Like everyone else, I'm pretty sure this year has been feeling like one of the longest never ending…read morestories of our lives!!! 2020 please end soon ... please!? Needed this dayscape - via the magnificent Sea-to-Sky Highway to the majestic mountain enclave - Whistler - in beautiful British Columbia! Folks be prepared - you will be tempted to stop several times on the drive up. Spectacular views during the daylight hours will leave you breathless!!! This review is done under - Whistler - but encompasses the drive up, the beautiful scenery, the mountains & forest that are all part of an amazing nature built province ('State' - for all those in Merica) of BC. And no, BC does not belong to Britain but to Canada. Don't laugh I've been asked this question before! I won't get into the whole Commonwealth technicality but yes if one is leaning towards that angle I guess you could say - the Queen does own the whole of Canada as we pay mega bucks as in millions each year to the UK - to be part of the British Empire! Oh how lucky we are!? So Harry & Megan got tired of this British royalty life & escaped to a quieter environment in ... Hollywood!?? Ok then!!! The big draw to Whistler is in the winter - skiing & snowboarding. The Blackcomb & Whistler mountains are world wide renowned & super popular! Hiking & mountain biking takeover in the summer. Whistler is mighty expensive so bring all 5 of your credit cards! There are a few good restaurants as well but please make reservations ahead of time or you'll be left hopping around to find whatever's available. Of note & in no particular order but worth trying, Oso Bar (Spanish) - make reservations this spot is fire (thank you manager for the complimentary dessert), Lucia Gelato (try the Ginger flavour), Fat Tony's Pizza (open till 3am so could be a real life saver), El Funiture Warehouse aka All Food @ $5.95 Everyday - that's like $3 bucks US right!?! Everyone eats here, superstars, the rich, the average Joe - there's no class rules when your starving & don't want to blow a lot of money - you will save money eating here!!! Avalanche Pizza, Splitz Grill (can be pricey but it's the burger you design so blame yourself for the hunger causing your mind to go crazy with so many toppings) & finally tacos at La Cantina. There's a few more spots including fine dining but that will be for an update after covid-19 ends. I'm real hesitant to go inside & prefer to stick to patio dining for now, as much as I can. The Whistler Village area is real easy to walk around in & you'll only need to drive if you have to go further up the mountain. I have been coming to Whistler since the early 90s & have stayed in many hotels & condo rentals. Definitely shop around & prebook your stay before coming up here. However, today's trip was just a day trip escape from the big city & was thoroughly enjoyed. The drive from Vancouver takes 90 minutes or less depending on how fast you drive - longer if you stop along the way & or make a pit stop in Squamish, a beautiful town & worth the stop - see my Squamish review. Whoa got the shock of my life while walking about! Five years ago on a cruise in the Caribbean, our group met the super charismatic, charming, & so awesome Cruise Director (entertainment) Matt! Check him out on Instagram @ mattcruisedirector. Merica many of you might be very familer with him from the Carnival Cruise Line!!! Couldn't believe he's now living here - currently on the Sunshine Coast of BC but will be relocating to Vancouver. It was a pleasure to run into him & his wife! I had vivid fond cruise flashback memories while chatting with him. That awesome cruise back in 2015 on Carnival Breeze was phenomenal!!!!! It was a total awesome riot! I discovered my island paradise - Curaçao! Side note - Vancouver & Whistler hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics! I can tell you from first hand experience with actually being involved in the Olympics as a volunteer - it was so spectacular an event!!!!! Vancouverites today still speak highly of it! Super natural Whistler is highly recommended if you've never been - so do check it out! Come experience Whistler & be wowed!!! You will exhale & feel that - we got this ... life is good after all!!!!!

Just a heads up to those of you thinking to get the edge or season passes. They've made the refund…read moresystem as much difficult as they possible could. I purchased the 5 days edge pass in May without realizing that my mom will need a knee replacement surgery this coming winter. As soon as I know the surgery is happening in this coming winter, I put in a request online to refund my money at the beginning of July. They not only asking you to fill out a mile long form with all those emails going back and forth, you are also requested to get all the signed documents from the doctors for approvals. It's been 2 months and I am still waiting for the refund. I've been going to Whistler for more than 30 yrs, this year is the worst experience ever.

