So you’ve made the silly decision to only plan one day in Vancouver… Ah well, everyone makes mistakes hey? I’ve got you – I’m preparing a few guides for how to spend one day in Vancouver. This post is the False Creek Ferries edition!
If you aren’t afraid to get a big number of steps in and if you are eager to explore several neighbourhoods around the city of Vancouver, this is the one-day itinerary for you. Feel free to customize the route to what makes sense for you. If you want to do the whole thing, budget about 7-8 hours for this city adventure, plus dinner.
Summary
- Experience the city from the water: your transport from area to area will be the cute little ferry boats
- See 4 different parts of Vancouver while avoiding busy downtown
- Each ferry dock station represents an area or neighbourhood that I'll provide recommendations for in the categories activities & sights and food.
- If you'd do all of it, you'll walk approximately 10-15 kilometers and bike 11 kilometers
Your options on a map
Depending on where you’re staying, you may want to look for the ferry dock closest to you. Ask for a day pass ($20) on the False Creek Ferry and you’ll be good to go. Below you will find the routes I recommend, followed by an interactive map. Use the filter switches to see where the ferry docks are, and play around with the categories to see what’ll be around you. This is your day, so pick and choose what you like! Read on below the map for my recommendations for each ferry dock area / neighborhood.
- Aquatic Centre – Kitsilano – Granville Island – Stamp’s Landing – The Village
- Kitsilano – Granville Island – Stamp’s Landing – The Village – Aquatic Centre
- Graville Island – Stamp’s Landing – The Village – Aquatic Centre – Kitsilano
Keep in mind that this is for the False Creek Ferry, not the Aquabus Ferry! Also, keep an eye on the water as you sail between stops to see seals!
ferry dock: Aquatic Centre | the west end
The West End is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood in downtown Vancouver. It has a mix of historic charm and modern living. The highlights of the area: Stanley Park, the scenic views of the water, and the peaceful streets despite being downtown.
Activities & Sights
- Rent a bike at English Bay Bike Rentals and bike around Stanley Park. Make sure you ask them how to start the route; it’s a one-way direction for bicycles. The seawall is wonderful – I run it on a regular basis and the views never seize to mesmerize me. The video you see here is one of my favourite parts of the Stanley Park seawall.
- Take a mandatory laughing photo at the Laughing Statues (A-maze-ing Laughter) at English Bay. A little touristy, but hey, you’re a tourist too!
- Make your way to Beaver Lake, one of the little lakes within Stanley Park. Not because that lake is so great, but more so you have a chance to experience the forest trails in the park.
- Hang out on English Bay Beach, and grab a hotdog while you’re there, or grab any other food to your liking on Denman Street before settling down on the beach.
- If you make it all around the park, have a look at the Totem Poles and visit the cute little souvenir shop called At The Totems.
Food recommendations
- Have breakfast, brunch, or lunch at Red Umbrella Café ($). It can get pretty busy, so just go in to see if they have a table, and if not, you can leave your phone number on the tablet by the door and you’ll get a text as soon as your table’s ready.
- Have breakfast, brunch, or lunch at Café Portrait ($). They also do desserts these days. This makes it a nice stop at whatever time you’re in this area. It’s a Turkish place with great coffee and delicious food. Meat-heavy though.
- Have lunch or dinner at…
- The Frying Pan ($). Not a fancy place at all, but they serve award-winning chicken burgers. If you’re here on a warm day, grab food here and bring it to the beach to eat. 👌🏼
- Noah’s Café ($$). Creative Japanese fusion, amazing food and impressive cocktails, and a cool secretive vibe. Why? Keep yours eyes open as you try to find this place, because it usually has the blinds down as if it’s not there. It’s a hidden gem!
- Cactus Club English Bay ($$). A Vancouver classic.
Make your way back to the Aquatic Centre ferry dock to go to your next stop.
Time estimation
- From the Aquatic Centre ferry dock to the bike rental is 1.5 km walk (20 minutes) along the seawall
- Biking around Stanley Park over the seawall is 11 km (30 minutes)
- Walking back to the ferry is another 1.5 km walk (20 minutes)
With exploring in mind, budget about 2-3 hours for the West End (Aquatic Centre ferry dock).
ferry dock: maritime museum | kitsilano
Kitsilano, or “Kits,” is a laid-back neighborhood known for its beaches with volleyball-nets, parks, cafés and cute boutiques. It sits between Kitsilano Beach and Jericho Beach and offers an amazing view over downtown with the north shore mountain backdrop. Kits Beach is a popular spot to hang out and relax, while West 4th Avenue gets you vibrant shopping and dining options.
Activities & Sights
Here’s a convenient route you can follow, which would be a 3.5km loop. With slow walking, coffee stop, shopping, it’ll be about 2 hours.
