Not sure if you are driving from the States or arriving at YVR - on Sat the 30th it looks like? And it seems that you want to do Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler in a long weekend?

That weekend is Labour Day long weekend. Driving across the border will be very busy on Friday and Monday. Saturday/Sunday not so bad, but long weekends usually mean long waits at border crossings here. The US is upgrading their customs facility so the number of lanes is reduced for the next year or so.

BUT ... perhaps you are arriving by plane. Much easier.

#1 If those are your only choices for Vancouver, they work fine. Whistler - see #2 below for "long weekend" go either Sat/Sun but not Fri/Mon. Not as bad as the ferries to Victoria though.

#2. Victoria. Again long weekend. The ferries will be very busy. If you consider a day trip, you need to think about Saturday or Sunday but not Friday/Monday. You could take the car for a day, or go via Pacific Coach Lines which is a 4 hour downtown-downtown "leave the driving to us" journey. You can make reservations for the ferries, but it is likely that all Friday and Monday are booked solid.

www.bcferries.com

pacificcoach.com

#3. You can EASILY get around Vancouver and North and West Vancouver on public transit. A day pass is $9.

#4. Floatplanes are fabulous. 25 minutes from downtown-downtown. They come with a fuel surcharge these days. Bird's eye view all the way over.

harbour-air.com

There is convenient transpo from YVR to downtown Vancouver. The Airporter is about $14 pp and a taxi with the fuel surcharge may be about $35 so you don't need a rental car.

Oh, yes I just noticed the dates in your post topic line. You will be perfectly able to do everything you want. Just avoid that Monday, Labour Day for the ferries if you can.

Once you're in Victoria for the night you might consider driving the highway up to Nanaimo (2 hr straight through,) stopping at Chemainus for the outdoor murals, then taking the ferries over to Horseshoe Bay and up to Whistler from there.

Thanks a ton muftimixandmatch!

We are flying into YVR and not driving up Seattle for the same reasons you mentioned above. We'll arrive at 1pm.

Here's the tentative plan so far -

8/30 - Check in hotel, Go to Stanley Park

8/31 - Granville Island, Grouse Mountain, Lyn Canyon, and if we have time, also go to Punjabi Market (little India) for dinner (All by Public Transit)

9/1 - Whistler day trip. We were originally planing to take the scenic train - but it's $$$$ ($450 for 2), so now thinking we might rent a car in Vancouver and make the day trip.

9/2 - Check out and take the float plane to Victoria

9/3 - Return by either PC or public transit to airport for our flight at 7pm.

Does this sound realistic? Anything we can add or change to make it better? Please suggest.

You're very welcome. It's my pleasure. Your itinerary looks good.

www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors will lead you to some information about making transpo choices for Whistler. After getting to this site, link to transportation, then day trips, then Whistler, then getting there. You will find a bunch of possibilities to help you.

translink.ca will give you a lot of information about our public transit system here. You can use "trip planner" to get an idea of what bus to take and when. From Granville Island, you will want to check out #50 bus "Waterfront" which will take you right to the Seabus for getting to Lonsdale Quay, the bus loop for getting to your North Shore choices.

When you come back from Vic (you may have noticed already) the PCL coach goes to the Airport on its route.

For the road to Whistler on the Monday if you are driving. Just take it easy, stay in the slow lane for the most part and ignore anyone who is trying to tail gate you on the way back, or on the way up for that matter. 2 hr drive for those who know the road.

Sorry, I forgot one BIG consideration. The Sea to Sky highway is undergoing construction as they upgrade the highway for the 2010 Olympics. My statement of a 2 hr drive is pretty much correct if you drive like a commuter, i.e.- a.m. and p.m. rush hours. Google.ca "Sea to Sky Highway Improvement project" for construction locations and schedules.

Happy travelling!

You may want to consider staying at the Sylvia Hotel. It is located directly across from English Bay and is a very short walking distance to the Stanley Park Seawall and transit.

That looks like a reasonable itinerary. Sounds in part familiar to what I did last month...

Arrived at YVR took the airporter bus to the Hyatt, went to Stanley Park and walked all the way down past the beaches back through Yaletown to the hotel that night. Got in close to four hours on foot before arriving back at the hotel about 8pm.

I also took a floatplane over to Victoria on my last full day, leaving before 9am so I could spend the day in and around Victoria. Returned via the PCL bus and ferry right to YVR for the flight home on a Sunday afternoon. Flight was with Harbour Air and cost just over $140 total. The flight takes 35 minutes and was pretty much perfect. West Coast Air and Helijet also fly this route.

A busy schedule but do-able. One suggestion: on 8/31 do the North Shore activities first, early in the day. Head to Granville Island in the afternoon and finish up at Punjabi Market. That way you save time in transit from one location to another.

Thank you all for your suggestions! You've really helped us plan out our trip and now we know, we are covering at least most of the major spots. I'll write once we come back and let you know how it went.

Thanks again! Forums are great and make you part of a community full of strangers, yet friends!