Vancouver is not a cheap city, but you have plenty of free activities in Vancouver, so you can definitely save money on fun outings in the city. Because of this, a city break to Vancouver does not have to be expensive right away. We visited the city with our family for 15 days during our tour of Western Canada and here we list seven free activities in Vancouver for you. We also provide several budget tips for the city of Vancouver.
Free activities Vancouver
#1 Visit Stanley Park
The first activity in this list of free activities in Vancouver is Stanley Park. Stanley Park is the most famous park in Vancouver and also completely free to visit. Take a walk through the park and visit the large totem poles, the beautiful rose gardens and the various playgrounds.
In fact, Stanley Park is home to no less than four large playgrounds, allowing kids to have a great time. In addition, there are picnic benches throughout the park. So it’s ideal to buy your lunch in one of the city’s big supermarkets and eat it in this beautiful park. That way, of course, you’ll also save money on food and drink in Vancouver.
You can also take a nice walk around this park. The footpath around the park is no less than 22 kilometers long and goes all the way around the park and from here you have beautiful views of the water, the forests and the city. To the west and south of the park are several public beaches, where you can lie in the sun in good weather!
#2 Kitsilano Beach
Second on our list of free activities in Vancouver is a visit to the Vancouver beach. Vancouver has many beaches and one of the nicest beaches to visit in Vancouver is Kitsilano Beach. Surrounding this beach are spacious grassy areas and several playgrounds for kids.
In addition, at Kitsilano Beach there is also a nice saltwater pool (Kitsilano Pool), where you can swim for a small fee and have a beautiful view of the sea and mountains. Especially in the hot summer months, it can be nice to cool off here. Again, this is really a budget getaway in Vancouver. We found it a fun beach to visit and spent a few hours enjoying ourselves at this Vancouver beach.
#3 Hiking in the Lynn Valley
You can visit several suspension bridges around Vancouver, but for most suspension bridges you pay a monetary fee. There is also a popular suspension bridge in Vancouver that you can visit for free. It is located in nature reserve Lynn Canyon and the name of the bridge is the Lynn Suspension Bridge.
Keep in mind that it can get very crowded at this bridge, so try to go here as early in the morning as possible. In addition, Lynn Valley is a great place to hike. Our daughter was also able to play by the river here and climb on the giant rocks. We found this to be a fun free activity in Vancouver despite the crowds on the Sunday afternoon we were there.
#4 Visit the Queens Elisabeth Park
The fourth activity in our list of free activities in Vancouver is a visit to Queen Elizabeth Park. This is a fun park to visit if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is a beautiful park in downtown Vancouver and this park is also free to visit. From the park you also have a beautiful view of the city of Vancouver.
In the park you have Rose Garden lie that is fun to visit. You have hundreds of flowers in all kinds of colors here in this park. There are also plenty of grassy areas where you can picnic in the park with your family. So get some food and drinks at the supermarket and you have plenty of places to have a great lunch here.
#5 Visit Vancouver’s Central Park
You have another nice park you can visit for free in Vancouver. Despite the name Central park, this park is located slightly outside of downtown Vancouver. The park is easy to reach by subway, though, and the park is home to a huge number of squirrels. These squirrels are certainly not afraid of people and therefore they get very close.
There are also two playgrounds in the park for kids and we had a great time here for an entire morning in this park. There is also a swimming pool in the park where you can swim for 2 euros per person. Also a great budget activity in Vancouver in the summer months.
In addition to these five free activities in Vancouver that we found really worthwhile as a family, there are two other activities that don’t cost any money. We visited both destinations, but did not find them very special ourselves. Nevertheless, we would like to mention them below.
#6 Granville Island
The sixth activity in this list of free activities in Vancouver is Granville Island. This island is all about kids and the indoor market is kind of nice to walk around.
Other than that, we found it disappointing what you can do here. There is a small water playground where you can have some fun especially when it is warm, but it was not warm enough for that when we visited Granville Island. In addition, there are all kinds of stores and a very small indoor playground for kids, but all that is not very much. Still, so this can also be a budget activity in Vancouver.
#7 Gastown
In addition, it is kind of nice to walk through the Gastown district. This district is known for its famous Gastown steam clock. Be careful not to walk down the adjacent East Hastings street, as this street is where all of Vancouver’s bums are gathered. We happened to come through this street by bus and you really don’t know what you see. In that respect, that is almost a sight in itself.
If you want to read more about all the (paid) activities you can do in the city of Vancouver with your kids read our blog Vancouver with kids for more information.
Budget tips Vancouver
In addition to the list of free activities in Vancouver, we provide some budget tips for the city below.
Budget accommodation Vancouver
You can stay overnight in Vancouver just fine. We ourselves slept in an accommodation in a family-friendly residential area with many playgrounds nearby. Unfortunately, this accommodation is no longer available for booking. A similar property is the Douglas Guest house. Right in the center, great breakfast and in a quiet neighborhood.
Of course, there are still plenty of budget accommodations you can book in Vancouver. We list some of these budget accommodations below.
Budget Accommodation Vancouver 1: Cozy Dunbar 3 Beds Home w/ Views
Budget accommodation Vancouver 2: The Cambie Hostel Gastown
Budget accommodation Vancouver 3 for families: 2400 Motel (keep in mind that the rating of this accommodation is quite low, so you should not expect much from this accommodation. If you are staying for a few days with your family, we still recommend booking a more expensive accommodation in Vancouver).
Also check out the entire list of accommodations in Vancouver.
Budget restaurant Vancouver
You have plenty of restaurants where you can eat in Vancouver. Because of this, you also have plenty of cheap restaurants located in the city. In addition, of course, you have the fast food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway where you can eat for not too much money. And there are large supermarkets in the city, where you can get great food. We always went to the supermarket in the morning and got breakfast there.
Save with a package tour to Vancouver
You can obviously arrange everything yourself when you travel to Vancouver, but sometimes it can be easy to book everything in one package. For example, in one package you can book the flight, all the hotels and your rental car. Saves a lot of hassle and sometimes definitely money. Look online for package tour offers to Vancouver.
