4-Day Vancouver Itinerary: A Day-by-Day Template
Four days for a city wedged between mountains and ocean: a seawall you can cycle for hours, a rainforest park, a suspension bridge, and a mountain at the end of a gondola.
Vancouver · 4 days Canada
Best time: June to September for dry, clear days and open mountain trails.
Stanley Park and downtownDay 1
🌳9:30 AM
Stanley Park seawall
A thousand-acre peninsula of rainforest with a paved waterfront loop around its edge.
🚶 ~24 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.9 mi
📍12:30 PM
Totem poles at Brockton Point
Nine poles by First Nations carvers, the most visited attraction in the province.
🚶 ~37 min · 🚗 ~5 min · 1.4 mi
📍4:00 PM
Gastown
The oldest quarter, cobbled and lamplit, with a steam clock that draws a crowd on the quarter hour.
Granville Island and the beachesDay 2
🍽️9:30 AM
Granville Island Public Market
A former industrial island under a bridge, now a food market with artisan studios around it.
🚶 ~24 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.9 mi
🌳1:00 PM
Kitsilano Beach
The west-side beach looking back at the downtown towers with the mountains behind them.
🚗 ~17 min · 4.8 mi
🖼️4:30 PM
Museum of Anthropology
On the university campus, holding one of the world’s major Northwest Coast First Nations collections in a Erickson-designed hall.
North ShoreDay 3
📍9:00 AM
Capilano Suspension Bridge
A 140-metre bridge seventy metres above a river canyon, with a treetop walkway in the rainforest beyond.
🚗 ~10 min · 3.0 mi
📍1:00 PM
Grouse Mountain
A gondola up to a mountaintop with trails, lumberjack shows in summer and skiing in winter.
🚗 ~17 min · 4.8 mi
📍5:00 PM
Lonsdale Quay
Cross back by SeaBus for the market and the view down the inlet at dusk.
Sea to SkyDay 4
🌇8:30 AM
Sea to Sky Highway
The coastal road north toward Squamish, running between cliffs and the fjord of Howe Sound.
🚗 ~54 min · 15 mi
📍11:00 AM
Shannon Falls
A 335-metre waterfall a short walk from the highway, the third highest in British Columbia.
🚶 ~28 min · 🚗 ~4 min · 1.0 mi
📍2:00 PM
Squamish and the Chief
A granite monolith above the town, with trails to three summits and rock climbers on the face.
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The route, mapped
Every stop below, numbered in the order you would do them.
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Best time to goJune to September for dry, clear days and open mountain trails. The rest of the year is mild and wet rather than cold.
Getting aroundSkyTrain, buses and the SeaBus share one fare system. The seawall makes cycling the fastest way around the downtown peninsula.
Local tip: Rent a bike for the Stanley Park seawall. It is a flat ten-kilometre loop, one-way for cyclists, and it shows you the harbour, the beaches and the bridge in an hour.
Related itineraries
The full plan as text
The same day-by-day plan as text. Times are starting points, not homework.
Day 1: Stanley Park and downtown
9:30 AM
Stanley Park seawall
A thousand-acre peninsula of rainforest with a paved waterfront loop around its edge.
12:30 PM
Totem poles at Brockton Point
Nine poles by First Nations carvers, the most visited attraction in the province.
4:00 PM
Gastown
The oldest quarter, cobbled and lamplit, with a steam clock that draws a crowd on the quarter hour.
Day 2: Granville Island and the beaches
9:30 AM
Granville Island Public Market
A former industrial island under a bridge, now a food market with artisan studios around it.
1:00 PM
Kitsilano Beach
The west-side beach looking back at the downtown towers with the mountains behind them.
4:30 PM
Museum of Anthropology
On the university campus, holding one of the world’s major Northwest Coast First Nations collections in a Erickson-designed hall.
Day 3: North Shore
9:00 AM
Capilano Suspension Bridge
A 140-metre bridge seventy metres above a river canyon, with a treetop walkway in the rainforest beyond.
1:00 PM
Grouse Mountain
A gondola up to a mountaintop with trails, lumberjack shows in summer and skiing in winter.
5:00 PM
Lonsdale Quay
Cross back by SeaBus for the market and the view down the inlet at dusk.
Day 4: Sea to Sky
8:30 AM
Sea to Sky Highway
The coastal road north toward Squamish, running between cliffs and the fjord of Howe Sound.
11:00 AM
Shannon Falls
A 335-metre waterfall a short walk from the highway, the third highest in British Columbia.
2:00 PM
Squamish and the Chief
A granite monolith above the town, with trails to three summits and rock climbers on the face.
Make this Vancouver plan yours
Forward your real booking confirmations to Petrel and it builds this exact day-by-day view for you: flights, hotels, reservations, live flight status, and the travel time between stops. Under a minute.
Start your free tripFirst trip free. No account, no credit card.