In Brief
How do you spend 3 days in Vancouver?
Day one downtown and Stanley Park, day two on the North Shore, day three on Granville Island and the west side. The single best decision is to buy a TransLink DayPass at 12.55 dollars rather than paying per trip, and to take children with you at no cost at all: everyone 12 and under rides buses, SkyTrain and the SeaBus free, and does not need to be with a fare-paying adult. Budget roughly 150 to 190 dollars a day per adult with two paid attractions, or under 60 if you lean on the free ones, which in Vancouver are unusually good.
Key takeaways
- Day 1: the seawall, Brockton Point, the Aquarium and Gastown, all reachable on foot
- Day 2: the North Shore, either Capilano and Grouse on the free shuttles, or Lynn Canyon for nothing
- Day 3: Granville Island Public Market, then the Museum of Anthropology, half price after 5pm on Thursdays
- Children 12 and under travel free across the whole TransLink system, with no cap and no adult required
The 3 days at a glance
One part of the island or city per day, so you spend your time looking at things rather than riding between them.
| Day | Area | What it covers | Paid entries | Pre-book? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downtown, Stanley Park and Gastown | Seawall, Brockton Point, the Aquarium, Canada Place, Gastown | Aquarium from 41.95, Art Gallery 35 or 29 for BC residents | Aquarium only, which is timed entry |
| 2 | The North Shore | Capilano or Lynn Canyon, Grouse Mountain, Lonsdale Quay | Grouse 89 adult and 49 for a child, Lynn Canyon free | Grouse, to guarantee the free shuttle back |
| 3 | Granville Island, Kitsilano and UBC | Public Market, Kitsilano Beach, Museum of Anthropology | Museum of Anthropology 26, half price after 5pm on Thursdays | Nothing, all three sell at the door |
Every price is the operator's own 2026 figure. Two of the city's best-known attractions do not publish a price anywhere on their own websites: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and the Vancouver Lookout both sell only through a booking engine, so this page prints no number for either rather than repeating an aggregator's.
Check today's Vancouver attraction pricesCompare tickets and timed entries for your datesDay 1: The seawall, the totem poles and the old town
Waterfront Station on the Expo, Canada and SeaBus lines
Vancouver's first day writes itself, because the best thing in the city is free and starts at the edge of downtown. The seawall around Stanley Park runs 9 km and the Park Board's own estimate is two to three hours on foot or an hour by bike, which sets the shape of the morning. Walk it anticlockwise from Coal Harbour and you reach the totem poles early, with the water on your right the whole way.
08:30
Canada Place
FreeStart where the city meets the water. The Canadian Trail runs along the west promenade in thirteen tiled sections, one for each province and territory, out to a north point looking at the port, Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains. It costs nothing and Canada Place opens at 7am. If you are still here at noon, the Heritage Horns on the Pan Pacific roof play the first four notes of O Canada, as they have every day since 1994.
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Waterfront Station
09:30
Stanley Park Seawall
FreePick up the seawall at Coal Harbour and follow it into the park. Walkers and joggers use the lane nearest the water, cyclists and skaters the inside path, and the whole 9 km loop takes two to three hours at a normal pace. The park itself is open 6am to 10pm. One thing to know before you plan a winter trip: the Park Board closes the stretch between Prospect Point and Third Beach for about three weeks every winter for rock scaling, with signed detours.
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Bus 19 to Stanley Park Loop
- The catch
- The catch: Pay parking applies year round on every roadway in the park, and the City publishes no rate, deferring to EasyPark.
10:15
Brockton Point Totem Poles
Rated 4.5 out of 5 on Google Maps from 7,702 reviews, as of October 2026The nine poles at Brockton Point are the most visited attraction in British Columbia and they sit right on the seawall route, about 40 minutes in on foot. There is no ticket and no queue. If you would rather not walk the whole loop, the horse-drawn tour covers the eastern side of the park in an hour with a ten-minute stop here, at 88 dollars for an adult and 40 for a child aged 3 to 12 in the 1 May to 14 October peak, taxes included.
