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Use Social Media. If you have the opportunity to use a smart phone, use one. Social Media tools like Twitter and Facebook are invaluable for finding out about cool things going on in Vancouver during the Olympics. This is how I found out about the flashmob on Robson St. If you aren’t on Twitter already, this is the time. Make sure you save hashtags like #van2010 and #olympics
You can also download a pretty sweet Vancouver Olympic Iphone app. It’s easy to use, very informative and best of all FREE. Click here to download!
Get ready for lines. I’m telling you now that lines for everything are incredibly long. Get used to it. Especially as more and more people descend upon the city. The trick is to line-up early and line up for things that you will actually be interested in, not the things people think you to be interested in. For me, things like the Mint and the LiveCity venues were worth the wait. Russia House and actually most of the ‘houses’ were kinda boring for me. Really they were just giant tourist desks!
Don’t ask the volunteers. Nothing against the volunteers, they were all very polite and friendly, unfortunately that didn’t transfer into helpfulness. Anytime we asked, we were basically just taught how to read maps. Most times they would just point and smile. We also found many of them weren’t even from Vancouver. How helpful is that when you are looking for directions? You’d be better off asking someone who lives there. Ask your waiter or someone in a store. They’ll definitely be able to help you!
Pack small. VANOC says don’t bring any bag bigger than a bread box and they mean it. That means you girls with super big purses! Don’t bring them. If you do, they’ll make you stand in super long security lines. If you pack small, you go through a much shorter one. If you need to bring clothes, layer. It will be worth the slight un-comfort.
Olympic Clothing. If you think you are going to get your official Olympic Clothing at the Bay Superstore, you couldn’t be more wrong. The line to get in is often two hours long, before the store even opens. If you can, buy your clothes before you get to Vancouver. If not, find another Bay or Zellers, it will be worth getting out of the downtown core. They also have the clothes in the airport. Basically, avoid the city center at all costs!
Explore. The Olympics are a lot of fun. The city of Vancouver was ready for them and you’ll be surprised by how much cool stuff you’ll see just by walking around the city. Take time to explore the different neighborhood and remember to have lots of fun. You didn’t pay all that money to get there and complain!
Happy Olympics!
