Vancouver - Pitstops for Kids

University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology

August 11, 2012 By Amy Hagstrom

Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology is the perfect first stop for visiting families (and a great option during rainy weather, too). Much more comprehensive than we thought it would be, the Museum of Anthropology, or MOA, features not only an impressive main gallery of First Nations totem pole carvings, but also room after room of artifacts of native peoples (both of Western Canada and elsewhere). You come away with greater respect and understanding of the first people to live on this land.

MOV focuses on ancient artifacts and cultures, but throughout the exhibits, it’s evident that pains are taken to bridge the displays with the modern-day people whose stories they tell. While a tour through the totem poles is a must see, most fascinating to us was the first-hand accounts written by the ancestors of those first inhabitants, many of whom donated various artifacts to the museum.

The Great Hall is the first thing kids will see, and features totem poles, house posts, and carved figures (most from the mid-19th century) from several Northwest Coast nations. These artifacts become meaningful as kids read about the reasoning behind various carvings, and learn the different uses for totems and the stories told through the carvings.

An outside exhibit includes two Haida houses and several more totems. Visitors can walk around them on their own, but you get twice the meaning out of the experience if you tag along with one of the guided walks, which will take you inside the houses and teach about village life, the different types of totems, and the purposes of the two dwellings. The guided talks are only about 30 minutes, and squirmy kids can always exit.

Date last visited:

July 2012

Distance from the interstate:

15 minutes from BC-99.

Hours of operation:

10 am to 5 pm daily during summer months. Winter hours vary by day.

Admission:

Adults: $16.75 Kids: $14.50 Age 6 and under: free. The museum does offer a family rate of $44 for a family of two adults and up to four kids.

Dining options:

There’s a museum cafe, but no outside food or drink. It would be possible to eat around the grounds near the parking area.

Directions:

From downtown Vancouver, the museum is 20 minutes by car. Located on the University of Vancouver campus at 6393 NW Marine Drive, it’s accessible from BC-99 to 4th to Marine. There is a parking charge (only parking is in an adjacent garage), so come prepared. Our charge was $6 for 2 hours.

We experienced the Museum of Anthropology as guests of Tourism Vancouver. While we appreciate this chance to review quality attractions for our readers, it came with no expectation of a positive review.

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Where to stay in Vancouver BC: Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites

August 9, 2012 By Amy Hagstrom

Vancouver, BC may be one of the best cities to tour with kids. It’s full of outdoor experiences active kids crave–biking, beaches, parks and suspension bridges–while retaining the sophistication parents enjoy and seek to introduce to their children. And all within a stone’s throw of the action (but please don’t throw stones) is the Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites Hotel.

Located in Vancouver’s vibrant West End neighborhood just three blocks from English Bay and beaches in one direction and five blocks from the entrance to Stanley Park in the other, the Coast Plaza is largely a suite hotel, which means that families will enjoy plenty of room and a full kitchen in affordable units. According to Vancouver bloggers I asked, the Coast Plaza’s perfect layout for families used to be something of a local secret. (The hotel was traditionally known as a business hotel.) I’d say the word is out, because we encountered many families enjoying the hotel during our July 2012 visit.

During our two night visit in a 1-bedroom suite, we used the kitchen to prepare all our breakfasts in-room, as well as pack our lunches for each day on-the-go, which means we saved a bundle on dining out. (We could have easily made dinner in our rooms as well; there’s a nice Safeway down the street and a beautiful produce market right on the block.) Garage parking is on-site, and includes unlimited in-and-out privileges. Because we were so close to the attractions we wanted to see, however, we kept the car parked most of our visit. The one exception: we took it out for a trip outside the city center to Capilano Bridge and Grouse Mountain.

The only metro Vancouver area the hotel is really too far from is Canada Place: we walked, but it took us the better part of an hour and was tough on little feet. If you decide to head that direction (and you should), ask the concierge (on-site) for the Coast Plaza shuttle schedule. This complimentary shuttle runs to Canada Place and elsewhere in the city several times a day, but we were told we needed to reserve a spot 24 hours ahead. If you don’t plan that far out, a taxi to Canada Place from the hotel is approximately $12 Canadian.

Date last visited:

July 2012

Distance from the interstate:

Just a few blocks from BC-99.

Room and hotel amenities:

In-suite, families can expect to find full fridges, ovens, dishwashers, and all the dinnerware, cups, utensils, and cooking pots and pans you might need. The bathroom in our one-bedroom suite was spacious and included both a tub and shower, and the beds were deliciously soft. Even the pull-out couch was comfortable. There are TVs in both the living room area and bedroom, and a coffee maker for the morning (with coffee, creamer, and sugar provided).

The Coast Plaza offers free wifi (a huge plus) and a full fitness club. Kids will love the heated indoor pool and hot tub. A restaurant is located on-site (hotel guests receive a discount) and there’s a full room service menu. Upon check-in, guests receive a ‘cookies and milk card’ from room service, which they can redeem for complimentary chocolate chip cookies and milk for everyone in their party. Honestly, the hotel has all the amenities families could ask for.