- From the ferry dock, walk to the Boathouse Beach Grill over Kitsilano Beach. It’s a 15 minute walk, but take your time to take in the beauty – from this side of town, you can see Stanley Park and the city peninsula with the beautiful mountain backdrop! If it’s a sunny day, you might catch people playing beach volley ball, or swimming/paddle boarding on the water. And if you’re really lucky, you might spot wildlife like a curious whale.
- From the Boathouse Beach Grill, cross Cornwall Avenue and go down Yew Street until you reach West 4th Avenue. Make your way to 49th Parallel Café & Lucky’s Doughnuts for a cup of delicious coffee and/or a donut of your choice.
- After that, explore shops and boutiques on West 4th Avenue. Go east and enter any shops that sparks your interest, until you find the cute little store called Makers. Such a cute store! Check out the marker on the map above for more info.
- From there, go north to go back to the ferry dock. Don’t go over Burrard street though, take one of the residential streets like Maple Street or Cypress Street. Zigzag your way through gorgeous streets and marvel at the beautiful homes until you reach the ferry dock again.
Two alternatives to consider:
- Instead of going back to the ferry dock, you can also walk to the next stop, which is Granville Island.
- Should you have a lot of time and have a mind to learn more about Vancouver’s history, then consider going to the Museum of Vancouver in Kitsilano, which is close to the ferry dock.
Food recommendations
If you decide to skip the donut and have lunch/dinner in Kitsilano, some options:
- Raisu ($$) (or $$$ depending on what you order). Amazing for Japanese food. Especially if you’re planning to end your route here, make a reservation!
- Delara ($$). Lovely spot for Persian food.
- LOCAL Public Eatery ($). If you prefer bar vibes and want to be close to the beach, LOCAL is nice.
Time estimation
The suggested loop is a 3.5 km walk (45 minutes to an hour). With the coffee stop and shopping in mind, budget about 2 hours for Kitsilano.
ferry dock: granville island
Granville Island is a lively cultural and culinary hub in Vancouver, famous for its Public Market, artisan shops, and waterfront charm. Once an industrial area, it now thrives with theaters, galleries, and local eateries. You can expect street performers, lots of fresh produce, and handcrafted goods as you stroll over the little island.
Activities & Sights
- Go to the Public Market – it’s indoors, and I’d say a must-see if you decide to make this stop. Also a good bathroom stop. If you go, and feel like snacking, consider Lee’s Donuts. Don’t be intimidated by the long line; it goes pretty fast.
- Explore the little shops and boutiques. Whenever I’m on Granville Island, I visit Paper-Ya, another one of those cute gifts and crafts stores. Cute cards, beautiful posters, stationery, and more. There’s also a little bean-to-bar chocolate shop called Kasama. You’ll find chocolate made in Vancouver from beans from the Philippines.
- Find the Sea Village on the north east end of the island. It’s a little floating-home marina committed to eco-friendly living.
Food recommendations
- Alimentaria Mexicana ($$). If you’re hungry for tacos or other Mexican platos, this is a nice spot.
- Tap & Barrel ($). Great spot with a nice view over the False Creek water and harbour, and close proximity to the ferry dock.
Walk back to the Granville Island ferry dock to go to your next stop.
Time estimation
Walking around Granville Island is about 2 km (30 minutes). With exploring and shopping, expect to spend about 1 – 1.5 hours here.
ferry dock: stamp’s landing | olympic village
When you get off the ferry at Stamp Landing, you’ll find yourself in a more quiet spot along False Creek (the water). You’ll find mostly residential buildings here, but what’s worth coming here is the walk on the picturesque seawall. Make your way to the next ferry dock, which is The Village (Olympic Village). Just look out for the big sphere which is the Science World museum and walk that way. It’s a 15 minute walk by the water. You can also keep walking to the Science World Museum and take a beautiful photo over the water (like the photo below).
When you’re close to the ferry dock, you’ll see Olympic Village Square with oddly large bird statues and a big red barn-looking building at the end of it: that’s CRAFT Beer Market False Creek. Perfect spot for a drink or a bite to eat depending on the time of the day and your appetite. Once you’re done here, walk over to the ferry dock. From here, go wherever you want to go next! If you started at the Aquatic Centre in the West End, make your way back there on the ferry.
That’s all? Where are the food recommendations? Well, here’s the thing. There are big, busy roads beyond CRAFT that I don’t think are worth the time on your short stay. I can recommend some restaurants, but it would require you to walk around a rough area, so I’ll leave it here and recommend to go back to the ferry and decide on your next/last stop.
If this is your last stop and it’s time for dinner, I would recommend to take the ferry to David Lam (Yaletown) if you want to eat downtown, or back to whichever area was your favourite / closest to your accommodation.
Time estimation
Walking from Stamp’s Landing to The Village is 1.5km (20 minutes). If you’re going to make a stop at CRAFT, add about 45 minutes to an hour to it for enjoying food/drinks and the stroll back to the ferry.
one day in Vancouver ✅
There you go! One day in Vancouver. You’ll be dead tired but satisfied at the end of this. Please let me know if you ended up doing this itinerary – I’d love to hear how you liked it!