[Closed] Whistler recommendations please

Best way to save money

My experience of Whistler was that it was incredibly expensive (lift pass, food and drink, going out). I was lucky because my brother was doing a season over there so I got accommodation free for a week bunking in his flat, but still ended up spending the better part of £2k just on flights and lift pass alone. Add on at least £30 a day for basic food (takeaway), double that if you plan on going out for drinks on an evening. I'd say I spent £2,500 overall, without hotel.

However, nothing can compete to the ski area itself. I'm a snowboarder and I've ridden every ski area in France, most of Andorra, a good chunk of Italy and a few places in Austria / Switzerland and Whistler blows each and every one out of the water for sheer breadth, scope and variety.

It will cost you but you'll remember the trip for a lifetime.

There's not a lot of savings to be had, it's a plastic resort town, everything is pretty pricy.

Canadian Affair cheapest place for flights when I went.

Moguls for lunch rather than GLC or Longhorn can save you a fortune "any change with that" says the 20 something waitress in Lycra. Every hot blooded male "no, not a dam penny". Especially when you see them line up for Phat Wednesday and destroy all the tourists times.

Stayed with Bear Back, headline figure may not seem 'cheap' but when you consider - half-board, guiding and transfers it's pretty good.

Lift passes are turbo expensive compared, well anywhere - but there's loads of riding out of the park that doesn't need a pass (just pedal power) one of my few regrets in life was only riding Park (there's a song about it) when I went.

TBH, I don't think it can be done on the cheap.

We stayed withe Bearback and it was good value. The other thing is to look at westjet for your flghts, several hundred £ cheaper than the major airlines and non stop to vancouver.

My experience of Whistler was that it was incredibly expensive (lift pass, food and drink, going out). I was lucky because my brother was doing a season over there so I got accommodation free for a week bunking in his flat, but still ended up spending the better part of £2k just on flights and lift pass alone. Add on at least £30 a day for basic food (takeaway), double that if you plan on going out for drinks on an evening. I'd say I spent £2,500 overall, without hotel.

Flights won't be cheap, it's 9 hours on a plane. Book as early as possible, Transat are probably the cheapest.

Whistler is a good 2 hours north of Van, you can get the Pacific Lines coach up (book if you have a bike bag) for not a huge amount of money.

£30 a day for basic food is total bonkers though. You can eat for less than $15 CAD a day if you really try. Fat Tony's Pizza is $2 a slice for huge slices, Furniture Warehouse is $4.95 for any dish (loads of choice).

You can spend mega money out there too - but it is possible to do it on a budget.

Where the CAD/GBP has dropped it is more expensive now, previously at 2-1 most stuff even in the main town (bike parts) were as cheap as CRC. If you hunt for a while you will find the shops further from the lifts are usually a bit cheaper.

Biggest tip - take a 160 bike & don't just ride the park. Yes it's great, and it's easy to get caught up in it all, but the really, really great stuff is out in the valley. It's all on the Trailforks App, so it's easy to find. It's criminal to go there & just ride the park - you are missing some of the best trail riding in the world IMO.

Be warned however, Whistler 'XC' is hour long climbs followed by 15 minute descents of all the cliche videos you can watch. Loam, woodwork, steep, mega tech, jumps, drops etc.

I've ridden all over the Alps & nothing touches the sheer depth of trails in the valley for quality & quantity.

If you can, just go.

Nice one, peeps.
Is Top of the World classed as park, btw?

Yeah - anything lift accessed is 'park'.

We camped here for a week - http://www.parkbridge.com/en-ca/rv-cottages/riverside-resort

V cheap ($40 a night + tax), great facilities, quiet, a quick ride to the local shop and all the trails including lifts. Being able to cook makes eating a lot cheaper.

Not being particularly gnar downhillers we only spent 2 days in the park - the other riding is excellent and easy to find. More trails are opening all the time too.

We also spent a few nights in a fancy hotel. This was extremely expensive despite a big discount, and to be honest less convenient that camping. Luxury is lovely but camping has it's own charms.

How long are you thinking of going for? The areas outside of Whistler are also excellent and a lot cheaper.

