Family travel

Vancouver is a great city to eat authentic Chinese food. It may be even more Chinese food than what they have in Hong Kong. The city has a good public transportation system that can access to more nature sites. Only thing is, some streets around Chinatown is very sketchy.

Solo travel

Favorite parts: Taking a sea plane to Victoria Whale watching Hiking up Grouse Mountain Oysters Short trip up to Whistler for an overnight stay & hiking (summer) Kayaking from Granville Island Tequila bar next to hostel (Samesun on Granville Street) I felt super safe the whole time. I avoided the areas that were recommended at that time due to high homeless population/drugs. I did have one homeless woman nicely ask me for money and I actually didn’t have any CAD and then she flipped and started yelling at me but it was during the day in a very populated area.

Solo travel

I loved my time there expensive but beautiful I especially love jericho beach, if you pay close attention when you’re close to the pounds in Jericho park, you can always spot beavers ! There’s also usually a heron and a large amount of ducks and geese hanging out as well

Different parts of Vancouver have different levels of safety. Downtown (not including the west end), the downtown east side, gastown, and north grandview woodlands are a bit sketchy. I would not travel with visible valuables or even especially dressy clothes in these areas if alone after dark. Car break ins are the most likely. Next most likely is being yelled at by someone who is intoxicated. Some women who use public transit regularly talk about being followed in more densely populated areas. The rest of the city is pretty safe.

Avoid the downtown east side especially at night. Otherwise the city is lovely and very safe! I have no issues being alone at night and I live right by downtown. People are willing to help and most people leave you alone. Use basic common sense and be aware of your surroundings, as you would anywhere.

Overall, Vancouver's is a beautiful and great city, but it has a big problem with people that are unhoused and reliant on illicit substances so there is a lot of areas that I do not recommend walking alone. In addition, there have been a lot of violence against women and missing and murdered women in recent years. I recommend having friends in town and doing a lot of research before you arrive. Make sure to take precautions when traveling solo here.