If you're travelling to Vancouver with children, have no fear: the city is child-friendly, with plenty of attractions that appeal to both children and adults. It also features a variety of kid-friendly attractions, as well as various parks and gardens, boat and aircraft trips, and a large variety of nice cafés and restaurants – many with outdoor seating – where kids will feel at ease. In hotels and shopping malls, you'll have little trouble finding spaces to change or feed younger children.
The city is also physically safe, with the exception of portions of Chinatown and its environs, yet you should be cautious in places and situations where problems are clear, such as on or near water, busy streets and junctions, and highland areas.
The city boasts a wealth of information and ideas for families travelling with children, particularly in terms of scheduled trips. While not cheap, seaplane trips provide spectacular vistas and the thrill of taking off in a small plane and should be a hit with most kids. Check Vancouver City Tour With Capilano Suspension and Harbour Sea Plane Adventure
Whale-watching expeditions ( Join Vancouver whale watching with Kids) there are more options from Kids, Horse-drawn Trolly Tour, and wildlife excursions available in and around the city are all less expensive but equally appealing.
One of the best ways to spoil your kids is to visit Vancouver during the city's International Children's Festival, which takes place every May for a week amid colourful tents put up in Vanier Park.
It attracts around 200 children's entertainers, such as jugglers, magicians, and storytellers, from all over the world. Ticketmaster will begin selling event tickets in March, but they will also be available during the festival.
Many events sell out quickly, but even if you miss your favourite act, the festival's cheap daily admission charge allows you to take advantage of the numerous free events and performances held outside the show tents. There are also many tents where kids can participate in activities such as dancing or kitemaking. For information, call T604/708-5655 or visit Wwww.youngarts.ca.
Many of the city’s other festivals will also appeal to children
Most attractions that demand an entrance price normally allow certain children, usually those under the age of five or six, to enter for free. However, some attractions are more generous than others — the Vancouver Art Gallery, for example, admits children under the age of twelve for free, whereas Science World and the Vancouver Aquarium have a stricter four-year-old threshold. Some, but far from all, attractions offer better-value family tickets that admit two adults and two (or three) children.
For information and ideas on activities for children, especially organized excursions, the main Vancouver Tourist info Centre is a good place to start. It's also where you can get a free copy of the Kids' Guide Vancouver, which is also available at the info centres at the Peace Arch Border Crossing on Highway 99 in Surrey and on the domestic and international arrivals levels at Vancouver International Airport. It comes with a map and over 100 suggestions for locations to visit and activities to do with kids.
Free information, news sheets, and fact sheets, such as BC Parent (T604/221-0366, Wwww.bcparent.com) and West Coast Families (T604/689-1331), are frequently available at the Granville Island Kids Market. There are a few others as well.Wwww.kidsvancouver.com is the greatest, with vast listings and suggestions under numerous areas, including Rainy Days, Playgrounds, Animals, and Parks & Gardens. It also offers useful practical information about parking, safety, and public transportation access, as well as a "Good to Know" section with helpful hints. Wwww.travelforkids.com and the more informal Wwww.findfamilyfun.com, a lively, colloquial site maintained by local parents and their children, are also good for listings – but with less in the way of practical aid. Globalduniya Premium Travel Management company organized Various Day and Multiday tours for their families and kids to enjoy
Children will enjoy Canada Place, which features fun views of the active port, an IMAX cinema, and the spectacle of boats, seaplanes, and helicopters taking off; if you're lucky, you'll be able to admire the massive cruise ships that frequently dock here and, if you're even luckier, watch one of the ships leave or enter the port. Aside from the cinema, this is best done on a sunny day because the pathways are mostly open to the weather.
Make sure you have a few quarters (about 25) on hand to feed into the telescopes. Clear weather is also required to enjoy the views from the neighbouring Harbour Centre (see p.48), where the elevators and viewing deck provide breathtaking city views. The waterfalls, pools, and fountains of Robson Square on Robson Street should appeal to children, and the adjacent Vancouver Art Gallery hosts regular monthly events geared toward children (usually on the third Sunday of the month), with a variety of hands-on activities, shows, and drop-in artmaking sessions.
Clear weather is also required to enjoy the views from the neighbouring Harbour Centre, where the lifts and viewing deck are located.
To the east, the toots and whistles of the buskers and the steam-powered clock in Gastown provide a few moments of light relief (every quarter-hour in the case of the clock). Storyeum .one of the city's newest attractions, is also here. It's practically tailor-made for kids. Nearby is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, where children can feed the fish and turtles every day at noon (older children will appreciate Chinatown's night market.
