Getting Around Vancouver: SkyTrain, Buses, SeaBus & Mini-Ferries

Published 2026-07-13 · FanVancouver Travel Desk

Vancouver is one of the few North American cities where visitors genuinely don't need a car. The metro is driverless, you can pay by tapping any contactless credit card, and two of the “transit” rides — the SeaBus crossing and the False Creek mini-ferries — double as sightseeing. Here is the whole system in five minutes.

SkyTrain: the backbone

• Three lines: Canada Line (airport → downtown), Expo Line (downtown → Burnaby/Surrey), Millennium Line (Broadway/east). Trains every 2–7 minutes, ~5:30–1:00 daily.
• Just tap a contactless Visa/Mastercard or phone at the gate — in and out. It charges the same discounted fare as the local Compass card. One tap covers SkyTrain + bus + SeaBus transfers for 90 minutes.
• Fares are by zone (1–3): ~C$2.65–5.45 with card tap. Evenings after 18:30 and weekends, everything is one-zone price.
• From YVR airport: Canada Line to downtown in 25 min. A C$5 AddFare applies leaving the airport (already included when you tap a bank card). Kids 12 and under ride free on all transit.
• Buying paper tickets or a Compass card (C$6 refundable deposit) only makes sense if your bank card charges foreign transaction fees; a Day Pass (~C$12) pays off from 3+ rides.

Buses and SeaBus

• Buses take the same tap payment. Pull the yellow cord to request a stop; the front seats fold for wheelchairs/strollers; all buses carry bike racks on the nose.
• Night buses (N-routes) run after the SkyTrain stops; N10 links downtown and the airport all night.
• The SeaBus catamaran crosses the harbour to North Vancouver every 15 min (12-min ride) from Waterfront Station — downtown skyline views for the price of a bus ticket, landing next to Lonsdale Quay Market.

The mini-ferries everyone loves

• Rainbow-coloured Aquabus and False Creek Ferries hop across False Creek: downtown ↔ Granville Island ↔ Olympic Village ↔ Science World, ~C$4–9 per hop, day passes available. They are transit, toy boat and city tour in one.

Bikes

• 450+ km of protected lanes; the Stanley Park seawall loop (9 km, one-way counter-clockwise) is the single best tourist ride.
• Mobi bike share (day passes) or rental shops at Denman & Georgia (~C$10–15/h, e-bikes more). Helmets are legally required — rentals include them.

Taxis, Uber, car rental

• Uber/Lyft and taxis are plentiful; from YVR, taxis charge flat zone rates (downtown ~C$38–46).
• Rent a car only for out-of-town days (Whistler, ferries, day trips). Tip: renting downtown or in Richmond instead of at the airport avoids ~20–25 % in YVR concession fees. Turo (peer-to-peer) is often cheaper for a single day.
• Parking downtown is expensive (C$3–9/h); check the EasyPark app zones — and remember the golden rule: nothing visible in a parked car.

Route planning: Google Maps transit directions are accurate, or TransLink's own planner at translink.ca.

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