- Price
- Price: Free, or 88 adult and 40 child on the carriage tour
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Stanley Park Loop
11:30
Vancouver Aquarium
Rated 4.5 out of 5 on Google Maps from 13,018 reviews, as of October 2026Inside the park, and the one stop worth booking ahead because entry is timed. Adult tickets are dynamically priced from 41.95 to 57.95 dollars plus tax depending on the date, and the aquarium's own advice is that most visitors spend 90 minutes to two hours. Toddlers under 3 get in free and need no ticket. Child, student and senior rates exist but are published only inside the booking flow, so pick your date to see them. Doors are 9:30am to 5:30pm with last entry 90 minutes before closing, and the site has been cashless since May 2026.
- Price
- Price: Adult from 41.95 plus tax, under-3s free
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Bus 19 to Stanley Park Loop
- The catch
- The catch: Child and senior prices are not published anywhere on the public site, only in the date picker.
14:30
Vancouver Art Gallery
Rated 4.3 out of 5 on Google Maps from 9,382 reviews, as of October 2026Back downtown on Hornby Street, and the best-value ticket in the city for anyone with children: youth 13 to 18 and children 12 and under go free, and Indigenous visitors go free on self-identification. Adults pay 35 dollars, or 29 as a BC resident. It runs seven days a week from 19 May to 8 September and to 8pm on Fridays. If your dates include a first Friday of the month, Free First Friday Nights run 4 to 8pm at no charge at all, though tickets are limited to two per booking and go within days.
- Price
- Price: 35 adult, 29 BC resident, under-19s free
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Vancouver City Centre
16:30
Gastown
FreeTen minutes on foot from the gallery, and the place to end the day. The steam clock stands at 305 Water Street at the corner of Cambie, and here is the detail the tour guides get wrong: the whistles really are powered by district steam, piped under an agreement the City signed in 1978, but the little engine you can see turning behind the glass is driven by an electric motor. That is the City of Vancouver's own description of the work done on it, not a rumour.
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Waterfront Station
Skip this: the Stanley Park train
The miniature railway has not run since late 2024, when the Park Board took it offline over safety concerns with its ageing engines and exhaust systems. The suspension notice is still on the City's own page and no reopening has been announced, so do not promise children the train, the Ghost Train or Bright Nights.
Day 2: The North Shore, on somebody else's shuttle
SeaBus from Waterfront to Lonsdale Quay, 12 minutes
The North Shore is where Vancouver stops being a city, and getting there is easier and cheaper than most itineraries suggest, because two of the big attractions run free shuttles from downtown. The catch is that both are conditional on holding a ticket. If you would rather spend nothing, the free version of this day is genuinely better than it sounds.
08:45
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Rated 4.6 out of 5 on Google Maps from 38,515 reviews, as of October 2026The complimentary shuttle picks up at Canada Place, at the Hyatt Regency on Melville Street and at the Blue Horizon on Robson, roughly every 15 minutes from 8:30am in summer, and the ride is 20 to 25 minutes. It runs year round. It is free but only for ticketed guests, and you must show proof of admission to ride back. The park itself is a 137-metre bridge over the canyon plus a cliff walk and a treetops walkway. Capilano publishes no admission price on any page of its own website, so budget from the booking engine on the day rather than from a number you read elsewhere.
- Price
- Price: Not published by the operator
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Free shuttle from Canada Place
- The catch
- The catch: Four separate pages on capbridge.com carry no dollar figure at all; the price exists only inside a checkout that blocks automated access.
11:30
Grouse Mountain
Rated 4.6 out of 5 on Google Maps from 17,095 reviews, as of October 2026A free summer shuttle runs from Canada Place, between the Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront, hourly from 9am with the last one down at 6:40pm, through to 7 September 2026. Like Capilano's it is conditional: you need a round-trip Mountain Admission ticket or a pass to board. Admission is 89 dollars for an adult, 69 for a youth, 49 for a child 5 to 12 and 229 for a family of two adults and two children, with Lower Mainland residents paying 74, 59, 39 and 179. The Skyride takes you to lumberjack shows, birds of prey and two orphaned grizzlies.
- Price
- Price: 89 adult, 49 child 5 to 12, 229 family
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Free shuttle, or SeaBus and bus 236
- The catch
- The catch: Grouse gives transit users 10 dollars off at Guest Services, which it does not advertise on the ticket page. SeaBus plus bus 236 can beat the free shuttle on price.
