How to Time Your Trip to Vancouver

Vancouver is Canada's third largest city, located on a peninsula on the Pacific side of the continent just north of the American border. As a gateway to the Pacific Rim, Vancouver is a multicultural center of trade and commerce. With its mild winters and nearby snowcapped mountains, it is also a city for people who enjoy the outdoors.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cameras
• Travel Clothes
• Local Guidebooks To The Pacific Northwest
• Travel Services
• Film
• Airline Tickets
• Maps

General Considerations

1. Enjoy a maritime climate much milder than the rest of Canada in Vancouver. Winters are quite gray and rainy, but warm enough that snow is rare. Summers are warm, seldom hot, and receive more sunshine than the other seasons. The average January temperature is 37 degrees F, and the average July temperature is 63 degrees F.

2. Check out what festivals, attractions and live performances are happening (see below).

3. Take care of your flight, transportation and accommodations (see Related eHows).

4. Check Vancouver's weather forecast shortly before leaving.

Attractions and Seasonal Events

1. Walk the friendly streets of downtown Vancouver. Start with Robson Street, Burrard Street, Davie Street and Denman Street. Don't miss Granville Island, Gastown and spectacular Stanley Park. A little further out is energetic Chinatown and bohemian Commercial Street.

2. Enjoy fine productions of Shakespearean theater in a new environment at The Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, early June to late September.

3. Tap your foot on the off-beat at the talent-laden International Jazz Festival, late June to early July.

4. Don't miss the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, usually held the third week in July.

5. Heave your belly at the Vancouver International Comedy Festival the last week in July.

6. See cutting-edge theater at The Fringe, Vancouver's theater festival, held in September.

7. Head for the mountains. The gorgeous alpine town of Whistler is a scenic, but slow 65-mile (or 100-km) drive north on Highway 99. It has world-class skiing October through June, great accommodations and all types of mountain activities during the warmer months.

8. Catch a ferry or flight to the massive Vancouver Island. During the warm months, it's an outdoor paradise; don't miss the old-growth rain forests.

Tips & Warnings

• As of January, 2007, passports are required for US citizens traveling between the US and Canada by air. In January, 2008, the requirement will extend to include those traveling by land or sea.