Inside Vancouver

Insider’s Guide to the Perfect Date Night

Granville Island
The following post was contributed by Tourism Vancouver’s own Wendy Surkan, Manager, Meeting & Convention Sales, Eastern US. Born and raised in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Wendy has lived in Vancouver for the past 22 years where she and her husband enjoy all the excitement the city has to offer. Read below for Wendy’s guide to the perfect date night:

Vancouver may be known for its scenic splendor and great food, but what animates the city is the annual 10-day jazz festival leading up to Canada Day. In its 25th year in 2010, from June 25 – July 4 from noon to the wee small hours, a rich tapestry of jazz, blues, Funk, Latin, fusion and world music fills the air at venues big and small, indoor and outdoor across the city. By taking the music to parks, community spaces, concert halls, clubs, public plazas and neighbourhood streets, the Jazz Festival electrifies the city with over 400 concerts – 150 of them free – and moves the souls of more than 500,000 people each year.

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Insider’s Guide to the Perfect Date Night

There’s no road rage on Vancouver’s watery highways

Coastal Link Ferries, Vancouver to Bowen Island
You’ve heard of the commute from hell? Well, mine’s from the other place.

A couple of times a week I make the short and scenic trip from my Bowen Island home to my office in downtown Vancouver by boat: Coastal Link Ferries, to be exact.

After leaving Snug Cove, the 70-seat passenger vessel (affectionately dubbed “the tin sausage” by regulars) speeds across Howe Sound, past Lighthouse Park, under the Lion’s Gate Bridge and delivers us 25 minutes later at the Thurlow St. dock just below the new convention centre. It’s a pretty civilized way to get to and from work.

A decade or so ago I visited Hong Kong and was impressed by that city’s active harbour. I wondered then why Vancouver wasn’t making more use of its waterways to relieve some of our traffic and transit problems. Finally, it’s happening. And it’s good for locals and for tourists (not to mention the environment).

Besides the Coastal Link, some of my favourite watery crossings include the BC Ferries crossing to Bowen from West Vancouver, the False Creek and Aquabus water taxis across False Greek, and the SeaBus run to North Vancouver. They’re like mini-cruises–for the cost of a latte or two.

Gridlock can make its kinda hard to remember how gorgeous this city really is. Sometimes the best way over a bridge is under it…