Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The city's Downtown Eastside area has a depressing history of lives blighted by
drugs, prostitution and mental illness. Crime against visitors is rare in this area but you
are advised to be vigilant and stick to the main streets, especially at night. You will likely
be discreetly offered drugs here by a small-fry pusher or two at some point - just walk
on and they won't bother you again.
Taxes & Refunds
After British Columbia (BC) backtracked in its attempt to unite its Goods and Services
Tax (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into a single levy, the two separate taxes
were reintroduced in 2013. You will now pay 5% GST on almost almost all purchases as
well as an additional 7% PST on some purchases. For example, you will be charged 5%
for restaurant meals and attraction entries but a combined 12% - GST and PST - for
accommodation (plus any additional hotel taxes).
Tax rebates for visitors have mostly been discontinued in recent years. If you booked
your trip as part of a package, however, you may be able to claw back some of the tax
paid for your accommodation. Don't hold your breath but check in with the
Canada Rev-
enue Agency
(
800-668-4748, 902-432-5608;
www.ccra.gc.ca/visitors
)
for the latest
information.
Telephone
Local calls cost 50ยข from public pay phones, but it's increasingly difficult to find such
phones in the city. Gas stations are usually a good bet if you need to make a call in a
hurry. If calling from a private phone, local calls are free - a gratis approach that often
doesn't apply to calls made from hotel rooms.
Most Vancouver-area phone numbers have the area code 604, although you can
also expect to see 778, 250 and the new 236 codes across the region. Dial all
10 digits of a given phone number, including the three-digit area code and seven-digit
number, even for local calls. In some instances (eg between Vancouver and Whistler),
numbers will have the same area code but will be long-distance; at such times you need
to dial 1 before the area code.
Always dial 1 before other domestic long-distance and toll-free ( 800, 888,
877 etc) numbers. Some toll-free numbers are good anywhere in North America, oth-
ers within Canada only. International rates apply for calls to the US, even though the di-
aling code (
1) is the same as for Canadian long-distance calls. Dial
011 followed
by the country code for all other overseas direct-dial calls.
