Hi guys !

Well I made this threa because I'll go to Vancouver and Whistler one week at April, I live in Monterrey Mexico and i need some recommendations of places to go taking in account that I'll go with the family and we have never seen snow, we like adventures, but not the extreme one, could be to take a bike or something like that.

We are going to stay at Whistler and we don't have idea how to ski, but we want to learn Is it expansive?, also we would love to see snowly mountains, Are they snowly at that time of year?

We are going to rent a car and I think the way we must take is "Sea to Sky" highway, Is it the fastest way to get Whistler?

I've heard about Victoria, Does the city is far from Vancouver ?

I was wondering about the Norther Lights and the main dish in BC.

Well... thanks from Mx.

Welcome,

I don't know too many of the attractions specific to Whistler, but in Vancouver itself:

I would recommend the Capilano Suspension bridge to any visitor. It's very cool with a small "canyon", a salmon hatchery, canopy walk, old forest etc... Very well set-up for families. I would recommend this over Stanley Park if you're just visiting.

Harbour Centre is nice too, lots of history, near Gastown, fantastic views.

Grouse Mountain gondola is a must if you have a nice day (or even better, a clear night). It takes you up a mountain, fantastic views of the whole of Vancouver, the ocean, mountains. It's also very snowy, and a great place to learn to ski (and MUCH cheaper than Whistler)

Shopping is best at Metrotown, the Skytrain will take you directly there. Mount Pleasent is a nice spot to waste a day people watching (Main and 14th ish I believe??)


You can be safe in the knowledge that Whistler will be quite snowy now, in fact Vancouver as a whole is still snowy (>_<), so yes, you'll get the snowy mountains.

Sea-to-sky highway is the fastest way to get to Whistler, and for all intensive purposes, the only way. It's also a very nice drive, but they're doing construction on it right now, so it can be slow in places. There is a train, but it's not quick or cheap and I've never ridden it.

Victoria is about 2 hrs from southern Vancouver via a ferry. It's nice, but nothing special. I enjoy the ferry trip much more.

Northern lights are a no-go. We're not quite *that* far north ;).

The main dish of Vancouver? It's hard to say, but a Westcoast classic is Sockeye (the very best, hands down) salmon with a Maple Syrup glaze and assorted veg. Best enjoyed with a pint of dark, micro-brew ale. All fine dinning restaurants have a variation of this. Coffee and sushi is also a Vancouver specialty.

As a final note, there is a series of hotsprings outside Whistler, but you need to actively hike to them, and the bridge over the Squamish river was washed out years ago. I do not believe it has been replaced yet. I've never been, but it's apparently "magical." Not for the faint of heart though.

Hope this helped, and enjoy your time in Vancouver/Whistler.

If you are willing to sacrifice an extra two hours of driving time in order to save a boatload of money may I suggest Sun Peaks in Kamloops, BC as an alternative to Whistler? Sun Peaks is considerably cheaper than Whistler and in terms of quality skiing and snowboarding it is only a small step behind, if not on par with Whistler.

Sun Peaks is regarded as one of the finest ski resorts in North America and recently Conde Nast Traveler, one of the worlds leading travel magazines rated Sun Peaks as the second best ski resort in Canada. UK publication Cadogan Guides has also declared Sun Peaks the best family resort in North America for 2008.

Sun Peaks is also the North American home of the world’s leading alpine racers, the Austrian National Ski Team. They train there in preparation for North American world cup races and for the 2010 Olympic games.

Here is the website for it: http://sunpeaksresort.com/ check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Hi guys !

Well I made this threa because I'll go to Vancouver and Whistler one week at April, I live in Monterrey Mexico and i need some recommendations of places to go taking in account that I'll go with the family and we have never seen snow, we like adventures, but not the extreme one, could be to take a bike or something like that.

We are going to stay at Whistler and we don't have idea how to ski, but we want to learn Is it expansive?, also we would love to see snowly mountains, Are they snowly at that time of year?

We are going to rent a car and I think the way we must take is "Sea to Sky" highway, Is it the fastest way to get Whistler?

I've heard about Victoria, Does the city is far from Vancouver ?

I was wondering about the Norther Lights and the main dish in BC.

Well... thanks from Mx.

April should be OK for spring skiing depending when in April and how the winter goes. Whistler is an awesome mountain but its kinda big and expensive if you never skied before. twenty minutes outside vancouver is three local mountains. seymore is the cheapest and easiet, Grouse is OK and great for tourists and cypress is the best and most expensive. Nevertheless, Whistler is must see.