The businesses in Yaletown are mostly for adults, yet the calm, quiet streets and laid-back atmosphere are ideal for kids.
The historic steam locomotive at the Roundhouse community centre, which used to be the Canadian Pacific Railway's yard and turntable, is the main attraction here.
where kids can climb into the cab of Engine 374, the locomotive that pulled Vancouver's inaugural passenger train in 1887.
The SeaBus in North Vancouver is a fun ride in and of itself, with the added bonus of the
Lonsdale Quay Market and its sights, sounds, and specialized children's stalls. The cable car ride up Grouse Mountain is also a wonderful ride. Younger children will be enthralled by the sight of jumping salmon and the numerous fish in the many tanks and viewing spaces at the salmon hatchery in Capilano River; older children will be enthralled by the sight of leaping salmon and the many fish in the various tanks and observation areas.
Science World, located south of the Downtown core, has a plethora of hands-on exhibits and an OMNIMAX screen that are geared toward children; it's also one of the False Creek locations served by small ferries that ply back and forth between Downtown, Granville Island, and Vanier Park; it's also one of the places on False Creek accessed by small ferries that ply back and forth between Downtown, Granville Island, and Vanier Park
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Children can observe glass being blown and boats being built and repaired, among other things.
The Kids Market (T604/689-8447, Wwww.kidsmarket.ca), one of the city's main children's attractions, is the best of all. one of the city's most popular kid-friendly attractions (daily 10 am–6 pm) and features thirty children's toy stores selling kites, books, puppets, crafts, clothing, and more, as well as play areas upstairs (for a small fee) for toddlers and older children, a food outlet, and an indoor playground called the Adventure Zone and Circuit Circus. On weekends, it's a crowded, if not hectic, place. In the summer, there are free events on Saturdays.
The magnitude and spectacle of the totem poles and other carvings in the main hall of Vancouver's best museum, the Museum of Anthropology, should appeal to children. The Model Trains Museum and the Model Ships Museum on Granville Island are two other kid-friendly activities. The Vancouver Museum, located in nearby Vanier Park, is less appealing than the Maritime Museum,
which features historic boats and displays (including St. Roch and tugboat wheelhouse), the Pirates! the exhibit, and the Children's Maritime Discovery Centre, where kids can play on computers, use telescopes trained on boats in English Bay, go through a wall full of drawers filled with model boats and maritime artifacts and dress up in pirate costumes and other activities. modern planetarium and multimedia displays of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and More
Children whose eyes don't glaze over in museums could enjoy the well-stocked children's library, play area, preschool learning centre, computer stations, Internet access points, and more at the Vancouver Public Library. The Vancouver Art Gallery also hosts special children's afternoons (typically the third Sunday of the month, noon–5 pm), during which there is plenty of hands-on and interactive creation. Activities range from working with clay and finger painting to witnessing dance and other live performances and are intended to complement the gallery's temporary exhibitions.
The BC Museum of Mining, located along Highway 99 about 45 minutes from Downtown on the way to Squamish, offers an underground train, guided mine tour, gold-panning area, and live demonstrations of mining.
The city's apparent open-space attraction for those with children, Stanley Park, should be the first stop for most first-time visitors or those with limited time.
The flowers of the VanDusen Botanical Garden at Oak Street and 37th Avenue in southern Vancouver are unlikely to appeal, but the Elizabethan Hedge Maze might — caregivers can keep a watch on their children from a grassy mound alongside the maze. The fifty-odd varieties of exotic birds in the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park should pique the interest of children.
Cypress Provincial Park, Lynn Canyon, Lighthouse, and Mount Seymour parks on the North Shore all include easy, entertaining pathways with boulders and fallen trees to scramble over. A suspension bridge across rapids, as well as a waterfall, may be found in Lynn Canyon.
Lighthouse Park contains tidal pools, and Cypress Falls boasts two cracking waterfalls, making it a free alternative to the touristic and pricey Capilano Suspension Bridge nearby. However, keep in mind that many of these parks have portions of wilderness. Ambleside Park, with its flat sand beach, playground, and tiny summer water park, is much gentler. Further
Stanley Park is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia
For families travelling with children, Stanley Park and Granville Island are the most appealing destinations in Vancouver. The Vancouver Aquarium, with its whale and dolphin shows and many exhibits specifically aimed at children (but note that the Aquarium can become very busy), to the more low-profile sights such as the Miniature Train and Children's Farmyard, where children can look at peacocks, Shetland ponies, pigs, cows, chickens, and other barnyard animals, offers a huge variety of things to do.
