Vancouver: Gastown Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt App

Riddles & Steam Clocks: Vancouver's Oldest Blocks on Your Phone

You download the app, enter a code, and follow riddles through Gastown's brick facades and mountain glimpses on your own schedule. The tour includes interactive riddles, trivia challenges and photo tasks at Waterfront Station, Gassy Jack's statue and the Steam Clock: around two hours of self-paced walking with a live leaderboard and scoring system. Start anytime, take breaks whenever you need, and reschedule free if weather or illness gets in the way.

Step-by-step itinerary

Self-guided walking tour in Gastown

• Start at Maple Tree Square
• Open Explorial app and enter game code
• Follow cobblestones into Gastown
• See Gassy Jack statue
• Answer riddles about Gassy Jack
• Visit Waterfront Station
• Read trivia about train history
• Watch Gastown Steam Clock whistle
• Complete tour and check leaderboard

What’s included

Free download of the Explorial app (iOS or Android), a 6-digit game code sent by text and booking-platform message, self-guided walking tour with interactive riddles and trivia challenges, photo tasks at key landmarks, live location map so you always know where you are, points and scoring system to compete within your group, and the ability to beat the city's high score. The tour covers Gastown's oldest blocks including Maple Tree Square, Waterfront Station, Gassy Jack's statue and the Steam Clock, with total flexibility to start anytime and walk at your own pace.

Times

• Every day No fixed time

Before you book

Group Private 9 group tours ›

Live guide English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian

Meeting point and pickup No hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Ages Adult (10 to 90 years) · Child (under 10): free

Cancellation and refunds Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Good to know

Low physical effort Pets welcome Public transport nearby

Operated by Explorial

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Traveler reviews

4.88 ★★★★★ Exceptional 8 verified traveler reviews

Read all the reviews ›

The experience

You open the Explorial app at Maple Tree Square, enter your 6-digit code, and the riddles start. No guide waiting, no fixed time. Just you, your group and the cobblestones of Gastown stretching ahead. The app feeds you questions as you walk, each one pointing you toward the next landmark, and the leaderboard keeps score as you move through Vancouver's oldest blocks. Around two hours of light walking, but you set the pace. Stop for coffee, linger at a corner, take the photo task seriously or breeze through it: the tour bends to your rhythm, not the other way around.

Waterfront Station arrives first, all columns and history, where transcontinental trains once pulled in and now the SeaBus ferries commuters across the inlet. The app serves up trivia about the place while you stand there, reading the departure boards of another era. Then Gassy Jack presides over his barrel in the square that bears his name: the saloon-keeper whose one bar in 1867 somehow grew into a city. The riddles don't let you miss him. Every quarter hour the Gastown Steam Clock whistles on cue, venting the neighbourhood's steam system, and if you time it right you'll see every camera on the block point upward at once. The app marks where it is. You decide when to arrive.

The whole thing runs on your smartphone: iOS or Android, fully charged, with mobile data active. Download the app before you start, enter the code you'll receive by text and booking-platform message, and you're in. The app shows you a map with marked locations so you always know where you are, and it keeps a live leaderboard if your group wants to compete. Available in 24 languages, so you can run the riddles in whatever language makes sense for your group. Groups up to 15 people fit in one booking. Larger groups just make multiple bookings and start together if you want.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Romanian, Danish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Czech, Norwegian, Hungarian, Cantonese, Greek, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Hindi and Turkish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (under 10): free.

Do I need a guide for this tour?

No. The Explorial app guides you with riddles and trivia. You walk at your own pace with no fixed start time or meeting point.

What smartphone do I need?

iOS or Android smartphone, fully charged, with active mobile data. Download the Explorial app from your appstore before you start.

How long does the tour take?

Around 2 hours of walking, but you control the pace. You can take breaks, linger at landmarks, or move faster: the app adjusts to you.

Can I do this with a large group?

Yes, up to 15 people per booking. For larger groups, make multiple bookings and start together if you want.

What if bad weather stops me from starting?

You can reschedule for another day, switch to a different city tour, or request a refund, no penalty.

Do I need to bring anything?

Your own fully charged smartphone with active mobile data. Wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

What happens if my phone loses signal?

Disable any VPN and avoid city Wi-Fi before you start. These can cause the app to malfunction. Use your mobile data instead.