Situated on the stunning coastline of Western Canada, Vancouver in British Columbia has all the attractions of a vibrant metropolis – the malls, the art galleries, the theatres – and yet there’s an intimate, small-town feel to it that belies its size and modernity. And I’ll admit right now, on my recent trip to British Columbia, I fell head-over-heels in love with the city’s lush parks, quirky restaurants, and beautiful setting. But what really gave it the thumbs-up for me was the cost. Fresh out of University (and with a bank-balance that was dwindling ever closer to zero), I was a little concerned that Vancouver would prove too pricey for my meager budget. This was certainly not the case. There are enough hotel deals in Vancouver and there are also cheap, or even free, attractions in this city to keep even the most stringent penny-pincher (like myself) happy.
When it came to choosing my accommodation, my three criteria were: cheap, clean and centrally located. SameSun Backpacker Lodge ticked all the boxes. Situated downtown on Granville Street, this hostel is in the heart of Vancouver’s entertainment district, and just a stone’s throw away from the city’s main sites. I paid $32 a night for a dorm bed, sharing with five others, and the price includes a continental breakfast. However, the main attraction of SameSun is the atmosphere. Its restaurant, The Beaver, has a real backpacker buzz to it, offering an international, budget menu, nightly entertainment, and the best venue in Vancouver for meeting like-minded travellers.
The Beaver, however, isn’t the only place in Vancouver that offers cheap food and drink. In fact, the city is strewn with budget eateries and low-cost street-stalls, providing ample opportunity to sample some of the local cuisine. But what is the local cuisine of Vancouver? One word: hotdogs. Vancouverites are obsessed with their hotdogs, but these aren’t your run-of-the-mill, frankfurter-in-a-roll-drenched-in-ketchup hotdogs. These are hotdogs in a whole league of their own, and the best place to try one is at DougieDog, also located on Granville Street. Here, they offer hotdogs with their own unique twists: ‘Seoul Dogs’, with Korean BBQ beef, sesame and pickled cucumber; ‘L.A. Mexicana Dogs’ with salsa, guacamole and strips of bacon; ‘Veggie Dogs’, topped with spinach, avocado and feta cheese. Together with DougieDog’s staple butterscotch root-bear, a meal here set me back a mere $9. Not bad considering it was the most delicious (albeit probably not the healthiest) thing I’ve ever tasted.
Activities prove just as cheap as the food in Vancouver. In fact, most of them are free. It costs nothing to cross the Granville Street Bridge to Granville Island, a peninsula jutting out into the waters of False Creek, and home to Vancouver’s Public Market. Here, I spent an entire morning browsing the hundreds of stalls that densely populate the little ‘island’; from jewellery, art and photography, to flowers, fruit and fresh fish, everything here is hand-crafted or locally-produced. Thursday is the best day to come, as this is Farmers Market Day, where the produce comes literally straight from the fields to the stalls. Not able to resist, I splurged a little at the bread, cheese, and fruit stalls, then took my make-shift picnic back over False Creek to Stanley Park.
Entrance to the1,000-acre green-space of Stanley Park is free, and here I wandered along one of the many forest trails, keeping my eyes peeled for skunks and racoons – the park’s local residents. With the towering cedar, fir and hemlock trees, and the abundance of flora and fauna, it felt as if I was out in the Canadian wilderness, rather than in the heart of a thriving, metropolitan city. But not only does Stanley Park offer a tranquil retreat from the hustle and bustle of urban living, perfect for nature-lovers, it also attracts a wealth of culture and history-buffs. The park is home to an ancient culture-mound, a result of long habitation in the area by native aboriginals, and to commemorate the site, totem poles and wooden aboriginal sculptures have been erected at Brockton Point. Here we have a museum and art gallery rolled into one, and the entry cost? Absolutely nothing.
With a plethora of free activities and cheap cuisine, Vancouver proves that your pockets don’t have to be lined with gold in order for you to make the most out of your holiday. However, the cheapest and most satisfying way to spend your time in Vancouver is to simply explore this beautiful, clean, and quirky city, getting a little lost and stumbling upon some hidden gems of your own.
Author Bio: Ceri Houlbrook is from Manchester, England – no, she doesn’t support United – and her passions include reading, writing, hiking and travelling the globe in search of some adventure!
All text and pics are from the author.
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