Vancouver: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Vancouver is a city of 662,248 people in Canada (British Columbia), 70 m (230 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Vancouver International Airport (YVR), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre. It has 2 railway stations on record, including Pacific Central Station. Our booking partner lists 616 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Vancouver runs from about 8 h 15 min a day in late December to 16 h 19 min in late June (computed for 49.25° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Vancouver is served by 6 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Vancouver International Airport (YVR), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, whose 11,500-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Victoria International Airport (YYJ, 71 km), Nanaimo Airport (YCD, 59 km), Abbotsford International Airport (YXX, 61 km), Orcas Island Airport (ESD, 62 km), Bellingham International Airport (BLI, 66 km).
Flights to Vancouver: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Pacific Central Station, Rocky Mountaineer Station. Trains to Vancouver
Buses to Vancouver · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 616 places to stay in Vancouver. Of the 306 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (135), and 19 are five-star. Across 181 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10. Guests have left 198,817 reviews in total.
Hotels in Vancouver: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Central Library | 1,932,314 | 2018 |
| Science World | 650,000 | — |
| Mount Pleasant Branch | 397,137 | 2018 |
| Oakridge Branch | 338,027 | 2018 |
| Britannia Branch | 244,712 | 2018 |
| nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch | 235,984 | 2018 |
| Kerrisdale Branch | 220,042 | 2018 |
| Museum of Anthropology at UBC | 181,600 | 2019 |
| Champlain Heights Branch | 169,913 | 2018 |
| West Point Grey Branch | 165,596 | 2018 |
The busiest is Central Library at 1,932,314 visitors in 2018. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Vancouver
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Seattle, 192 km (United States) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Surrey, 27 km — car rental · tours
- Victoria, 92 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Burnaby, 12 km
- Tacoma, 228 km (United States) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Richmond, 9 km
- Coquitlam, 25 km — tours
- Kelowna, 271 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Abbotsford, 67 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Bellevue, 194 km (United States) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Yokohama, Odesa, Edinburgh, Guangzhou, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Cali, Arequipa, Dubai.
Common questions
Which airport serves Vancouver?
Vancouver International Airport (YVR), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, plus 5 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Vancouver?
About 662,248 people live in Vancouver, across 115 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Vancouver in?
America/Vancouver, currently UTC-7.
What currency is used in Vancouver?
The Dollar (CAD). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Vancouver?
Our booking partner lists 616 places to stay in Vancouver, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Vancouver?
Seattle (192 km), Surrey (27 km), Victoria (92 km), Burnaby (12 km), Tacoma (228 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.