Lower fares to Vancouver may be coming – here's what to do when you're there

Last week, Sun Country Airlines announced plans to offer nonstop flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Vancouver International Airport beginning May 20. The route will be seasonal and operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Delta also offers nonstop flights between the two airports.

I read into this one thing: Summer 2020 may be the time to head to Vancouver.

Competition could bring down prices, resulting in airfare bargains. Delta may not budge (the airline sometimes doesn't deign to compete on pricing, expecting its loyal customers to stick with it), but Sun Country wants the business. In a Thursday morning search, the best price on a Delta flight, using a basic economy rate, for Wed., June 24, to Vancouver, returning Sat., June 27, was $528, while Sun Country offered a fare at $229.

That's a great deal for anyone who's always wanted to visit this gem on the coast of British Columbia.

Here are a few things to do once you're there.

Dine around the world in one city. Vancouver is one of Canada's most ethnically diverse cities, and that is reflected in its restaurants. There's the Japanese-inspired Rice Burger, the Thai spot Maenam and a host of restaurants in Little Italy and North America's second-largest Chinatown. Northern doughnut dynamo Tim Horton's dots the cityscape, too.

Burn off some of those calories in Stanley Park. To explore this 1,000-acre wild land, ride rental bikes along the nearly 20-mile sea wall, hike around Beaver Lake, ringed by forest, or hike to Prospect Point for views of the North Shore Mountains, the Burrard Inlet and the city's Lions Gate Bridge.

Test your bravery — and your sense of vertigo — at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The 450-foot-long, 230-foot-high bridge stretches across a canyon, offering great views of the Capilano River below.

Send your questions or tips to Travel Editor Kerri Westenberg at travel@startribune.com, and follow her on Twitter: @kerriwestenberg.