15:00
Lonsdale Quay
Rated 4.6 out of 5 on Google Maps from 1,410 reviews, as of October 2026Come back via the SeaBus rather than the shuttle if you can, because the twelve-minute crossing from Lonsdale Quay to Waterfront is the best-value harbour tour in the city and it is just a normal transit fare. The market at the quay has a food hall and a view straight back at the downtown skyline.
- Price
- Price: Included in a normal TransLink fare
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: SeaBus to Waterfront
The free version of this day is better than it sounds
Lynn Canyon Park has its own suspension bridge, hanging 50 metres above Lynn Creek, and the operator's line is hard to argue with: it is free to cross, making it one of the few attractions to have gone down in price since 1912. Take the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay then the 227 community shuttle, which drops you a five-minute walk away, or the 228 with a fifteen-minute walk. The Ecology Centre is by donation. If you drive instead, note the pay parking runs 3 dollars an hour with a four-hour maximum from March to October, which rules out a full day.
Day 3: The market, the beach and the Great Hall
Bus 50 or the False Creek ferries to Granville Island, bus 99 to UBC
The west side is the day that rewards a plan, because the Broadway subway does not open until autumn 2027 and UBC is still reached by bus. Do the market first while it is busy and good, then run west. If your third day is a Thursday, invert the order and save the Museum of Anthropology for the evening, when it is half price.
09:00
Granville Island Public Market
Rated 4.6 out of 5 on Google Maps from 25,288 reviews, as of October 2026The market opens at 9am, running to 6pm Monday to Wednesday and 7pm Thursday to Sunday in the 4 June to 7 September summer window. It closes only on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, plus Mondays through January for maintenance. The Kids Market and the Net Loft both open at 10am. Getting there is half the fun: the little False Creek ferries cross from the downtown side, and the Aquabus sells a day pass at 22 dollars for an adult and 19 for a child or senior, though it publishes no single-trip fare at all.
- Price
- Price: Free to enter, Aquabus day pass 22 adult
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Bus 50, or the ferries from Hornby Street
11:30
Kitsilano Beach
Rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google Maps from 2,099 reviews, as of October 2026Twenty minutes west on the 2 bus down Cornwall Avenue, and the city's best beach afternoon. Kitsilano Pool is the reason to time it right: it is Vancouver's only saltwater pool, 137 metres long, heated and outdoors, and it opened for the 2026 season on 17 June. Drop-in is 7.93 dollars for an adult, 5.55 for a youth or senior, 3.97 for a child 5 to 12 and free for under-5s, plus tax. Public swimming runs 9:30 to 12:30, 1 to 4 and 4:30 to 8:30. Lifeguards cover the beach itself from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
- Price
- Price: Pool 7.93 adult, 3.97 child, beach free
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Bus 2 from downtown
- The catch
- The catch: The City publishes an opening date for the pool but no closing date, so check before a September visit.
14:00
Museum of Anthropology
Rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google Maps from 6,111 reviews, as of October 2026The one unmissable museum in Vancouver, and it is fully open again: the Great Hall has reopened after an eighteen-month closure for a seismic upgrade to protect the collection, with a new touchable Harbour Canoe by Qap'u'luq John Marston now on view. Admission is 26 dollars for an adult, 23 for a senior or student, 13 for a youth 6 to 18 and free for under-6s and for Indigenous visitors. It opens 10am to 5pm, to 9pm on Thursdays, and closes on Mondays from 15 October to 15 May.
- Price
- Price: 26 adult, 13 youth 6 to 18, under-6s free
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: Bus 99 B-Line to UBC Exchange
- The catch
- The catch: It is a genuine trek: the 99 B-Line from Broadway-City Hall takes 21 to 30 minutes, and longer at midday, on top of getting to Broadway in the first place.
17:00
Nitobe Memorial Garden
Rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google Maps from 1,519 reviews, as of October 2026A five-minute walk from the museum, and the quietest half hour on this itinerary: a Japanese garden considered among the most authentic outside Japan. Adults pay 10 dollars, concessions 8 and a family of two adults and up to four children 25, plus tax, with summer hours of 10am to 4:30pm and a Thursday extension to 8pm. If you would rather do more for the money, the UBC Botanical Garden across the road is 14.50, and the Greenheart TreeWalk through the canopy is 29.50 including garden entry.
