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Trip Reports

Dan, AJK here and here , Chapshnell, UshDadude, sam28, YudiG, Tzfas, mochada, jagstangz, Neil, dpk4588, BKYW, tzifanya54, stever, mordechain, nafnaf12, SLMYRCB, Friars500


Flight Options (as of 04/18)

Cathay Pacific flies directly to/from JFK (777-300ER).         

Final date for this route, 02/23/20

Economy:
12.5K BA OW
17.5K AS OW
20K CX OW (30K RT)

Premium Economy:
25K BA OW
20K AS OW
24K CX OW (36K RT)

Business Class:
37.5K BA OW
25K AS OW
25K CX OW (50K RT)

First Class:
50K BA OW
35K AS OW
40K CX OW (70K RT)
Air Canada flies directly to/from EWR (787-800).
Economy:
12.5K SQ, UA, AC OW

Premium Economy:
20K AC OW

Business Class:
20K SQ OW
25K UA, AC OW

There is also a Delta flight direct to/from JFK in the summer months (prices vary as expected from Delta).   

DP01 (07/13): CX availability becomes better closer to the flight. (MEIR613)
DP02 (04/18): CX availability disappears 3-5 days out on BA and AS. (SLMYRCB)
DP03 (08/18): CX availability can only show up on BA or AS if there is more than 1 seat remaining, if it's only 1 seat, it will only be available on CX.com Use CX.com to see actual # of seats available. (@Yehuda)


Food - BC Kosher List

Cafe Forty One (dairy - cholov yisrael) formerly Shuk Eat/Play
5750 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC
V6M 2V9, Canada
Tel: 604-563-4141
Delivery Service via Skip The Dishes (Fairmont Pacific Rim is not within the deliverable area)
"Really great, everything tasty good value, best Caesar Salad ever, and order pizza in advance for good "camp" like homemade yummyness." (shiframeir)
"Nice selection of pastries in addition to their dairy menu. The pizzas and sandwiches are very good." (SLMYRCB)

Nava Creative Cusine (dairy/pareve - non cholov yisrael)
950 West 41st Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 676-7579
Located at the JCC - right around corner from Cafe Forty One

Omnitsky's Kosher (meat)
5775 Oak Street,
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 321-1818
Just across the street from Cafe Forty One

Sabra Bakery (meat)
3844 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 733-4912
Two miles down Oak Street near the Sharei Tzedek Shul

Maple Grill (meat)
1967 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1Z3, Canada
Tel: (604) 568-4885

Mount Royal Bagels - North Vancouver
701 Queensbury Ave
North Vancouver, BC
V7L 3V9, Canada
Tel: (604) 904-1116

Real Canadian Superstore
Marine Drive
Has kosher products

Kosher Food Warehouse
612 Kingsway (rear)
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 709-9889


Shabbos

Chabad Downtown - walkable from many hotels, no Eruv, Shacharis on Shabbos followed by Kiddush, Friday night Minyan last weekend each month.
TheKollel - in the community, yes Eruv, Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre only points hotel in the Eruv, Airbnb options, all Minyanim, free Shabbos meals. Some hotels downtown (outside the Eruv) are about an hour walk.
Eruv - https://goo.gl/maps/D2oLBC39GT72


