Explore Vancity – 4 Days Itinerary To Experience Vancouver, Canada

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For my birthday this year, which happened last week (almost a month from publishing this post), I went to Vancouver all the way in the west coast of Canada for 4 days. I’m usually away for my birthday ever since I found my love for travel like I was in New York in 2019, staycation up Northern Ontario and stayed at a yurt, and this year was in Vancity. I was hoping to get out of the country but at least I got out of my province Ontario.

When the government of Canada finally lifted travel at least within the province borders, people here in Ontario booked flights to Western Canada. I finally get to smell the airport and hop on a plane. Lol. A very good friend and a cousin lives there so the decision was quick. Vancouver is my birthday travel destination this year. I can say this was an affordable travel for the budget because I stayed at my cousin’s and my friend’s place.

I arrived at YVR Friday night so I had Saturday to Tuesday to explore Vancity. Actually, it was a 5 days trip where the last day was spent at the airport and a 5 hour flights plus the 3 hour difference. It’s been a while since I had this experience of travelling all day.

I stayed at New Westminster where my friend lives. Also known as New West by the locals located east of Vancouver past Burnaby. I know it’s called New West but it’s east of the main city. That kind of confused me in the beginning.I mean it’s west of the other B.C. cities. I also stayed at my cousin’s in the West End neighbourhood of Vancouver. Pretty happy that I got to experience local suburban life and downtown living while in Vancity.

About Vancity

Tourists go to Vancouver for a lot of nature and outdoor activities in all seasons. It’s famous also as the arrival point to go to Whistler for winter activities and where the 2010 winter Olympics was held. This trip was my second time in Vancouver. The first one was back in 2017 right around the same time as well. For my first trip, I was mostly in the city and the UBC area where my friend was studying. I was also working remote so I just explored after work. I definitely got to know Vancouver more in this trip that last time.

Fall in Vancouver is pretty colourful minus the rain. It rains A LOT here. There was actually a storm happening in the province while I was there. The bridges were damaged quite heavily luckily the city wasn’t much affected. Pro tip though is to bring an umbrella when you come to the city because you will need it. It’s also very cloudy most of the time. I only saw the sun 1 out of the 4 full days I was there. This didn’t stop me though to explore Vancouver. You would just look like a local braving the rain. Plus sunset is very early typically around 3 in the afternoon since winter is right around the corner. My photos have that gloomy dark feel because that’s the regular Vancity feel from the weather.

Day 1 – Explore Vancouver Neighbourhoods

I first stayed with my friend in New West and had brunch at this very famous cafe Angelina’s in the boardwalk. Ordered a salmon eggs benedict, walked along the boardwalk after, then went to the city after.

Granville Island

Granville Island is this area in Vancouver that’s very cute and artsy. Has tons of food and local artisan shops. It’s a nice area to walk around to eat and shop. This is where the famous Lee’s Donuts is located in Granville Island Public Market. You’ve probably heard of this doughnut shop from David Chang’s Netflix TV show where he visited Vancouver with Seth Rogen.

Stanley Park

Walk off those doughnuts at Stanley Park. Vancity loves Stanley Park and the Seawall. It’s a big city park beside West End right at downtown. You can walk here from West End, which I did in 2017 but my friend drives so we drove into the park and walked around. There’re many trails here for walking, running, and biking and lookout spots to see a great view of the city. Spend time on the Seawall walk path, a stone wall that wraps around the park kind of serves a protection for the whole city of the big tides and waves from the ocean.

You can easily spend a good afternoon or morning here in the park. I recommend going to Prospect Point Lookout where you get to see great city views of North Vancouver and downtown. Relax on Second Beach and Third Beach which are also at the park and take photos of the touristy totem poles.

Deep Cove

Go local in Deep Cove. 21 minutes away from the city. A small neighbourhood in North Vancouver where you can enjoy a lazy leisurely walk and do water activities. This is due to the waters being deep in the cove which makes it very still. Perfect for kayaking and canoeing. It has a very nice Marina and quiet trails if you want to stay away from the tourist trails like Stanley Park.

Lynn Canyon Bridge

I am fascinated with suspension bridges so Lynn Canyon Bridge was definitely in my go to places to visit while in Vancouver. There’s a more famous, longer and more touristy which is the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. I chose Lynn Canyon because it’s free plus the views and the trail is comparable to Capilano. My friends and family in the city also recommend Lynn Canyon because they think it’s overhyped and overpriced.

I don’t have a strong feat of heights, in fact, I love being in high places. It was fun and thrilling walking on the suspension bridge with the sound of the river and the pretty Twin Falls around you. It was all about nature in this destination park. There’s the nice loop trail Twin Falls Trail and very popular as a swimming destination in the summer.

Day 2 – Lazy Nature Things + Overnight Trip to Whistler

My friend and I planned a Whistler overnight trip and made stops going there. There are many scenic places as you go out of the city specially on the way to Whistler. Highway 99, which is also known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway and some other names is what you’ll be driving on when you go up north.

Cypress Hill Provincial Park

Cypress Provincial Park is a popular park on Cypress Mountain. Highview Lookout is a really nice viewpoint where you can see up the top an amazing view of Vancouver, Lions Gate Bridge, and Stanley Park. We spend a good amount of time here hanging out taking in the view plus it was sunny. The best birthday gift Vancouver can offer! Sunlight!

