lunch at the public market and walk around, Hop back On the bus to any other sightseeing you would like to do, maybe shop a bit on Robson street, then either walk up Robson or take the bus to the the Coal Harbor/Westin Bayshore exit and have dinner at Tavelo.

Day 2:

Take the free shuttle to Capilano, spend the morning exploring the bridges and cliffwalk. Take the shuttle from Capilano to Grouse and take the Gondola up to take in the views, have lunch, and wander around. Take the shuttle back to Vancouver. Have dinner in Gastown at Water Street Cafe and watch the clock tower whistle. OR, have dinner in Yaletown at Earls or Brix and Mortar.

Whew!!! Thanks for sticking with me! That was a looooong post!!