VANCOUVER - Vancouver and Victoria - page 137

Getting There
MostvisitorsarriveinVancouverbyairorroad.Forthosedriving,downtownVancouveris
1,060kilometers(653miles)fromCalgaryalongtheTransCanadaHighway(allowatleast
12 hours), or a painful 4,530 kilometers (2,807 miles) across the country from Toronto.
Notwithstanding the sprawl of Vancouver extending right to the U.S. border, officially the
driving distance between downtown Seattle and downtown Vancouver is 225 kilometers
(140 miles), but allow plenty of time for traffic and border delays. From farther afield, it's
2,055 kilometers (1,277 miles) between Los Angeles and Vancouver and 4,785 kilometers
(2,973 miles) from New York.
Many summer visitors stop by Vancouver on their way to Alaska, either boarding a
cruise ship in downtown Vancouver or driving themselves north. By ferry, you'll need to
driveupVancouverIslandtoPortHardyandcatchaBCferrytoPrinceRupert,fromwhere
the Alaska Marine Highway begins, or drive overland to Dawson Creek (1,193 kilomet-
ers/741 miles), which marks the beginning of the Alaska Highway. Total driving distance
from Vancouver to Anchorage via this route is 3,684 kilometers (2,289 miles).
AIR
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport (YVR; www.yvr.ca ) is on Sea Island, 15 kilometers
(9.3 miles) south of Vancouver city center and linked to the mainland by bridge. It is
Canada's second-busiest airport, handling more than 17 million passengers and 300,000
tons of cargo annually. From the airport, connections can easily be made throughout the
city by light rail transit, shuttle bus, or taxi.
In the International Terminal, Level 2 is for arrivals and Level 3 for departures (the
check-in area for U.S.-bound flights is Concourse E). Each level holds an information
booth (8am-11:30pm daily), currency exchange facilities, a business center, play areas
for children, ATMs, duty-free shops, gift shops, newsstands, a post office, cafés, and res-
taurants. Car rental and shuttle services all have outlets on the arrivals level. Scattered
aroundthenewterminalaremanypiecesofstunningart:Afive-meter-high(16-foot)cedar
carving of a Salish couple extending a traditional native welcome greets arriving passen-
gers while on Level 3 you'll find a large bronze sculpture of a canoe by Haida artist Bill
Reid.