Arriving & Departing

Vancouver Airport

Vancouver International Airport (tel. 604/207-7077; www.yvr.ca) is 13km (8 miles) south of downtown Vancouver on uninhabited Sea Island, bordered on three sides by Richmond and the Fraser River delta. It's the largest airport on Canada's west coast and one of the world's major airports, handling some 15 million passengers annually. The International Terminal features an extensive collection of First Nations sculptures and paintings set amid grand expanses of glass under soaring ceilings. Turn around and look up just before you leave the International Terminal to catch a glimpse of Bill Reid's huge jade canoe sculpture, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii.

Tourist Information Centres (tel. 604/683-2000), on Level 2 of the Main and International arrival terminals, are open daily from 8am to 11pm. Parking is available at the airport for both loading passengers and long-term stays. A shuttle bus links the Main and International terminals to the South Terminal, where smaller and private aircrafts are docked.

Getting into Town from the Airport & Vice Versa -- The YVR Airporter (tel. 604/946-8866; www.yvrairporter.com) provides airport bus service to downtown Vancouver's major hotels and cruise-ship terminal. It leaves from Level 2 of the Main Terminal every 15 minutes daily from 6:30am until midnight. Fares for the 30-minute ride across the Granville Street Bridge into downtown Vancouver are C$13 (US$11/£6) for adults (C$20/US$17/£9 round-trip); C$10 (US$8/£4.50) for seniors (C$20/US$17/£9 round-trip); C$6

(US$5/£2.70) for children (C$12/US$10/£5 round-trip); and C$26 (US$22/£12) for families (two adults, two children; C$40/US$34/£18 round-trip). Buses leave from selected downtown hotels every half-hour between 5:35am and 10:55pm. Scheduled pickups serve the bus station, cruise-ship terminal, Four Seasons, Hotel Vancouver, Georgian Court, Sutton Place, Landmark, and others. Ask the driver on the way in or ask your hotel concierge for the nearest pickup stop and time.

Getting to and from the airport with public transit is much slower and requires at least one transfer, but it costs less. Public buses are operated by Translink (tel. 604/953-3333; www.translink.bc.ca). If you wish to travel into town this way, catch bus no. 424 at Ground Level of the Domestic Terminal; it will take you to Airport Station. From there, bus no. 98B will take you into downtown Vancouver. B.C. Transit fares are C$3.25 (US$2.75/£1.50) during peak hours, and C$2.25 (US$1.90/£1) on weekends and after 6:30pm. You must have the exact fare because drivers do not make change. Transfers are free in any direction within a 90-minute period.

The average taxi fare from the airport to a downtown Vancouver hotel is approximately C$25 (US$21/£11) plus tip, but the fare can run up to C$40 (US$34/£18) if the cab gets stuck in traffic. LimoJet (tel. 604/273-1331; www.limojetgold.com) offers flat-rate stretch-limousine service at C$39 (US$33/£18) per trip (not per person) to the airport from any downtown location, plus tip, for up to three people (C$45/US$38/£20 for up to six passengers). The drivers accept all major credit cards; reserve in advance.

Most major car-rental firms have airport counters and shuttles. Drivers heading into Vancouver from the airport should take the Arthur Laing Bridge, which leads directly to Granville Street, the most direct route to downtown.

The Train & Bus Station

All trains and Greyhound buses arrive at Pacific Central Station, 1150 Station St. (at Main St. and Terminal Ave.; tel. 800/872-7245), the main Vancouver railway station, located just south of Chinatown. You can reach downtown Vancouver from there by cab for about C$10 (US$8.50/£4.50). Plenty of taxis wait at the station entrance. One block from the station is the SkyTrain's Main Street Station; within minutes, you'll be downtown. The Granville and Waterfront SkyTrain stations are two and four stops away, respectively.