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| *Travel Tips>>>Vancouver Travel Tips |
Visiting Vancouver...do I need to rent a car? |
Travel Info Hi all. I'll be visiting Vancouver from California. If I get a hotel somewhere downtown, will I need a rental car to get around? Or can I survive by bus, taxi, or walking? Does Vancouver have a nice public transportation system? Thanks in advance. =) Travel Tips I depends on your plans. If you are mostly downtown, a car doesn't do you much good. And most downtown things are walking distance or a cheap cab ride away. Between car rental, hotel parking and trying to find parking where ever you drive to, you are better off with a couple of cab fares. The Transit is mixed. Short distances are fine. Skytrain is better than a car to get to a lot of places. But Skytrain doesn't go to the airport yet. I don't consider getting from the airport by transit convenient. It is a $25 cab trip or about $10 per person shuttle bus to downtown. I fly into Vancouver frequently for both personal and business trips. If I am staying downtown 9 out of 10 times I don't bother with a car. Others Vancouver has a good transit system. I use it when I visit. If you would like good quality inexpensive accommodation try the downtown YWCA. If you rent a car you will be paying extra to park it at your hotel. For getting around Vancouver a good pair of walking shoes will do you. Just hop on the bus, skytrain, or seabus to get around. All of the major sites are quite accessible by public transport. Just bring a jacket with a hood, ( so you don't have to carry an umbrella) and enjoy. Vancouver is the best city in the world when the sun is shining( like today) and the 2nd best city in the world when it is raining. Cheers Vancouver is one of those cities that has very distinctive seasons. In the summer, all is well and friendly, but if you are visiting soon, you are coming during the late winter early spring. This is the wet and dark time of the year as the days are very short and it rains quite often. Also, how long will you be visiting ? Will you plan on going to Victoria on Vancouver Island or Whistler in the mountains ? All in all, I will recommend that you rent a car as it will provide you the most freedom in schedules, movement and protection against the elements. Vancouver has great public transportation Bus , sea bus and sky train takes you every where you would want to go. When at your hotel ask the front desk to direct you to closest bus stop, you can also call the transportation system tell them where you are and where you wish to go and they will direct you. All the information is in front pages of the yellow pages that will in your hotel room. Welcome to Canada! If you are sticking around the downtown area you definitely do not need to rent a car. Most everything is within walking distance and if not there is a good transit system. And if you want to get out of downtown you can take the skytrain East or take the seabus north to North Vancouver, and even up to Grouse Mountain if you like! I think you will find having a car a pain as you will have to pay for parking, and try to navigate downtown traffic. I guess it really depends on where you want to go, but if you are not going far I would say don't rent a car! www.translink.bc.ca |
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