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YVR: Vancouver's International Airport

By Tom Vandermore


Canada's second busiest airport, Vancouver International Airport, also known as YVR, is located 30 minutes outside the city. It connects to 119 cities around the world. The 2010 and 2011 Skytrax surveys ranked it the top airport in North America. Over a million travellers pass through the Vancouver International Airport every month, making it the second-busiest airport in Canada. Many are visitors flying in to work, play or explore our beautiful city, while some are locals heading out of town. Others never see the city, if they just have layovers at YVR.

Options for getting from YVR to downtown Vancouver include transit, scheduled coach transfers, limousine, taxi, and car rentals.

Between flights, if you have a few hours to kill or a long delay, it's the worst if you are uncomfortable and bored. But when it comes to keeping yourself entertained, YVR is really not a bad place to be stuck. One of the most extensive collections of Pacific Northwest Coast Native art in the world is housed in Vancouver International Airport, the land, sea and sky are mirrored in its blues and greens. Vast expanses of glass let in large amounts of natural light and the airport uses a great deal of carpeting. The International arrivals hall is one of the most noticeable places for an arriving passenger; it is a large area where immigration and customs procedures are completed. Arriving passengers come down escalators leading to a platform across a large waterfall.

The 114,000-litre aquarium in the main atrium of the international terminal must be one of the airport's most impressive features. As part of YVR's partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium, this marine exhibit is the main attraction for most new visitors.

If you are traveling to or returning to the United States, you go through US Customs at Vancouver Airport rather than when you arrive in the United States. So, you arrive at your US destination like any other domestic US flight. You need to take this into account when planning your arrival time at the airport, since this can add a bit of time. This also means that, before you pass through US immigration, you must purchase any duty free that you want to bring. You will likely not be able to buy duty free upon your arrival in the US. To get to US immigration, you actually have to walk through the duty free store.

Check out the airfield at the Public Observation Area, if you're travelling with kids. The Public Observation Area is a great place to sit back with a coffee and watch a busy airfield in action; it is located in the Domestic Terminal. An interactive map of the terminal, runways and surrounding areas is found in this space that features floor-to-ceiling windows, free telescopes, information panels, and interactive kiosks.




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