10 Things to Do in Vancouver, BC (If You’re Broke, But Awesome)

So I promised my good friends Emma & Ed over at Stuff & Things who I met on Roatan that I’d send a list of cool (but cheap or free) things to do in Vancouver, BC (my adopted hometown) for their trip. Mostly eating though, cause Ed loves food and I love food, so yeah. Then I figured, why not share it with you all as well?

a spring day in vancouver – walking from kitsilano to downtown

If you don’t have much cash and you want to eat good shit and see cool shit in Vancouver, here’s where you should go:

1. Sushi Zero One – my favorite sushi restaurant in all of Vancouver!

I almost hesitate to put this out there, but if you search hard enough you’ll find Sushi Zero One and their claim to be “The Favorite Sushi of the Japanese’s” (nope, not a typo). I *love* this place. It’s really unassuming from the outside, located on a strip of West Pender Street that’s full of $1.50/slice shitty pizza places (cheap though!) and it’s tiny, and doesn’t look that great with paper plates and stuff. But don’t let it fool you – this is some of the most authentic Japanese food you’re gonna find outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. Almost everything is under $8 and I’d punch a kitten for one of their umekyu rolls right now. Well, maybe not a kitten. But that’s the first thing I’m gonna eat when I get back to Vancouver in a few weeks and that’s a fact. The rice bowls and udon bowls (get a cold one if it’s hot out!) are delicious as well. Let’s face it, there’s a million cheap places to get sushi in Vancouver but 99,999,999 crap ones. This one is a gem. You’re welcome.

{Edit 2017: this is closed now…sorry 🙁  My current favorite/recommendation is the outstanding Sushi by Yuji… It’s juuuuuust about on the Vancouver-Burnaby border (Kingsway and Nanaimo, use the Nanaimo SkyTrain stop) so it still counts as being in Vancouver and is worth the trek! The menu selection is much bigger than Sushi ZeroOne and it’s also super authentic Japanese sushi! Let me know in the comments below if you try it!}

oshinko roll, umekyu roll and a black and white roll at sushi zero one

2. Wreck Beach…just do it.

Vancouver’s ‘only’ nude beach, Wreck Beach is a beautiful beach full of chaos and fairy dust. Visited by hippies young and old, UBC students eyeing everyone up with their sunglasses (and bathing suits) on, that weird guy walking around going “marijuana…maaaaaarijuana” and all kinds of random souls. It’s a people-watching (not private parts-watching!!) bonanza, with one of the only places I’ll swim in the ocean in Vancouver (the other beaches are pretty polluted). There’s people walking around with coolers full of beers, homemade tasty treats, and if it’s your thing – any kind of party favor you could imagine. It’s a really fun place to spend a day if you’re not too shy! Hula hoops and djembes abound, and this is an amazing place to relax and enjoy life. Caution: there’s about eighty billion steps to get in and out of this place. Pack lightly. You’ve been warned.

3. Hanging out in fancy neighborhoods!

Just cause you can’t afford any of it doesn’t mean you can’t walk around for a few hours and look at it! The best neighborhoods to do this in are:

• lululemon-loving Kitsilano …my old stomping grounds – I lived here for almost 5 years! If you get tired of wandering the shops of West 4th Avenue, stop in at Whole Foods on West 4th & Vine at the salad bar for a do-it-yourself lunch (I used to live right behind that Whole Foods and spent most of my paychecks there). Or take a dip in the Kitsilano Pool, a massive outdoor saltwater pool right on the beach. It’ll only set you back $5.38 CAD for the day…if that’s too much then Kits Beach is right outside the pool and it’s free. For cheap eats, there’s sushi at the ever-name-changing Nick Sushi at West 4th and Bayswater that’s decent. I used to live a couple blocks from here and ate it all the time. Also, you can’t go to Kits without going to the infamous Naam restaurant, which is what I think might be the busiest 24-hour vegetarian restaurant..uh…ever. Try and finish a Gold Dragon bowl, I dare you.

nick sushi…this feast was $24 including tax and tip!

