How I spent 6 days in Vancouver with family?

The more I think the more I want to live it again. This was a total different experience from my other itineraries. My family arrived to Calgary last week of July and by the time their jetlag wore off we had a new trip planned for them. We started on voyage to Vancouver On Aug 1st 2024.

Day 1

We caught an early morning flight from Calgary at around 8:30 AM. Is it just me or a hot subway cookie before flight just sound soothing? Anyways, we landed at Abbotsford International Airport at around 10AM. We selected Abbottsford since our Airbnb was in Mission(Totally loved it!!) and we didn’t wanted to stay cramped up in Vancouver city since we were a party of 7(Yes you read that right!). Here is the link to it. We had decided to take this a settling day, so we ate at AHA paradise food. From there we drove to Golden Ears Provincial Park.

This park does get crowded but for the right reasons. Its a combination of some misty rain forest. We did the trail of fallen giants.For folks with kids, the Alouette Lake is perfect place for picnic or just a day on a lake. Make sure to do reservations for this park om weekends. We went on Thursday so it was easy to find a spot. Post that we picked some groceries for dinner and headed our way to our Airbnb in Mission.

Day 2

This was a big day, we were going to face Vancouver traffic for the first time. We woke up super early and packed our lunches. Our first stop was Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. This is a 1.2 mile walking trail to the suspension bridge. It is free and full of fun. The weather was perfect and we did this in an hour. The view on the suspension bridge is awesome minus the crowd. You could park on either side of the bridge but the google maps parking pin has more options than the neighborhood side. From there we decided to go to Stanley Park.

We had our lunch at a quiet place in Stanley park. My family loved it. We did went to the rose garden and it was the most beautiful experience in Stanley park. The flowers were in full bloom. No wonder Stanley park is so famous it a park city within a city. We also visited the Third beach while we were there in Stanley park. The beach area was filled with kelp and water didnt seem to be clear compared to lakes in Mission which were more appealing. We called it for the day and drove back to our Mission airbnb.

Day 3

On second day, We started from Mission and drove to Granville Island Public market where we bought some treats and headed our way to on booard the Prince of whales ferry. This was almost half a day activity on the cataraman. It was a nice bright sunny day. We got to see a bunch of whales and the crew onboard were excellent. They also showed us some sea lions which made the excursion more joyful. The cataraman has glass covers so you can enjoy it inside as well has spacious to go outside and enjoy as well. Post that we ventured into some small farms on our way back to Missions taking a bunch of Fraser Valley produce on the way home.

Day 4

This was mostly a lake day where in we woke up, packed our lunches and headed straight for Cultus Lake provincial park. Even though we started early the lake area was filled and reserved by folks by 9AM. We got a good spot with decent seating space and started to relax a bit. The park has good amenities like washrooms, changing stations, kids playground and ample space for a day on the lake. The view of the valley is good and so is the walking trail. We walked for sometime and then dove straight into the water. It was a tad bit chilly in the morning but you get used to it after 10 mins.

After playing in water, we had scrumptious lunch and headed back to Bridal Veil Falls Provincial park. Here we did 0.6 mile hike which leads to the beautiful falls that truly resembles the name. Its a relatively short hike with a view tha't’s worth it. So if you have parents, nudge them to do this, I am sure they will like it. From there, on our way we back we stopped at Mt Lehman Winery where my dad and uncle did the wine tasting and they loved it. This was their first time at the winery and they loved the experience.

Day 5

This day was mostly relaxed for my family but me and my husband did the Moon Rock trail near Mission. This was a 2.7 mile hike with a decent elevation of 846 feet. The view of the fraser valley from top was mesmerizing. We totally loved some blood being pumped after four days of moderate activity. Will definitely go back to fraser valley another time just to enjoy the produce and roam all sorts of blueberry and corn fields.

Day 6

This was a big day because somehow my family completed their first hike with me. This was a 3.2 miles hike to Rolley falls that was just behind our airbnb. We didnt intend to it but walks and talks can go longer than expected. So here we were watching a boring fall with the best memories. The trail is mostly straight but the path is beautiful.

Day 7 we left home but before that we stopped to see the Canada USA border marker in Vancouver (Google Pin). This was unexpectedly cool for my parents. Hope this itinerary helps you plan your next visit to Vancouver.