The cost of a weekend in Vancouver for party animals and couch cruisers

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With the cost of living being top of mind for most Vancouver (and Canadian) residents, we thought it could be interesting to figure out how much a typical visitor or resident spends on an average weekend in the city.

Of course, not everyone spends their time the same way.

Some might choose to dine out at a restaurant, some may choose to watch a show or hit up a bar, and others might decide to stay home.

No matter the weekend choice, it all comes with a cost. In this post, we will attempt to attribute some average costs to the typical weekend in Vancouver, looking at various lifestyles.

For the sake of this story, the “weekend” constitutes Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday.

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Friday night

For the party people (Up to around $170)

For the sake of argument, we’ll say the party people go to a bar or restaurant after work, then to a club, then maybe another bar for an afterparty.

Cocktails

The price of cocktails varies greatly depending on where and what you’re drinking. But, looking through different menus around Vancouver at places like The Keefer Bar or the Botanist, it’s safe to say that an average cocktail in Vancouver is around $15. Even at Cactus Club, the price of a cocktail hovers between $10 to $15.

After a round of four cocktails, we’re already at $60 plus tip. We’ll add an extra $20 for food or appies.

If you’re a beer drinker, you save a little money versus the fancy cocktail crowd.

Four cocktails: Approximately $80 plus tip
Four beers: Approximately $50 plus tip
Non-drinkers: Approximately $30 for food and non-alcoholic beverages

Club night

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If you’re heading out to a club in Vancouver, many places charge a cover fee or offer tickets for event nights.

Using The Roxy as a starting point, they have an upcoming event that’s only about $14 for tickets. Cocktails at the Roxy are between $8 and $14. Beers start at $8. So, let’s say you have another three or four drinks plus a ticket for the event, and you’re at another $40-$60.

Four cocktails: Approximately $60 plus tip
Four beers: Approximately $40 plus tip

Afterparty:

Two cocktails: Approximately $30 plus tip
Two beers: Approximately $16 plus tip
Friday night total for drinkers: Up to $170 per person
Friday night total for non-drinkers: Approximately $30 to $40

Non-party people (Approximately $50)

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A night out for someone who doesn’t necessarily want to “partay” will look pretty different.

A typical outing on a Friday night after work might involve dinner at a favourite restaurant, maybe accompanied by a drink. Then, maybe after that, a chill movie or a comedy show.

The average cost of dinner at a non-high-end Vancouver restaurant is roughly $20-30 per person, which includes a drink and a tip.

Using a movie as a benchmark cost for a non-party outing adds $15 bucks. Maybe dessert at a Mcdonald’s or a Dairy Queen afterwards for another $5.

Friday night total for non-party people: Approximately $50.

Couch cruisers (Approximately $25)

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Then there are those of us who choose not to leave the confines of our homes, and that’s okay too, but even that potentially comes with a cost.

Outside of just the costs for things like streaming services you subscribe to, or groceries, let’s say you order from Skip The Dishes or DoorDash.

We just did a quick order on DoorDash for a meal, and with tip and delivery fee included on a dish that costs $15, you’re looking at around $24 total.

Friday night total for couch cruisers: Approximately $25.

Saturday

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Compared to Friday night, Saturday is a whole different beast.

First up is the hangover cure.

Hangover cure (Approximately $25)

We’re going to group non-party and party people together for the hangover cure because everyone loves breakfast or brunch, whether or not they’re hungover. Right?

…right?

The Burrow, formerly Bandidas, on Commercial Drive, is an excellent spot for a hangover cure.

We’d put a vote down for Cafe Deux Soleix, also formerly on Commercial Drive, but sadly, it recently permanently closed its doors.

Visiting The Burrow for a Sunday brunch will cost you around $15 for food, about $5 to $10 for a coffee or a drink, and add another generous $5 for the tip.

Hangover cure: Approximately $25

Saturday activities (Up to approximately $150)

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Using this weekend as a template, one potential Saturday activity would be heading to a Canucks game, and right now, you can find tickets for around $50 to $70, so we’ll say $60.

This price point feels like a fair number for a culmination of different Saturday activities unless you’re a real party animal and decide to go out on the town again, even after a boozy Friday night. So for the party animals, we’ll slightly scale back the cost of a Friday night.

Saturday activities: Approximately $60

Saturday party animals: Approximately $150

Saturday couch cruisers: Approximately $30

Sunday

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Sunday is an interesting day; for some people, it’s a day to stay in, recoup, and recover. For others, it might still be a day to do some lightweight activities.

The Christmas Market might be a good Sunday activity as it is the Christmas season, and tickets for that are $20.

We’ll add a coffee for another $5 and maybe a light meal for another $15.

For Sunday couch cruisers, we’ll say that they’re staying home all day, and we’re not factoring in the costs of groceries, but maybe a coffee.

Sunday total: Approximately $40

Sunday couch cruiser total: Approximately $10

Weekend totals

After crunching all those scientific numbers, we’ll put total weekend costs into three categories: party animals, casual weekenders, and couch cruisers.

Party animals: Approximate weekend total of $360

Casual weekenders: Approximate weekend total of $140

Couch cruisers: Approximate weekend total of $65

There you have it. Does this align with your weekend spending? Let us know in the comments.