Places to Visit Near Vancouver: Top Destinations Near Vancouver to Explore

Places to Visit Near Vancouver

Canada’s Pacific Gateway

Vancouver is a great city to visit and study in, and it has more Starbucks per capita than any city in any country in the G7, but if you never leave Robson Street you might be missing out on some other awesome things to do and see in British Columbia. There are lots of places nearby for a day trip, a weekend getaway or a longer vacation—whatever fits your schedule.

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia and is on Vancouver Island. Victoria is easily accessible by public transit and ferry from Vancouver. A one-way ticket on B.C. Ferries is $17.50 for walk-on passengers 12 and over and there are discounts for children and seniors. You can also drive onto the ferry if you’d prefer to rent a car. The ferry trip takes about an hour and a half and you should expect the total travel time to be close to three hours from Vancouver to Victoria. For this reason, it’s a good idea to stay over one night if you can.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TOURISM VICTORIA. NO COPY OR USE OF THIS GALLERY SHOULD OCCUR WITHOUT PERMISSION.

There’s So Much To See and Do

Once you’re in Victoria, you can tour the Parliament Buildings, visit The Royal B.C. Museum, or check out the shops, restaurants and pubs at Bastion Square. Other popular attractions in and around Victoria include Butchart Gardens, Craigdarroch Castle and Hatley Castle (which was featured in the Deadpool movies). And if you don’t feel like doing much of anything, Victoria is also just a good place to chill out and relax.

Located in the spectacular Coast Mountains of British Columbia.

SKI & SNOWBOARDS

Whistler is a ski resort about a 2-hour drive north of Vancouver on the Sea to Sky Highway and is accessible by car or shuttle bus from Vancouver. Whistler offers activities year-round, depending on the season. So in addition to skiing and snowboarding, you can go mountain biking, hiking or take a zipline tour. If you just want to relax, you can de-stress at one of Whistler’s many spas—though they may put some stress on your credit card. It’s a resort, so expect resort prices.

Things to Do in Whistler: https://www.whistler.com/activities/

If you don’t want to travel too far from downtown Vancouver, North Vancouver, just across Burrard Inlet from the downtown core, has lots to offer. Easily reached by bus or SeaBus, the North Shore has two (!) suspension bridges, three mountains for skiing, public markets and the world-famous Honey Doughnuts. You can also go hiking, kayaking or mountain biking on the North Shore. Actually, there’s not much you can’t do in North Van. They also have a crazy number of Starbucks if you go in for that sort of thing.

Happy travels!