Can't stay away from Women's World Cup - US Citizen - pointers?
June 14, 2015 3:08 PM Subscribe
We are seeking advice on our one day trip to the Women's World Cup game on Tuesday.
Coming from south of Seattle to downtown Vancouver on Tuesday. Our plan is to drive up Tuesday morning and return the next day. Hotel prices are astronomical but we're biting the bullet to see the USA National Team! Can we presume it's safe to walk to and from the BC Place Stadium in the early afternoon and back about 8 or 9 pm? We believe the dollars are near parity - do we need to do any conversion? Do we need to worry about a bottleneck at the border en route? Any tips, pointers, or best practices would be appreciated.
Coming from south of Seattle to downtown Vancouver on Tuesday. Our plan is to drive up Tuesday morning and return the next day. Hotel prices are astronomical but we're biting the bullet to see the USA National Team! Can we presume it's safe to walk to and from the BC Place Stadium in the early afternoon and back about 8 or 9 pm? We believe the dollars are near parity - do we need to do any conversion? Do we need to worry about a bottleneck at the border en route? Any tips, pointers, or best practices would be appreciated.
Response by poster: Thank You. We had not even thought about the cell phone issues!
posted by KneeDeep at 4:10 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by KneeDeep at 4:10 PM on June 14, 2015
Vancouver is really safe, and you should have no trouble walking. Best to avoid the downtown east-side, roughly centred at Hastings & Main, after dark (although in all likelyhood it'd be fine), but it's unlikely you'd get a hotel that would take you through there on the way to the stadium anyway. The stadium has a SkyTrain (the safe and efficient metro system) station, so if you get a hotel near a SkyTrain station that's even easier.
You should just be able to use your US credit cards everywhere (tell your bank before you leave), so probably no need to bother about converting money. Might be worth converting a small amount of cash, or getting a credit card cash advance after you cross the border, just so you have some cash on hand, but in a pinch lots of places will take US cash anyway. The Canadian dollar is worth a bit less, so you'll get a few extra dollars, but everything costs more so expect it to be more expensive than the US.
The border can take a while, it's not uncommon to wait an hour there, but sometimes it only takes ten minutes. You can see current wait times here: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf/menu-eng.html. Both the Douglas (Peace Arch) and Pacific Highway crossings are convenient from I-5, and there are signs ahead of time telling you which has the shorter wait time. The part of the drive I always dread is the bottleneck getting through Seattle itself, which has horrible traffic and feels like it takes forever. Traffic getting into downtown Vancouver can also be pretty bad, but nothing like Seattle.
posted by Emanuel at 4:12 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
You should just be able to use your US credit cards everywhere (tell your bank before you leave), so probably no need to bother about converting money. Might be worth converting a small amount of cash, or getting a credit card cash advance after you cross the border, just so you have some cash on hand, but in a pinch lots of places will take US cash anyway. The Canadian dollar is worth a bit less, so you'll get a few extra dollars, but everything costs more so expect it to be more expensive than the US.
The border can take a while, it's not uncommon to wait an hour there, but sometimes it only takes ten minutes. You can see current wait times here: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf/menu-eng.html. Both the Douglas (Peace Arch) and Pacific Highway crossings are convenient from I-5, and there are signs ahead of time telling you which has the shorter wait time. The part of the drive I always dread is the bottleneck getting through Seattle itself, which has horrible traffic and feels like it takes forever. Traffic getting into downtown Vancouver can also be pretty bad, but nothing like Seattle.
posted by Emanuel at 4:12 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would anticipate a border bottleneck, so I would go as early in the day Tuesday as you can swing it. Watch the electronic signs that show you the wait times (or if you have a smartphone, check a website, such as this one from WSDOT) to help you decide as you get closer if you want to wait on I-5 or take an alternate route (taking route 543 can sometimes save time).
One thing to consider is cell phone service while you're there. Almost immediately upon crossing into Canada, my iPhone changes service from AT&T to a Canadian company. I can still get calls & texts but pay a bit extra for them since it's international. It's probably a good idea to decide in advance how you want to handle phone issues (are you okay with paying roaming fees for calls/texts? Do you know what the roaming fees are? Do you want to turn off data roaming service? etc.) so that you don't end up with a very expensive surprise with your next phone bill. This may be especially important if you're used to relying on your smartphone for a map--I try to download one in advance or bring a paper map with me. And that said: I've found tons of free wifi in Vancouver, including inside BC Place.
Have a great time!
posted by pril at 3:58 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]