Sunday, June 9, 2013

Vancouver Airport

By Tom Vandermore


Vancouver International Airport, also known as YVR, is located 30 minutes outside the city, and is Canada's second busiest airport. It connects to 119 cities around the world. In the 2010 and 2011 Skytrax survey, it was ranked the top airport in North America. Every month, more than one million travellers pass through the second-busiest airport in Canada: Vancouver International Airport. 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.

Scheduled coach transfers, limousine, taxi, car rentals and transit are some of the options to go between YVR and downtown Vancouver.

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

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

You go through US Customs at Vancouver Airport rather than when you arrive in the United States if you are traveling to or returning to the United States. This makes it like being on any other domestic US flight when you arrive at your US destination. 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. It is unlikely you will be able to buy duty free when you arrive in the United States. You actually have to walk through the duty free store in order to get to US immigration.

Check out the airfield at the Public Observation Area, if you're travelling with kids. Located in the Domestic Terminal, the Public Observation Area is a great place to sit back with a coffee and watch a busy airfield in action. In this space you will find an interactive map of the terminal, runways and surrounding areas, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows, free telescopes, information panels, and interactive kiosks.




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