JulieVikmanis

Hi, I'm a frequent poster on the Europe forum but have never posted here and hope you can help me. We are looking for a venue for a New Years vacation, probably Dec. 27 to Jan. 2 or 3, where our expert skier son can ski but husband and I can do some sightseeing rather than spend all our time in front of a fire drinking in the ski lodge (we'll do some of that but not 7+ days worth.) Which areas do you recommend I explore to meet our needs? Recs for good lodging also appreciated. Thanks.

Cruiseryyc

It might help to know where you're coming from. Canada has lots of options, it just depends on how long you want to take to get the destination. Quebec (Eastern Canada) has lots of ski hills as well as sightseeing. Of course Western Canada is the ski haven of the country. Banff, Lake Louise in Alberta and Whistler (site of the 2010 Olympics) in British Columbia. No matter what, New Years is prime season you need to book ASAP to get a hotel room.

JulieVikmanis

Thanks for the reply. we'd be coming from Ft. Lauderdale so doesn't make too much difference which side we fly to. I sort of lean toward the west because we've never been to Vancouver, for instance. But can my son get a ski bus from Vancouver to Whistler or would we have to stay in the Whistler area? When we've done this before in Europe we, for instance stayed in Salzburg and he bused daily to various resorts in the area like Kitzbuhl. that's the kind of situation I'd like to find again.

and I do recognize the need for some pretty fast action on this which is why I'm a bit panicky. Again, thanks.

Cruiseryyc

I do believe there would be daily buses up to Whistler, but it is about a 2 to 3 hour drive. Hopefully someone from Vancouver will be able to answer your questions.

laverendrye

I think that your best bet would be Quebec City. Stay in town and your son can ski at Mont Ste Anne (about 30 minutes outside town) or Le Massif (about an hour). There should be buses to each from the city. There's obviously lots to see and do of a non-skiing nature in Quebec, and there is good expert skiing at both resorts. In fact I think that the two are both better from a skiing point of view than Mont Tremblant.

JulieVikmanis

Thanks for the responses. still dithering about what to do.

Cruiseryyc

You might want to think of flying into Calgary and staying in Banff Your son would then have two great spots to ski - Lake Louise and Sunshine Village, both available by shuttle buses from Banff.

JulieVikmanis

Again thanks. As I wrote on the Europe board where I asked a similar question re: European ski areas, DH has now decided that the purpose of our getting together is to see each other. hence he's decided Son can ski with his friends, but when we take him for this New Years trip, we want to be with him and that means going places other than ski places. It looks like we may be on our way to Barcelona. But do not think your info was useless. There will be plenty of other folks who search on the locations you've indicated who will see your helpful responses and factor the info into their plans. Thanks for your help.

Cruiseryyc

Well if the choice was between skiing in Canada or Barcelona - I'd take Barcelona too!! Your son is a very lucky young man. Have fun.