First it is unlikely to be as cold as anywhere in New York. The January average temp (day&night) is 40F. Often raining. If blue sky it will be colder but seldom below freezing and seldom with snow at the city. The snow is on the hills. Public transport is very accessible but less so further from the city. For example Vancouver Island by public transport and ferry is a full day in transit. Others will pipe in with a to do list including Granvlle Island and Grouse Mountain. Safety? No place is particularly unsafe unless you are unlucky but we have some scuzzy neighborhoods. You'll find spots that the local frequent along Denman st, along Davie st and in Yaletown. Davie is a pretty liberated area with a good mix of lifestyles. The oyster counter at Rodney's in Yaletown is a good place to strike up a conversation. If you choose a downtown bed pretty much everything is in walking distance.

If you do get to see it snow here, one of my favorite things to do here is head to the sears tower on a clear day after it has snowed. The city and surrounding area look absolutely magical from the top of the tower!

If you come in early Feb. you can head down to Chinatown and help celebrate the chinese new year. Its always a lot of fun!

I also like to walk through stanley park, or along the seawall in winter. Its cold, and sometimes really wet.. But I just love walking through the park on really cold days all bundled up. And then head to CUPCAKES!!! Best cupcakes in the world, its at 1168 Denamn street. Just off of Beach. You cant eat there, but you can get a cupcake or two to take back to your hotel. They are fantastic!

I'd look for less expensive accomodation on the north shore - north or west Vancouver. You are close to some of our most scenic and beautiful areas and still very close to downtown.

A nice day out (if you are lucky with the weather) would be a day trip to Bowen Island and wander the trails of Crippen Regional Park

if your in the US then you can call 1-800-hello bc for some great rooms in downtown Vancouver. After october or so the rates plummet. Priceline in the offseason has amazing bargains. I've gotten Hyatt Regency for $60. Wait a while to bid but you don't have to go for cheap when offseason rates will get you a very nice hotel. I'd also highly suggest you go to Victoria right before Seattle as that way you could take the clipper from Victoria right to downtown Seattle making that trip a lot shorter and more logistically easy as you want to come to Seattle after Vancouver.

Hidden gem -

Go into the Marine Building, 355 Burrard, on a week day between 9 and 5. Have a look at the lobby from top to bottom and the elevators. "Marine" is the operative word here as you would see right away. Free. You can find the story of this building on the net.

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coastal Art. 639 Hornby. Small and a little hard to find but special.

Happy travelling.

Great tips all, thank you!!!! I can tell I'm going to love Vancouver! The Marine building is eye catching!

I've been goggling all your suggestions, and now I'm wondering if I should stay a full week? Was going to do 5 days, but maybe I'll just stay the extra 2, I didn't realize how much Vancouver has to offer!

The only thing I'm having a tough time about is accommodations. I checked out biddingtotravel.com and I'm not sure I'd be really comfortable bidding on Priceline. I don't know, maybe I just like to know what I'm getting upfront, don't like the element of surprise or something. Plus I do like supporting local businesses having one myself. I checked out some B&B's and found some for about $60-70 a night in the winter. I don't think I could get a decent hotel on Priceline for less than that could I? I'm just afraid of getting stuck with something horrible.

Hi Solo,

As an often solo female traveler myself, some more info on your questions:

1. What would you recommend doing/seeing on a typical winter day?: I hate to say it, but it depends. We can have gorgeous spring-like days in February with the daffodils coming up when you could walk around Stanley Park, the Japanese Gardens at the University, or sit at the beach and lean on a log. We can also have pouring rain days for days. Still, it is almost never below freezing so with a good umbrella you can go anywhere. The art gallery is great, as is the Museum of Archaeology at the University.

2. Are there any day trips outside of Vancouver or maybe even an island accessible by public transit/ ferry: You can easily get to Bowen island by bus and passenger ferry (20 mnute ferry ride), but there's not much there unless you want to do a little hike. All the other islands are accessible by transit/ferry, but take alittle longer (1.5 hours to Vancouver Island). A day trip up Grouse Mountain by gondola is great in almost any weather or season. If you are here for any length of time going to Tofino is well worth it - it is storm season on the outer coast and it can be spectacular, but you would need 3 days to do this well (it takes about 6 hours all together to get there by ferry and bus/rental car).

3. Are there any areas I should avoid for safety reasons being a solo female? I would avoid the east side of downtown. This is not a tourist area, although close to Gastown. You will know immediately that you are in an area you may not want to be in if you happen to wander there. I also wouldn't go on midnight strolls around Stanley Park or other big off-street places. Otherwise, it is a very safe city.

4. I'm looking to sleep cheap: How long are you coming for? Check out furnished apartments -there are many here for short term stays and you would have your own kitchen.

5. I really like to experience the local way of living when I travel. Let me know more about what kinds of things you like to do ...

Hi NorthernAlice. Thanks for the tips! As for the apartments, do you know of a website that I can check them out on? And as far as local experiences, I was just wondering what the locals do, like places to eat, grab a drink, I like to avoid touristy and chain things.

One place to look for apartment rental is www.vrbo.com..look for something in the West End, or Yaletown, or Coal Harbor.. all good areas. Good hotels that are central and probably will have off season rate close to what you want are Blue Horizon or the Sylvia..not sure if Sandman Suites will be that price. Also check the Meridian on Beach a suite hotel that gets mentioned often.

As for hidden gem places to eat.. start by looking at www.dinehere.ca this is a review list fo restaurants by people who have actually eaten there. you can sort by type of food, price, ;location etc so once you know where you are staying you can check out local eateries. Vancouver has so many fabulous restaurants that it's imp[ossible to know where to start without knowing what you like to eat. One of my personal favorites is Guu on Robson near Cardero ( sorry, can't remember the exact crioss streeet. Wonderful japanese fusion and a fun experience. Very tiny

For free things to do:

February 16-22, 2009: Heritage of Education: schools, colleges, and universities

Heritage week is celebrated at different places in different ways, but this website promotes the different activities, which are usually free:

http://www.islandnet.com/~hsbc/homepage.htm

For hidden gems - check out the municipal museums. This webpage lists all the municipal governments;

(WHOA - they've launched a new website! Ok, now it's in an interactive map on the home page)

www.metrovancouver.org/Pages/default.aspx

There are 21 or 22 municipalities that make up the metro Vancouver area. Vancouver is the biggest and gets all the attention, but cities like Richmond, Surrey, White Rock and Langley have some interesting history that's worth exploring. To find out what they offer, go to the city website (say, for Richmond) and look for a menu labeled "Visitors" or "Tourism". Happy planning!