Flight canceled for not so obvious reasons.. Too expensive…read morefor options (bus) provided. Essentially they claim to be a best managed company but they cancel your flight if they don't have enough planes flying.

Very friendly staff and what a beautiful location! They also have bikes for rent as well.read more

We booked whitewater rafting with The Adventure Group in Whistler and it was an incredible…read moreexperience. One of the best bonuses right off the bat was the free transportation they provide from Whistler Village out to their basecamp--it made the logistics completely seamless. Make sure you arrive with some time to spare because their basecamp is awesome. They have a bunch of complimentary activities to keep you entertained before or after your tour, including Wiffle ball golf, axe throwing, a nice hike around the beautiful grounds, and giant yard games like Jenga, tic-tac-toe, and cornhole. It really extends the adventure and adds so much value! When it comes to the rafting itself, they make the whole process completely stress-free. Literally all we needed to bring was a bathing suit and a towel--they provide absolutely everything else. Since the water was still cold, they geared us up in full wetsuits, a jacket, boots, a life jacket, and a paddle. We rafted the Green River, which features class 2-3 rapids. It is the perfect adventure for beginners because you get plenty of opportunities to get splashed and feel the adrenaline, but it still feels completely safe. Our group of six was paired with an amazing guide who gave us super detailed instructions on all the paddle movements we needed to know to work as a team. If you are looking for a fun, well-organized, and action-packed water adventure in Whistler, I highly recommend TAG!

Had the best time with TAG! We experienced 2 adventures with them- snowmobiling and the Vallea…read moreLumina. There was still lots of snow on the mountain trails for our ride and Marley was a terrific guide. The light show was really well done and their sound system rocked throughout the woods. Axe throwing, included with the day pass, was also fun. It was easy to get there and back to the village on the free shuttle service. Highly recommend!

Brittney was fantastic. So much fun for family and friends. Highly recommend bringing a water…read morebottle but the staff at the snack bar will provide any recommendations and they are the experts!! Thanks Brittney

This place is simply magical. We come every year when we visit Whistler. It's only a very short…read moredrive from the village. You won't regret your visit. Kids or no kids-this is a great date night, solo visit, or I family for well behaved children. This art installation is something special for everyone. Buy tickets for certain time slots online. This enchanted light show event is only at night for the best viewing. Free parking lot if you are driving or you can pay for a shuttle from town. The "camp" home base has changed a bit in the last few years. Now there are camp fires to sit by if you come early. Drinks and snacks for purchase as well. Once your tour starts, you will walk a very easy wide path through the forest. It's self guided, but you will be with others in your group. You can hang back or rush through. Everything is on a loop. It has been snowy, rainy, cold, and dry during my visits. Dress accordingly as you will enjoy every single time. There are things to see and hear. I don't want to spoil it, but it's really special. If you want spoilers, look at my photos. Most of all, enjoy it!

Lush lush powder. It's a winter wonderland and visiting this place brings me vivid memories of…read moreBanff. The gondola is a nice smooth ride, but don't spend all day riding the gondola you'll lose time on the hill.