• old-money Kerrisdale …wander down the side streets and check out the mansions! Also home to a Sanrio store where I may or may not have bought all the Hello Kitty things.
• new money South Granville – a good pit stop if you walk across the Granville St. Bridge from downtown on your way to checking out Broadway.
• or the much more affordable and much more eclectic Commercial Drive area [Em & Ed – you’ll love “the Drive”…check this one out for sure.] This was my second home after Kits and where most of my friends lived. A diverse mix of Italians (it used to be Vancouver’s Little Italy!), Northern Africans, Jamaicans, and just about everywhere else you can imagine call the Drive home, and is probably the most queer-friendly place in the city outside of the West End. There’s always something crazy going on here, and is home to my favorite restaurant in Vancouver – Harambe Ethiopian Restaurant. I LOVE THIS PLACE. All the dishes are $10-12 and can easily be shared between two – the portions are huge. No cutlery, you eat with your hands using injera, a tangy fermented crepe-like bread that you use to pick up the stew. Try the honey wine. My favorite dish is yebeg tibs (stewed lamb with rosemary and onions). Do NOT go unless you have a lot of time to spare…Ethiopians are super chill when it comes to eating. Expect service to be a lot slower than you’re used to, but the food is worth it.

• tourist-ridden Robson Street downtown is worth a look if you can handle the crowds. Start at Robson & Burrard and ogle the Louis Vuitton and Hermes stores (you’re in “Little Ginza”, look around and you’ll see why). Head west past 43506035932409 ESL students taking up the entire sidewalk for blocks and blocks. It’s a bit of a hike, but if you can make it to Denman Street, you’re nearly at my #2 restaurant in Vancouver – Motomachi Shokudo ramen shop. Guys, I almost can’t even write about this without crying, I’m not joking. Thoughts of a steaming bowl of nama shoyu ramen from here make me more homesick than anything else. You can get a HUGE bowl for $8-10… if you wanna save a couple bucks and don’t mind waiting in line, their sister shop Kintaro is just few doors down the street (look for the line and porky steam coming from the door).

my friend andi about to dig into some ramen with me!

• too cool for school  Main Street is slowly but surely being taken over by hipster zombies, expensive ‘vintage’ stores and trendy microbrew pubs… but never fear, The Reef Caribbean restaurant serves affordable ackee and saltfish with johnnycakes…get your Jamaican on! There’s also lots of little Vietnamese restaurants with cheap pho around here. Vegan and gluten free people – check out one of my faves – The Wallflower Modern Diner. This place will have you and your flesh eating friends happy. I’m already drooling thinking about the vegan poutine!
• cracktown meets coketown – Gastown is rapidly changing its image of a hobo paradise to a little enclave with $200 t-shirt stores, super high end bars with unfinished wood tables, and electro nightclubs. It all starts at the beginning of Water St. If you need something cheap to eat, MoMo Sushi is right near the entrance of Gastown and is decent. Everything else, expect small portions and big prices. On the way, make sure to hit up the original Meat & Bread and I promise the porchetta will be the most legendary sandwich you will ever eat. It’s a little pricy at $8, but so worth it.
• Yaletown. Uh, yeah. You can’t afford anything here. This is the most expensive neighborhood in downtown Vancouver. That’s about it. They have a Subway though, if you get stuck over there and you’re hungry.

4. Visit the Planetarium!

No, it’s not just for kids. Look for the terrifying giant metal crab outside (what IS that??), and you’ve found the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (yes, we spell centre like that in Canada). It’s a great way to spend a day! Actually it used to have laser light shows on Friday nights that were a huge hit with the weed smoking hipsters in Kits (uhhh…not that I know anything about that), but they’ve since shut them down. But the star shows and stuff are actually pretty cool, and a cheap way to hang out in A/C on a hot day. If you have a student ID, it’s only $11 to get in, otherwise $15. Check the schedule for what’s playing during your visit.

5. Stanley Park… yeah, yeah.

You sort of can’t go to Vancouver without going to Stanley Park. So just go and see it and walk around, or rent a bike at one of the shops on West Georgia and Denman and ride it over the causeway to the park. It’s HUGE so this can be an all-day thing if you want it to be. There’s some little concessions to buy a hot dog or ice cream, and water park to run around in if you feel your 4 year old self coming out. The gardens are nice. Skip the Aquarium unless you like spending $25 to see sea otters in a 10’x20′ pool and beluga whales that keep dying. Or you can become a dive instructor and see cool shit all day in its natural habitat! Just sayin.

