Canada - Should I get a rental car in Vancouver?

We're thinking about doing a weekend trip to Vancouver and exploring a bit. Any advice on whether or not we should rent a car? Is stuff pretty spread out around there?

We're wondering if taxi is more economical than rental....any advice is appreciated.

Don't get a rental car. Parking is a pain, you'll enjoy walking to most places and taxis are quite cheap. BTW, limos to your hotel from the airport (you'll see them outside) are fixed rate and not much more than taxis - even same price or less if there are many of you or you have many bags.

If you're staying in the downtown core hotels, you really don't need a car. You can walk most places from there - Robson Street for shopping, Stanley Park, Gastown, waterfront, Chinatown.

You can take water taxis to get to the North Shore or you can take the Skytrain if you want to head to the edges of the city.

There is also the Granville Island community, which you will need to cab to (or bus) - well worth spending 1/2 day or more at the artisans shops, restaurants, etc.

For Granville you can also take the water taxi across. I generally stay at the Sheraton Wall Center and from there it's a couple block walk to the water taxi stop.

Get it, drive to Whistler for a day trip. You save on the expensive resort hotel fee... With a gold credit card, you might have free rental insurance. The rental fee averages C$30 or US$20... seriously, it's cheaper than taking a cab.

You should also visit North Vancouver around Capilano bridge and Grouse Mountain... the bus wait for these destinations will be totalling over a few hours for you day. It is not worth the wait if you have a short trip as you mentioned.