I stayed 3 nights at the HI Vancouver Central on Granville Street. It was a really nice Hostel. It had obviously been a hotel. The bathrooms were really clean and the all you can eat breakfast was welcome. The staff were OK but nowhere near as friendly as Fort Mason HI. It was a good location to explore the city from. Granville Street is the red light district of Vancouver. It is a little dodgy. However, I am glad I didn't decide to stay in one of the hostels in Gastown. Vancouver has a big problem with begging and homeless people. There appeared to be the same number as San Fran if not more. It also seemed to be spread all over the city, particualrly badly in Gastown.
On my first day I went to Granville Island which is very pretty. Little ferries run across False Creek along there. On the island there is an improv theatre for theatrsports. Unfortunately I wasn't downtown when they had shows on. The next day I walked out to English Bay Beach then around Stanley Park to the Aquarium (saw a dolphin performance) then across town via Canada place to Gastwon and Chinatown, then back to the hostel. In the evening I went on a pub crawl organised by the hostel. There were a few Australians on the crawl, it appears most travellers are either British or Australian (at least in this part of the world). The next day I got the sea bus across to North Vancouver and then got the buses around for the day. Public transport in the Vancouver area is excellent and very cheap. The day pass cost me $8 and I went out to Deep Cove and up to Lynn Valley. I crossed the suspension bridge and wandered around the valley. I then went to a comedy night again organised by the hostel. The next day I went back to Granville Island and then headed bback to my Great Uncle's.
Downtown Vancouver is a great palce to spend some time. The weather was perfect throughout my stay. It is a really easy place to get around and the setting is amazing.
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