Shannon Falls

Go back to Highway 99 and drive more north for about 52 minutes and you’ll hit Shannon Falls Provincial Park. The park is nice and hidden. You’ll hear the sound of river and waterfalls really close to the parking so the walk to the viewing point was short. It was a nice and relaxing trail before heading to Squamish around lunchtime.

Squamish

It’s the first big town you’ll hit before Whistler so it’s a popular pitstop for people heading up north. There’re actually quite good local restaurants here that I’ve got to try. The town is surrounded by mountains and there were already snow on them. It was a nice break to stretch your legs and enjoy more mountain views.

Whistler

When winter hits, sunset is really early and driving conditions in the mountains can be really dangerous at night. The goal was to get there before 3 in the afternoon and Squamish to Whistler is 45 minutes. Goal achieved! Checked in at our Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa for 132 CAD/night (still doesn’t beat my Phuket stay of 80 CAD/night) that I got for a really good friends and family rate because it was off season. I somehow planned a trip in between. The summer season ended and the winter season starts the week after. I guess it worked out because there was a room available and the village wasn’t that crowded.

Whistler had winter weather already. There was snow on the ground and colder than Vancouver. Whistler is famous for winter activities because of the mountains and the snow. It’s apparently very fine and powdery perfect for skiing and snowboarding. Winter season starts right around end of November and this year it was the week after my birthday.

The village was really close to the hotel and it was all festive with lights and kids playing on snow bunny hills. Definitely a larger and better looking than Blue Mountain, the winter village equivalent in Ontario with all the mountains around it.

Day 3 – More Whistler + Nature Things Going Back to Vancouver

This day was more Whistler village exploration and nature views. I walked around the village and saw Whistler during the day.

Driving back to Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway had absolutely breathtaking views! Great road trip experience and you can even take photos of the views on the lookouts along the road. Be prepared to stop every 10 or 20 minutes for a lookout or even a beach shore and take in the glorious B.C. mountains and the water. This side of the road is where you can stop on the lookouts so take advantage. There’re many many scenic view points on this side of the drive. You can’t go to these lookout on the other side because there’s no entrance that leads to them. The attraction are different from both sides.

Tantalus Lookout

You will see absolutely breathtaking views of the water and mountains driving back to the city from Whistler. This was our first stop overlooking the mountains with an elevation of 320 m! Weather permitting you can go our longer. It wasn’t raining but cloudy. Typical BC weather.

Nch’ḵay̓ Viewpoint

After a lunch at Kululu Cafe, a local poke restaurant at Squamish, we went to Nch’ḵay̓ Viewpoint for more scenic views. This one is past Squamish only 8 minutes drive down south. It’s pretty high up as high as Tantalus Lookout. The view is clear like the other ones where trees are blocking the water.

Furry Creek

Pulled over to this small community of houses and there was an amazing lake view Furry Creek Beach and Lookout. It’s not in elevation so you feel small with the giant mountains and the water was so peaceful. These are dream houses right here. Waking up and the water is right there. I could seriously live here and work remote. Right after the drive, I met up with a friend in New West at the boardwalk then dinner at the Thai restaurant Patsara Thai Resturant.

Day 4- Explore More Vancouver Neighbourhoods

The day I’ve been waiting for.Touring downtown Vancouver for food and local neighbourhood finds. I mainly walked around West End where the most popular local neighbourhoods are located. Seawall extends all the way here to Mount Pleasant which is a more local neighbourhood where you can find local boutiques and restaurants. This was my time to shine and eat at the signature Vancity places on my list.

Walking around downtown is easy. It’s a grid system similar to Toronto and most of the famous streets and attractions are located in West End, Gastown, and Yaletown. Since this is my second time, I already tried some Vancouver staple food Japadog, Ramen Danbo, Cartems, and Thierry Chocolates so I researched the other Vancity foods to try.

Yaletown

The first neighbourhood I went to for breakfast and actually went back here in the afternoon for sushi with my cousin. The start to explore the Vancouver food scene. Got early grey croissant and coffee and Angus T then walked towards West End so I can be the first seaters of this famous Vancouver ramen joint.

West End

Head towards West End for more lively Vancity vibes. I walked on the famous Davie Street lined up with bars, food, and shopping. Head up towards Robson Street, another famous street and I head there for my next food destination Marutama Ra-men. Won’t ever miss the chance to eat good ramen.

Walk along Seawall

I met up with cousin at Davie Street and we walked towards Mount Pleasant, a very local neighbourhood with all local artisan shops and restaurants. Before that, we stopped at Yaletown for an afternoon snack or more like a second lunch. We went to Minami Restaurant which is a highly rated aburi style sushi place in Vancouver. I couldn’t miss the chance to try it out so I got a reservation in the afternoon and had sushi. Then, we walked along the Seawall that passes by Science World, a really cool building on the Creekside Park.

Mount Pleasant

I found this neighbourhood really cool and it reminds me of Queen Street in Toronto. It has a nice local vibe good to be away from the tourist crowd this time. Stopped by Purebread on the way to Main Street for pastries before they close. Main Street is where all the shops and restaurants are located so just walk along that street to get a good vibe of the neighbourhood.

Got my first Sufginyah and tried 49th Parallel coffee at Lucky’s Doughnuts. It turns out I really like sufginyah. I’m not a fun of jelly filled doughnuts but this one was really good. I think the dough made a difference so not when Hanukkah is close I’m going to get sufignyahs. My friend joined us for dinner at the Lunch Lady which is known for its vegan pho so I tried Veitnamese food vegan style. My final fifth day before flying out, I took a trip to get the best croissants in Vancity at