OH CANADA! But seriously…what doesn’t British Columbia have to offer? Beautiful mountains bordering the waters, provincial parks around every corner, endless wildlife, clean cities, tons of outdoor activities, and picturesque views from a Nat Geo magazine! Canada is so GREEN and lush, and you can tell Canadians love nature and taking care of it. Endless parks, great food, friendly locals = the recipe for a perfect vacation spot!
So to backtrack a little…my husband and I were on an 8 day trip in Washington State and Canada. We spent the first half of our trip with family in Washington and then made a stop in Seattle on the way to Vancouver, B.C.
In this post, I want to talk about why Vancouver is my new favorite city and all the free things to do there! So first, I want to mention that I hate when people assume that big cities have to be expensive and that it takes a small fortune to travel and actually enjoy a new place…because that is so far from the truth! We spent almost nothing in Vancouver, except on food and accommodations, and it wasn’t on purpose…It costs nothing to take a hike or enjoy the sunset at a beach park or cruise around town site-seeing. Your travels are what you make of them!
Where we stayed
We stayed at two Airbnbs during our time in Vancouver. One was in West Vancouver across from a marina, and the other was in North Van with a gorgeous tree-lined view. Our Airbnb by the marina was super nice…the owner’s house (mansion, really) was built into the cliffside, and we had a little guest quarters around back…and I’m pretty sure he had a yacht at the marina below. West/North Van is across Howe Sound from downtown Vancouver, so you get a stunning view of the city built into the mountains as you cross Lion’s Gate Bridge. It’s more residential, so you’ll be staying among locals there. This was our marina view!
And this was the view from our second Airbnb…kinda like a dream waking up to this view and some dear walking around just outside the door.
What we did
Our first stop in the city was Stanley Park! The park juts out into the water from downtown and is almost completely surrounded by the English Bay and Vancouver Harbor. We walked up to the Prospect Point lookout for a gorgeous view over North & West Vancouver! There are tons of other things to do in the park including multiple restaurants/cafes, an aquarium, and endless walking and biking trails.
After the park, we headed to Granville Island in the middle of downtown Vancouver. It’s very nice and clean and has endless food stalls and merchant shops. After looking around, we grabbed some pizza and sat outside overlooking the harbor listening to some performers. You could spend hours here, wandering around all the stalls and watching the street performers.
Our next stop was Lighthouse Park in West Van, where it felt as if we’d been transported to an overgrown rain forest! Miles of trails and gorgeous ocean views make it the perfect spot for an afternoon hike. Unfortunately, there was no trail access to the actual lighthouse on the shore like I’d seen in so many pictures, but we still hiked (or climbed) down to the water and got an awesome view of downtown Vancouver and the bay.
As if that wasn’t enough, there happened to be an international fireworks festival (Honda Celebration of Light) in Vancouver that week, so we grabbed some sushi and ended the night sitting on Dundarave Beach watching Sweden’s fireworks over the bay. ABSOLUTE PERFECT DAY!
Vancouver hosts this week-long musical fireworks festival every summer and showcases the world’s largest offshore fireworks competition. You can spend a lot of cash on some tickets at a restaurant or club for “dinner & a view,” but there are several beaches along the bay to watch for free!
The next day we left Vancouver and spent the day driving along the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler, one of the most scenic drives in Canada and definitely the most beautiful we’ve ever seen! It’s really hard to describe how stunning it is, so you’ll have to check out the pictures in my next post!
Another amazing park we visited was Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver. Miles of hiking trails, waterfalls, swimming holes, and a suspension bridge. The suspension bridge here is a great free alternative to the Capilano Suspension bridge that costs almost $50/person…NO THANKS! Don’t miss Twin Falls or the 30 Foot Pool while there! They definitely discourage cliff jumping at the park, as seen by numerous signs posted about all the recent deaths and injuries, but of course that didn’t stop my thrill-seeking husband…
Water looks crystal clear, huh? It’s actually 30 ft deep!
Too many toursits!!
It wouldn’t be a trip if I forgot to mention some of our favorite food, right? Hands down my favorite meal was a plant-based pizza place in Vancouver called Virtuous Pie. If you can pull off a vegan cheese made from nuts and get it past my non-vegan husband, then you deserve an award! It did not disappoint.
Another spot that had some delicious eats was The Ramen Butcher in China Town. I obviously tried the ramen, which was really good, and my husband got the fried chicken, because what else do you order at a ramen restaurant?
I can’t put into words how much we LOVED Vancouver and the small piece of British Columbia we experienced. Canada is so diverse, and it has so much to offer those visiting! It definitely left us hungry for more Canadian beauty, and our sights are set on visiting Banff National Park in Alberta next. And the best part about everything we did was it was all FREE, except for an occasional parking meter…oh yeah, and that $45 parking ticket we got one morning, our first ever parking ticket, but that’s another story! I would recommend Canada to anyone; it’s super underrated. GO NOW!
Down the Highway My Way 
3 thoughts on “Vancouver, B.C. | what to do for FREE!”