Activities

Stanley park - trolley, rent bikes at Bayshore Bike/Spokes/lots of other places (Westin Bayshore provides 2 hours of free bikes), playground/water are, 9 o'clock gun
Aquarium in Stanley Park
Capilano suspension bridge - also tree walk and cliff walk
Capilano Salmon Hatchery
Lynn Canyon suspension bridge and hikes (Twin Falls, 30 Foot Pool) - free
Grouse Mountain - gondola up, can take chairlift even higher, then an elevator to top of windmill, view of Vancouver, ziplining, parasailing, lumberjack show, see grizzly bears, Grouse Grind - way to hike up the mountain instead
Granville island - market, street performers, kayaking, stand up paddleboat, false creek ferries, brewery tour, kids play area, rent a boat, can bike to here
Seaplane around Vancouver harbor or to Whistler -  http://www.harbour-air.com/index.php 
Whale watching
Victoria Island - ferry to the island/back, Butchart Gardens (expensive, underwhelming), Miniature World, Fisherman's Wharf, oldest Synagogue in Canada. Victoria seems to be very expensive, ferry $30, to bring a car $100, gardens $30.
Bowen Island
Seabus - cheap ferry across harbor and back
Deep Cove kayaking
UBC Garden - Greenheart TreeWalk (look for Groupon)
Zoo
Harbor boat tours - boatrent.ca, Harbor Cruises was terrible - dpk4588
Sea wall
Watch sea planes
Cypress Mountain
Seymour Mountain
Art Museum
Science center imax
Pacific Center Mall
See Olympic torch
"Tour Guys" free walking tour
Rivers to see salmon spawn (swim upstream)
Robson street
Denman street
Vancouver Convention Center - Olympics memorabilia
Kitsilano Beach
Kids Bowl Free
Takaya golf centre
Poets cove
Elizabeth gardens
Van dusen gardens - better than Elizabeth gardens
Canada Place - fly over canada ride experience
Brittania Mine Museum
Vancouver Lookout
Gastown - steam clock
Chinatown
Yaletown
http://scenicrush.com/ - exotic car drive up the Sea to sky highway
Dr SunYatSen Chinese Garden (Dan and a DDFer said not worth it)
Free Chinese Garden
Lighthouse park
Safari Eco Boat Tour and Seaplane flight  Sewellsmarina.com

On the way to Whistler: (see Whistler Master Thread)
Sea to sky highway
Sea to sky gondola in Squamish, can hike up and take gondola down
River rafting in Squamish
Shannon Falls
Brandywine Falls
Panorama Ridge Hike in Lake Garibaldi in between Squamish and Whistler

« Last edited by pointer on February 16, 2020, 11:32:24 PM »

Author Topic: Vancouver Master Thread  (Read 276012 times)

Offline mordechain

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #700 on: January 21, 2016, 05:28:04 PM »
The St. Regis in Vancouver isn't listed on SPG.com. Is it a nice hotel? It's just 120 a night.
It's not part of the st Regis chain, its a small private hotel. I saw it from the outside this summer, it looked OK, but not super luxury. BTW, while driving across British Columbia , I ended up staying in a renovated classic hotel in kamloops, which was owned by the same group. Nice ,comfortable, and atmospheric, but not st Regis super luxury.

Offline Suz

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #701 on: January 21, 2016, 05:35:43 PM »
The St. Regis in Vancouver isn't listed on SPG.com. Is it a nice hotel? It's just 120 a night.

Get the Chase Fairmont card for two free nights and stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.  For SPG, choose the Westin Bayshore or Sheraton Wall Centre or Westin on Robson. Also a few Marriotts downtown and Hyatt in good location.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2016, 06:37:27 PM by Suz »

Offline Venilla

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #702 on: January 21, 2016, 05:37:14 PM »
The block it's on is not one of the best.  I'd avoid it. Get the Chase Fairmont card for two free nights and stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.  For SPG, choose the Westin Bayshore or Sheraton Wall Centre or Westin on Robson. Also a few Marriotts downtown and Hyatt in good location.
?
I like vanilla but my name is Venilla.

Offline mordechain

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #703 on: January 21, 2016, 06:00:25 PM »
The block it's on is not one of the best.  I'd avoid it.  Get the Chase Fairmont card for two free nights and stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.  For SPG, choose the Westin Bayshore or Sheraton Wall Centre or Westin on Robson. Also a few Marriotts downtown and Hyatt in good location.
I dunno, I stayed at the westin  grand, a 5 minute walk away, and the neighborhood looked fine. You can also look a l'hermitage, which was a fortune in summer and now looks cheap.

Offline Dan

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #704 on: January 21, 2016, 06:27:47 PM »
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline tzifanya54

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #705 on: January 21, 2016, 07:09:36 PM »
Not everyone wants to spend $38/person when there's a free option.

