2024 Best Sights Around Vancouver Canada
Vancouver Island (West End), Canada
Intro
"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you." Anthony Bourdain
Most Anthony Bourdain quotes resonate with me. I love to travel. Maybe just a faction of Mr. Bourdain’s love. Or maybe the same amount. But every insight he shared, hits home for me. Every trip I take changes me. Leaves a mark in one way or another. On my body. On my mind. Or on my soul. If I’m lucky, all three.
My trip to Vancouver changed me. It was the first time I truly realized I wanted to change as a human being and I had the capability. Below I will share a bit about my journey to Vancouver along with some of my favorite spots and restaurants along with some shared by Google and Mr. Bourdain.
Stanley Park - Vancouver, Canada
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In May, 2017 I took a trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada. At this point I hadn’t been on a vacation in quite awhile and I needed some relaxation time. I am from New Jersey originally and work in sales, so you wouldn’t call me a relaxed human by nature, but I always hope if I do enough relaxing activities I MAY become more relaxed. So, I decided to take this road trip up the West Coast.
Typically when I take a vacation it is filled with a lot of sightseeing and I seek out tips from people I know and trust. Working in hotels for 8 years, that is usually my go-to dwelling but for this vacation I decided I was going to try camping. I would split my time between finding trails for day hikes, going for a walk on the beaches I passed, and taking classes at OrangeTheory Fitnesses along the way. I executed this the first night when I camped out in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Of course the only camping gear I brought was a sleeping bag and pocket knife so I set myself up in the back of my Jeep Compass, locked the doors and called it a night. Needless to say I am not a survivalist. By the time I made it up to the Redwood National Park on day two, I was booked into my first hotel of the trip. I did stick to the beaches, day hikes, and OrangeTheory classes though. There is something so mellow about the sand between your toes, wind in your hair, and large bodies of water in view. I rode up the coast until I veered inland to make it to Portland and Seattle. Unfortunately I had to miss Big Sur in California along the way as the road was closed due to mudslides.
I know taking Air Canada up to Vancouver would have been the easier route, but I never liked doing things the easy way, especially if I get to see so much beautiful landscape. Maybe if I did travel by plane vs. by car, I would have remembered my passport. After being to 28 countries and 47 states, I am usually a very organized packer. I even have it down to a science, usually just packing one oversized travel backpack filled with necessities. For whatever reason, bringing my passport escaped my mind for this trip. I only remembered by the time I hit the Northern California area. If you know anything about the state of California, when you get to Northern California from Los Angeles, there’s no turning around for forgotten goods. Anyway, long story short, I grappled with this the the rest of the ride up and asked a few friends their input (all agreeing not to try to get into Canada without a passport - I don’t recommend anyone try this either). The Canadian border patrol was nice enough to let me in after a lot of time and questioning. The United States was just as welcoming of my return with equal time, questioning, and a few eye rolls before re-entry.
So here I was, I made it to Canada! Now what. The whole point of this trip was relaxation, rejuvenation, and lack of planning. But with no plan, where does one start? I knew someone living in Vancouver so I knew I would be spending time with them. We grabbed brunch in Gastown and walked along the harbor. Seeming I only had two days in Vancouver and I was sticking with relaxing, nature activities.
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Stanley Park is bigger than NYC's Central Park.
The first Mayor of Vancouver was Malcolm A. MacLean.
The population of Vancouver is just under 700,000 people.
Seth Rogen, Ryan Reynolds, and Joshua Jackson are just a few of the many actors from Vacouver.
The city of Vancouver was founded on April 6th, 1886 even though it was settled in tens of thousands of years prior.
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My trip to Vancouver was very spur of the moment with minimal planning, like you might have read in My Story section. I don't recommend this for everyone. Many people would be very uncomfortable by this. Also, at times it tends to be inefficient, so I recommend putting some planning into any trip.
Vancouver has a major international airport if flying or able to be accessed by car if coming from North America. You will find ample amounts of hotels and rental cars in Vancouver, but it is a walkable and mass transit friendly city. It also is pretty congested, so if you are not planning on leaving the city center, I don't recommend renting a car. I do recommend you leaving the city center if you have time so you may take in some nature and breathtaking views of Western Canada.
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Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver Canada
Vancouver, Canada
Conclusion
If you decide to make it to the beautiful city of Vancouver I hope you do more planning and exploring in this magical city. I spent two days with no plan, just wandering around and I love it but I have major FOMO of people who have more time in Vancouver or maximized their time wisely.
You will be at no shortage of beauty and things to do in Vancouver. The summer daylight is longer, the weather is perfect. I just recommend you bring an umbrella for some unexpected rain. But if that is the worst the city has to offer, it definitely won’t put a damper on your trip.
Quote
“Live, love, rain Vancouver.” Unknown
Next on the Blog
If you plan on extending your Canada journey, check out my post on Montreal and my friends post from her trip to Calgary with some great tips!
Port of Vancouver, Canada