Vancouver
Vancouver is worth the trip.
Flights into YVR, where to stay near the Space Centre, and how to make the city part of the three days.
Photo: Destination BC / Hubert Kang
Flights, border, weather.
YVR is 2.5 hours from San Francisco, about 3 hours from Seattle by road, and 5 from Toronto. Use the facts below to lock the logistics before you book the room.
Flights to YVR
Vancouver International (YVR) has direct flights from San Francisco (2.5h), Seattle (1h), Toronto (5h), New York JFK (6h), and London Heathrow (9.5h). Air Canada, WestJet, United, Delta, British Airways, and dozens of others serve YVR directly.
US & International travelers
US citizens need a valid passport, no visa required. Most Western countries enter Canada visa-free or with a quick online eTA ($7 CAD, approved in minutes). Check IRCC.ca for your country's requirements. NEXUS card works at the land border.
October weather
Expect 8–14°C (46–57°F) during the day. Pacific Northwest fall: overcast, occasionally rainy, rarely cold enough for a heavy coat. Pack layers and a waterproof jacket or rain shell. An umbrella helps.
From Seattle
~3-hour drive via I-5 and the Peace Arch (Blaine) border crossing. Amtrak Cascades runs Vancouver–Seattle once daily (~4h). Quick Pacific Coach shuttle from Bellingham for those flying into BLI.
Currency & payments
Canadian dollars (CAD), and the exchange rate works in your favor: the $650 early-bird Festival Pass is about $475 USD at current rates. Credit cards accepted almost everywhere; ATMs are available at YVR and throughout downtown.
Time zone
Vancouver is Pacific Time (PDT, UTC-7 during the festival). Daylight saving ends Nov 1, the Sunday after the festival wraps. Your phone adjusts automatically.
Getting around once you land.
YVR Airport
Vancouver International Airport. 30 min to downtown by Skytrain (Canada Line), usually 35-45 min to H.R. MacMillan Space Centre by rideshare or transit depending on traffic.
Transit
Compass Card is the transit pass. The #2 and #32 buses stop near Vanier Park, False Creek Ferry serves Vanier Park, and the venue is bikeable or walkable from Granville Island.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft both operate in Vancouver. Evo Car Share and Modo are popular local options for longer trips or inter-venue travel.
The festival has a hotel.
Sylvia Hotel
A 1912 heritage hotel on the English Bay seawall, about 10 minutes from H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vanier Park. We're holding a block of rooms for out-of-town festival guests.
Rates are per night, plus tax.
To book: call 604.681.9321 and mention Futureproof Festival. No code needed.
Book by Sept 28 — unreserved rooms release after that, then standard rates and availability apply.
Authentic photograph, not AI-generatedMore festival hotel rates may follow — subscribe to get those updates first.
Neighbourhoods to explore.
Authentic photograph, not AI-generatedKitsilano / Granville Island
Closest to H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vanier Park. Neighbourhood feel, seawall access, and easy arrival for festival mornings.
- · Granville Island Hotel
Photo: Vancouver, BC
Authentic photograph, not AI-generatedDowntown / Coal Harbour
Central, transit-rich, and easy for out-of-towners. A short rideshare or transit hop to Vanier Park, with lots of hotel options across every price point.
- · Pan Pacific
- · Fairmont Pacific Rim
- · Rosewood Hotel Georgia
Photo: Vancouver, BC
Mount Pleasant / Main Street
More local, more affordable, great coffee and food. Good if you want a neighbourhood feel and do not mind a rideshare or transit connection to the Space Centre.
- · Douglas Autograph Collection
- · Sandman Signature Olympic Village
One of the great cities in the world, in October.
Authentic photograph, not AI-generated
Authentic photograph, not AI-generated
Authentic photograph, not AI-generatedVancouver sits where the Pacific meets the mountains, a city that manages to be both walkable and wild. Late October is shoulder season: the summer crowds are gone, the mountains start getting snow, and the city is doing its own thing. It rains. Bring a jacket. It's also exactly the right setting for three days of honest conversation about what's happening to all of us.
The festival takes over the Space Centre for three days, and the city around it is worth staying for. Great food, a serious coffee culture, one of the continent's best urban parks (Stanley Park, 400 hectares, right downtown), and a short drive to the kind of mountains that remind you the tech industry is a very small part of a much bigger story.
Beyond the festival.
The festival ends Friday Oct 30, and Saturday Oct 31 is Halloween in Vancouver. Some of this fits a spare afternoon; the rest is worth staying the weekend for.
Stanley Park & the Seawall
One of the great urban parks in the world: totem poles, beaches, forest, 30 minutes on foot from downtown. The 22km seawall runs the whole sea edge of the city. Walk it, or rent a bike and loop Stanley Park to Olympic Village in about two hours.
Granville Island
Public market, breweries, artist studios. 20 min walk from downtown, or hop the Aquabus across False Creek.
Authentic photograph, not AI-generatedNorth Shore mountains
Grouse Mountain gondola or the Capilano Suspension Bridge if you have a weekend morning. 30 min from downtown.
Photo: Vancouver, BC
UBC Museum of Anthropology
Essential context for the land acknowledgement work that runs through the festival. One of the best First Nations collections on the continent. 30 min from downtown by transit.
Whistler / Squamish
90-minute drive north on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, one of the most scenic drives in North America. Squamish has proper granite, trail legs, and mountain air. Whistler village is worth a stroll even before ski season opens.
Victoria
BC Ferries from Tsawwassen to Victoria: a 1.5h crossing, beautiful on a clear day. A very different pace from Vancouver. Good for a full day or overnight.
Questions about getting here?
This page will keep improving as hotel partner terms, attendee perks, and day-by-day logistics are confirmed.