Voice of Travel

Cute sign at the Capilano Suspension Bridge

Before embarking on the ship to start the cruise, I had a half day to see more of Vancouver. I had done a hop on hop off tour and the Vancouver Aquarium the day before, so I had wanted to see something else, and make good use of my time.

I’m all about nature, and love to see pretty landscapes, animals, etc. So in my research, when I read about the Capilano Suspension Bridge, it sounded like something that would be right up my alley. But I had also read a bit about Grouse Mountain, and that looked fun as well. One of the things I liked about Grouse was that I’d get to see bears, and bears (along with sea otters) were on my list of things to see in Alaska – and I knew that this early in the season that it would be a long shot seeing them in Alaska, so this way I would definitely see bears on my trip. Since I didn’t rent a car, I was trying to find an easy way to see one, if not both of these destinations with my short time left in Vancouver.

Vancouver Shore Excursion Pre-Cruise North Shore Tour with Port Drop Off

After a little more research, I found something that did exactly what I was looking for, and more. I decided to take a tour (another one through Viator) called the Vancouver Shore Excursion Pre-Cruise North Shore Tour with Port Drop Off that would let us see everything we wanted to see.

It took us over the Lion’s Gate Bridge, stopped at the Capilano Fish Hatchery, spent time at the Capilano Suspension Bridge, spent time at Grouse Mountain, and then dropped us off at the cruise terminal with all of our luggage. They would even drop our luggage off separately so that we wouldn’t have to check it in ourselves, and would next see it in our room once we boarded the cruise.

Besides being really convenient, it was an amazing morning. The whole tour was about 6 hours; we were picked up at the hotel at 8am, and dropped off at the cruise terminal around 2pm, and the entire time was time well spent. If you’re looking for a way to see the Capilano Suspension Bride and Grouse Mountain, I really strongly suggest booking this tour. Even if you’re not going on a cruise, you can still do this tour, as they’ll drop you back at your hotel afterwords.

Only a few salmon at the Capilano Fish Hatchery in early June

Capilano Fish Hatchery

After being just a few minutes late, the van picked us up, and we started off the morning at the Capilano Fish Hatchery. We didn’t stay there that long, but it’s not a very big attraction, so you really don’t need to spend much time there. Now, I’m sure this is a really neat thing to see later in the season, when there are a bunch of salmon swimming through, but we went in early June…and that was the wrong time to go. There were maybe a hand full of fish, and that was it. It was still interesting to read about the hatchery, and the area was nice, but I’m sure that it would be a lot more fun to visit when there are a lot of salmon around.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Capilano Suspension Bridge

The second stop was the Capilano Suspension Bridge. While the bridge itself is the main attraction, to me it was only the beginning. If you’re afraid of heights, you might have a problem walking across the bridge, as it sways back and forth a lot when people are walking across it…especially when there are a lot of children on it, moving around trying to make it sway more. I really enjoyed it though, and stopped quite a few times to take pictures.

Once you get to the other side, there is a “Treetops Adventure.” While looking around online, it didn’t seem very exciting, and almost seemed to be more for children than adults. Boy was I wrong. It was beautiful. If you love nature and love being amongst the trees, this is a lot of fun. Not only do you get to walk around the forest, but you can walk high in the air across suspension bridges, viewing platforms, and more. It was very peaceful, and I would have been happy to stay here all day.

Since it’s hard to explain what it looked like, here’s a short video showing what the Treetop Adventure looked like:

Capilano Suspension Bridge Cliffwalk

But that wasn’t even all that they had to offer! Just a few days earlier, Capilano had opened the Cliffwalk, where you walk on bridges, stairs and platforms over the edge of the cliff. It’s a very narrow walkway, so much of the time you can’t be walking with someone; they must be either in front of you or behind you. There are even a few sections that have glass underneath you, so you can see what is right underneath you.

I thought it was really well done, and enjoyed it a lot. I’m not afraid of heights though, so someone else might not enjoy it as much as I did. The price of admission included this, which I thought was really great, especially since it was so new.

The whole area of the Capilano Suspension Bridge was just peaceful. I had a lot of fun, took a lot of great pictures, and would definitely go back if I went to Vancouver again. If you have a few hours to spare, I’d suggest going. You won’t regret it.

View from Grouse Mountain

Grouse Mountain

Next was a stop at Grouse Mountain. There was still a lot of snow up here, and it almost seemed as if they were between seasons. I know there is a lot to do and see in the winter, and also in the summer….but when we went it seemed as if they were still transitioning, and it wasn’t as exciting as I expected. Part of it could be that we only had about an hour (maybe a little bit more), so there wasn’t enough time to do some of the things I would have liked, but it was still a fun place to visit. There were some really nice views, and of course I got to see bears. The bears had just come out of hibernation, and hadn’t been moved to their normal area yet so they were in a small fenced off area. Because of where they were sitting, you could sort of see the bears, but it wasn’t a great view. I was hoping that I’d have a better chance in Alaska…but at least I could now say that I saw bears on this trip!

Here’s a short video we took of the bears at Grouse Mountain:

There were a few other things to see at the top of Grouse Mountain, although we didn’t have too much time to do anything after taking pictures, seeing the bears, and getting a snack. We noticed a lumberjack show that was going on and it looked like people were having fun watching it. If I went back, I would like to see some of the other shows they had, such as Birds in Motion, and also The Eye of the Wind Turbine Tour and the Theatre in the Sky.

After Grouse Mountain, we were taken to the cruise terminal, where first we watched our bags get unloaded and then we were dropped off at the check in.

This was a really fun excursion, and I’m glad I found it and booked it before going to Vancouver. It was a great way to end my stay there, and then start the cruise.

Enjoy,

P.S. If you’re ready to book your cruise to Alaska (or anywhere else for that matter), I strongly suggest using Cruise Compete. You’ll be sure to get the best price as different agencies will give you their best quote, and you can choose the lowest price!