Vancouver/Whistler with kids
 

Traveling to BC and WA. in August with a 5 year old and an 9 year old. My wife is partial to city life, while I prefer touring he countryside. We're debating whether to stay in Vancouver for three nights and simply drive up to Whistler for a day OR spend a night or two in Whistler doing the hiking, horseback riding, etc. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated with an eye to the kids rather short attention span. <BR> <BR>Do you vote 3 nights in Vancouver OR...... 2 Vancouver, 1 Whistler OR..... 2 Whistler, 1 Vancouver OR ?????? <BR> <BR>All opinions welcomed. Thanks in advance.

I'd suggest you just stay in Vancouver for the three days. Whistler is nice, but a bit of a chore to get to from Vancouver....rental car for a two hour drive each way....bus for the same time. Save your visit there until another trip whn you've got a bit more time. Once you've been here(I'm in Vancouver), you'll regret not staying longer than three days. <BR> <BR>Enjoy! <BR> <BR>Scott

2 Vancuver and 1 Whistler. Your wife will find Whistler tres sophisticated with wonderful shopping and dining.

Visited both, enjoyed both, going back to both in early September. If I had to vote, I would stay two nights in Vancouver and 1 in Whistler, but any additional nights I might scrounge I would add to Whistler. Check out the bargains in overnight rates at ski lodges during August

A very nice place to stay with children is a condo/hotel called The Aspens. 1 and 2 bedroom slopeside suites, it's the building up from Chateau Whistler. Has a heated pool and 2 hot tubs. The Whistler childrens' area is a 2 minute walk from this condo and the area can be seen from some suites (sit on your balcony and watch kids play) The beach/lake is a 10 minute walk as is the village. Contact aspensonblackcomb.com <BR>

Hi, Billyjoejimbob! <BR> <BR>Just got back from Vancouver and Whistler. <BR> <BR>It's six of one and half a dozen of the other - but if I really HAD to chose, it'll be 3 days in Vancouver. <BR>The attraction of Whistler was almost zero as the weather was terrible there and it's not very scenic in the summer. It's a ski town and there is just a whole bunch of really expensive shops more shops and more shops. Everything is pretty pricey in Whistler. You can get better entertainment for your kids, such as horseback riding, somewhere else. The nice part was the drive up - the Sea to Sky Highway is quite spectacular. <BR>There is a lot to do in Vancouver itself. Three days is not enough. But if you are determined to spend one night/day someplace else, I'd opt for Victoria, which is only 1 and 1/2 hour by ferry (Tsawwassen - Swartz Bay). Or go hiking on Vancouver Island. There are lots of good places to go on Vancouver Island outside of Victoria. <BR>Anyhow, happy travels! Wish I were back in Vancouver right now! Great City!

Don't know what Maggie's problem is, Whistler is wonderful in the summer, very classy, for a mountain town. If you are going anywhere in the Northwest you have to anticipate rain at times. If you go let us know what YOU think, eh?

It looks like some people are upset because I wasn't wowwed by Whistler. <BR> <BR>Well, can't help it, that's the way it happened to me. Bad weather, indifferent to arrogant people mostly, and very expensive prices. Most disappointing of all was the scenery in summer as compared to some of the truly spectacular scenery in other parts of BC. <BR> <BR>I didn't go up with any negative impressions. Quite the contrary, I went up with a lot of anticipation because Whistler is billed as the premier ski resort in ALL of North America. <BR> <BR>Whistler simply didn't live up to its billing - IMHO. To each his/her own. Those of you who love it, good for you. But, for me, Vancouver is beautiful, Victoria is charming and its people were especially friendly and there are plenty of other wonderful and scenic places in BC, not the least of which is Kootenay. But Whistler, frankly, after all that anticipation, it was a great letdown for me.

I thought Whistler was a letdown too, Maggie, as far as shopping and restaurants go. But I did enjoy the drive there and back.

April: <BR> <BR>You're right! The drive up, that is the Sea to Sky Highway portion, is absolutely breathtaking. <BR>The rest of it was like any other of numerous two lane roads throughout Western North America - good but not great. <BR>We did have one grezt dining experience in Whistler - the Rimrock Cafe. A bit expensive, but very good food and our waiter was also very good. I don't mind paying for a good dinner anywhere. Well, unfortunately, that was our only highlight in two days at Whistler. Deep down I really wish it had been a much better experience, given the glorious time we had in the rest of BC. Our whole family just fell in love with BC - the friendliness, the awesome beauty, etc. etc. Not the least of our great experiences were two B&Bs that we stayed in while in Vancouver. The people who run these B&Bs did everything and more to make us feel at home. Hope your experiences in BC were just as great!

Maggie isn't nuts. Felt the same way about Whistler and we even had good weather (2nd week of Aug). Tres expensive and crowded! Got to the top of the mountain via gondola and felt like I was in Istanbul due to crowd. On the other hand, spent more time and got on hiking trails (up North esp) and enjoyed. Bike trails and dining are very nice there. In general, for the dollar seemed over rated. <BR>CD