Compass or tap. A tapped bank card or phone works on every bus, SkyTrain and the SeaBus and charges the Compass stored-value fare: C$2.85 for one zone, C$4.20 for two, C$5.40 for three. Buses are always one zone, and after 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and all weekend the whole system is one zone. Buy the plastic card only for the C$12.55 DayPass.
From the airport. The Canada Line reaches Waterfront from YVR in about 25 minutes. The three airport stations add a C$6.50 AddFare to the two-zone fare: about C$11 on a weekday, less after 6:30 p.m. Taxis use fixed zone fares downtown, roughly C$35 to C$45.
The seawall and Granville Island. Spokes on Denman at Georgia opens 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., includes helmet and lock and charges from about C$9 an hour. The Stanley Park seawall is one way for bikes, anticlockwise, so start at Coal Harbour; English Bay is about ninety minutes with stops at the Brockton Point poles and Prospect Point. For Granville Island, the Aquabus from the Hornby Street dock crosses False Creek in five minutes for C$5; the Public Market is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Grouse or Capilano. Grouse’s Skyride with Mountain Admission is C$89 and runs all year. The Grouse Grind, 2.5 kilometers and 800 meters of stairs, is free uphill, takes two hours or more and closes in snow from roughly November to May; buy a cheaper download ticket at the top. Capilano is a suspension bridge, a cliffwalk and treetop bridges for around C$80, with a free shuttle from Canada Place. Lynn Canyon’s bridge is free and a short bus ride from Grouse.
Rain and layers. From October to April it rains most weeks. A hooded shell beats an umbrella in the wind off the water; add a warm layer for the mountain, often about 18°F (10°C) colder than downtown.
Tax and tipping. Prices show before tax. Shops add about 12 percent, restaurant food carries 5 percent and alcohol carries extra tax. Restaurants and bars expect 15 to 20 percent on top, chosen on the card machine.
The Downtown Eastside. The blocks around Main and Hastings, east of Gastown, have open drug use and people in crisis. Walk around them, and skip them after dark. Chinatown borders it: go by day and take a taxi after dinner.
Morning forecast. Put the mountain on the clearest morning in the forecast and the seawall on the dry one; ask Waystop for a rain plan so a second version of the day is ready. Tap the same card everywhere, keep it in reach for tapping out, and carry the shell even when the morning is blue.