Very large skiable area with gondola service to main ski areas. Sitting in a gondola is very…read moreluxurious because it's enclosed, your snowboard is unstrapped and sitting outside on the gondola so you can sit in comfort and unwind for a bit without fear of loosing your gloves. There were nice runs off both the Whistler side and the Blackcomb side but as a snowboarder I think I liked the Blackcomb side better. There were less flat cat track spots and connector areas. Although once I figured out where to go, the runs on the Whistler side were amazing. I felt the Whistler side was consistently more crowded and had better snow than the Blackcomb side. I hear the Blackcomb was designed on a computer model as it's the newer side vs the Whistler side was not. Whistler has a large village that has many restaurants, grocery stores, board-shops and winter clothing stores. All the rentals in the area are some how connected to the Whistler village and you'll have to either walk thru there to get to the lifts and gondolas or have a ski in/ ski out situation. There is also a free bus system that connects all the surrounding rental areas and Whistler village. There are also a few different (paid) bus services to and from Vancouver airport to Whistler so you don't have to rent a car. Whistler is a cool place with a huge skiable area. It's located at a lower elevation so the 2 times I've been there, there was no new snow. It had a good base and had good groomed runs. This past time there was a fog layer in the middle of the mountain every day. So the top of the lower runs had limited visibility. If you went to the top of the mountain you'd be above the cloud line. My biggest complaint was that you couldn't always see the contours of the ground, when the run turned a certain way or was obscured from the sun behind a hill or trees. So on a long run you'd have good visibility in some areas then there'd be areas where there'd be bad visibility. Combine that with the mid mountain clouds / fog certain parts became a little sketchy. But once you got the run down you just trust that it's smooth and go, just takes a little leap of faith. Overall I enjoyed myself. I liked the ski in / ski out place that we rented (painted cliff), the ease of getting to and from the airport, and the ease of getting around via the free bus service. It would be amazing with some fresh pow! Going to Whistler? Check out my reviews of places in Whistler village to help plan your vacation. https://www.yelp.com/collection/mDjTabp4tD1hN0_JiY9-Ww/Whistler

Not sure why I have never reviewed this before as it's is an engineering marvel as the highest and…read moreat one point the longest gondola between two mountains! Connecting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, each gondola is large, comfortable with lots of viewing space. There are some with glass bottoms that arrive approximately every 20 minutes but there is plenty to see on the regular gondolas and those lines are remarkably quicker. The ride is very smooth with exceptional views and we buy the summer passes that give unlimited rides on Whistler, Blackcomb and Peak to Peak throughout the summer season which is economical if you plan to take multiple trips ! A must do when visiting Whistler

We went up to Whistler for the day and the Peak to Peak Gondola did not disappoint. We went in…read morespring so most of the snow had melted. I think it was the last weekend of skiing so it wasn't very busy. I recommend wearing good shoes with traction because you will be walking in the snow if you're going when there is still snow on the mountain. With you ticket you can spend as much time as you want on the top and going from peak to peak, so we did go back and forth a few times. However once you come down the mountain, your journey comes to an end. We also explore the villages and it was pretty quaint and fun to check out all the little shops and restaurants. We definitely want to come again during the winter months and maybe get a few runs in on the mountain as well. When we saw the people skiing and snowboarding, we were a little jealous and wanted to do a few runs as well, but alas we didn't bring our gear. Next year for sure! We'll be back!

During our babymoon to Whistler, we wanted to do some lake activities but thought kayaking would be…read moretoo strenuous for me. So we found Backroads, which offers pedal boating, which was the perfect activity. At $110/hour, it's more expensive than taking a kayak or a canoe (which I believe is $99) and doesn't seem as popular (there were only 2-3 pedal boats). We got there on a Friday at around 10:30 in the morning and it seems the most popular option was the kayak. But pedal boating was perfect for us. First, you go to the kiosk and put down a credit card. Then, you head over to a shed to pick up your life jacket, and depending on which boat you're taking, the crew will let you know the instructions and where to go. We took the boat for about an hour, which was enough time for us to go around the lake with some breaks in between. When you're done, you row back to where you launched, return your life jacket, and go close out the bill. Overall, it was kind of pricey but it was a fun experience being out on Lake Alta. Tip - no parking lot. There's only residential street parking, which wasn't plenty but we were still able to nab a spot at that hour. Bathrooms are actual stalled bathrooms and are pretty clean.

Terrible experience with this agency. They have a monopoly on the lake so can't do much…read more Fundamentally they claim policies and double charge you on your credit card. The staff is untrained and not really engaged in providing instructions. Would avoid them on the next visit.

Great experience and Tom was a wonderful guide. Beautiful spot with a gradual introduction to…read moreATV-ing.

Charlotte and Kit were our guides and we had a great time! Always checked in on us and took us to…read moresome fun areas. Even helped up with getting some great pics! Definitely recommend! Thank you Charlotte and Kit!