Trolley and Bus Tours

From a trolley-shaped booth at the top end of Water Street (the main pick-up point), Vancouver Trolley Company (604/801-5515 or 888/451-5581) operates an old-fashioned trolley through the streets of downtown Vancouver. The two-hour loop stops at 23 tourist attractions, from Stanley Park in the north to Science World in the south. Trolleys run daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m. April–October, coming by each stop every half hour. Tickets are adult $36, senior $33, child $20.

Gray Line (604/879-3363 or 800/667-0882, www.grayline.ca) offers a large variety of tours. The 3.5-hour Deluxe Grand City Tour, which includes Stanley Park, Chinatown, Gastown, Robson Street, and English Bay, costs adult $65, senior $58, child $42.

Harbor Cruises

From June to September, Harbour Cruises (604/688-7246 or 800/663-1500) offers a 75-minute tour of bustling Burrard Inlet on the paddle wheeler MPV Constitution. Tours depart from the north foot of Denman Street, up to four times daily April–early October; the cost is adult $25, senior and student $20, child $10.

In the evening (7 p.m. June–Sept.), the paddle wheeler heads out into the harbor for a three-hour Sunset Dinner Cruise. The cruise costs adult $75, child $65, which includes dinner.

© Andrew Hempstead, from Moon Western Canada, 3rd Edition