Vancouver

After one week in Seattle, we moved on to Vancouver. We spent five nights here and explored the city and surrounding areas. Vancouver is awesome and I would definitely recommend it, it was relatively easy getting around in my wheelchair but again there was some planning involved.

 We caught the Boltbus from Seattle to Vancouver, it was a four-hour journey which I was able to book online and was unbelievably cheap compared to the train. There was a discount for myself and a carer and at the time of booking all I had to do was stipulate that I was in a wheelchair. I also e-mailed them directly to ensure all was in order.

When we went through border control, I didn't even have to get off the bus security came to me and checked I was legitimate-I passed!

When we arrived in Vancouver, we caught skytrain to the hotel. The skytrain is completely accessible although not all the entrances at waterfront station are and it took us a while to find the lift. Getting around Vancouver was really easy, all of the buses are accessible plus the skytrain which meant that it was really simple. You purchase tickets at the skytrain entrance and that ticket is valid for 90 min.

We stayed at the Park Inn suites click here for a link because of its access to the skytrain and the number of restaurants etc nearby. It was really easy booking an accessible room and the staff were really friendly and helpful.

Attractions Visited

1.Waterfront and Canada Place

We spent quite a lot of time just strolling around this area. There was a convention on and people dressed up in all sorts of strange outfits so it was good just to people watch. It was all completely accessible although sometimes it took a while to find the ramp down rather than using the steps.

2.Granville Island

They have a massive public market here so we spent quite a lot of time just looking around that. Thankfully it was a lot less busy than Pike Place market in Seattle and there was just as much to see, taste and look around.Click here for more information. We were able to get the skytrain to waterfront and then a bus that because all the way to Granville Island. There were plenty of places to eat on the island and if you like seafood this is the place to go!

3.Grouse Mountain

We didn't know what to expect with this trip as I haven't really researched it. The journey here included skytrain to waterfront station followed by the sea bus to Lonsdale Quay.The sea bus is totally accessible .there is a market here which we spent some time exploring before catching the bus to Grouse Mountain. for more information on the market click here.

The wheelchair access at the bottom of Grouse Mountainwas not obvious at all and it took some time to work out whether there was access at all! However, there was and we took the gondola trip to the top. It was a really foggy day and the views were not great but it did mean that it was quiet. We were really impressed by the whole thing. We watched a Lumberjack show which was very entertaining. And also a bird show introducing us to some native birds.for more information click here.

4.Boat Cruise

Vancouver has a fantastic harbour and we decided to take on the views by doing a short cruise. The only company that offered wheelchair access were harbour cruises and they only had a limited number of boats that were accessible which was disappointing. Having said that we went for lunch Cruise which was four hours and gave us some really good views of the harbour as well as a delicious lunch. Unfortunately the wheelchair access was only for the downstairs area and I wasn't able to get outside at all. It was also difficult accessing the buffet and had to  rely on my boyfriend to pick the right food for me! in addition to this they did not have an accessible toilet.

5. Stanley Park

we spent the day relaxing here before our flight home. It's a massive area with loads to see. The above picture is a view of the lion gate bridge from the park. we walked along the sea wall taking in the views of the Seattle skyline and enjoying the sunshine. There are some beaches as well as various walks and the aquarium is based here. We didn't have time to visit this but it is apparently very good for more information on Stanley Park click here. again, we caught public transport by getting the skytrain to waterfront and then the bus all the way to Stanley Park.

We even spotted some raccoons which was a first for both of us.