Homestay.com is an online tool for finding homestay families to stay with when visiting Metro Vancouver from out of town, or anywhere for that matter.
Homestays can be in apartment buildings in urban areas and in residential areas surrounded by gardens and nature.
Homestay.com in the Lower Mainland
When traveling to another city a great way to experience the place is to meet locals, and there is no better way to do that than to stay with a homestay family.
To look for homestay opportunities in different parts of the Lower Mainland, check out Homestay.com and book your stay today.
How Homestay.com Works
Visit the Homestay.com website and then select your city, check in date, check out date and number of people in your party. Do that and you’ll get a list of available homestay opportunities including a photo of the house, a photo of the host and the cost per night. Click for more details and you’ll find even more information and details on what’s included.
To use Homestay.com you need to sign up, but that’s easy to do. When you make your booking you can contact the host to confirm availability and ask any questions via the messaging system. To book you just need to pay a 15% deposit and then pay the remainder upon arrival. Upon booking your reservation you also receive the full name, address and direct contact details of your host.
How Much Do Homestays Cost?
Homestays can be very affordable. On Homestays.com rooms typically go for anywhere between around $25 and up to close to $100 per night, but average around the $50 level and include some form of breakfast.
Who Uses Homestays and Homestays.com?
Anyone can benefit from staying with a homestay family. Typical users of the Homestay.com service are independent adult leisure travelers, university students, interns, volunteers and language students. Homestays can also be great for couples, small families and just about anyone that wants a friendly, affordable and truly “local” place to stay. To book with Homestay.com you just need to be over 18 years of age.
Where are Homestays Offered in the Lower Mainland?
Homestays.com presently matches travelers with homestay providers in most major centres in the Lower Mainland (but not all), including the following locations:
- Vancouver – the main city, which includes everywhere from downtown Vancouver to around the University of British Columbia (UBC) to all over quite a large area.
- Burnaby – a major urban area just east of the City of Vancouver and easily connected by SkyTrain and other public transportation.
- Coquitlam – a suburb in a beautiful area in the Northeast part of the region.
- Delta – a fairly rural community about an hour’s drive south of downtown Vancouver and just minutes from the BC Ferries‘ terminal that connects the Lower Mainland with Vancouver Island.
- New Westminster – nicknamed the “Royal City” due to its history of being BC’s former capital city, it’s a nice place located about a half-hour SkyTrain trip from downtown Vancouver.
- North Vancouver – a beautiful city located between the water and North Shore Mountains. If you’re in town to explore nature or go skiing, this is a great place to stay.
- Richmond – a nice city in a flat part of the region with a large Chinese population, it’s just south of the City of Vancouver and home to Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
- Surrey – the most southeastern municipality of the bunch, Surrey is a large, ethnically diverse and rapidly growing city that lies halfway between Vancouver and the rural farming region of the Fraser Valley.
Homestay Tips
TIP #1: Read the details of the homestay offer carefully as each homestay provider is different. All include some form of breakfast, but some homestays have minimum stay requirements and some offer fancy cooked breakfasts or other extra benefits, while others don’t.
TIP #2: Things to look for in the homestay description or to ask the provider include the availability of parking, access to and convenience of public transit, whether children and/or pets are permitted or live at the house, and whether the family has smokers and/or if smoking is permitted.
For more information on homestay opportunities in Metro Vancouver, check out Homestay.com. We hope you make new friends and have a wonderful stay!
For information on other kinds of accommodations in the Lower Mainland, check out Vancouver’s Best Places to Stay.
Note: Homestay.com is not a part of VancouversBestPlaces.com and Vancouver’s Best Places does not inspect, certify or endorse particular homestay families and locations in any way. We love homestays in general though and highly recommend you check them out. Homestays can be tons of fun, as well as very affordable.