Whistler DIY

A snowHead

I've done many a diy trip to Europe but am venturing over the pond for this years trip.

Half of me says use a TO for comfort if there is any issues with travel, transfers etc as this is our first time. The other half of me is looking at the £1k saving and thinking nice wedge towards some heli airtime Toofy Grin

What are peoples thoughts who have done Canada diy? To me seems pretty straight forward, flight, private transfer both ways (have looked at the limo service on Whistle tourist information website) hotels via trivago, lift passes again from TI website.

What are peoples thoughts on this?
Are transfers ok - I'm a little paranoid about being delayed for whatever reason (weather, traffic) and missing the flight and being stranded
Where do you collect lift passes from?

Currently looking at the Four Seasons, Fairmont Chateau and Hilton. I think the Hilton is more practical for location of the village/lifts plus has kitchen facilities. Four seasons and Fairmont would be a totally different experience to the Hilton I presume.

Any help or comments would be greatly assist in making my decision.

A snowHead

You'll have no trouble. They have excellent customer service at every point. I've used the coach transfer from Vancouver Airport, the limo service is beyond my means but looks fantastic. The hotel or apartment people will sort you out with lift passes (be sure to pre-book, it's cheaper that way), they will either give you passes at reception or point you to the right place.

The transfer company will make sure you don't miss your flight, they'll tell you when you need to leave to get there in good time. If there is a disaster that means you do miss it then you'll have travel insurance right?

If you're looking for self catering (aka Condos) look at the AlluraDirect site. Last time I went to Whistler they were *much* cheaper than the official WB site. Allura will also buy your passes for you at a discount and arrange ski hire etc.

I'd only use a TO if it was going to be cheaper or much more convenient, with the level of customer service out there the convenience is a non-issue so it just comes down to price in my view.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

WE DIY'd our trip to Whistler (although this was a while ago now) Stayed down by Alta lake in a condo and drove either up to whistler or back down the highway a short way to Creekside. We flew into Seattle and hired our own car and didn't have any issues - its a very straight forward drive on a very well maintained road. People I've spoken to say that the bus service between Whistler and Vancouver is really good, so would probably do that if doing again - saves on parking. Lift passes sorted at main office day we arrived.

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Allura Direct for us when we went, saved us a fortune.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We have been doing diy trips to BC for about 15yrs now even 30hr delay was delt with (may be because it was mid week and the bus was not full) and we gave them the flight numbers when booking so they knew there was a problem and the flight had not arrived. I would 2nd the alluradirect, we used them a few times.

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DIY'd a bike trip in the autumn - couldn't imagine an easier place to DIY. We used whislter connections (I think) for transfer - 5 of us plus 9 bikes no problem and they couldn't have been more helpful. Again, lift passes - so easy and staff are all super friendly and helpful. Putting your cash towards heli time is a no brainer, the whole setup over there is designed to make everything as easy as posisble

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

DIY piece of wee wee. Only thing I've found is that flight only prices into YVR aren't always great and that sometimes TOs have a better deal as a result, plus they do chalets which might save on some of the hotel pricing at peak times, at the cost of needing to take a bus to the base.

After all it is free

There's a group of us DIYing to Whistler this season, end of March for a couple of weeks. We've got our flights booked already, but even at the end of Sept and into October, we could see the prices starting to rise significantly.

Yeah, been there every season since '89 and never used a tourist operator. I don't really like charter flights, but it may cost you more depending on when you buy a scheduled flight, if that's a factor. On the other hand who wants to be herded?

Direct flights are best as there's less chance of them losing your gear. Happened to me once in about 60 flights into YVR, and only when I had multiple segments. So try to fly direct.

As stated, if you have to go to SEA, a car connection is better than a transfer flight, if you're going to hire a car anyway. You will need an ESTA then though, so avoiding the US is easier unless you're interested in Baker etc.

In Whistler you don't need a car; often I fly into YVR, get the shuttle bus up to Whistler, and then you're in the village, door-to-door for most places. Hotels will charge you to park your car, and the traffic's bad in town. Some of the ski hill parking lots also charge, but you can avoid those easy enough. Local busses work great if you're somewhere out of town even. There's also a Greyhound service, but the terminal's harder to get to. It's a good idea to book the bus transfer online if that's what you're going to use.

