We had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver with kids a couple of times and wanted to share our feelings on what we did in this fun city.

Science World

Last visited in June 2023

Science World is easily walkable from our hotel, the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. There is a dedicated time for members before general admission opens but at least there is a fun playground where you can wait for it to open (see the next section below). Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door (and honestly purchasing them in advance didn’t seem to save any time).

Once inside, you’ll find a wide selection of fun exhibits, ranging from a screen that digitally adds costumes, interactive science demonstrations, and plenty of gadgets that will keep the kids busy for hours.

There is a section on the second floor designed for younger kids. Char felt most at home here and didn’t want to leave, even as we urged her to go eat lunch. They have an expansive area here for tots, including building blocks, water toys, and a jungle gym. For those with very young children, there is a separate section for them to explore on their own, plus a private nursing room.

Awaiting outside are a few extra exhibits. It feels like they could spend a bit more effort with the space as there wasn’t too much to see here but the kids did enjoy themselves by climbing all over dinosaur bones.

Yes, the Science World does have its own restaurant. It’s nothing much, but hits the spot if you plan on staying here past lunch. We did enjoy Science World and would consider returning.

Creekside Park (Immediately Outside Science World)

Last visited in June 2023

Steps from the Science World entrance is a fun playground that we frequented daily (having a playground near our hotel is a blessing). There is a fun slide structure with multiple ways to get up to the top, but younger children may struggle to make it up. So they do have a separate slide easily accessible for younger tots.

There are swings, a spinning top, and a zip line for kids to enjoy while here. It’s a simple park but packed full of rides for the kids.

If you have a chance to explore, wander the path around the water to find sea birds and perhaps some rock sculptures. It’s a pleasant walk but note there isn’t much shade along the way.

Aquabus

Last visited in June 2023

Also next to Science World is a stop for the Aquabus. There are a couple of separate companies operating these water ferries along different points of the bay. We ultimately chose Aquabus because they operated more frequencies. Tickets can be purchased onboard. We rode the Aquabus from Science World to Granville Island, where we ate dinner, and back to the hotel.

We were lucky enough to not encounter lines to get on the ferry but we did see others waiting. We found the staff very friendly and wanting to chat. We even saw a sea lion as we went towards Granville. As a means of transportation between Granville and our hotel/Science World, it was an enjoyable experience. But I don’t know if I would go out of my way just to ride it for fun.

Granville Island Water Park

Last visited in August 2024

During the hot summer months, you’ll find the Granville Island Water Park an excellent place to stay cool. It’s completely free and offers plenty of fun. It would have been nice if there were some protection from the sun for the kids as they played here, so make sure you put on your sunscreen. We had the kids change into their swimsuits at the public restrooms found nearby.

The location itself isn’t too complicated to find, sort of near the Kids Market and behind a small parking lot. There are some grassy spots where most parents waited, but just watch out because the water can reach the safety of the grassy areas pretty easily. We witnessed some children deciding to get everyone within range wet just because they could.

Right next to the water park is a small playground. This one seemed quite popular, but note it can be a little slippery given many children decided to enjoy it after playing in the water park.

If you’re here during the summer in a heat wave, the water park is definitely a can’t-miss activity!

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Last visited in June 2023

This ended up being the main attraction of our trip to Vancouver. The Capital Suspension Bridge is located just north of Stanley Park. There is a free shuttle that will pick you up from Canada Place and I would recommend that over driving yourself. If you do drive, you’ll find a parking lot just across the street from the entrance where you can pay by space but note you’re only limited to a couple of hours here if you go that route. Granted, you’ll probably be done within that time limit, but it’s still nice not feeling rushed.

Once inside, you’ll find the main attraction quite quickly. Note that children can’t be carried on the bridge, so hopefully your younger children can muster up the courage to make it to the other side as it can be scary for them with a bridge that moves with every step from every person on it.

Make it to the other side and your reward is the ability to explore tree tops. There is also a scavenger hunt for younger children. The reward for completing the hunt was a bracelet with wildflower seeds, which we left behind in Vancouver (didn’t think it was appropriate to bring back to the US).

Hidden away near the restaurants is the Cliffwalk, a fun experience for brave souls. The whole experience is a one-way path that takes you along the edge of cliffs. You would think the kids would be just as afraid of this as they were with the suspension bridge, but since this one had a stable surface the whole way through, they actually didn’t fear this path.

Near the exit is a little area where kids can color, make postcards, and play some games. It’s a nice spot where kids can unwind before heading back on the road.

Yes, there are restaurants here, including some quick service restaurants and a sit-down restaurant. We ended up getting a bite to eat at Loggers Grill, and I thought the food was ok. It’s about what you might expect to find here. If we had more time, we might have considered the sit-down restaurant, but that’s ok. I would highly recommend people to come to Capilano to experience it, but I’m not sure we would come back the next time in town as there isn’t too much to do and see here.

Vancouver Hop-on-Hop-off Bus (Westcoast Sightseeing)

Last experienced in August 2024

We thought it might be a good idea (given my parents haven’t been to Vancouver previously) to check out the hop-on-hop-off bus. We ordered our tickets in advance for about $57CA per adult, $29CA per child. Aside from stop #1 (Canada Place), no other driver checked we even had tickets.

