4

I'm eyeing up a property in Burnaby to stay in Vancouver. Is this a suitable area? It claims it's only 15 min by Skytrain to downtown, but often that doesn't mean much - is that really accessible? By London standards it wouldn't be too bad :)

One I stayed in in Helsinki was miles out and a trek to get back to town each time, I'd prefer to avoid that. Any other cheap suggestions appreciated if it's not suitable.

Improve this question
4
  • I've been to Vancouver heaps of times and never went to Burnaby because it sounded like it was out in the sticks and there was no shortage of more central places to stay. But then again I haven't been for a few years now and the hostel scene is changing.
    – hippietrail
    Sep 26, 2011 at 5:41
  • And where did you stay?
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 26, 2011 at 11:12
  • It's all in your similarly themed question from not so long ago...
    – hippietrail
    Sep 26, 2011 at 16:34
  • (facepalm) I'd totally forgotten about that one. This is more location oriented I guess, but still, haha. Thanks :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 26, 2011 at 16:51

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
4

I've yet to visit Vancouver, but I've done some research for an upcoming trip there, so bear that caveat in mind for this answer!

Burnaby is east of downtown Vancouver, but still well within the city. It's about as far from downtown as the airport is (though east rather than south), at about 10 miles away.

In terms of the SkyTrain, the Expo and Millennium lines serve the area. You're looking at 15-20 minutes, see TransLink for details. The SkyTrain sounds pretty good though, so you ought to be fine using it to get into town. You've also got buses too (may be better depending on where you're headed), have a play with the TransLink planner and see.

WikiTravel have a Burnaby entry that's worth a look, especially on the things you can do there without needing to head into the centre!

Improve this answer
1
  • OK I've booked two nights at the place in Burnaby, see what it's like, failing that I'll head for something downtown :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 26, 2011 at 17:31
10

I went to university in Burnaby. It's not hard to get to, but it's also not central and you miss out on a lot of the benefits of staying in central Vancouver. Plus the skytrain doesn't run much later than midnight so if you want to experience the Vancouver night life you're going to be spending a lot on taxis. Even though my commute to school was over 45mins, I opted to spend more time in transit and pay more for rent so I could live in Vancouver. Once you're downtown everything is accessible by walking, so it's pretty ideal.

There are cheap and good hostels downtown. I'd recommend the Samesun, friends of mine have stayed there and liked it a lot. It's clean but has character, and people there were pretty friendly.

Improve this answer
2
  • "opted to spend " less time in transit, I assume?
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 26, 2011 at 19:18
  • Samesum looked good and I may transition there for the weekend, especially if Burnaby is feeling too dull and far :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 26, 2011 at 19:19
3

If you want to stay in the middle of everything, try American Backpacker's Hostel on Homer and Pender. I was skeptical at first, but once I saw their prices I gave them a try, and had a blast! If you want to stay in a "nice hostel", get a hotel. If you want to stay in a hostel, stay at the place with a "Sex Room" upstairs (nobody used it when I was there all week, except in a punchline).

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .