While most Americans stick closer to home for the fourth of July to celebrate with parades, barbecues, and fireworks, this year we fled the country and traveled to Vancouver, BC with our kids. I’ve never been out of the United States for the holiday, but my mom’s Alaska cruise return point was in our neighboring Cascadian city so we decided to meet up with her and make a long weekend trip out of it.
Vancouver, BC is just about 3.5 hours driving distance (depending on border crossing waits) from our home in Seattle, but while we’ve traveled to other destinations in BC, we hadn’t visited with the kids yet! And when I stopped to think about it, I realized that I hadn’t visited since the 2010 winter Olympics.
From the moment we drove back into the area, we knew we had to utilize this great city for our travels and adventures more. Our rental condo was located right next to Rogers Arena where the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Team plays. When Bergen (our 4.5 year old) realized this on our first evening in town, he requested to come back for a game. That was all the motivation we needed, so we now have an October trip on the calendar!
On this particular summer visit, we feel like we did a pretty darn good job covering the downtown core in our few short days. Here’s a look at what we were up to in the form of an itinerary and photo journey.
Day 1:
- Drive from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. With a napping baby, we chose to continue about an hour north of the city to the town of Squamish where we rode the Sea to Sky Gondola!
- Check into rental condo in the Crosstown neighborhood. Georgia decided to take-off with walking as soon as we arrived!
- Dinner at Pourhouse in Gastown.
Day 2:
- Coffee and Breakfast Treats at Trees Organic Coffee
- Bus to Stanley Park:
- Vancouver Aquarium +lunch at Waterfall Cafe
- Brockton Point Totem Poles
- Seawall Walk
- More exploring in the Gastown neighborhood & waterfront
- Dinner at Steamworks Brew Pub
- Dessert at UYU Soft Serve Ice Cream
Day 3:
- Breakfast at Acme Cafe
- Walk through Chinatown to Creekside Park (near Science World)
- Aquabus to Granville Island
- Lunch at the Public Market
- Exploring in the Yaletown neighborhood
- Dinner at The Flying Pig
- Shopping along Robson Street with Bubble Tea at Bubble World for Dessert!
Day 4:
- Breakfast at Phat in Yaletown
- Coffee at Small Victory
- More shopping and exploring along Robson Street, Nelson Park & Mole Hill community
- Drive home to Seattle
Have you traveled to Vancouver, BC? Tell us about your favorite sights! More of BC adventures.
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Travel Vlog: Sea to Sky Gondola with Kids
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My kids are 10 & 8 and we haven’t taken them to BC yet. You’ve inspired me to plan a trip!
Awesome! That’s so fun to hear! I hope you get to go soon! Summer, of course, is a wonderful time to visit. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Let me know if I can help with other ideas–we also have itineraries for Victoria & Tofino & Hope, BC.
Looks like you had so much fun! Vancouver is so close to Seattle, it’s a perfect trip with kids!
Yes! I’m sure you have so many more adventures to add to our list! Can’t wait to return in the fall. Let me know if you have any other restaurant recommendations!
Yay! We love Vancouver! We like to ride the train instead of driving and we stay downtown so everything is in walking/cab distance!
That’s awesome! Love the idea of taking the train–we’ve taken Amtrak Cascades to Portland, and really enjoyed it. Yes, staying downtown is definitely key! We didn’t use our car once! Thanks so much for stopping the blog & sharing!
Looks like an awesome trip…beautiful photos! I have a 9 month old so we are trying to figure out how to travel with kids.
Thanks so much for taking a look, Sarah! We have lots of itineraries/trip reports for destinations close by, so definitely take a look around the blog & let me know if you have any questions! We also have gear recommendations & tips for sleep, activities, etc. Anything in particular you are wondering about in regards to travel? Happy to help!
This looks like a great trip! We’ve done a few long weekends in Vancouver but there’s always more to do 🙂 The gondola looks awesome.
I definitely need to make a weekend trip to Vancouver with the kiddos – especially since it’s so close! We stopped for lunch on our way to Whistler a few months ago and had the most delicious meal! Love Canada!
Oh I love BC! It’s such a perfect place for a weekend getaway. Your pictures are beautiful.
I grew up north of Seattle and have gone to Vancouver a few times as a kid. We’re heading back to Vancouver next month with my kids when we make the trek back to my hometown to visit my parents in Seattle.
Have a great trip, Allison! Hope our itinerary gives you a few ideas.
Was just wondering, do I need a passport for my 3 month old baby going to Vancouver?
Hi Janine–Good question! No, your 3-month old would not need a passport to enter Canada–children 16 and under need only a proof of U.S. citizenship (birth certificate counts). Hope that helps! -Kate
We are headed to Vancouver this summer and are debating whether to drive or use the transit system. For example, was the aquarium a long walk from the totem poles inside Stanley park?
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by the blog. Yes, we believe you can absolutely do Vancouver, and just walk and utilize public transportation. In fact without even really making an intentional choice, we realized at the end of our long weekend that we never moved our car out of the garage our apartment rental!
I don’t recall the exact mileage from the aquarium to the totem poles, but it was definitely doable with kids. 🙂 Hope this helps!