There are also various beaches and swimming spots, including the heated pool at Second Beach, as well as plenty of open spaces, including the Stanley Park Playground, for kids to burn off energy. You can
also, rent children’s bikes, rollerskates and in-line skates, as well as “jogging” buggies and hitch-on bike buggies for
children in their early years Then there are the numerous side attractions, such as Stanley Park horse-drawn excursions, the Nine O'Clock Gun (fired every day at noon), Brockton Point's totem poles, and the numerous ducks, geese, and swans (don't feed them) on Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake.
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You might observe birds and small animals on the North Shore parks if you're lucky (but you don't want to run into the Coast Mountains' black bears and cougars), and there are plenty of possibilities for birdwatching on and near the Fraser Delta. However, the Vancouver Aquarium and Children's Farmyard in Stanley Park are probably the only venues in the city where children can observe animals.
(Tues–Sun 10 am–4 pm; adults $4.25, children 18 months–16 years $4.25) is a little further out (Tues–Sun 10 am–4 pm; adults $4.25, children 18 months–16 years $4.25).
$2.50, special events $5.75/$4.75; Wwww.Maplewood farm.bc.ca), located at 405 Seymour River Place in North Vancouver. The five-acre site was one of the numerous farms that originally existed in the area but were forced out by the Fraser Valley's large agricultural holdings. This one was saved from oblivion by the BC parks department, and it now houses roughly 200 barnyard animals, including pigs, sheep, donkeys, ducks, and chickens. Pony rides, a summer Sheep Fair, Country Christmas Weekend, 101 Pumpkins Day (late October), and Farm Fair are just a few of the special events that take place throughout the year (mid-September).
The Maplewood Mudflats Bird Sanctuary is located right adjacent to the property. great if
your children are birders.
(daily April–September 9 am–7 pm, Oct-March 9 am–4 pm; adults $16, children 3–15 $13, two adults & two children family pass $50; T604/856-6825, Wwww.gvzoo.com), a big location at 5048 264th St, Aldergrove, is about 45 minutes drive and 48 kilometres east of the city. Elephants, lions, and tigers (their 1 pm feeding hour is popular), buffalo, elk, zebras, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, and camels are among the animals seen here.
Visit the Playland Family Fun Park (every day June 24–early September 10 a.m.–8 p.m., except Fri 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; June 2–23 Mon–Thurs 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Fri 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat & Sun 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sat, Sun, and public holidays 10 a11 a.m.–7 p.m.; T604/252–3583, May 1–June 1 & early to late September 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; T604/252–3583
This amusement park is located at East Hastings St and Cassiar St in Exhibition Park (or Hastings Park), and is accessible by bus #14 or #16.
Around 35 rides are available, including a vintage roundabout and wooden rollercoaster, as well as an arcade with electronic games and a Nintendo Pavilion. It coincides with the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), which takes place nearby over the same time period.
Beaches, swimming pools, and water parks are all popular options.
Although the ideal temperature in the ocean is roughly 18–21°C (65–70°F), you may want to take younger children to one of the indoor pools: diehards can compromise by swimming in the fresh- and saltwater outdoor pools.
For smaller children, the city also boasts a small water park on Granville Island, as well as a monster park outside of town with a variety of watery and other activities that should appeal to kids of all ages.
Granville Island Water Park is located on Granville Island and can be reached at 604-257-8195. In the summer, the park is open and supervised from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather permitting.
This water park and associated adventure playground are located near the False Creek Community Centre (which has to change facilities) off Cartwright St (behind the island's info center) to the right as you enter the island. The park contains a central wading pool with a fire hose for the kids, as well as a waterslide and a variety of rope and log-built amenities in the playground.
Beach and Pool in Kitsilano Although the seawater at Kits Beach are a little chilly for adults, it does not appear to bother children. Throughout the summer, lifeguards are on duty.
Swings and monkey bars can be seen in the area's grassy spaces. Kits' heated outdoor pool is close to the lake and offers a gently sloping portion for kids; it gets crowded on summer weekend afternoons, so go early.
Splashdown Park is located at 4799 Nu Lelum Way in Tsawwassen, British Columbia. For more information, call 604/943-2251 or visit www.splashdownpark.ca. If you have some time to spare before taking a ferry or your kids are clamouring for a water park, come to this massive complex three minutes south of Vancouver, which features thirteen massive slides, a swimming pool, a gigantic hot tub, picnic spots, inner tubes, and basketball and volleyball courts. Open from mid-April to mid-June, and from early September to the end of September on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; daily from mid-June to early September 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; adults and children over 48 inches tall $19.95; children under 48 inches tall $13.95; family tickets $69.95
Stanley Park is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia At Second Beach, kids can swim in the supervised pool (which also has waterslides) or splash around at the water adventure.
