Vancouver + Whistler

Honestly, it all started mid summer 2022. I wanted winter. Snow sounded far away and magical and cleansing. I think Whistler was a seed planted subconsciously by some ill remembered source flashing across any of the varying screens I stare at all day, but Whistler came to mind and Whistler sounded marvelous.

I’ve always wanted to go to Canada and I have always been deeply romanticized by the Pacific Northwest, so Vancouver + Whistler just stuck.

As soon as my partner said yes, we were off planning! I knew I wanted to go for my birthday at the end of November, I knew I wanted to snowboard, I knew I wanted to be cold and see big evergreens against the sunlight, I knew I wanted a little dash of a new city that I’ve heard so many good things about. This is the biggest trip we’ve planned in a couple of years, due to Covid. We did some fun road trips during Covid, but nothing like going out of the country. We started by determining how many days we wanted to be in each: Vancouver + Whistler, then we book ended the time frame with the flights - picking the dates, setting up the shell of the trip. From there, we filled in all the rest, from the outside in: Flights - Hotels - Transportation and Lift Tickets.

We landed in Vancouver in the afternoon on my birthday. Exactly what I wanted - to be somewhere else, to be traveling, on my birthday. The transportation system was the easiest we’ve seen since London. The way to the underground was clearly marked and the pay stations to get your compass card were easy to use. It helped that we’ve done this before (and made mistakes) in other cities, haha. Google maps made it easy to plan our route to the hotel in the city center. We stayed at the Hyatt. As you may have read in the Palm Springs post, my partner currently works for Hyatt, so we take advantage of the discounted rate as often as we can. It allows us some budget flexibility while traveling! The Hyatt in Vancouver’s downtown is gorgeous, the staff was so kind and the view from our twenty something floor room was beautiful, it was absolutely worth it.

The first night we had a drink in the hotel bar and got ready for the most spectacular birthday dinner I’ve ever had. My partner planned the most romantic evening at the award winning vegetarian restaurant, The Acorn. We did their multi-course tasting menu accompanied by a wine pairing. The service was excellent, the ambiance was charming and the food was creative, full of surprises and super delicious. The whole experience took about 4-5 hours, while that sounds long, it actually felt quite fast and we felt quite stuffed when we left. If I were to do it again or suggest anyone else to enjoy this restaurant, I’d say give yourself a little longer, and ask to be paced a little slower. Otherwise, stellar experience in a quaint and delightful space.

The following four days we spent in Whistler. The Epic Rides bus that shuttles between Vancouver and Whistler village picks up right behind the Hyatt, so we lucked out. The ride is stunning, highly recommend sitting in the front to get the whole view as you ride along the Sea to Sky Highway.

Our Airbnb at the Aspens was ski in - ski out and while a little off the beaten path, was pretty easy to get to. We didn’t have a lot of luggage and able to walk the 20 minute walk from the bus stop to the condo. However, due to the snow on the last day - we grabbed a Whistle Cab (Whistler’s answer to Uber, easy to use!) to get back to the bus station. The first night we picked up our rentals at Spicy Sports. They allow free pickup the night before and free drop off the next day, so nice! They have the full gear set for super affordable prices, they also offer discounts for reserving your gear in advance. We then snowboarded for two days, well, we “falling leafed” down the mountain for two days really. We have the skills, but it’s been a while since we both have snowboarded. The first day was tough, but we’re tougher and we picked up speed as time passed, the second day was more fun and playful!

The lift tickets for Whistler are called Day Passes. The day passes allow for ANY lift across Blackcomb and Whistler Mountain, including the Peak to Peak Gondola. When purchased ahead of season, the discounts on the tickets are amazing, plus right now the US dollar goes further in Canada - sweetening the deal. The most unfortunate thing about the trip is that due to lack of early snow, the open runs were limited, creating a funnel of all ski and snowboard expertise onto narrow runs together. This made it a little more stressful than I had hoped and limiting, some of the runs we were excited to try were closed…on the last day we were there, after we had already returned our gear, it dumped. We didn’t get to snowboard in it, but we got to play in it and it was STUNNING! Everything. The winter I was aching for, even if for a moment.

Our Airbnb was cozy, a beautiful view and quiet. The complex had a free ski valet, pool and hot tubs. We had a great host who was super communicative, will link the condo here.

Would love to go back, to see more runs, spend more time on the mountain. We’d love to cross country ski and visit the nearby lakes. I will absolutely be back to Whistler.

When we got back to Vancouver, our last night (sadly) we walked the Gastown District, saw the Gastown Clock whistle and just simply stared at the epic view across Vancouver Harbor. Next time, we want to see Stanley Park, visit more of the forests and islands and…everything. We loved our trip, it was too fast, too quick. I loved Vancouver, one of my new favorite cities.

Solo in Sedona

Getaway - Palm Springs