Vancouver, British Columbia 7 Day Itinerary

Seven days in Vancouver sounds generous until you realise the city’s neighbourhoods are genuinely different from each other, the surrounding mountains offer hiking that would take a week on their own, and the food scene has become one of the most interesting in North America. Seven days is actually the right amount of time to do this properly.

Getting in from the airport

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) sits on Sea Island, 13 kilometres south of downtown. The Canada Line SkyTrain connects the airport to Waterfront Station in the city centre in about 25 minutes and runs every few minutes. The fare from the airport includes a YVR AddFare on top of the standard zone fare, bringing the total to roughly $8.35 with a Compass Card or $9.85 by cash. Note that the AddFare is scheduled to increase by $1.50 from July 2026. Get a Compass Card from machines in the airport station; it makes all subsequent transit trips easier throughout the week.

Where to stay

Yaletown and the West End put you walking distance from the seawall and Stanley Park. Gastown is better if you intend to eat and drink your way through the city’s best independent restaurants. For Kitsilano and the beach neighbourhoods, expect a 20-minute bus ride to downtown but lower rates and a more neighbourhood feel. Mid-range hotels run $180-250 per night; the Sutton Place Hotel on Burrard is reliable and central at the higher end of that range.

Day 1: Arrival, Stanley Park, and First Dinner

Stanley Park is 405 hectares of old-growth forest on a peninsula connected to the West End. The seawall loop around its perimeter is 9 kilometres and one of the finest urban waterfront walks anywhere. Do the southern section in the afternoon: the stretch from the West End entrance past the totem poles at Brockton Point, around to Second Beach, gives you ocean views, mountain silhouettes, and enough distance to reset after a long flight. Rent a bicycle from the rental shops near the park entrance (around $15/hour) and cover more ground.

For dinner on night one, Miku on Granville Street specialises in Aburi-style sushi, which is lightly flame-seared and was introduced to Canada by this restaurant. Dinner for two runs around $120-150 with sake. It is a splurge worth making on arrival night when you are still fresh.

Day 2: North Vancouver and Grouse Mountain

Cross Burrard Inlet on the SeaBus (included in the regular TransLink fare) to North Vancouver and take a bus to either Capilano Suspension Bridge Park or continue up to Grouse Mountain. Capilano charges around $60 for adults, and the main draw is the 137-metre suspension bridge across a canyon above the Capilano River. It is impressive but overpriced given the crowds; if you are on a budget, the free Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge a few kilometres east gives a similar experience with a fraction of the visitors and no entrance fee.

Grouse Mountain is the better investment. The Skyride gondola costs around $75 and lifts you to 1,100 metres, where the views over Vancouver, the Strait of Georgia, and the Gulf Islands are exceptional on a clear day. The mountain has hiking trails, resident grizzly bears (in a large habitat), and a lumberjack show that is cheesier than it sounds but actually enjoyable. Pack layers; it is noticeably cooler than the city below.

Day 3: Gastown, Chinatown, and Granville Island

Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood and worth a morning on foot. The steam clock on Water Street operates on hot water and steam and blows on the quarter-hour; it is a tourist attraction and a good landmark but not the reason to be here. The reason is L’Abattoir, a restaurant in the building on the site of the city’s first jail, which serves some of the best cooking in the city. Lunch here is more affordable than dinner and worth booking ahead. For oysters, Rodney’s Oyster House a few blocks away has been a Gastown institution for decades and shucks to order.

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, a 10-minute walk south, is one of only a handful of authentic Song dynasty scholar’s gardens outside China. It costs $24 for adults and takes about 45 minutes. The neighbourhood around it has been changing quickly, with new restaurants and cafes alongside older shops; the Chinatown Night Market runs on summer weekends and is worth a look.

In the afternoon, take the Aquabus water taxi from False Creek to Granville Island. The Public Market is the best food market in Vancouver, open daily from 9am to 7pm. Cheese, smoked salmon, sourdough, wild mushrooms, and fresh produce from BC farms all crowd the stalls. It is better for grazing and buying provisions than for a sit-down meal. Skip the restaurants inside the market (overpriced and crowded) and instead pick up food to eat outside on the seawall.