I'd hope the free version wouldn't compare to the $38 version or else they'd have no customers...
I said you couldn't compare, meaning that it is signifigantly better, and worth the money. You skipped it when you there, and if IIRC said something to the affect that "you couldn't imagine the paid version being too much better". That is just simply untrue, at least IME. Besides, there are many other cool features there other than the bridge.

Offline asks

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #706 on: February 25, 2016, 10:28:50 AM »
Can kids under 16 enter Canada without passport? (Would birth certificate work?)

Offline Feivish

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #707 on: February 25, 2016, 12:19:48 PM »
Can kids under 16 enter Canada without passport? (Would birth certificate work?)
For sure not when flying in.

Offline sky121

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #708 on: March 06, 2016, 09:24:45 PM »
Is 3 full days in Vancouver silly? Sunday to Thursday.  I could do a week but part of me feels I'd rather go back when it's summer. This is for April.
Thoughts?
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline emak

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #709 on: March 06, 2016, 09:27:02 PM »
Maybe drive up to Whistler? Gorgeous and an amazing drive.

Offline sky121

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #710 on: March 06, 2016, 09:33:32 PM »
Maybe drive up to Whistler? Gorgeous and an amazing drive.

Technically I could do that one of my days. I know there is plenty to do. Just wondering if I'm better off with 3 days now and then going back when it's summer for some more. Would love to hit up Whistler. Have a whole list of places I'd love to go to. I could spend weeks there and still not see it all. Is 3 days too short?
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Suz

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #711 on: March 06, 2016, 09:35:56 PM »
Technically I could do that one of my days. I know there is plenty to do. Just wondering if I'm better off with 3 days now and then going back when it's summer for some more. Would love to hit up Whistler. Have a whole list of places I'd love to go to. I could spend weeks there and still not see it all. Is 3 days too short?

Not if you are coming back in the summer.   Where are you flying from?   I prefer May-Sept for weather but 3 full days is ok.   Expect rain in April but you might get lucky.   I spend 5 months there (escaping the hot Florida summers). 

Offline sky121

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #712 on: March 06, 2016, 09:37:39 PM »
I'm not coming back this summer necessarily.  I'd just like to come back one summer for a couple weeks.
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline sky121

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #713 on: March 06, 2016, 09:38:10 PM »
You're there 5 months out of the year? Nice!
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Suz

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #714 on: March 06, 2016, 09:38:20 PM »
I'm not coming back this summer necessarily.  I'd just like to come back one summer for a couple weeks.

Highly recommend

Offline Suz

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #715 on: March 06, 2016, 09:38:46 PM »
You're there 5 months out of the year? Nice!

Yes!!   Very, very nice.  :D

Offline tzifanya54

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #716 on: March 06, 2016, 10:33:47 PM »
Is 3 full days in Vancouver silly? Sunday to Thursday.  I could do a week but part of me feels I'd rather go back when it's summer. This is for April.
Thoughts?
I think 3 days is enough to get in the basics, just may be a tight squeeze.

Offline SrulyP

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #717 on: April 04, 2016, 04:23:58 PM »
Is it worth going to Grouse Mountain to see the lumberjack show and the cable ride up and down. Any other idea of not strenuous or adventurous activities on it (sightseeing, other shows etc) if I will not be doing any hiking or ziplining?

Any thoughts on bringing up lunch and picnicking on top of mountain?

Offline SrulyP

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #718 on: April 04, 2016, 04:30:24 PM »
Where is the best place to rent bikes inside Stanley Park, it seems that when I google bike rentals there are all located "minutes" away...

Offline shmebeble

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Re: Vancouver Master Thread
« Reply #719 on: April 04, 2016, 04:45:18 PM »
Where is the best place to rent bikes inside Stanley Park, it seems that when I google bike rentals there are all located "minutes" away...
Rent it minutes away. I found a great place around the corner. just took a place with great google reviews.