Vancouver

Currency

Prices exclude tax: British Columbia adds 5% GST and 7% PST at the till, and restaurant bills expect 15-20% on top. Cards and phones work everywhere including on the buses, so cash is close to unnecessary.

ATMs & cards

Use the big five — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC — rather than the white-label machines in convenience stores, which charge C$3-4 on top of your own bank. Decline conversion at the screen.

Prices exclude 5% GST and 7% PST until the till.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

A very safe city with one visible exception: the Downtown Eastside around Hastings and Main is the sharp end of Canada’s drug crisis, and while it is not dangerous to walk through in daylight it is confronting and best not wandered into at night. Otherwise the risks are outdoors — cold Pacific water, bears on the North Shore trails, and weather that turns on a mountain in an hour.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Routine vaccinations up to date

Getting treated

Excellent, and expensive for visitors — there is no reciprocal arrangement with most countries, and an emergency admission runs to thousands of dollars. Travel insurance with a high medical limit is essential. In the Rockies, mountain rescue is coordinated by Parks Canada and is not billed, but the helicopter and hospital that follow are.

Wildlife and weather rather than illness. Carry bear spray on trails and know how to use it. Hypothermia is possible in any month at altitude, and snow closes passes well outside winter.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

The best Asian food in North America outside of maybe LA — Cantonese in Richmond, Japanese everywhere, and a sushi standard that spoils you for elsewhere. Also salmon, spot prawns in May, and a coffee scene that takes itself seriously. Granville Island is touristy and still worth a morning.

Getting around

• SkyTrain — driverless, frequent, and the Canada Line runs from the airport to downtown in 26 minutes
• Compass card or contactless — one tap covers SkyTrain, bus and the SeaBus across the harbour
• Bicycle — the seawall runs 28km around the city and is the best thing about it
• SeaBus — a 12-minute crossing to North Vancouver with the mountains in front of you
• Walking — downtown is compact; everything else needs the SkyTrain

Internet speed

Broadband here runs at 2.1× the global median of 128 Mbps. Mobile runs at 81% of the global median of 110 Mbps.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured May 2026

Must-see

Things to do

• Cycle the Stanley Park seawall
• Take the SeaBus over and the Grouse Grind up, if your legs allow
• Eat through Granville Island market
• Spend an afternoon in Kitsilano or at Wreck Beach
• Ride the Sea-to-Sky highway towards Whistler
• Eat Cantonese in Richmond, which is where the good stuff is

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Canadian English

• A one-dollar coinA loonieLOO-nee
• A two-dollar coinA toonieTOO-nee
• A knitted winter hatA toquetook
• The last item takenThe last one, sorry
• A rural cottageA cabin, or a chalet in the Rockies
• Right? / Agreed?Eh?ay
• Bear sprayBear spray — carry it, actually
• Washroom, not toiletWhere’s the washroom?

The language is English; the vocabulary occasionally is not.

Religion

Christian majority, and secular

Christian by heritage with a fast-growing share reporting no religion. Indigenous spiritual traditions are recognised, and their sites carry protocols worth respecting.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Queue properly, hold doors, and apologise reflexively — it really is the norm
• Tip 15-20% in restaurants and for taxis; staff wages assume it
• Carry bear spray on Rockies trails and know how to use it
• Take note of which province you are in — rules on alcohol, cannabis and driving differ

Don't

• Do not assume Canada is a variant of the United States; it lands badly
• Do not approach or feed wildlife, and never get between a bear and its cubs
• Do not underestimate distances — the Rockies are far bigger than the map suggests
• Do not litter or leave food out at a campsite; it is both a fine and a genuine danger