Smart Saver Vancouver

Summer has arrived, so it is time to go outside and do some fun activities. Good news is that you don’t have to spend (too much) money to join the fun. Here are some ideas for your free time.

I am sure you have already heard about the famous outdoor cinema, which takes place every Tuesday at Second Beach in Stanley Park. We just went there yesterday and watched The Lion King, it was a lot of fun! Next week, Mean Girls is on the program. Just take a blanket and some snacks with you and enjoy the movie.

Do you always have plans on Tuesday nights? No problem, you can also watch an outdoor movie on Thursdays at the Waterfront Cinema at Canada Place. Movies are shown until the end of August. Tomorrow, from 9.10pm on, the movie COCO will be on the screen. You can find the entire movie line-up here. Make sure you arrive early to reserve yourself a good spot.

Another great activity for hot summer days is of course swimming or at least splashing. You can cool down in one of the five outdoor swimming pools that are spread over the city:

• Kitsilano Pool
• Maple Groove Pool (South Vancouver)
• Hillcrest Aquatic Centre (close to Queen Elisabeth Park)
• New Brighton Pool
• Second Beach Pool (Stanley Park)

You can check out all location details and opening hours here. Admission fee for one visit is $6.10, except for Maple Grove Pool – only $3 for this one. If you are planning to go more often, you can also purchase a 10-visit pass for $48.80. You get 25% off the regular price, when you show up with a group of 10+ people. So, time to gather your friends and save some money!

Why spend the evening in the gym when you can also work out in the fresh air? Just dance the night away during free Zumba classes. Canada Place is again the place-to-be for this activity. The one-hour classes take place every Monday until August 27 and start at 5.30pm. And no worries – you don’t have to be a dance pro. Everyone is welcome to join the fun workout with a view.

Next to Zumba, you can also enjoy free Yoga classes. Mat Collective Yoga offers outdoor classes at diverse great locations in Vancouver. You can either join a class downtown in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in East Van, at Kits Beach or even on Granville Island. Different kinds of classes are offered every day until the end of August. So you could even go daily without even spending a loonie. Check out the live schedule here. Keep in mind that you need to sign a waiver before you join a class. However, you don’t need to sign up, just get in your sport clothes and take part in the class at unique locations!

I hope I could help you save some money! See you tonight at The Relish – where you get a beer for $3, by the way ;-).

– Kerstin

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Smart Saver Vancouver

The weather is getting better and better, which means it’s the perfect time to go out for lunch with friends. Of course, having lunch at a café can be quite expensive and hurt your bank account. Therefore, I will give you some tips on affordable lunch places in Vancouver to visit on a sunny day.

Nero Waffle Bar: its name is pretty self-explanatory; it is a bar that serves waffles. Sounds good already? It gets better! The bar makes all its waffles from scratch and mostly uses local and natural ingredients. It offers a wide variety of sweet and savoury waffles including waffles with ice cream. The best thing: you can get them for less than $10! The bar has two locations; Robson Street and Seymour Street. When it’s warm outside, I would suggest going to the one on Seymour Street, since it serves cold beers (I told you it would get better) and has a patio. However, eating inside is enjoyable too since there is an open kitchen that allows visitors to see the waffles being made. Opening hours are 11am to 11pm Monday until Thursday, 11am to midnight on Fridays, 9am to midnight on Saturdays and 9am to 11pm on Sundays. 

Hungry Guys Kitchen: At this lunch and dinner place, you can enjoy tasty burritos, bowls and salads for a good price. What is great about this place is that you can put them together yourself! You can choose the base, beans, protein and toppings of your burrito or bowl for $8.89 and the base, protein, veggies and dressing of your salad from $6.50 on. Good to know: the chefs strive to use local and sustainable products free of artificial colors and preservatives. Hungry Guys Kitchen is located on Granville Street and it is open everyday from 11am until 8:30pm.

Meat and Bread: This sandwich place does not have a large menu, however, there is a diversity of food. Visitors can choose between a chicken, porchetta, grilled cheese and meatball sandwich (as weird as that may sound). Besides that, there is a ‘Wednesday Special’ that includes a turkey fajita and avocado. Prices are between $7 and $10. Not hungry enough for a sandwich, but still up for something small? Why not order a $4 dessert? Let’s be real, the dessert is the most exciting part of a meal anyway. Sounds good? You can find this place on Cambie Street. Opening hours are 11am to 5pm from Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 7pm from Thursday to Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.

I hope I inspired you to visit some of these places. See you tonight at Dublin Calling for PuB NiGHT!

– Angy

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

What to do in the weekend?