Based on where most passengers got on and off the bus, the biggest stops are Canada Place, Stanley Park, and Granville Island. There is only one stop in Stanley Park and it’s closer to the Vancouver Aquarium though you could certainly go exploring the rest of the park if you wanted to. Westcoast Sightseeing boasts a full 14 stops on their website, but most people didn’t seem to care for the other 11 stops offered. That makes it a bit expensive for what’s essentially access to transportation between three locations if those stops are all you care about.

Some other important observations we had:

• You’ll want to have the Westcoast Sightseeing website open on your phone to track the location of the buses. Trust me.
• Prepare to sit in traffic, especially during rush hour.
• We drove by another Westcoast Sightseeing bus that actually broke down on the route. Those people ended up having an unscheduled stop and had to make their way over to the nearest bus stop to get back on. I imagine the buses don’t break down all that frequently, but something to keep note of.
• They don’t run enough buses! This is particularly evident later in the day when we had to wait in a line that took over half an hour to get on a bus from Granville Island. With little shade while waiting and nothing to do in the immediate area where the bus stops, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

In the end, there are hop-on-hop-off bus tours that I’ve found enjoyable in the past (hello, Florence!), but this wasn’t one of them. In my view, these tours work best when the city otherwise doesn’t have a good public transit system, when there are many interesting stops, and when they run enough buses.

Stanley Park

Last visited in June 2023

Located right next to the city is an expansive park. We had visions of doing the horse-drawn carriage or perhaps even the Vancouver Aquarium, but didn’t get a chance to do those (not realizing Science World would take up our whole day). If you have a car, it’s nice to take a drive around the park just to see the beauty of the trees.

We stopped around Second Beach along the southwest corner of the park. There, we found a couple of playground structures just calling for our kids. They also had a fire truck that the kids could board.

The beach itself was fine. There was a large number of wood sticks in the sand, so don’t expect pristine beaches, but it is a nice spot to spend an hour. There is a dedicated pool area if you want to get wet, but it does cost a nominal fee to enter and we didn’t do it because we had no swimsuits. Next time we come, I think we will explore a different section of the park for variety.

Vancouver Aquarium

Last visited in August 2024

Located inside Stanley Park is the Vancouver Aquarium. Yes, the aquarium has many things that you would come to expect at your typical aquarium. So I’ll try to keep the focus more on some of the more unique aspects. Ticket prices were $45CA for adults and $29CA for children when we ordered them online in advance.

The aquarium has a nice outdoor area where you can observe the seals and sea lions. It’s also home to a rather interesting touch tank where they funnel in waves of water to simulate being at a tide pool. Of course, the kids enjoyed the foaminess of the water after the waves subsided.

The aquarium is also host to some animal encounter programs. We attended a talk on the sea lions, which included the sea lions (and sea gulls) getting fed. Seating is limited and we weren’t all able to get seats to enjoy the show, so make sure you come early.

Inside the aquarium is a fun center for younger children called Clownfish Cove, full of stuffed animals in need of some love. Four-year-old Char had a blast here as she tried to look after the injured stuffed animals.

We did have lunch here and the food was not bad. It did feel like there was a little bit of a surcharge for convenience, but honestly I wouldn’t be opposed from eating here when visiting the aquarium. I opted for the Chicken, Apple & Brie Panini and found it pretty tasty, though perhaps a bit heavy on the cheese. The portion sizes on the kids meals weren’t overly generous but it was enough to power them until dinner time.

Flyover Canada

Last visited August 2024

Flyover Canada is conveniently located right by all the cruise ships at Canada Place. We ended up coming here before our cruise, but we also considered coming after the cruise ended. We did see some leaving their baggage by the ticketing window while they went on the ride. In our case, we had one person in our party who didn’t want to go on it, so she hung out with our bags by the docks (thanks, mom!). Tickets were $25CA per person. Note there also is a minimum height requirement for the ride (102cm or 40″).

The experience started with a short video that discussed the life of Canadians and how everyone is connected to nature. You’re then led to the ride itself where you board your vessel and “fly” across Canada. If you’ve been on Soarin’ at Disney theme parks, this will look and feel extremely familiar to you. Is this ride a bit of a gimmick? Yes, I would say so. You can be in and out of the ride rather quickly for the $25CA spent. But I’m going to be bold and say I actually prefer this to what Disney has in their theme parks. Why?

• You don’t have to wait hours on end to ride this. Yes, the ride at California Adventure has shorter lines than the one at DisneySea, but even if you have access to the lightning lane, it can still take some time to get on the ride itself.
• I think the transitions between scenes–as well as the scenes themselves–are better on Flyover Canada than what Disney had.
• There are no bad seats in the house. On Disney rides, if you’re not in that first row, you’re going to be staring at someone else’s feet and that honestly takes away from the experience. There is no one sitting in front of you at Flyover Canada.

I came away feeling like this was a better experience than Disney. If you enjoyed the Disney ride, I’d say odds are good you’d like this one too.

For more ideas on planning your own Vancouver experience (including hotel and restaurant recommendations), please check out the following posts:

• Trip Introduction: Fun in the Pacific Northwest
• Trip Introduction: Cruising the Last Frontier

What have you done when you explored Vancouver?