[ITINERARY] How to Spend 3 days in Vancouver (My Home for the Past 8 Years!)

My favorite kind of post to make are along the lines of: "If you only had 3 days to spend somewhere, how can you make the absolute most of it?"

So, I figured I had to do one for the beautiful city I have lived for the past 8 years: Vancouver, B.C., Canada!

Stunning Garibaldi Lake is located along the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler.

It is definitely a tourist destination during the Summer months- cruise ships arrive daily, the famous shopping street, Robson Street, is bustling, and the Seawall (a bike and walking path around the exterior of Stanley Park) is a photo hotspot.

Vancouver is best for how near it is to Whistler, Mount Baker (Washington), and Vancouver Island (pictured).

The perfect trip to Vancouver (in my opinion) is 10 days, spending 3 days in the city and the rest along the beautiful Sea to Sky Highway (towards Whistler and Pemberton) where you can see the incredible beauty of Vancouver's backyard!

It rains A LOT in Vancouver, but we get stunning greenery in exchange!

Here are my tips to get off the beaten path:

• Instead of the overpriced and crowded Capilano Suspension bridge, choose the authentic Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge, a local hang out spot that doesn't cost a dime and which some brave souls will take advantage of the natural waterfall slide just below!
• Skip the Grouse Mountain Gondola and opt for the Sea to Sky Gondola, which is 100,000 times better.
• Don't stop after biking around the Stanley Park Seawall, continue on to the Yaletown and False Creek Seawalls for a spectacular loop.
• Skip the Grouse Grind or the Chief hikes, which locals do as a workout, not to see the utmost of British Columbia scenery.

Below is a complete 3-day city guide with a bonus day in Whistler so you can see the best hotspots PLUS the local, hidden gems.

(This graphic comes from my full guide found on my website that gives details on extending the trip with hikes along the Sea to Sky Highway, across the US border to the high alpine beauty of Mount Baker, or with Vancouver Island hiking and kayaking expeditions).

All of the points on this graphic can be found on this google map!

The Howe Sound Crest trail is a 2-day trip, but hiking even an hour of it to St. Marks Summit gets views like this!

Fall is my favorite time to hike! This was at Watersprite Lake.

Beautiful BC mountains.

And the best advice I can give you is to combine the Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies Itinerary that I previously posted for an UNFORGETTABLE, scenic, and authentic Canadian adventure.

THANK YOU for supporting me! I am totally obsessed with creating plans like these and hope they inspire more people to travel and experience beautiful places. It is so easy when you have a plan and when you are hiking, biking, and walking like most of my itineraries will have you doing, these trips are very affordable.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for future itineraries! And follow along for more photos, stories, and trip itineraries!