West Coast Sightseeing

Vancouver Breaks August Rainy Day Record!

blaise — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:51:16 +0000

According to the Vancouver Sun, “Vancouver recorded its rainiest day in more than five-and-a-half years — and the rainiest August day ever — on Tuesday.”

Courtesy of the Vancouver Sun

According to Amie, our walking tour guide, “today Vancouver did what it did best; rained… And rained…And rained some more…” Our Gastown & Chinatown Walking Tour navigates guests down Water Street. I could make a punny joke about this (Water Street… Water on the Street…) but I will try to restrain myself. A lot of local bloggers are starting to post their “Things to do on a rainy day” lists. Well here is the West Coast version otherwise known as the “Things to do on a rainy day that other blogs will say not to do but you should anyway” list:

1. Go for a run – Vancouver Tourist are often baffled by how many people are running around the street staying fit. Don’t let the rain stop you! Get out and get healthy!

2. Go for a ride – Get some rain proof gear and take your bike to work. Believe it or not the brand new bike lanes downtown work in the rain too!

3. Rainy Sports – some sports are some much more fun in the rain. Whether your passion lies with soccer, football, rugby, or other. The slippery, muddle fields can be more fun than in the sun with a good group of friends ready to get dirty.

4. Patio Parties – Any restaurant patio with a cover can be spectacular on a rainy day. You stay dry and you can admire all those in a panic getting wet!

5. Swimming – This I would only suggest for the true extremists. I saw one brave soul plunge in the ice sea near English Bay today. That man deserves a courage award.

The Klahowya Aboriginal Village!

blaise — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:49:47 +0000

For those looking for an authentic aboriginal experience be sure to check out the Klahowya Village in Stanley Park. The Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia (AtBC) has partnered with West Coast Sightseeing to add this unique experience as a featured stop on the Vancouver City Tour. The Klahowya Village runs from July 1 2010 through September 12, 2010 and will be a regular Vancouver attraction for years to come. The Village is a cultural experience that merges traditional artisan village elements with contemporary Aboriginal experiences and authentic art, culture and traditions. The experience includes a themed mini train, cultural dance performances, Aboriginal cuisine, pluse many activites for the family! To learn more about this unique village be sure to book your Vancouver City Tour with West Coast Sightseeing, AtBC’s preferred partner.

Below is a teaser of the Klahowya Aboriginal Village:

Granville Street Action

blaise — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:37:56 +0000

Granville Street is also known as Theatre Row, The Night Life Hub, or Action Central. Here is a great video posted by Vancity Buzz that shows you what the Granville Strip is all about…

GASTOWN MOTORCYCLE SHOW N’ SHINE ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010

blaise — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:49:28 +0000

Some of our West Coast Sightseeing Tour Buses were re-routed Sunday for the Gastown Motorcycle Show N’ Sine. From drag racing bikes to Harley’s to road bikes to tricked out choppers, Gastown was packed with amazing two wheel machines. Whether you’re a bike enthusiast or not the atmosphere was vibrant with live bands and acts even getting some of the “Bad Ass” biker’s shaking their hips.

The three best bikes will be shown on the Drag Specialties/Parts Canada website at www.partscanada.com between September 1-30, 2010 where YOU will be able to log in and vote for YOUR favorite bike. The bike with the most votes will be named their “2010 National Best in Show” Champion and will win a set of tires, valued up to $500.

All proceeds from the ballots purchased at this event were donated to the Association for Injured Motorcyclists (AIM)- Vancouver.

West Coast Sightseeing will be looking into putting one of our buses on 2 wheels for next years event… Think it’s possible?

Friday the 13th

blaise — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:06:30 +0000

Another great day in Vancouver. But for some, fears of the actual date are looming… We did some random sampling on our popular Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge Tour to see if people from all over the world knew how “Friday the 13th” became perceived as a day of bad luck. Some interesting responses from across the globe:

Germany: “In ancient history, on Friday the 13th people would sacrifice 1 person to the gods.”

Italy: “Friday the 13th is good luck! I’m going to go buy a lottery ticket.”

USA: “Friday the 13th was a way for people to excuse their their mistakes and poor decisions, attributing them to the date instead of their own foolishness.