Day 4: Richmond and Steveston

Most visitors skip Richmond. This is a mistake. The suburb south of Vancouver has one of the largest concentrations of Chinese and East Asian restaurants in North America, and the quality is often higher than what you find in Vancouver’s Chinatown. The Aberdeen Centre mall food court has Cantonese, Hong Kong milk tea, and Shanghai XLB soup dumplings at prices locals actually pay. For a more focused experience, the Richmond Night Market (May through October) runs Friday through Sunday evenings in summer and is the largest night market in North America, with hundreds of stalls selling food from across East and Southeast Asia.

Steveston, on Richmond’s western edge, is a working fishing village that looks more like the British Columbia of a century ago. Walk along the boardwalk at the Fisherman’s Wharf, watch the salmon boats unload (peak season is July through September), and eat fish and chips by the water. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site preserves the history of the BC salmon canning industry with surprisingly engaging exhibits.

Day 5: Sea to Sky Highway and Squamish

Rent a car or join a day tour for the drive north on Highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway. The road follows the eastern shore of Howe Sound, one of the southernmost fjords in North America, with mountains dropping directly into salt water. Even without stopping, the 120-kilometre drive to Whistler takes under two hours. With stops, budget six hours for a return day trip to Squamish only.

Shannon Falls, 58 kilometres north of Vancouver, is a 335-metre waterfall (the third highest in BC) accessible from a short trail from the parking lot. It costs nothing and takes 20 minutes return. Immediately north, the Stawamus Chief is a 700-metre granite dome that climbers from around the world visit specifically to scale; the hiking trail to the first summit takes 2-3 hours return and is steep but well-maintained. The Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish lifts non-hikers to a ridge with views down Howe Sound and costs around $55. If you continue to Whistler, the mountain village is pleasant in summer with bike parks, hiking, and lake swimming; the ski runs are closed but the gondola to Roundhouse Lodge still operates on summer schedules.

Day 6: Kitsilano and Yaletown

Kitsilano Beach is the best urban beach in the city, with a 137-metre outdoor saltwater pool (one of the longest in Canada) and views of the North Shore mountains. Maenam on West 4th Avenue is the address for Thai cooking in Vancouver, running since 2009 under Chef Angus An and remaining one of the city’s best restaurants in any category. Lunch is more casual than dinner and easier to get a table without reservations. Prices around $25-35 per person at lunch.

Walk or cycle east along the seawall to Yaletown in the afternoon. The neighbourhood was converted from a former rail yard and warehousing district into a residential and restaurant area with a consistent aesthetic of brick and reclaimed wood. Blue Water Cafe here has been a benchmark for sustainable West Coast seafood since its opening and is worth booking for dinner. The raw bar, particularly the daily oyster selection and the wild BC spot prawns in season, is the best table in the room.

Day 7: Victoria or Final Vancouver Hours

The BC Ferries crossing from Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island takes 90 minutes and runs multiple times daily. A foot passenger ticket costs around $20 each way; reservations are recommended in summer. Victoria, the provincial capital, is a walkable city with good coffee culture, the Royal BC Museum (plan two hours minimum), the Butchart Gardens 20 kilometres north (plan two to three hours), and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings along the inner harbour. The day trip is feasible but tight; an overnight is more comfortable if the itinerary allows.

If you are staying in Vancouver, use Day 7 for the things that fell off earlier days: the Vancouver Art Gallery on Robson Square has strong Pacific Northwest and Emily Carr collections; the Museum of Anthropology at UBC houses the most important collection of Northwest Coast First Nations art in the world and sits on a cliff above the Strait of Georgia with views that match the collection.

Transportation across the week

TransLink covers buses, three SkyTrain lines, SeaBus to North Vancouver, and the West Coast Express commuter rail. A Compass Card with stored value is the easiest option; tap in and out of all modes. A one-zone fare is $3.25; the day pass is $11.75. Taxis and rideshares operate throughout the metro area. For the Sea to Sky day trip, a rental car from downtown runs about $75-100 per day including insurance.

Vancouver has a card-first economy and cash is rarely needed. Tipping runs 18-20% at restaurants; 15% is considered low. Weather changes quickly; a light waterproof layer is useful throughout the year.