Trip to Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Summer 2022. Part 1

Last summer we traveled across Canada for 3 weeks. Our first stop was in Montreal, and we finished our journey in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. This post is dedicated to Vancouver. The next time I will cover our trip to Vancouver Island.

I should have started from Montreal, but I feel like telling more about Vancouver first because this place remained in our hearts from the moment we arrived at the airport.

Our flight from Toronto.

The flight lasted 5 hours. We departed at 7am in Toronto and arrived at 9am in Vancouver. The time difference is 3 hours with Vancouver and 11 hours with Dubai.

Vancouver met us with a super cool… toilet at the airport😂 you can judge a country by its toilet, don’t you agree?🤪

Well, this is not just a toilet with white walls, but the walls are all mosaic and wooden doors. In short, I was delighted. And the airport itself is cozy. For the first time, I saw visitors standing behind a small fence and watching passengers receive their bags. There are no walls between it. Have you ever seen such airport? I haven't!

There are separate areas for calling a taxi (uber), which was convenient. A little bit further there was a separate place for an ordinary taxi. There is also a train to the city, but we chose Uber.

ngFirst impression:

Vancouver is a Botanical garden hidden among skyscrapers and other buildings. Various types of flowers and trees grow here, including palms and bamboo. And the air is so clean. After living in Dubai for so long you can feel it from the first minutes you go into the city. Our first impressions were very positive.

Unlike the rest of Canada, it seemed to us that people are constantly engaged in various sports: jogging, hiking, cycling, SUP, kayaking, and roller skating. A bunch of women go to yoga with mats in the evening after work.  I find it very healthy and so cool!

Our Hotel

We stayed in a Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel, and we liked it a lot. The location is great and we could walk from the the hotel to different parts of the city. 

Bike Rentals

On the first and last day in Vancouver, we took bicycles. It turned out to be very convenient, because there are bike rentals and special paths everywhere. We got our bikes from Spokes Bicycle Rentals. For half a day we paid about 140 dollars for all of us. The shop also gave us helmets (it's a law - everyone has to wear helmets and that's what I like). We were very lucky with the weather. We drove around the city and even drove across the bridge. 

July 10th 2022

Areas where we cycled the first day:

1. Devonian Harbour Park

2. Stanley Park - there are special bike ares so you won't miss it. We went around the whole island, along the waterfront area. We didn't go inside the park. But the distance was enough for us with two kids.

3. We had a short break here - Third Beach. Alex (my husband) bought hotdogs and we sat on the bench and rested under the warm sun. The weather was perfect.

4. Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park - here we also had a break with a perfect view.

We are fans of Japanese cuisine and Vancouver was a paradise for people like us.

Then I realised that we couldn't eat sushi in Dubai or elsewhere😅

We were lucky, because wherever we went, food was delicious. Fresh fish and seafood. Sushi, ramen, sashimi, etc. Moreover, the portions were huge.

I've been told by locals that even Americans come here from California for the Japanese food.

Places we went for sushi and ramen:

-  Samurai Japanese Restaurant ( Order the Giant House Roll);

 - Maruhachi Ramen Westend - delicious ramen

Places we visited in Vancouver

July 11th 2022

- morning walk to see Port of Vancouver. There was a big liner so we were excited to come so close to such a big ship:)

- Vancouver Aquarium - we loved this place. So many rooms to visit. One of the best Aquariums I have ever seen, in my humble opinion;

- Hanging out with friends in a Stanley park on the Playground and walking down the streets to the other side of the Vancouver city;

 - Afternoon on the beach - English Bay Seawall;

 - Dinner with friends at Papi's Seafood and Oyster Bar.

July 12th 2022

 - we went by taxi to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park - a great experience for the whole family. You just emerge into nature. No words need, you will see it in the photos:)   

July 13th

- Science World Museum - a nice place to visit with kids and hang around. We had a walk along the seaside as well.

- trip by ferry taxi from HERE (The Village station) to HERE (Granville Island Public Market) for lunch with new friends;

- in the evening we went to see FlyOver Canada - must see with kids! Oh my, what an experience!

July 14th

A whole day we spent cycling from our hotel to another part of Vancouver called Jericho Beach where we met with my friends from USA. It was a long ride but we did it! Totally worth it. In the evening we ate in a ramen place called Maruhachi Ra-men