Have a great Friday and hope Italy is right!

Vancouver Private Tours – Ask The Wing Dings!

blaise — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:51:37 +0000

Today West Coast Sightseeing and Vancouver Urban Adventures collaborated to entertain the family who refer to themselves as the “WING DINGS.” It is a tradition for the Wing Dings to gather their family from across the United States for their annual family reunion. This year Vancouver was on the list and a full day of family fun facilitated by yours truly included – transfers around the city, a walk across the Vancouver Suspension Bridge, a delicious dim sum lunch at Floata Seafood, and a customized Vancouver Walking Tour through Urban Adventures.

Many thanks to the Wing Ding family for a great day and sharing their family experience!

Victoria Inner Harbour

blaise — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:28:24 +0000

Yesterday we sent 3 buses full of eager tourists to Victoria on our Victoria & Butchart Gardens Bus Tour. Kate Diteljan, a Custom House Currency employee and photographer (in her past time), captured a great shot of the Inner Harbour with a West Coast bus plugged in the mix. If you can sift

West Coast Bus Caught in Victoria's Beauty - photograph by Kate Diteljan

through the oil painting effect you can see the Victoria Inner Harbour in it’s full glory. Here is a list of highlights guests can explore when visiting Victoria on a West Coast Tour:

- Beautiful Scenery (as “scene” in the picture)

- A flight back to Vancouver on a West Coast Air Sea Plane

- Victoria bike tour with Great Pacific Adventures

- Whale Watching with Great Pacific Adventures

- Tea at the Empress

- Shopping

- Strolling to the BC Parliment buildings

And More!

They moved the Capilano Bridge in a day! Great timelapse.

andreas — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:25:55 +0000

Look at this video of the bridge between North and West Vancouver being moved in one day. That’ll keep our buses rolling happy.

Vancouver Bus Tours

blaise — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:43:47 +0000

Bus tours in Vancouver come a dime a dozen. Good bus tours in Vancouver are a little more rare. GREAT bus tours in Vancouver are definitely hard to find! Recently we’ve done some surveying of our customers after they have been on one of our tour buses and below are a few positive comments we’ve received.

Vancouver City Highlights Tour

“We wanted to ‘see it all’ and did we ever! Our guide was enthusiastic and a fantastic story teller. We learned about so many unique aspects of Vancouver and covered every element that we wanted to through our research prior to visiting this amazing city. Highly recommend this tour as the best way to see Vancouver.”

- Becky Evens (Austin, Texas)

Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge

“We heard Vancouver has breath taking nature, but didn’t really understand what that meant until we experienced it for ourselves. Our Vancouver tour bus guide was informative and very entertaining adding some wit to an overall fantastic tour. We walked the Capilano Suspension Bridge (Wow) and took the Grouse Skyride (Wow x 2). Best Vancouver bus tour you can do hands down!

- Sharon Milton (Sidney, Australia)

Victoria and Butchart Gardens

“When researching our trip to Vancouver it seemed that Butchart Gardens were every where. I thought the tour wouldn’t meet the hype. I’m happy to say I was wrong! What made the tour so special was our West Coast Sightseeing Tour Guide. He was so knowledgeable about Vancouver and Victoria that I wondered if there was anything he didn’t know (I asked him… he said “the migrating paths of birds in the area, but I’m looking into it”). Great day, Great Gardens, and Great Company! Thanks West Coast!

- Samantha Ray (Chicago, IL)

Coming Soon to a river near you…

blaise — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:23:24 +0000

West Coast Sightseeing is adding a whole new refreshing element to our tour line up! “What could that be” you ask? Well, let’s just say it involves a river, rapids, and scenic drive up to Squamish. In case I wasn’t obvious enough, West Coast is proud to present our Canadian Outback Rafting Adventure.

We will pick you up, take you on a scenic drive to Squamish, and pass you on to our Canadian Outback Rafting Partners who will guide you to the Elaho River Valley – perhaps the greatest River Valley on the planet! Rafting is pretty self explanatory but some emotions you may experience on this journey include, but are not limited to, Exhilarating, Excited, Adventurous, Nervous, and Soaked!

Give us a call or check out our online itinerary for more information!