After spending over 3 weeks in Vancouver, Heather and Trav are well versed in the best things to do in this beautiful city. Discover how many breweries Trav went to in 21 days (hint: it’s a lot!), Heather’s favorite pizza and coffee spots, and the activity that they both say you “can’t miss” when visiting Van.
Go Fish – The best fish and chips in the world, according to one expert (Heather). Go, and you’ll see why.
The Fish Counter – A close second, the Fish Counter on Main Street is also an amazing choice with lots of different seafood options.
Carp – Awesome poke and sushi place tucked into a small shop in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Pacific Poke – A decent poke shop located right downtown
Railtown Cafe – Big, delicious sandwiches on Main Street.
Via Tevere – Some of Heather’s favorite pizza ever.
Sal y Limon – A quick, fast, fairly cheap, and casual taco spot with lots of good choices.
Tacofino – The Vancouver outpost of this crazy popular taco truck originally started in Tofino.
The Flying Pig – And upscale dining option in Gastown for Italian fare.
Fable Diner – Incredible brunches make the inevitable hour-long wait on weekends worth it.
Cartem’s Donuts – Conveniently located on Main Street, this donut place has an ever-rotating selection of eclectic flavor choices, including Heather’s favorite, earl grey.
Ice Cream:
Rain or Shine – My favorite ice cream in Vancouver. Big portions, nice people, and fantastic flavors. What more could an ice cream lover want?
Rooster Ice Cream – A small, new place that not only has good ice cream but makes a mean ice cream cookie sandwich!
Earnest – With 4 locations in Vancouver, Earnest gets recognized by many as Vancouver’s best ice cream. While I personally think Rain or Shine narrowly edges it out, you can’t go wrong by trying it out for yourself!
La Casa Gelato – Quantity over quality, this gelato shop has the most flavors of anywhere in the world – 238 at any given time! The spectacle itself is worth going for, even if the gelato is just average.
Bella Gelateria – You know a gelato place is good when it’s won an international award from real, Italian judges in Florence!
33 Acres – The best brewery in Vancouver, this place ticks all the boxes – great beer, friendly staff, and a beautiful interior. Go early, because it gets packed (for good reason).
Brassneck – After hitting 33 Acres and then Cartem’s Donuts, wander over to his fantastic brewery. Our second favorite brewery in the Main Street area, it shouldn’t be missed.
Faculty – A small brewery with only 4-5 beers on tap, it’s worth the visit, especially if you’re biking by on the Ontario Street bike path.
R&B Brewing – The atmosphere here is like being in your friend’s basement (in a good way) and the pizza is pretty decent too. Unfortunately, the beer left a bit to be desired.
Main Street Brewing – Nothing fancy or exciting here, but hey, it’s another brewery to stop at if you’re trying to hit them all!
“Yeast Van” Area
Strangefellows – Unique beer selection, good bar snacks, and a cool vibe make this one of Vancouver’s top breweries.
Luppolo – A relative newcomer, their hazy IPA was my favorite of the entire trip.
Callister – With 3 rotating guest breweries plus Callister itself all brewing under the same roof, coming here means you can try 4 completely different breweries all at once, which is a great concept.
Storm – Vancouver’s oldest, and certainly most unique, craft brewery, Storm is a must-visit for the “ambiance” alone. Enter the no-frill “tasting room” through the loading door and be treated to some of the most eclectic beers you’ll ever find.
Other Breweries
Steamworks – This huge brewery and sports bar is found right on the water in Gastown. With good food and good beer, this is whatever large brewpub should strive for.
Coast Mountain – Found up north in Whistler, this tiny tasting room is exactly what you’d expect in a ski town – crowded, lively, and fun with fantastic beer to boot! A personal favorite.
Superflux Beer Company – A gypsy brewery with no tasting room, if you can find their cans at the craft bottle shops in Vancouver, buy them. This brewery is setting the standard for hazy IPA’s in Vancouver…and beyond.
Coffee:
Matchstick – Heather’s favorite coffee in Vancouver, this quaint coffee shop tucked away in Mount Pleasant is a must for coffee aficionados.
49th Parallel – This big, comfy cafe with good coffee is a great place to come, hang out, and relax (especially if you snag one of their overstuffed leather chairs)!
Revolver – Want good coffee in Gastown? This is your spot!
Prado – If you find yourself in the Commercial Drive area, this is the place to head for great coffee!
Accommodations:
One of the best parts of Vancouver is the neighborhoods, which is why we recommend finding a fun AirBnB in any of the following neighborhoods if you’re staying for more than 2 days (click here to create an AirBnB account and get $40 credit)
Mount Pleasant
Kitsilano
West End
HI Hostel Central – A decent choice if you’re really on a budget. But if you can afford it, we recommend you head elsewhere.
English Bay Beach – Located in Stanley Park, this is one of the more lively beaches in Vancouver and a great place to spend the afternoon.
Granville Island – Fantastic views of the city and great indoor markets.
Drive to Whistler – Rent a car, get out of Vancouver, and take the beautiful drive up through Squamish to Whistler.
Dude Chilling Park – Is it the best park in the world? No way. But does it have the best name? You bet.
Wreck Beach – Head here if you’ve got a hankering for a bit of adventure. 300+ stairs down to the beach keep it pretty isolated, which is a good thing because once you get down, you’ll realize it’s clothing-optional (but discouraged).
Jericho Beach – One of Vancouver’s best beaches, especially for sunsets.
Sea to Sky Gondola – At $40 CAD, it’s a bit pricey, but if you’re driving to Whistler, it’s worth it if you like gondolas, suspension bridges, and want to hike around for a few hours.
Capilano Suspension Bridge – Like Sea to Sky, at $42 CAD it’s a bit pricier than it should be, but it’s also every little kid’s dream. Walk along a huge suspension bridge and then a bunch of smaller ones that take you through the treetops.
Shopping on Main Street – Lots of neat shops to poke your head in between eating and drinking along this great stretch of the city.
Travel writing. Sponsored trips to exotic destinations, a paycheck to see beautiful places and write about them… For many people, it’s the dream lifestyle!
In today’s episode, Gabi Logan joins us to talk about the realities of the travel writing lifestyle, as well as the practicalities of how to do it successfully.
Learn what it’s really like to be a travel writer; where, how, and how often to pitch your work as a travel writer; the real truth about sponsored trips…and enjoy plenty of travel stories and tips along the way!
Many people think their traveling days are over when they have kids, but not Ricky Shetty.
Ricky and his wife, Anne, started traveling the world full-time after they had their third kid, and they have some audacious travel goals for their young family!
In today’s episode, learn the joys and challenges of traveling to every country in the world as a family of five, with Ricky Shetty of DaddyBlogger.com.
After years of being a college professor, Michelle Jones had an epiphany. What if the current educational system WASN’T the best way for students to learn?
And what if she could start her own college?
A crazy thought – but one that eventually lead to her doing just that and becoming one of the very few people in this world who have started their own college from scratch!
In today’s episode, Michelle talks about the journey of creating her own college, who the Wayfinding Academy is a good fit for, why it’s not just inside the classroom where students learn at Wayfinding, and her biggest travel mishap, which happened on the very first night of the very first Wayfinding trip!
