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Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver

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Travel to Vancouver

Flying to Vancouver

Airlines operating direct flights to Vancouver from the UK include British Airways, Air Canada and Air Transat. Other carriers flying to Vancouver include American Airlines, bmi, KLM and Lufthansa.

Flight times: 

From London - 9 hours 35 minutes; New York - 6 hours 10 minutes; Los Angeles - 2 hours 40 minutes; Toronto - 4 hours 50 minutes; Sydney - 14 hours 5 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

A system of provincial highways links Vancouver with cities in the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, as well as the US border. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 16 years. Maximum speed limits are 80-100kph (50-62mph) on highways and 50kph (31mph) or less in built-up areas. It is legal to turn right at a red light. Visitors to Vancouver may drive on their national driving licences for up to six months, and third-party legal liability insurance is required.

Although there is very little snowfall in Vancouver, it can be heavy throughout the rest of the province in the winter, so snow tyres (and chains in mountainous regions) are a necessity if you plan to travel beyond the city.

The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) offers travel planning, insurance and other services to motorists (tel: (604) 268 5555; www.bcaa.com).

Emergency breakdown service:

BCAA (tel: (604) 293 2222 or 1 800 222 4357/CAA HELP).

Routes:

The Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) passes through the Rockies on its way from Calgary and the rest of Canada. From Seattle, Interstate 5 becomes Highway 99 at the border; north of Vancouver, Highway 99 is known as the Sea to Sky Highway and follows the coast from Whistler to the city. Ferries from Vancouver Island arrive at Tsawwassen or Horseshoe Bay ferry terminals, which are linked to Vancouver via Highway 99, to the south and north of the city respectively.

Driving times:

From Whistler - 2 hours; Victoria - 2 hours 30 minutes (including ferry crossing); Seattle - 3 hours; Calgary - 11 hours 30 minutes.

Coaches:

Pacific Central Station is the main coach station and is directly adjacent to the main rail station at 1150 Station Street. Greyhound Canada (tel: (604) 661 0328; www.greyhound.ca) runs services from destinations within the province (including Nanaimo and Whistler) and further afield. Pacific Coach Lines (tel: (604) 662 7575; www.pacificcoach.com) operates services from Victoria (journey time - 3 hours 45 minutes) while Cantrail Coach Lines (tel: (604) 294 5541; www.cantrail.com), Quick Shuttle (tel: (604) 940 4428; www.quickcoach.com) and US-based Greyhound (tel: 1 800 231 2222; www.greyhound.com) offer services from Seattle (journey time - about 4 hours).

Travel by rail

Services:

VIA Rail (tel: 1 888 842 7245; www.viarail.ca) is the national rail service provider. The infrequent rail services are generally reliable, and standards within the carriages are high. A large number of passengers choose rail for the scenic trip, rather than to get from A to B.

Pacific Central Station is the terminus for the main transcontinental lines. It is located at 1150 Station Street, adjacent to the main coach station.

Operators:

VIA Rail operates the transcontinental Canadian service. This thrice-weekly train passes through Winnipeg, Edmonton and Jasper on its four-day journey from Toronto. Amtrak (tel: 1 800 872 7245; www.amtrakcascades.com) provides a daily service from Seattle (journey time - 4 hours).

The privately run Rocky Mountaineer (tel: (604) 606 7245; www.rockymountaineer.com) offers services from Calgary and Jasper with an overnight stop in Kamloops so that the entire rail journey through the scenic Rockies is in daylight. The thrice-weekly service runs from mid-April to mid-October. Rocky Mountaineer also runs a service – formerly known as Whistler Mountaineer – that travels along Howe Sound and then inland to Whistler from May to October.

Travel over water

Summary:

Vancouver is one of the busiest ports in North America. Port Metro Vancouver (tel: (604) 665 9000; www.portmetrovancouver.com) looks after its marine terminals. Although most of the traffic is cargo, a dozen or so cruise lines operate trips to Alaska. The port contains two passenger terminals. The Downtown Canada Place Terminal offers restaurants, hotels and left-luggage facilities, while Ballantyne Terminal, about 2km (1.2 miles) to the east, has fewer facilities, with food and drink concessions.

Ferry services:

BC Ferries (tel: (250) 386 3431; www.bcferries.com) offers scheduled services from Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast. The major routes from Vancouver Island are Victoria-Vancouver, with ferries sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen (journey time - 1 hour 35 minutes), and Nanaimo-Vancouver, with ferries arriving at either the Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen terminals (journey time - 1 hour 40 minutes or 2 hours, respectively). You can sometimes see pods of orcas (killer whales) on the trip from Victoria.

Nearest port:

Vancouver.

Port website:
<a href="http://www.portvancouver.com" target="_blank">www.portvancouver.com</a>
Transport to the city:

Canada Place Terminal is a short walk from Waterfront SkyTrain Station and the main shopping and hotel districts. Taxis are readily available at Ballantyne Terminal and all westbound buses on Powell Street and Hastings Street (a few blocks south of the pier) lead to Downtown.

From Tsawwassen, foot passengers can book a seat on Pacific Coach Lines coaches (tel: (604) 662 7575; www.pacificcoach.com) to the main bus terminal (tickets can be bought on the ferry). Public transit is available on bus 620, which leads to Bridgeport Station where you can transfer to the SkyTrain to head Downtown (total journey time - 60 minutes). From Horseshoe Bay, express bus 257 (journey time - 40 minutes) and bus 250 (journey time - 55 minutes) both travel directly to downtown Vancouver.

Transfer distance:

14.5km (9 miles).

Transfer time:

15-20 minutes taxi ride.

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