Vancouver in January?

June 11, 2012 9:43 AM

Should I visit Vancouver in January?

I'm not interested in winter sports and I won't have a car with me. I'll be visiting Seattle for a few days and was considering taking either the bolt bus or amtrak up to Vancouver because I've never been there before.

I'll be traveling fairly low-budget. I'm interested in seeing great public spaces/park or public art. Not really interested in sports or night life. I know that Vancouver has a very international crowd, which is one of the draws for me, as I like to walk through diverse cultural enclaves.

But is it worth it during the winter? I don't really like the cold (how do Vancouver's winters compare with Seattle's? Probably colder and maybe less rainy?) but I've heard good things about the city. I just need help with figuring out if Vancouver is worth visiting (and easy to get around with public transit).

Thanks

posted by bluelight to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (11 answers total)

I've only ever been to Vancouver in the winter (Dec/Jan, usually over the New Year's holiday), and I love it. It can be rainy and sleety, or clear and cold. I've walked around Stanley Park and most of the West End - there are lots of little coffee shops and such to go and warm up in (well, not so much in the park itself). My experience with public transit is limited, but I found it easy to get around on.
posted by rtha at 9:47 AM on June 11, 2012

since you'll only be in seattle for a few days, how long do you plan on being in vancouver? it's at least a 3hr drive from seattle, so it's not really a day-trip. also, consider that the days are very short. vancouver is great tho—it's incredibly beautiful and definitely one of my favorite cities.
posted by violetk at 9:56 AM on June 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

I live in Victoria, have lived in Vancouver in the winter, and watch Seattle weather forecasts.

I would say that Vancouver is a little warmer than Seattle in the winter (Seattle is somewhat cut off from the warming influence of the ocean, and Seattle also gets hit more from wintery easterlies).

But it's not much warmer, and it often snows just a little in January.

The colder the weather (around freezing, but never much below freezing) the drier it is. The warmer the weather, the more rain.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:58 AM on June 11, 2012

Response by poster: If I went, I'd probably stay in Vancouver for 3 or 4 days.
posted by bluelight at 10:00 AM on June 11, 2012

nthing the responses so far: from my brief time in Vancouver in January, the damp days aren't so bad, and the clear days are just lovely.
posted by holgate at 10:03 AM on June 11, 2012

It's the same weather-wise as Seattle. It will be cold and equally rainy. I generally only recommend people come during the summer months when it's utterly beautiful. Winter would be worth it if you like snowboarding. Its got a decent Skytrain system and bus network. But the transport system sucks compared to big cities. So going to different cultural neighborhoods will be a bit of a pain as they are spread out. But it's multicultural everywhere so you can stick to downtown and surrounding areas like Chinatown. The beaches and parks are great but not in January. It's just way better in the summer. Frankly, if you know the weather sucks in Seattle and you're still going there then you should go to Vancouver too. Weather being equal, Vancouver has more than Seattle in terms of natural beauty and multiculturalism.
posted by grak88 at 10:04 AM on June 11, 2012

Vancouver in the rain is the real Vancouver, in my mind. If you are lucky enough to get a clear day it will be paradise, with beautiful snow-covered mountains, but mostly it will be dark and gloomy and grey and damp, and the mountains will be invisible behind the low clouds. Still, there is a real beauty to the winter bleakness. I love the winter palette -- blue-black water, green-black forests, grey sky. Walking through the beaches and parks in the rain is lovely, as long as you have rubber boots and a good raincoat.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:39 AM on June 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

I live in Seattle and find that Vancouver somehow has BETTER weather than here. January in Seattle really isn't that bad to begin with (at least in comparison to my time living on the east coast where January is full of ice and biting wind) so I think it'll be fine in Vancouver too. Bring layers and shoes with good tread.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:59 AM on June 11, 2012

I'd go, without hesitation, spending more time in Vancouver than Seattle.
posted by Rash at 11:30 AM on June 11, 2012

I'm a Seattlite, and I love visiting Vancouver. I like my hometown more, but Vancouver is a fun place to visit. I like visiting the area around .. I think it's called False Creek? like the market and the brewery at Granville island. I like visiting that forest where they filmed 2/3rds of the X-Files. I'm with PercussivePaul, except for all that banging in his name, in that Rainy Vancouver is the authentic Vancouver. Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous on a sunny day, and you can see all the way to Hong Kong. (This is a joke that will make sense when you see Vancouver.) Like Seattlites, Vancouverites don't all hide in their homes from the rain-- they just gather together indoors. Find some events to attend during the rain, rather than trying your luck at walking around downtown or various neighborhoods. Or just find a cozy bar or cafe and chat some people up.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:11 PM on June 11, 2012

nthing that weather is basically the same between Seattle and Vancouver, very minimal snow. Definitely dress in layers.

Just FYI, it's a 3 hour-drive between Vancouver and Seattle... but in my experience most of the bus services take 5-6 hours to do the trip, partly because of processing everyone through the border. (My experience is all secondhand though, hearing from friends that use the various bus companies.)
posted by cheemee at 1:35 PM on June 11, 2012