Vancouver Airport

All terminals and washrooms clean. Food choices are great and so are the shops. The interior design is fantastic with ponds and totem poles around the terminals and a large waterfall with a wood carving in the middle. Signs are placed accordingly and are helpful and easy to read. Security can be a drag especially going to international destinations. Overall a great airport to fly in and out of.

Travel through this airport monthly on average: international within Canada US. Overall: Signage is excellent. Aesthetics are lovely: public art natural effects like waterfalls and mini-aquarium soothing colours everything in good shape for such a busy airport. Food is a weakness: some choice before security. Departure: Not much food choice airside for international or domestic passengers US area is a bit better. Duty free skewed towards people who can spend an awful lot of money otherwise it's 5 shops selling the same things. Queues for check-in can be hateful if you're not a gold traveller. System for US pre-clearance continues to improve. There definitely should be a separate security queue for business travellers. And my most recent security experience was inept and the woman unpleasant - but that's the first time ever at YVR. Not bad for 20+ years in hindsight. Arrival-wise nearly perfect. Great ambience signage and efficient queuing. New computer clearance for Canadians excellent. Sometimes the walk from a plane to Canada Customs can seem extremely long. More (and faster) moving sidewalks and escalators would be great. And the Canada Line makes it all even better for us city folks and those whose hotels are 1-2 blocks from a station.

A nice airport with open access and beverage/eating places both landside and airside. Quite a pleasant place overall everything seems friendly in a Canadian/Vancouver kind of way. One serious thing that needs to be addressed is the early closing of the restaurants/bars on the airside of the terminal. They close at 9pm - which means no food or even a drink to be found while waiting for your mid-late evening flight.

One of the most relaxing and pleasant international airports I've been to. Great facilities clean efficient check-in areas customs and security checks. Once airside the various trees small river and aquarium give it a real Canadian outdoors feel to the place which is great for small children to play and for parents to relax. Good choice of shops and restaurants.

In international arrivals you are greeted by a beautiful waterfall and massive totem poles evoking British Columbia's natural beauty and history. It gives you something to look at while you queue for passport control. The lines though long and twisty move very quickly and are manned to keep the flow going. Passport control staff are polite and work efficiently. Baggage claim is on the other side so there isn't far to walk. Following the ground transportation signs you can get a free shuttle to your hotel (if it is near the airport) or take the SkyTrain to downtown which takes around 25 mins. Departing Vancouver is made easy by the many self check-in machines located at SkyTrain stops as well as the airport. Airline ground staff are on hand to help with any queries. The security checkpoint was very quick and staff were efficient and polite. There were plenty of places to shop and eat after security and the free wi-fi (like at other Canadian airports) was great.

Great overall airport experience. I very much enjoyed the First Nations art display. The effective signage made the airport easy to navigate.

Many improvements since the last time I was there in 2003. Fast efficient and friendly customs. convenient Canada Line rail link to downtown. Short walk to rental car area - no need to ride shuttle bus. Vending machine has $5 umbrellas. Spacious with clear signage and great variety of fairly priced shops and restaurants. New observation area with many interesting displays. Informative airport newspaper Sky Talk.

This airport is well designed everything is well signed and easy to find the staff are very friendly and helpful. Queuing times at arrival (for Canadian Customs and Immigration) were reasonable. However if you are travelling into the US then you undergo US customs and immigration at YVR and the queuing times were awful and staff not friendly. There needs to be a way for passengers to have something to drink while waiting in this queue for up to an hour.

Arriving from Incheon. The overall experience for me was excellent - fast tracked through immigration and customs inspection but the situation for a number of my fellow passengers was not so warm and welcoming. I know the difference before and after the installation of the CBSA and their officers at YVR. I was detained briefly once while departing YVR. At the baggage claim carousel I saw one family and one elderly gentleman (all Koreans) ambushed by CBSA officers and subjected to raised voice interrogations. The subjects' collective English skills were limited. They were repeatedly cut off there is no need to speak to elderly travellers and families with children in that way. It accomplishes nothing but to leave a very negative impression of Canada.

Bright and open airport which is nice when you are waiting for a connection. Decent food and shops. I have to visit this airport numerous times during the year. My main complaint is the lack of signs to help you get you where you need to go. Of course the airport has some but they are infrequent and poorly designed (They are dark small print hidden behind posts and on strange angles - all of these slow you down when you are in a hurry to make your flight. When you arrive in the International Terminal and pick up your luggage there are 2 exits and 2 different places to check in luggage. If you go to the wrong exit there is no means to get back to the other line. The lines to process through customs and immigration are extremely long between 10:30 am and 3:00 pm. Security screening was quick but they have had layoffs and it is now slower with fewer lines open. The bathrooms stink and are unclean.