Other places in Vancouver

Travelling by train

I went on vacation to Canada in May of this year and spent two weeks in Vancouver and Toronto.
I stayed in a youth hostel in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver It had all the facilities, including a good cafeteria, internet access and a courtesy shuttle bus to the bus and train station down town.
The bus and train station downtown had several souvenir shops, a bureau de change, a 7-11 convenience kind of store and even a McDonalds.
Just over the road was the "Main Street - ScienceWorld" stop on the local skytrain transit system, which proved quite useful for going further into the city. At the end of the line was the "Seafront" stop for the river taxi service over to the North Vancouver area.
There is a shopping mall in the sub-basement of the Waterfront Centre which was just down the road and it had a great foodcourt with just about everything you could think of from fast foods through to ethnic food and bakery items.
I bought a one-day pass which covered the Skytrain, river taxi and the local buses from the reception desk of the hostel.
A few days after I arrived in Vancouver I moved on to Toronto by way of the VIA Canadian train from the local station. It took three days to cover the distance.
My ticket included a single cabin to myself but I could have opted for a cheaper ticket for the seated accommodation only. My cabin included a pull-down bed, a wash hand basin and toilet and there were controls for lighting and air conditioning.There was a shower cabin at the end of the carriage. Fortunately, my cabin was next door to the attendants office.
My ticket also included all the meals for the duration of the journey. The staff would either come down the carriage or make an announcement over the PA. Because of the numbers of passengers involved there were three sittings for each meal.
The quality of the food was good and the only extra that I had to pay for were the drinks. I had a beefburger on a couple of occasions and it was so large I guess they used half a cow for each one!

Read more in our destination guide to Vancouver.