Compared to other Vancouver hotels I’ve enjoyed, the Coast Plaza is older and showing its wear, but what it lacks in cosmetics, it more than makes up for in amenities and perks for families. If your plans include plenty of time in Stanley Park and English Bay, it’s the clear choice.

Room rates:

At the time of our visit, rates started at a very affordable (for city rates!) $199 for a standard room, and approximately $299 for a one-bedroom suite. Rates vary by season and date.

Directions:

The Coast Plaza is located at 1763 Comox. From BC-99, take W. Georgia to Denman, then turn left onto Comox.

As I disclose whenever applicable, my family and I enjoyed a stay at the Coast Plaza at no charge, for the purpose of review. While we appreciate the opportunity to experience what they offer, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review.

Exploring Vancouver B.C.: Capilano Suspension Bridge

June 23, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

Only ten minutes outside of the city center, Vancouver offers family-friendly outdoor attractions kids will go crazy for in Capilano and Grouse Mountain. The first stop (and an easy free shuttle ride from Canada Place), is Capilano Suspension Bridge, an engineering marvel stretched 450 feet across a high river gorge in thanks to nineteenth century Vancouver settler and builder George Grant Mackay. In the years since its completion, the bridge and its surrounding businesses, including a restaurant, have been turned in to an interactive playland ripe for exploration.

In addition to daring a trip across the bridge (which felt very sturdy but does sway alarmingly in the breeze!), kids can get a ‘squirrel’s eye view’ of the alpine rainforest canopy in the park’s Treetop Adventure, a network of ariel platforms connected by smaller bridges making their way through the dense forest. From there, a selection of forest paths lead visitors through the forest floor, where wildlife is pointed out on educational displays, ponds and undergrowth host small critters and ducks, and smaller, arched bridges traverse streams.

Just for kids: Capilano does a great job drawing kids into the eco and educational aspects of the Treetop area with an interactive scavenger hunt. Upon completion (which takes kids through various tasks they find through clues) they receive a prize.

The park’s newest feature, the Cliffwalk, was my favorite. Completed in early 2011, this exhibit leads visitors out over the edge of the gorge on a glass and steel pathway (with solid glass side rails). It was a thrill to look down and see only air! The views were fabulous, and you can get great photos of the suspension bridge from the Cliffwalk, too.

From Capilano, it’s an easy public bus ride ($2.50 fare) to Grouse Mountain (ten minute ride), where a veritable outdoor playground awaits. For the price of admission, families can take the Skyride tram to the top of the mountain, explore the wildlife refuge, watch productions on the Theater in the Sky, take a chairlift ride, and more. For additional cost, zip lines and the Eye in the Sky wind turbine will catch kids’ eye. If you think you’ll have kids wanting to do it all (like mine), extra activities can be bundled with general admission.

Extra Tip: If Capilano leaves you wanting more, another (free) suspension bridge exists outside of Vancouver. You’ll need a car to visit the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, but the effort will be rewarded with an even more authentic view of natural British Columbia. Check out five other adventurous things to do with kids outside of Vancouver at local blogger The Travelling Mom.

Date last visited: June 13, 2011

Distance from the interstate/city: Five to ten minutes outside downtown Vancouver.

Hours of operation: May 28th-September: 8:30 am to 8 pm.

Admission costs: Adults are $32, youth (age 13-16) are $21, children (6-12) are $12, and under 6 are free. Get 20% off if you arrive at the park an hour before closing! (This is do-able: the park generally takes 1-1.5 hours to view.)

Food services: There are several snack shops and a counter-service restaurant within the park, and a cozy cottage-style full-service restaurant directly across the street (a great choice while waiting for your shuttle).

Website: www.capbridge.com

Directions: Catch the free shuttle from Canada Place in Vancouver (it also stops at several downtown hotels), or drive through Stanley Park over Lion’s Gate Bridge and along Capilano Road to 3735 Capilano.

Exploring Vancouver, B.C.: Granville Island with kids

June 20, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

When I set out to explore Vancouver’s Granville Island on a sunny Monday afternoon, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Known best for its upscale public market and boutique shops, I certainly didn’t think it would have much to entice kids. I was wrong. Granville Island began winning me over before I even got there: from the dock at the very end of Hornby Street, I waited (all of two minutes) for the Aquabus to carry me across the hairsbreath of water that separates the mainland from the island, and when it arrived in all it’s cute, multi-colored glory, bumped up against the dock, and the operator gave a friendly wave, I was in love.

Once on-island, the public market is only a few blocks away. I stepped in, looked around, and instantly reached for my camera: the colors, smells, and sheer artistry of the arrangement of food and wares was enough to take my breath away (or just make me want to breathe very deeply). I’d wondered what there’d be for kids to do, but between the samples being offered around every corner, the merchandise piled high in all directions, and the people watching, I shouldn’t have worried.