Victoria, and Vancouver Island, is very lovely. Whenever my family is in town, i park the car in tsawwassen (on one of the native parking lots with a free shuttle) and take the ferry (very beautiful) across to the island. Once on the island, take a bus (follow the crowd) and it takes you downtown. cheap, easy and safe. Victoria is great day trip.

try the salmon.

If you're traveling with a family I think Victoria would be great to check out. I'm not sure how much you've looked into it, but Victoria is about 1.5 hours by boat from Vancouver. I have many fond childhood memories of taking the ferry over to Victoria. It is a very scenic ride (lots of good photo opportunities) and it is a bit of a novelty so it's kind of fun.

This is a handy little map:
http://www.pacificcoach.com/assets/client/Image/RouteMap/route-map.gif
Tsawwassen is a suburb of Vancouver. That is where the ferry terminal.

Victoria itself is quite a nice small city. It has a scenic harbour, some great older architecture, some interesting little shops and restaurants/cafes, and is very walkable so it's great for just spending a day wandering around. I'd recommend just doing a day trip there unless you feel like exploring other areas of Vancouver Island, like Tofino. Otherwise I'd say a day is probably all you need to get a good sense of the place.

Here are a few pics from when I was there last July to give you an idea of what it's like:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3172/2743478902_fb9ce78725_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2743384552_fb6fb2bb44_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/2743485704_64800d51a3_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2742673337_16fbc671cb_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/2742675939_e60c2bd1df_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2742586703_c97ac3ffbe_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/2743436542_bfd4881f44_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2742603363_fd9b817b00_b.jpg

You'd really have to go further north to see the Northern Lights. I have only seen them twice this far south (and I've lived here my whole life) but they were rare events and pretty faint anyways.

Vancouver isn't necessarily known for one dish per se but for its size it has a great restaurant scene. I'm sure any travel book/tourist info booth can lead you to some good places to eat. Vancouver's strong points are seafood and ethnic cuisine (particularly anything Asian).

Sushi is a big part of Vancouver's culinary landscape and you can hardly go two blocks without seeing some hole-in-the-wall sushi place. Vancouver has a number of all-you-can-eat sushi places too which can be fun. The quality tends to be a little lower (but is still quite good) and most of these places are only around $10 for all-you-can-eat lunch (usually more for dinner). There are also some great Japanese izakaya restaurants. They serve tapas style Japanese pub food. Really good stuff with an interesting atmosphere as well. One example is a restaurant called "Guu".

Of course there is a huge Chinese culinary influence as well and there are plenty of options from dim sum and noodle houses to bbq and hot pot. Some other great ethnic restaurants worth trying include Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian, and Indian. There are others too (like French, Italian, Greek, Mexican ;), Ukrainian, Ethiopian, etc) but the former are the more common types of restaurants along with Japanese and Chinese. "Vij's" was called the best Indian restaurant in North America by the New York Times. It has amazing food but is perhaps a little pricier (but overall still quite reasonable).

Most of the non-ethnic "Canadian cuisine" restaurants in Vancouver are things like seafood restaurants and steak houses. Vancouver has a number of great places in these categories as well.

I don't think there will be snow on the local mountains in April in Vancouver; Whistler will probably still have some but check ahead online. If you want to learn how to ski you might want to consider booking a lesson but it's not going to be cheap. All the pricing information is on the Whistler-Blackomb website, and you can book your tickets/lesson there beforehand as well.

Thanks a lot !!

I was watching photos of the places that you already mentioned and I love what I see.

I booked in Whistler months ago but I'm going to learn ski in the mountains that are in Vancouver because are easier and cheaper, and i'll search for that dishes like salmon, ethnic food.

Also ill take the ferry, Victoria looks very lovely.

well thanks guys !

Thanks a lot !!

I was watching photos of the places that you already mentioned and I love what I see.

I booked in Whistler months ago but I'm going to learn ski in the mountains that are in Vancouver because are easier and cheaper, and i'll search for that dishes like salmon, ethnic food.

I'd recommend snowboarding over skiing, personally. I'd also recommend you look at the snow report and follow the snow. It's no fun learning on ice or grass and in April, the local mountains are a little worse for wear.



Also ill take the ferry, Victoria looks very lovely.

well thanks guys !

Victoria is lovely. If you rent a car (highly recommended in Vancouver with a family) then drive there. Yes, there is a bus, but you have a lot less flexibility. If you like gardens, Butchart gardens is gorgeous, a little piece of paradise. You'll probably want to take a car there. There are day tours from Vancouver to Victoria that you may want to check out as well.

It also depends on how old the kids are.