6. See a show at the Electric Owl.

The Electric Owl was one of my favorite haunts before I left – a cool almost-grungy space on Main Street that’s small enough to see a concert and feel like you hung out with the band. Tickets are usually in the $10-15 range versus the bigger clubs in the $20-40 range. They sometimes have some pretty random shows, but take a risk, have a dance party, enjoy.

7. Check out Chinatown.

No visit to Vancouver is complete without walking from downtown through the infamous Downtown East Side (note: infamous for homeless people, needles on the ground, hookers and drug dealers…just FYI) on your way to the colorful insanity that is Vancouver’s Chinatown. Have all your senses assaulted at once with the bright red giant entrance gate and flags everywhere, walk past herbalist’s shops and grocery stores where you can play “what the fuck is that SMELL” with your friends, get jostled by tiny Chinese grandmas barreling down the streets pulling their little wheelie shopping carts…..ah, Chinatown. I miss this place. Roam around for a bit and stop for some dim sum or pho pretty much anywhere, you can’t go wrong here (and even if you do, I bet it will be a funny story later).

8. Spend a rainy day at the library.

No, for real. The Vancouver Public Library is a MASSIVE, beautifully constructed building that offers a great place to hide from the famous Vancouver rain. Every floor has lots of study tables and standalone comfy chairs that you can pass the day reading all about where to go next. Free wifi and public bathrooms on every floor (when you get off the escalator follow the wall that’s on your right hand side, you’ll run into them eventually) make the library a decent place to spend some time for free. Or, sit in the outdoor atrium courtyard, get a coffee from one of the little shops and steal their wifi all day.

9.  Gawk at the yachts and rollerbladers on the Seawall.

I used to get out of the office every day at lunch and walk the seawall from West Georgia Street almost all the way to Stanley Park. Then I’d park my ass on a bench and watch all the weirdos go by. Vancouver is great for weirdos. Check out this map of the seawall – where I went was near the top right, look for West Georgia Street and see the red bike route in the Coal Harbor area? That’s the best place to go. You can watch the seaplanes take off and land, check out megayachts cruising in and out of the Coal Harbor Marina and check out all the downtown skyscrapers nearby. And the new Vancouver Convention Centre is right there so you can take a walk on their ‘green’ roof! Also, not really cheap, but if you want to see the gelateria where I slaved away before moving to Roatan, check out Bella Gelateria in the bottom of the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel, across the street from the seawall. I guarantee it’ll be the best $7 you ever spent on gelato. Then walk that shit off on the seawall. It’s not as healthy as you think, you know it’s still dessert, right?

rainy day view outside the convention centre

10. Granville Island – didn’t think I’d forget about it, did you?

Oh, Granville Island. I actually think this place is the reason I moved to Vancouver from Saskatchewan after I finished university. I was there on a holiday with my boyfriend at the time, and this tiny little peninsula with it’s huge public market full of fresh fruits, veggies, and things I had never seen before as well as artisan chocolates, ethical meats, fancy cheeses, exotic flowers, everything you could imagine…it captured my heart from the moment I stepped in. He was from Vancouver and thought Granville Island was totally stupid but I loved it right from the get-go. Add to that swanky restaurants over the water, quirky stationary shops, a world renowned university of art and design, a delicious brewery, an improv centre, lots of seafood restaurants and all kinds of other places to explore (including, as I recently found out, A DIVE SHOP (!!) which I am totally visiting when I get back) and Granville Island was my new favorite place in Vancouver. I spent tons of time here when I lived in Van and it was great. Always something new and delicious at the public market and you can take some adorable water taxis from downtown ($3 one way, $5 return) and there’s a food court that has everything under the sun for relatively cheap. Don’t miss this – Granville Island is a must-do when you’re in Vancouver. And if you happen to be on the land side of it, you can skip the water taxi and do it all for free!

my last trip to granville island public market before i moved to roatan… clearly excited. ummm also short hair and white! what a year in the tropics can do to you…

Guide to getting around: Bus & SkyTrain


Cheap places to stay: 
1. Good luck!! ‘Cheap accommodation in Vancouver’ is an oxymoron.
2. Craigslist Temporary & Sublets 
3. Couchsurfing


Tourism Vancouver’s 25 Free Things to Do in Vancouver

Have you been to Vancouver? Anything you want to add to my list?