UBC Aquatic Centre T604/822-4522, Wwww.aquatics.ubc.ca. In the summer, the university's aquatic centre, located close to the Student Union Building and bus loop, features two fifty-meter pools (one indoor, one outdoor), as well as a variety of giant inflatable toys, inner tubes, basketball nets, and floating mats for youngsters. When visiting the Museum of Anthropology, stop by the pools, but phone ahead for pool hours, as only specific times are designated for the general public.
T604/665-3424, Vancouver Aquatic Centre This Downtown centre offers public drop-in swimming for $4.70 daily from 7 a.m. to 4.20 p.m. (excluding Sunday, when it opens at 1.15 p.m.) and again from 7 p.m. to 9.40 p.m. (8.40 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday). There are also length-specific lanes. A sauna and whirlpool are also available (admission is $2.75).f you want to use these without the pool) plus a fitness centre and weight room.
Festivals and Events is a phrase that can be used to describe a variety of
The Granville Island Children's Festival (www.childrensfestival.ca; late May; c; g50) is jam-packed with performances and face-painting hijinks.
For youngsters of all ages, the Pacific National Exhibition is jam-packed with shows, activities, and fairground attractions. The piglet races are a must-see.
Day Without a Car Vancouver takes over a number of major thoroughfares throughout the city and offers a variety of family-friendly activities.
The Santa Claus Parade (www.vancouversantaclausparade.com; W Georgia St, Downtown; free admission; early December; c; Burrard) F is Vancouver's greatest chance to view the big guy himself, along with attendant floats, bands, and music.
Huggers of History
The BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum features kid-friendly exhibits and activities that trace the region's sporting history.
"Kidsbooks, Vancouver's largest family bookstore, provides books on every subject imaginable, including history.
Academie Duello "offers kid-friendly swordplay classes, as well as the extremely popular Knight Camps."
Accommodations In most hotels, children are allowed to stay free of charge with their parents. Family rooms are available in some hostels. Hotels can make recommendations for reputable babysitting services.
Wee Travel provides strollers, booster seats, and toys for rent (www.weetravel.ca).
Resources Visit www.kidsvancouver.com for local advice, resources, and family-friendly events.
"Kids of a particular age find getting around Vancouver to be a lot of fun. Taking the front seat on a SkyTrain means pretending to be the driver, while the front window seats on a SeaBus trip to North Vancouver are almost as desirable. Circumnavigating False Creek on a bathtub-sized ferry is also fun, and hopping aboard the chugging Stanley Park Train is a must.”
For a free,no-obligation,consultation simply emails us your details and requirements to info@globalduniya.ca and we will get straight back to you with some ideas and suggestions.
If you like my ideas for a tour we can comeup with a more detailed plan, by email or phone at +17788821450,before you decide.
Q1: What are some popular kid-friendly activities in Vancouver?
A1: Vancouver offers a range of kid-friendly activities. Some popular options include visiting the Vancouver Aquarium, exploring Science World, enjoying the Stanley Park Children's Farmyard, going on a whale-watching tour, and experiencing the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.
Q2: What can kids do at the Vancouver Aquarium?
A2: At the Vancouver Aquarium, kids can marvel at a variety of marine life, including dolphins, sea otters, penguins, and tropical fish. They can participate in interactive exhibits, attend educational shows, and even have the opportunity to touch certain animals at the aquarium's touch pools.
Q3: What is there to do at Science World?
A3: Science World is an interactive science center where kids can engage in hands-on exhibits and experiments. They can explore various scientific concepts through interactive displays, watch entertaining science shows, and even try their hand at building and experimenting in the Eureka! Gallery.
Q4: What does the Stanley Park Children's Farmyard offer?
A4: The Stanley Park Children's Farmyard is a charming attraction where kids can interact with farm animals such as rabbits, goats, ducks, and chickens. They can pet and feed the animals, explore the farmyard's gardens, and learn about the importance of agriculture and sustainable farming practices.
Q5: How can kids enjoy the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park?
A5: The Capilano Suspension Bridge Park offers a thrilling experience for kids as they walk across the suspension bridge suspended high above the Capilano River. In addition to the bridge, the park features tree-top walkways, cliffwalks, and a rainforest ecology center, providing an opportunity for kids to learn about nature and experience the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Vancouver provides a wide array of kid-friendly activities, ensuring that children have an enjoyable and enriching experience while visiting the city. From exploring marine life at the aquarium to engaging in hands-on science exhibits and immersing themselves in the beauty of nature, there are numerous options to keep kids entertained and engaged during their time in Vancouver.