Phone Cards
Public Transportation DayPasses
Mountain Bike Trail Maps
Local Travel Guides
Local Maps Here at the BC Passport Books and Maps page, you can get information about good Vancouver books and maps and where to find them. If you're coming to Vancouver, you may want to read a couple of these before you arrive.
Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination
Vancouver, located at the edge of a continent, has become the model for post-industrial urbanism.
This new book explores the links between the city's natural setting, political history, planning and design culture and the forces that are reshaping Vancouver's urban environment. Dream City offers insight into how buildings, public spaces, extraordinary landscapes and civic values have merged to form a uniquely 21st-century city.
You can find the book at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
Douglas Coupland's A Souvenir of Canada is a useful book and a quick read if you want to get a feel for the country. Canada is much different from the US than many people recognize, primarily because many of the differences are hard to pick up if you're not paying close attention. Coupland's observations and photographs will give at least the beginnings of insight into what makes Canada different from the rest of the world and Canadians the unique way they are. If you can't find this book at amazon.com, try amazon.ca
Another way into the specifically Vancouver consciousness is to read Coupland's City of Glass. This intimate portrait of Vancouver is done in images, memories, descriptions and reflections. Reading the book will give you a special feel for the place.
Coupland, famous for coining the term "Generation X" in his 1991 novel of the same name, writes about young North Americans trying to cope with the world of technology, change and corporate greediness. Perhaps his most famous book, Microserfs, written in 1995, about Microsoft employees and their desperate search for life inside an all-consuming corporation, provides a now strangely dated glimpse of the technology world on its way up.
Another essential Vancouver book if you love to walk or hike and want to take advantage of the fantastic walking and hiking around Vancouver is Dawn Hanna's 'Best Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia.' The book covers Vancouver, North and West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Howe Sound. Best Hikes and Walks is the perfect hiking companion, not counting energetic, enthusiastic two and four legged companions.
You'll find A Souvenir of Canada, City of Glass and Best Hikes and Walks at the following local books stores:
The Book Warehouse:
632 West Broadway
604-872-5711 | 550 Granville
604-683-5711 | 1181 Davie
604-685-5711 |
4444 West 10th Ave
604-221-5744 | 2388 West 4th Avenue
604-734-5711/604-733-5721 |
or Duthie Books, 2239 West 4th Ave 604-732-5344. Phone Cards: If you want Phone Cards, you can purchase them at local convenience stores. Most stores carry several, but the best for calls to the US and Canada are 'Gold' or 'Any Time'. Neither has a connection fee or any hidden charges, and both have very reasonable rates, about 6 cents a minute. For other destinations, ask the merchant which card is best for your desired destination. Get the one with no connection fee unless you're planning to make calls lasting more than 30 minutes.
Public Transportation Day Passes: You can purchase C$8.00 DayPasses for unlimited one day travel on local buses, SeaBus and Skytrain at the SeaBus and SkyTrain terminals or at Fare Dealer outlets located in all Safeway Stores, 7/11 Convenience stores, Save On Food Stores, and many London Drug stores and Shoppers DrugMarts. You'll can get transit maps at the Fare Dealer outlets as well.
North Shore Mountain Bike Trail Maps: You can purchase the new North Shore Mountain Bike Trail Maps at local bike stores.
Vancouver Travel Guides
You can purchase travel guides at local bookstores, at Amazon or at another online bookseller. If you're planning to purchase a guidebook, you may want to read Salon.com's 1998 article, The Truth About Guidebooks before you do.
You can purchase the following local travel guides from Gordon Soules, a local publishing Company.
| The British Columbia Bed & Breakfast Guide
(Includes the Banff/Jasper Area)
Sarah Bell
The fifth edition of a guide to over 250 B&Bs in British Columbia and the Banff/Jasper area. Provides a wide range of accommodation choices and includes photographs of each B&B and four maps.
1-894667-00-1. $16.95
The British Columbia & Alberta Adventure Travel Guide
(Guided Outdoor Trips and More)
Sarah Bell
Guided outdoor trips and other adventure travel opportunities in the diverse terrain of western Canada including ski touring, snowshoeing, dog sledding, canoeing, sea kayaking, nature expeditions, gold panning, and more.
0-919574-97-1. $14.95
The British Columbia Lodge & Resort Guide
(Includes the Banff/Jasper Area and the Yukon)
Sarah Bell
Includes waterfront lodges, resorts, inns, cabins, and cottages;
bring-your-own-bedding cabins; hot springs resorts; romantic country inns; fishing lodges; and lodges with doorstep access to walking, hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and dogsledding.
0-919574-80-7. $11.95
Hot Springs of Western Canada
Glenn Woodsworth
A new guide to Western Canada's hot springs. This book includes hot springs resorts and natural and hand-made hot springs pools. Some can be reached by car; others require a walk, hike, or boat trip.
0-919574-90-4. $24.95
| Mountain Biking British Columbia
Darrin Polischuk
A guide to the best mountain biking trails in British Columbia.
0-9680342-1-7. $24.95
Where to Walk Your Dog in Greater Vancouver
Ross W. Powell and Hero
150 places to walk dogs including Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, and outlying areas.
0-9683117-0-9. $18.95
Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis
John Baldwin
A comprehensive guide to 200 mountain ski touring trips in southwestern British Columbia. Most are day or weekend ski trips to alpine areas near Vancouver. Includes all areas worth a visit on skis.
0-9691550-1-8. $19.95
The Vancouver Area Diving Guide
Carl Trepanier
A guide to 80 of the best dive sites in the Vancouver area, with lists of local dive shops, dive clubs, and other facilities and services for divers.
0-919574-81-5. $19.95
Bicycling Near Vancouver
Margaret Slack
The best cycling day-trips in the Greater Vancouver area.
0-919574-33-5. $9.95
Sea Kayaking Canada's West Coast
John Ince and Hedi Kottner
Explains how to get the most from your west coast paddling experience and includes shoreline hot springs, totem poles, sandy beaches, fishing villages, and wildlife viewing.
0-9691064-0-8. $19.95
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Local Maps
You can order local Maps from Gordon Soules
The West Coast Trail
1-895907-11-X. $5.95
The Lower Mainland
1-895907-66-7. $4.95
Vancouver's North Shore Hiking Trails
1-895907-17-9. $4.95
Vancouver's Downtown and Stanley Park
1-895907-08-X. $0.99 NOTE: You can get a free map of North Vancouver Parks from the North Vancouver District Office. Call them at 604-987-7131 for more information. You can get a map of Stanley Park at the park kiosks, and you can find an excellent illustrated map of Vancouver called the Illustrated Vancouver at most major hotels and the tourist information centre.