I immediately bought a French crepe with cinnamon and sugar, then set out to see what other tricks this little island had up its sleeve. The shops along the adjacent streets were indeed upscale, but not stuffy. I’d estimate that I’d feel comfortable taking my kids into at least every other one to poke around. The best was one (or rather several) I stumbled upon by accident: Kids Market on Cartwright Street. This two-story marketplace stuffs 25 shops under one roof, and the result is an eye-popping array of toys, stuffed animals, puppets, clothing, and books overflowing from every countertop, shelf, and hallway. If the kids get tired of wandering (ha!), there’s even a play space with brightly colored tubes and ball pits that run the length and height of the building.

After my visit to toy heaven, I returned to the public market for lunch: the countless options within close proximity make it an ideal place for a family meal. Among the long stretch of food stalls, I found a vegetarian Thali dish served on a tin plate (you get a $2 deposit back for returning it). Next to me, a toddler ate organic cheese and grapes bought a few isles down, and a little girl worked her way through a danish as big as her head.

Also on-island are restaurants, comedy clubs, art galleries, parks, and kayak and boat rentals. Talented street musicians perform most days, and kids can walk along the harbor watching the boats come in. It’s a wonderful way to either spend very little money or quite a lot while experiencing Vancouver.

Date last visited: June 13, 2011

Distance from downtown Vancouver: Two minutes by boat or bridge.

Admission: None, but passage on an Aquabus will cost $3.25 for adults and $1.75 for kids (one way) from the Hornby dock. No need to purchase ahead of time. (Full list of schedules and fares.)

Hours of operation: The island is open seven days a week, 9 am to 7 pm.

Directions: The Hornby dock is a 15-20 minute walk from most points in downtown Vancouver. (It took me 20 from Canada Place.) City bus routes can also get you there. If you opt to drive, the Granville Bridge is accessed by Granville Street.

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The Four Seasons Vancouver: kid-friendly luxury

June 15, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

Last week, had I been asked to describe the Four Seasons family of resorts, I would have used phrases such as ‘exceptional reputation’, ‘luxury accommodations’, or ‘famed attention to detail’. After spending three blissful days at the Four Seasons Vancouver, I can add: ‘family-friendliness’.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The same qualities that make the Four Seasons Vancouver an outstanding resort for adult travelers are what make it great for kids: the staff knows how to go the extra mile, and then does it…your entire stay. Kids are catered to with their own room service menu, child-sized robes, and kid-friendly (and wallet-friendly) food in the Four Seasons Vancouver’s YEW Restaurant and Bar (they eat breakfast for free, for starters). I love that children are served healthy (and appealing) appetizers immediately upon sitting down to eat, along with a small toy or goodie with high entertainment value like Wikki Stix. In fact, Kids in the Kitchen cooking classes are offered for children as well, during which your aspiring chefs can experience a real working kitchen under the supervision of Four Seasons pastry chefs.

My room during my Four Seasons stay was perfectly configured for family travel: the suite featured both a bedroom and living area/bedroom with pull-out couch (separated by glass French doors) and two full bathrooms. (The bathrooms are small, but both feature tubs in addition to showers.) Two LCD TVs, two full closets, and two sets of chairs and corner tables made spreading out easy.

The indoor/outdoor pool and fitness center were only an elevator ride away (it was fun to view the outdoor 4th floor deck and garden space from our 26th floor window), and for those early morning swims the kids just have to take? Parents can sit poolside with a complimentary paper, coffee, and fruit.

Does this level of customer service and amenity come with a price? Sure. But what family travelers receive in return far outweighs the room rate: the chance to relax with their kids, and the opportunity to unwind after a busy (and let’s face it…sometimes stressful) travel day with little ones. The boost such amenities offer parents, especially while touring a busy city like Vancouver, can be the difference between a tiring, hurried vacation and a truly enjoyable one.

Date last visited: June 10, 2011

Room Rates: Check the Four Season Vancouver reservation page for up-to-date room rate information.

Reservations: Book online, or call (604) 689-9333.

Restaurants and food services: The YEW Restaurant and Bar is decidedly upscale, but a great option for families in the morning hours. What’s even better for families is the Four Season’s full in-room dining menu, complete with children’s menus for every meal.

Directions: The Four Seasons Vancouver is located at 791 W. Georgia Street in the heart of the City Centre. Note: The main entrance of Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver is located on Howe Street, which is a one-way street. Guests using an electronic navigation system to locate the Hotel should input “650 Howe Street” to arrive at the Hotel’s front entrance.

If arriving from the airport, simply take the Canada Line (rapid transit system) directly to the hotel. The Canada Line departs from the Link Building, which is located between the domestic and international terminals.

As I disclose whenever applicable, the Four Seasons Vancouver hosted my stay in full in a deluxe executive suite. While I appreciate their hospitality, it came with no expectations of a positive review.