- Price
- Price: 10 adult, 8 concession, 25 family
- Nearest station
- Nearest station: UBC Exchange
If your third day is a Thursday
Flip it. The Museum of Anthropology is half price after 5pm on Thursdays, which takes an adult ticket from 26 dollars to 13, and it stays open to 9pm. Do Granville Island and Kitsilano in daylight and arrive at UBC in the early evening. The Museum of Vancouver over in Vanier Park runs the same trick differently, going pay-what-you-can on the first Sunday of every month.
What to cut if you only have two days
Two days in Vancouver works, but only if you drop a whole geography rather than trimming each day. The honest answer is to cut day three and keep the North Shore, because the west side is the part that most resembles a good day in any other city, while the mountains are the part that does not.
- Cut day three entirely. Granville Island can be squeezed into a day-one afternoon by ferry; UBC cannot be squeezed anywhere.
- If the forecast is poor, swap the order and put the North Shore last. It is the only day that can be abandoned without losing a timed booking, so leaving it late gives you two chances at a clear sky.
- Do not try to combine Capilano and Grouse with anything in the afternoon. With the shuttles, that pairing is already a full day.
- Skip the Vancouver Lookout unless the weather is exceptional. It is 23.88 dollars for an adult including tax and 16.93 for a student or a child 6 to 17, the deck is a 30 to 45 minute visit by its own estimate, and the ticket is single-entry with no re-entry once you leave.
Two days: downtown and Stanley Park, then the North Shore. Three days: add the west side, and put the Museum of Anthropology on a Thursday evening if the calendar allows.
What 3 days actually costs
Per adult per day, using the operators' own 2026 figures. The transit line is the one that surprises people, because a DayPass covers buses, SkyTrain and the SeaBus across every zone, and children 12 and under are not charged at all.
| TransLink DayPass, all zones | 12.55 |
| Vancouver Aquarium, adult from | 41.95 plus tax |
| Grouse Mountain Mountain Admission, adult | 89.00 |
| Museum of Anthropology, adult | 26.00 |
| Stanley Park seawall and Brockton Point | 0 |
| Gastown, Canada Place and the Canadian Trail | 0 |
| Lynn Canyon suspension bridge | 0 |
| Vancouver Art Gallery, under-19s | 0 |
About 150 to 190 a day with two paid attractions, or under 60 leaning on the free ones
One well-known price is missing from this table on purpose. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park publishes no admission figure anywhere on its own website, on the tickets page, the hours page or the FAQ, and its webstore blocks access, so this page prints nothing rather than a number copied from an aggregator. What Capilano does publish is a 25 percent discount on admission after 5pm, running until 8 October 2026, and free entry for children five and under.
Where to stay for this itinerary
Where you sleep decides how much of Stanley Park you actually see. Measured on foot to the Lost Lagoon park entrance, the West End hotels are 19 to 20 minutes away while everything in the financial district is a 35 to 40 minute walk, so a downtown room turns the park into a bus ride. Downtown wins on everything else: Gastown, the gallery, Canada Place and the SeaBus are all walkable from it, and the free shuttles for day two leave from Canada Place.
Hotel prices here follow the cruise ships rather than the weather. Destination Vancouver puts occupancy pressure across April to September, reaching 95 percent, and the Alaska season at Canada Place ran late February to 13 October in 2026. October is the first month rates genuinely ease.
- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
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Photo credits (9)
Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their respective licences.
- Stanley Park Seawall: Dietmar Rabich - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Brockton Point Totem Poles: Dietmar Rabich - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Vancouver Aquarium: Iiii I I I - CC BY 4.0 · source
- Vancouver Art Gallery: Unknown - Public domain · source
- Gastown: Xicotencatl - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Lonsdale Quay: Bsiloveyou - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- Granville Island Public Market: Xicotencatl - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Kitsilano Beach: dronepicr - CC BY 2.0 · source
- Museum of Anthropology: Xicotencatl - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source