Canada - Day trip to YVR?

i've never been to vancouver, and to save $ on hotels, was thinking of doing like a 9 hour trip to YVR (hop on train intot he city and walk around)...is that possible?

and i haven't entered canada since you needed a passport, are the rules strict for US citizens?

Need a passport or passport card to enter Canada.

If you've got that, you can take the Canada Line train from YVR to downtown Vancouver during normal hours (it runs until 1:00 am or so, and starts up again around 5, as I recall, but don't quote me on that). Train takes roughly 20-30 minutes to go from the airport to the city. Buy your day pass ticket in the 7-11 in the "basement" of the airport to save on the YVR-surcharge. With 9 hours to kill, you should have no trouble going to and from the airport and seeing a bit of the city.

All of this assumes that you are flying into YVR from somewhere and stopping over in YVR on the way to flying somewhere else. Your post isn't very clear on this matter.

Buy your day pass ticket in the 7-11 in the "basement" of the airport to save on the YVR-surcharge.The basement in the domestic side of the terminal. It's actually the ground floor but you do have to go down to get there.

Need a passport or passport card to enter Canada.

If you've got that, you can take the Canada Line train from YVR to downtown Vancouver during normal hours (it runs until 1:00 am or so, and starts up again around 5, as I recall, but don't quote me on that). Train takes roughly 20-30 minutes to go from the airport to the city. Buy your day pass ticket in the 7-11 in the "basement" of the airport to save on the YVR-surcharge. With 9 hours to kill, you should have no trouble going to and from the airport and seeing a bit of the city.

All of this assumes that you are flying into YVR from somewhere and stopping over in YVR on the way to flying somewhere else. Your post isn't very clear on this matter.

sorry...yeah, i like doing day trips, so i'd do LAX-YVR-LAX if i can find a decent fare on a saturday or something. figured a nice pub crawl downtown would be entertaining.

Be prepared to answer some questions at the immigration because very few people fly from LAX to YVR for only 9 hours just to have fun.

The basement in the domestic side of the terminal. It's actually the ground floor but you do have to go down to get there.

True. The place in question is quite near the domestic baggage claim area. Pick up a map of YVR (they are all over the place) and you should be able to find it without much trouble.

Be prepared to answer some questions at the immigration because very few people fly from LAX to YVR for only 9 hours just to have fun.

That's more the kind of question he'll get asked going back to LAX, really. If CBSA asks him how long he plans to stay he could say a week or a month and they wouldn't know the difference. CBP on the other hand, would probably be interested to know if you accidentally brought back some of the local "produce".

figured a nice pub crawl downtown would be entertaining.Turn up at the airport drunk for your return flight and you'll be spending more than 9 hours in Vancouver :eek: .

Be prepared to answer some questions at the immigration because very few people fly from LAX to YVR for only 9 hours just to have fun.

Lots of people from Portland and Seattle come to Vancouver for the day, so I can't imagine it's an issue just because you're coming from L.A.

Once you arrive, you can take the Canada Line 'subway' downtown and check out the city. Some suggestions assuming you stay downtown (all google-able) -

- Walk around Canada Place
- Seabus ride across the harbour
- Aquabus ride to Granville Island
- Stanley Park

It's a false economy to do such a short trip to save money on hotels. This time of year there are lots of deals around. If your inbound flight is delayed then you may wind up never leaving the airport. If you need advice on hotels, there are experts on this board who will help. There's a lot to see and a lot of territory to cover.

Be prepared to answer some questions at the immigration because very few people fly from LAX to YVR for only 9 hours just to have fun.

it's not like i'd be getting gassed up...but to check out the city. try the seafood. see if they have any decent brews up there. chat with the locals. i've done IAD-LHR-IAD for like 30 hours before.

and local produce? since i won't have any bags, they can search me all they want. technically i could say i'm coming up for a meeting.

It's a false economy to do such a short trip to save money on hotels. This time of year there are lots of deals around. If your inbound flight is delayed then you may wind up never leaving the airport. If you need advice on hotels, there are experts on this board who will help. There's a lot to see and a lot of territory to cover.

false economy? not really. you're not spending money on hotels, and i actually want to go about and see as much as i can when i have little time.

and flights being delayed? that's the risk on any trip. so no false economy here.

It's a false economy to do such a short trip to save money on hotels.

Not on a short hop up from L.A.

Heck, this is FT. People go on MRs for hundreds dollars and never even leave the airport. At least the OP is heading in to the city.

Not on a short hop up from L.A.

Heck, this is FT. People go on MRs for hundreds dollars and never even leave the airport. At least the OP is heading in to the city.

^^^

i went up to DEN a few saturday's ago from SNA to see a client/friend of mine. talk about fun.

day trips are so entertaining for me.

Would you be doing the 8 hours over night or during the day?

Not on a short hop up from L.A.

Heck, this is FT. People go on MRs for hundreds dollars and never even leave the airport. At least the OP is heading in to the city.
To be clear, if this is intended as a trip to get to know the city, the point is that a hotel for one night plus the airfare is less money than two one day trips would be since there is a lot to do - in a positive way. The MR aspect is in another dimension. As for the flight delay, it's a matter of percentage of the trip's overall duration. But the OP obviously has a clear idea of what is wanted.

Not on a short hop up from L.A.

Heck, this is FT. People go on MRs for hundreds dollars and never even leave the airport. At least the OP is heading in to the city.

I come to YVR from lax quite often and its not a short hop. 3 hr flight, getting to lax and through security (1 hr min even in unlikely scenario if you live next door without any traffic), plus customs and train in YVR - min 5 hr door to door. Last flights back are not very late in the evening - 7ish pm IIRC so at best one can spend noon to 5 pm in Vancouver on a day trip.
I would definitely spend a night but YMMV

Im planning a similar trip to Vancouver in March. For Mileage Run + burning some AC miles I plan to fly to YVR from JFK on CX889 arriving around 1am Saturday, and then leave that evening at 22:30ish on CX888. I will probably book a hotel to sleep for the first few hours, as it will be evening when I arrive. Crazy Idea huh? My routing is looking like: YYZ-EWR...JFK-YVR-JFK...EWR-YUL-YYZ Over a weekend.

Im planning a similar trip to Vancouver in March. For Mileage Run + burning some AC miles I plan to fly to YVR from JFK on CX889 arriving around 1am Saturday, and then leave that evening at 22:30ish on CX888. I will probably book a hotel to sleep for the first few hours, as it will be evening when I arrive. Crazy Idea huh? My routing is looking like: YYZ-EWR...JFK-YVR-JFK...EWR-YUL-YYZ Over a weekend.

Just book into holiday inn or something in Richmond. Way closer than going all the way to downtown at that hour XD

Just book into holiday inn or something in Richmond. Way closer than going all the way to downtown at that hour XD

Thanks for the tip. The next morning,is it easy to get public transport downtown?

Thanks for the tip. The next morning,is it easy to get public transport downtown?

Yes - If you head back to the airport you can catch the Canada Line subway downtown. It's about a 25 minute ride.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line

The first train is at 5:08 AM.

Yes - If you head back to the airport you can catch the Canada Line subway downtown.And pay the $5 surcharge :mad: . OTOH there are several acceptable hotels within walking distance of the Bridgeport (non-surcharge) station although only the new Westin is upscale.

Just book into holiday inn or something in Richmond. Way closer than going all the way to downtown at that hour XD

Or just stay at the Fairmont at the airport itself.