Top Tips for Navigating Your Way Through the Vancouver Olympics

During a recent trip I took to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, not only did I walk away with Olympics souvenirs and memories, but also with an arsenal of insider tips to make your time at the Winter Games more productive and enjoyable. 

Here are some of my top tips for navigating the Olympics scene in Vancouver.

1. Know thy transportation. If you can, get to Vancouver a day early and do a couple test runs on the Canada (train) Line that goes not only into Vancouver but also has stops at several Olympic venues.

I found the best “general” stop to be the Vancouver City Centre, which gets you close to Robson Square (where many free events are taking place), as well as to the SkyTrain that can get you to venues such as where the closing ceremonies will be held on February 28. The stop also has easy access to several of Vancouver’s top hotels including the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Four Seasons, and the Shangri-La, and is close to the Hyatt where you can take a bus up to Whistler. (Tip: If you are staying outside of Vancouver, take Highway 99 to the Bridgeport exit and go to the Bridgeport Canada Line station where you will find a free parking lot under the train tracks.)

2. Go for blue. On almost every street and at every public transportation station you will see Olympics volunteers clothed in bright blue jackets. The volunteers are incredibly helpful when it comes to directions and questions about Olympics events, etc.

3. Getting to Whistler. While you can take the Olympic bus network to get to Whistler for the alpine events, you will have to do so by 7:30 a.m. when the last bus leaves Vancouver. If that is too early for you, you can take the Ridebooker.com bus from the Hyatt in downtown Vancouver, which has several buses to Whistler throughout the day. If you have a ticket to an alpine event, you can still get to the event by transferring to an Olympic bus network shuttle once you get to Whistler. Even if you don’t have an event ticket, going to Whistler is still worth it for the day. There are several free concerts and events in Whistler Village. You can also ski at Whistler – several runs are open to the public. Or, you can grab a cocktail and relax at the Fairmont Whistler and watch the Games from the hotel’s large flat-screen TVs in its lobby bar. (See my story on the best Olympics-inspired cocktails.)

4. Free at the Olympics. There are many free events at the Olympics, many of which (such as zip-ling and ice skating) take place at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. (Tip: If you like to trade Olympics pins, keep your eye out for traders in Robson Square.) There are also several free exhibits in the courtyard in front of the city’s art gallery, including posters of past Olympics and a red bobsled you can take your photo in. (Tip: Sometimes you will see celebrities in the bobsled getting their pictures taken, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin who was there recently.)

5. Country pride. Along with the free events there are Country Houses, which are normally only open for each country’s respective athletes and VIP guests, but some of the houses are open to the public.

6. Ask a concierge. If you are having problems finding an Olympics event, or just need tips on Vancouver, one of your best resources is a hotel’s concierge. Even if you aren’t a guest, you can still go in and ask the concierge a question. I found the concierges at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and the Shangri-La to be incredibly helpful with advice and directions. They also have maps on hand to give out. (Tip: Stationed next to the concierge’s desk at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver are the hotel’s dogs Mavis and Beau that you can pet and also admire their collection of Olympics pins adorned on the dogs’ red vests.)

7. Stay at a bed & breakfast. Sometimes the best Olympics advice you can get is from fellow spectators. Staying at a B&B gives you a chance to mingle with other visitors and hear how they are scoring tickets to events, navigating public transportation in Vancouver, and more. One B&B that still has availability (and whose owners are not only friendly but are Olympics savvy) is the Sunset Harbor B&B (1-888-531-8353) in White Rock, British Columbia (map it), which is about 25 minutes from Vancouver and is also within walking distance to the 351 bus stop. You can take the bus to the Canada Line Bridgeport stop if you don’t want to drive and from there take the train into Vancouver’s city centre.

8. The best tip. The hottest item at the Vancouver Olympics next to a ticket to women’s figure skating or Canadian ice hockey is the Olympics signature red mittens. While you can buy them at the Olympics store at the Hudson Bay Company on Granville Street (674 Granville St.; map it) the line to get in can be as long as an hour or more. Here’s the  tip: Go to the fifth floor of Hudson Bay and you might find mittens there like I did when I came across a worker opening a huge box of them. It was like hitting the lottery.

Photo credit: SCX