Oh look, it’s already Friday again. This means that two days of not doing much are ahead of us. Wait, not doing much? No way! I’m more than just sure that Vancouver has a lot to offer this weekend, so let’s check it out.

As we all know, the Chinese New Year started just a week ago. And because of this celebration, you have the chance to experience the Chinese Lantern Festival. Today, tomorrow and on Sunday (and even next weekend), you can go from 5pm to 10pm to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden at Carrall Street and be fascinated by the colourful lanterns. Besides this, you can participate in fun activities or you can enjoy delicious food. This fun requires only an entrance fee of $15.

On Saturday morning at 11am, you can go to your local Cineplex to see the Family Favourites film. Every week, it is another movie and this week it is ‘Wonder’. And because it is the Family Favourite film, the ticket price is 2.99$ only, yay!

Oh and people, this is your last chance to ice skate on the outdoor rink at Robson Square during the weekend! The skating rink is closing on February 28. So, grab your skates or take $5 cash with you (for rental skates) and do some rounds on the ice! You can do so today and tomorrow from 9am until 11pm and on Sunday from 9am until 9pm.

If all those suggestions aren’t that appealing to you, then you’re lucky that the weather is going to be good this weekend. The sun is going to shine and this give you the opportunity to walk through Vancouver downtown or to visit one of the many parks. Time to take some beautiful photos to update your Instagram or Facebook page.

Have a great and exciting weekend!

– Nadine

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Smart Saver Vancouver

It’s November. That means a lot of rainy days are waiting for us. Of course you don’t want to sit inside the whole day. Because most of the indoor activities cost money, I wrote a blog how you can save some money and still have a lot of fun.

The Art Gallery

Go on Tuesday nights from 5 pm to 9 pm to The Art Gallery. This night is a “by donation night” which means give some change you have in your pocket. Every week there is a new artist showing his work. If you are lucky, you will see some cool arts inside.

Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory

If it’s a clear evening in the weekend, you can go to The Observatory. Watch the stars with a big telescope. Or look up when the next meteor shower is coming, so you will have front seat spots. The Observatory is open on Friday and Saturday from 8:30pm and also here you pay by donation.

Hiking

You can do a lot of beautiful hikes in and around Vancouver. Even if the sun is not shining, these hikes reward you with some nice views. Do for example the BCMC trial, Grouse grind, Capilano Canyon, Lighthouse Park, Stanley Park, Lynn Canyon (with the free suspension bridge) or the Quarry rock.

Nightclubs

Nightclubs during the weekend are packed. They ask for a cover to get in. During the week the club is emptier. To attract more people during weekdays, these evenings are cover free. That means free entrance and if you are lucky also a free shot.

Watch a movie

If you want to see a movie, but after looking in your wallet deciding it’s too expansive, go on Tuesday! At Cineplex the movies on Tuesday are $7 dollars. Is Cineplex too boring for you? Spend $3 dollars or more and go watch your movie in the Morgue. A morgue is a building where dead bodies are kept before being cremated or buried. What’s scarier than watch a horror movie here? Every second Tuesday of the month you can watch a movie. Bring your own blankets and pillows for the best cozy experience. Or spend $8 dollars for watching a movie in the RIO theatre. They play a movie nearly every night, check it here.

Granville Island

Go take the bus and get off at Granville Island. You can spend the whole day here walking around. Even when it’s raining, you can find a big indoor public market where you can taste some local products or go shopping in one of the many little shops.

Movie sets

As you maybe already know, Vancouver is the Hollywood from North America. A lot of movies are filmed here. Try to spot your favourite celeb by going to one of the sets. Decide which set you want to visit and if you are lucky, you can see your favourite celeb in action.

Whatever you decide to do, have a lot of fun! The last free thing you can do is coming to the PuB NiGHT tomorrow! Hope to see you there!

– Bart

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Review: PuB NiGHT at Warehouse

Thank you all for joining our PuB NiGHT at The Warehouse yesterday. We had a great time.

We went to The Warehouse to eat some delicious meal. Not only because they have great food, but it is also very cheap to eat there. After we finished our meals, the first people were arriving at the pub. We moved to the back where we had our reserved area. Because so many people showed up, it became cosy.

After a couple hours and a few drinks later, most of the people were ready to continue the party at the Met. A few songs later most of the people decided to go home after a great night. See you all next PuB NiGHT and hope to see you Monday as well at Music in the Park.

– Bart

P.S. Sorry, I didn’t mentioned Alan in the last blog post ‘How was your weekend?’. I am truly sorry, hope it is all good now 😉

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com