Beautiful British Columbia

Earlier, at the start of 2018, I thought to myself, "I need to start being more adventurous." I’m naturally a traveller, I’m not a home person at all, and I take every opportunity I can to go and see as many places as possible.

It seems like I keep going back to the same places over and over, though. For the past 5 years in a row I have been to New York and it’s starting to get repetitive. There are only so many times you can enjoy somewhere before it gets old and becomes your second home. This is exactly what New York has become—home number 2.

I was missing the adventure, missing the feeling of not knowing what would be around the corner. It’s come to the point of knowing what’s going to be across the street before I get there and I’m not enjoying that. As a rather adventurous person, I am craving something new. I sat and thought to myself where shall I go next, where can I seek the adventurous thrill that I crave so much? That’s when it hit me... Canada!

I’ve thought about Canada so much in the past. I’ve seen so many beautiful pictures of the mountains, the snow and the long open roads. I couldn’t resist. I got the "travel bug" as I like to call it and immediately, I found myself sat in front of my computer screen searching for the perfect adventure.

I’ve never been to the west coast of North America, only the east. So I searched for Vancouver. I wanted a change. I didn’t want to visit the east coast again. After all, that would be compromising my idea of something new. I wanted to be on the complete opposite side of the continent, somewhere that I’m unfamiliar with. Vancouver, it was... I booked my trip and counted down the days from January right up until October 2018.

As I waited patiently for my trip to come around, I'd done some research of the province of BC. The pictures were unlike any place I’ve seen before and I knew that I couldn’t restrict myself to just the city of Vancouver, I needed to explore the wider Vancouver area, I needed to explore BC! I booked a rental car for the first three days of my trip and planned to spend as much time exploring British Columbia as I could in my first three days and then explore the city of Vancouver in my last three days.

Here are my pictures and timeline of places I visited and what I loved about them. I hope you can enjoy them as much as I did and hopefully this will be inspiration for you to explore new places too.

My Arrival - Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel

I landed at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) at 7:30 PM after a long 9.5 hour flight from London Heathrow (LHR). I hadn’t slept at all the whole flight as I was way too excited. The whole flight I was in anticipation—I just wanted to land and see everything! Once I touched down and left the aircraft, I darted for the border and had my passport checked then collected my bag. Here I was, I’d made it! Vancouver was my oyster. It’s time to go check into my hotel and find my bearings. I headed for the car rental and picked up my car then followed signs towards the city. My drive took around 25 minutes and I’d arrived at the Rosedale on Robson. This hotel is great, by the way—I’d recommend it to anyone who’s thinking of visiting Vancouver and for sure, I will stay at this hotel again when I decide to return to Vancouver. I got my room on the 17th floor with a great view of the Vancouver Public Library from my floor to ceiling window. I snacked on some potato chips and settled into bed awaiting the start of my adventure the next morning.

Whistler, B.C.

I woke up around 7:30 AM the following morning and the jet lag had set in. I was super tired and my sleep was broken all night. Maybe because I was excited or maybe because at home I’d usually be awake whilst it’s night time in Vancouver. Whatever it was, I shrugged it off and pushed it aside. I made myself a coffee and got showered. I went into the elevator and headed down to the underground parking garage to find my car, then I set off on my 1.5 hour drive to Whistler. The traffic in Vancouver wasn’t too bad compared to usual big city traffic. I drove for 5 minutes until I hit the Lions Gate Bridge and then straight away, a huge smile was pasted across my face. The views were amazing! I followed the sea to sky highway towards Whistler and the views the whole way were out of this world. Pure natural beauty lined the side of the road, mountains in the distance and lakes and trees beside the road were everywhere I looked. I arrived in Whistler and walked around to explore this gorgeous place and the scenery didn’t disappoint. I found a place called Lost Lake and took the hike trail around the perimeter of the lake. I completed the trail in around 45 minutes and took some pictures of the views. Absolutely breathtaking scenes surrounded me.

