We flew direct from Heathrow to Vancouver on Air Canada, a straight forward 9hr flight out and 8.5hrs coming home. Air Canada was comfortable and clean, friendly staff and a little extra leg room, compared to BA.

We chose to visit in March, during the Easter holidays, mainly to keep the cost down and certainly where flights and accommodation are concerned it saved us around £3,000! Visiting in March means you take a hit on the weather, it can be rainy and the temperature is usually similar to the UK at that time. As much as it is always lovely to experience a different Country at the height of their best season, I think is can also be enjoyed in the shoulder season. Surely you can’t really appreciate a Country until you’ve seen it in all weathers! 😊

Vancouver is a beautiful city, surrounded by the Sea, with open parkland, notably the famous Stanley Park but other community spaces bursting with cherry blossom (the perks of visiting in March, cherry blossom season), walking/cycling paths, gym equipment and dog parks.

We stayed at the Georgian Court Hotel in Yaletown, right opposite the BC Arena, which will be hosting some of the 2026 football World Cup games. We found Yaletown had a good mix of restaurants, which suited in the evening but was also close to Gastown which is more historic. If you are staying in this area of town, may I suggest a trip to Jam Café, they serve the most incredible breakfast/brunch but do be prepared to queue for a table as the restaurant area is small.

Another hit, was a Mexican restaurant called Tacofino, they do the best burrito’s I’ve ever tasted! Again, it’s a small restaurant, but great when you are on the go sightseeing and just want to grab something to eat on the move.

Cycling the sea wall of Stanley Park, took up half a day. We caught the bus from our hotel to the entrance of the park, hired some bikes and followed the path, looking out of sealions, along the way.

Definitely catch a water taxi across to Granville Island…………go with an empty stomach, as you will be spoilt for choice with eateries, just watch out for the seagulls! Don’t forget to grab a Lee’s doughnut before you hop back on the water taxi, they are sensational!!!

The shopping is great, particularly with a teenager, however don’t go expecting to save money on clothes and cosmetics as the prices are often higher in Canadian dollars, making them a similar price in pounds.

Watching an ice hockey match was a highlight for all of us and kept us awake on our first full day! I booked our tickets through Ticketmaster before we left the UK, which was seamless when using the app. You will find all of the ice hockey games at the Rogers Arena, which is situated between Yaletown and Gastown.

Take a trip to Capilano suspension bridge, if you dare! I’m scared of heights but I did manage to get across the bridge and enjoy the awesome views. There is a free shuttle that leaves from the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown and takes 15-20mins.

Once we had buzzed around the city, seeing as much as we possibly could, it was time to move to Vancouver Island for a bit of down time.

Here’s a tip……………..book your ferry to the Island in advance! I’m ashamed to say, even though I am a travel consultant that I didn’t, I just couldn’t make up my mind on the best time to cross. Now I know for sure, book an early crossing, so that you drive out of the city at dawn, the roads are quiet, the sunrise is spectacular and you arrive in plenty of time to make the ferry you booked!

We only had time to stay in one location on the island, so we chose Ucluelet, close enough to the better known Tofino, but cheaper on accommodation. We stayed at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, which was great. We had a one bedroom apartment, which meant we could eat in if we wanted and wash our clothes. It was spacious and relaxing with a gas fire to warm up by and views out to sea.

During our time on the island we did lots of walking, particularly on the Pacific Rim national park trails. We took a trip out to spot whales, with Jamie’s Whaling Station and were lucky enough to see several Gray Whales and a pod of Orca’s who appeared to be hunting!

Ucluelet has a fascinating Aquarium, which is one of a kind with it’s ‘catch and release’ annual programme, although it’s small, I would highly recommend a visit.

The drive from Nanaimo ferry port to Ucluelet was approximately 3 hours, but don’t worry about the time, nature puts on a spectacular show, with snow capped mountains, thick dense pine forests, prehistoric river beds, slowly filling with the thawing ice and eagles soring over-head.

Winter, spring, summer or autumn, I believe Vancouver has something for everyone! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and cannot wait to explore more of Canada’s beautiful landscape.