Things to do in Vancouver on a cruise stop

What a city Vancouver is—simply stunning! 

This is a beautiful walking city on the west coast of Canada in the British Columbia Province. It’s known as the place where the mountains reach the sea and it’s easy to see why! The landscape is incredible with lots of islands, including the high-rise Vancouver island, and a beautiful mountain backdrop. 

We spent two full days here at the end of a Pacific coast cruise and boy did we pack a lot in! Vancouver has everything you need in a city—high-end shopping, gorgeous hotels, a diverse culinary scene and outstanding parks set amongst nature. What more could you want? Here are the four top things to do in Vancouver on a cruise stop.

Stroll around Stanley Park

This is one of the most beautiful parks in the world, and the first urban park ever established in Vancouver. It’s a magnificent oasis of towering centuries-old trees and shimmering lagoons and lakes. We walked around for a couple of hours but didn’t see anywhere near all of it! There’s also a  400-hectare rainforest and the famous Stanley Park Seawall; miles and miles of trails, beautiful beaches, local wildlife, places to eat, historical landmarks and many other adventures to be had.

Explore Gastown

Despite being just five minute’s walk from the city centre and cruise port, Gastown is a complete contrast to the high-rise downtown area. It’s a quaint, boho style area with little boutiques, local craft shops and loads of places for food and drink! We had a delicious Sunday lunch at a very traditional-feeling pub called Six Acres—complete with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. This area is also famous for its whistling steam clock, one of just six steam-powered clocks in the world. It sounds every 15 minutes with puffs of steam whistling through its pipes. Iconic!

Cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge

Unfortunately, being terrified of heights, I couldn’t be tempted to walk across the death-defying bridge over a stunning natural gorge in Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Still, my husband and friends did! I had a nice time though, and the park itself is stunning with many lower suspension bridges linked all around this stunning area that were more my style!

Hop in a Zodiac and watch whales

This was truly one of the best tours and days of my life! We set out at 2pm with our guide from none other than Rochdale, Greater Manchester! This is a small group tour of only eight people on a Zodiac boat. We were all kitted out in our full bright orange flotation suits which kept us warm as it does get a little chilly when you are zipping through the water at very high speeds. Our guide was fantastic and we were so lucky to find a single female orca whale. We were there in April, which is the very start of the whale watching season. The season peaks from May to October. The sight of her when she came out of the water was breathtaking and something that will stay with me forever.

There are so many other things to see and do around Vancouver that you could stay for much longer; seaplane trips, tours to Victoria and more. I will be back!

Want to experience a cruise to Vancouver?

Contact Panache Cruises on the phone number in the top right corner of this page to find out more!