Sea to Sky Highway

The Sea to Sky Highway had me lost in amazement. Every 5-10 miles there were small view point parking lots to pull over into and admire the beauty of the scenes before you. I stopped at about four of these viewpoints and took some time to get some pictures and take in the views.

Lynn Canyon

The next day I visited Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver. I got out of bed at 6:30 AM and drove straight there once I was showered and dressed. The early morning sunrise through the trees was amazing. I walked across the suspension bridge and headed west for a little while then turned back on myself and headed east along a trail which would eventually lead me back to my car. The walk through the canyon took about 1.5 hours and again served some amazing views. I’d seen videos online of people exploring Lynn Canyon and I took the time to go and see some of the places I had spotted online. Just as I was getting back to the parking lot the sun had fully risen and the temperature had started to pick up. It was such a great way to start a beautiful day.

Stanley Park and Vancouver Waterfront

Next on my list of things to do was the Seawall in Stanley Park and to walk along the waterfront. The walk through the park was so rejuvenating, such a great way to enjoy the day! I walked and enjoyed the sun glistening on the water surface. The water is so clean and a mesmerising blue colour allows you to see right to the bottom of it. It’s a must-do if you’re in the area. You can easily spend a long time exploring Stanley Park, maybe a full day so make sure you have enough time to fully appreciate its beauty.

City of Vancouver

The city is my final focus in this article, and what a beautiful city it is. I can't compare Vancouver to any place I've ever been before and it really did impress me. Van city is easily navigated and pretty much anywhere is walkable. You can get from one end of Vancouver to the other in about 30-40 minutes walking. The places which stood out to me the most would have to be Gastown and The Waterfront. Let's start with Gastown and its famous steam clock which pulls in tourists and happens to be a port of call on many guided tours. Gastown is completely different from the rest of Vancouver, featuring old-fashioned cobble paths and roads with traditional old street lamps, it really has a character of its own and is remarkably impressive. Visit Gastown at night and the touristy shopping streets turn into elegant restaurant rows and the trees beside the roads are lit up with fairy lights making it a cosy, pleasant place to be. It almost feels a little bit magical but I can't describe it. You'd need to visit yourself to understand how brilliant this place is.

Secondly, Vancouver Waterfront! There isn't anything more satisfying to me than being stood on the waterfront with the big city directly behind me, the Pacific Ocean right in front of me, and the snowy mountain peaks ahead in the distance. The views are jaw-dropping and it is just so peaceful to take a half hour to sit down and chill out and appreciate how beautiful British Columbia really is. There is a pier that goes out into the water named Canada Place which also doubles as a cruise liner terminal. Don't miss out on the opportunity to walk along the pier and take some photos of the landscape!

I found a bench by the sea plane terminal which was on a wooden platform that was slightly out into the sea. If I looked down I could see the water beneath me through the wooden deck and it was lovely to sit there and relax.

My Overall Opinion of Vancouver, B.C.

If I was to continue I would be here forever showing you all my pictures and gloating about how wonderful Vancouver is. So I shall just stop here and conclude. I am in awe at how beautiful British Columbia is, and most definitely get a rental vehicle to go and explore this marvellous place. There are so many places outside of the city which you would miss out on so don't limit yourself. Be adventurous, be exciting, and don't be wary of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone because if you do that is exactly when you will start to miss out on everything that Vancouver has to offer. Find places on the map and just drive to them, park up, and get yourself out in the open. I'm 100 percent sure it won't be disappointing. I've had the best time ever and I'm pleased with myself that I took the step to explore someplace new. I wouldn't think twice about coming back here to continue my exploration because there are endless possibilities and I know that I will come back sometime soon to carry on the adventure.

I hope that reading this has given you an insight to how amazing B.C. really is and maybe will inspire you to visit if you haven't already. You really won't know what you're missing out on until you get there and see it all for yourself.