You could pay for a limo, but at that point I'm normally jet lagged and it's dark, and the bus works pretty well for me.

I seldom get delays into YVR from either BA or AC. One time I had an 8 hour delay; the airline had to pay for hotel costs (the YVR Fairmont is *the* place to stay) and I continued on next day. The bus company asks what flight you're on: it's dealt with. In extremis the taxi fair to Whistler is about $200 - I did that once (the trick is to find a cab driver who has seen snow - no kidding - and has winter tyres). The last bus is about 22:00 and the first about 06:00, so it's not really an issue. But this is Canada, it's all there to serve you, it's easy.

Maybe one time in ten the transfer time will be extended as the highway gets a ton of snow. It's seldom more than an hour or two though - the plough service is good.

Like any North American resort you can just buy your lift pass from the booth at the bottom of the slopes on the day with a credit card (use one which doesn't charge for foreign currency transactions). They likely charge less for multi-day passes, and you may find a deal with your hotel.

You can't really go wrong with hotels.

--
Heli [1]....
Usually Whistler gets a ton of snow. When it's snowing the visibility can be poor, and the temperature may cause the machines to ice up. Hence in Whistler the helis are often down when it's snowing. To counter that, book it for as early as you can in your trip, and expect the date to move back if they're down. An alternative is to go Cat Skiing, which may actually give you the same or more vertical and which is unaffected by the weathe. If there's no visibility you will be in the trees. Note that if the snow's really bad then both helis and cats may be down - they want you to ride good snow, not rubbish stuff. One good thing about resort heli is that if you don't ride you don't pay.

[1] I have some interest in one of the Whistler operators.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Thanks for all your replies and pointers, I'll be sure to take a look at Allura Direct.

My main concern is disruption to any travel plans due to weather, traffic etc I hread the traffic can be pretty bad in and around VC, with the TO you have the reassurance they have to get you home if a flight is missed due to their part. Whilst I have comprehensive travel insurance I dont think there would be cover for missed flight due to traffic congestion.

I suppose that transfer co. will be ahead of the game by the above reports, will check out Whistler connections.

If I book through Trivago I suppose I would have to contact the hotel direct once booked to arrange lift passes? Is this the way to go?

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snow reports

You could try WB own web site they can book hotels and lift passes as a package.

You know it makes sense.

Good point about hotel breakfasts - if they are not included in the room rate then I'd avoid eating in the hotel, they tend to be very expensive. You can get much better brekkies for much less in the village or on the mountain.

Re. Traffic, it's the transport company's job to get you to the airport on time, they do it day in day out, they know about traffic and weather:-) If a coach load of folks missed their flight there'd be hell to pay, it's not the US but the litigation culture is still pretty strong. They'll get you there! If the weather is so bad you can't get to the airport then the flight will most likely be delayed too... where do you think the pilots spend their layovers wink

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

When we went to Whistler we had an evening flight home, but we left in the morning and missed skiing to spend the day in Vancouver. Narrowly missed a serious accident on the main road which closed it for several hours. We were the last car before they closed it in both directions for helicopter and recovery. People following us just a couple of hours later barely made their flight while we had time to wander round Stanley park, and have an excellent lunch in a very good restaurant there.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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philwig can you pm me some details if you have any offers or advice on heli time please.

Not thought about skiing locally in VC, where do you store your baggage though?

Looking at a flight time of 20:45 so should be able to get a full day in on the last day if lifts still close at 3:30.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

scoman, baggage will surely be in your car?

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scoman,

We always DIY trips to Whistler - way to go I think.

+1 re Allura. I can recommend a nice condo in a quite residential street serviced by the N5 bus that does the Whistler / Blackcomb loop. Let me know if you want me to send details or have any other questions etc.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I think it may be too late for the best discounts on passes (discount deadline is usually 15th November) ....but they've extended the discount period in previous years, so it's worth checking out, still.

The WB website offers a number of deals based on combined accommodation and lift tickets with relatively advanced closing dates (22 Jan)

After all it is free

Help!!

Whistler DIY

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