Went went in September and caught the last few weeks of the season and stayed with bearbacks and will be returning again in 2019 but will be modifying our plans a little, not necessarily to save money but to do things differently. As others have said dont fall into the trap of riding park every day, we rode it one full day then a half day to do top of the world and glad we didnt spend any more time there. There's tonnes of riding and its on such a different level.

Next time we're going to find a small apartment to stay in, even contemplating creekside because the bike paths are soooo accessible into Whistler itself that staying a little bit out is no big deal especially as you'll ride in all directions for the trails. We're also going to hire a car from the airport for the full time, drive past a supermarket in Vancouver and take all the food with us to be able to prepare meals at lunches and evenings ourself. We'll then be able to use that car to get to Squamish and Pemberton because we rode Squamish one of the days and properly loved the riding there. We're not big drinkers nor going out in the evenings cos we'll be going purely for the riding and not socialising so our experience will be different to a lot of people that go.

We went with Transat and the flights were only £440 ish with the bikes on top, hiring bikes out there is a fortune so defo recommend taking your own.

Lots of good advice there, Walmart in Squamish for all your supplies . Squamish and Pemberton trails are on a par with Whistler Valley trails . On that subject Comfortably Numb , Kill Me Thrill Me ( I nearly pedalled into the backside of a bear on this trail ! ) A River Runs Through It epic trails . I would say though scrimp and scrape live cheap get some cash together and head up to the Chilcotins the riding there is out of this world ! If you can see Dale and hitch a ride in his floatplane , you then spend the whole day descending through grizzly country , alpine meadows and more jaw dropping scenery than you think you can handle .

Get off the plane in Vancouver. Make your way as far as Squamish. Stay there instead 😉

Drop us a line with any questions.
Yes you can absolutely do things cheaper than we offer our catered and guided package, but it depends if you prefer to deal with all the logistics or have everything ready to go and dialled for you.
Each to their own of course but we do think we still offer excellent value for money and the simplest way to get the best out of Whistler.

Recommend Bearback for the money. Yes the trails in the valley are easy to find, but also easy to get out of your depth on. Having guiding makes sure you're on the right trail for your ability while still pushing you to improve. Canadian black trails cover a very wide range of difficulty. Even the blues are pretty techy.

I went with bear back in 2015.

I recon It cost me about 2k, including a new shock when mine snapped. The shock was the same price as crc.

I went with them as people said the food was super expensive. It wasn't if you used some common sense.

Don't discount the value that their coaching adds. You don't need a guide for the park, but they coached me down stuff I'd never have attempted on my own, and improved my jumping significantly!

I'd go with them again and take an all Mountain bike to try the non bike Park trails. I was with blokes on trail bikes, the bikes weren't quite as capable on the odd big feature fast bit. But they were absolutely fine.

Some of the people staying there had flown out of Manchester and brought two bikes. Their flights including two bikes were significantly cheaper than air Canada from Gatwick.

If I had the cash and time I'd go again 🙂

Thanks, everyone. This is all good to hear.
I'll have to go for a taste of the Whistler nightlife and maybe pull a biking bint (chronically single atm) but i'm not big into getting smashed and i definitely take the advice on getting trails in, as opposed to just park, so knowing i can save money there is good. Prefer to cater for myself so knowing i can get accommodation of that type for less is also good to know.
I shall look into Bearback. Never heard of them before - or anyone for that matter. Just seems to be Whistler Blackcombe that comes up in a search. I'll be travelling alone so would welcome the prospect of grouping up with riders over there.

VRBO, Alluradirect, AirBnB, Craigslist, Riverside Campground for accommodation.
Save money by buying booze at the liqour store rather than in the pubs, or take advantage of the happy hours, Brickworks 10pm - close, $4 sleaves is my favourtite. Fat Tonys $2/slice, Furnies $5 for everything on the menu (remember to factor in tax and tip too). Groceries are much cheaper in Squamish or Van if you have a car.
Bike shops are good but not particularly cheap. Have a look on Facebook (Whistler mountain bike buy/sell) and craigslist for 2nd hand parts you can save a lot of money.

I'd definitely recommend taking a 160mm bike for the valley and some of the park, but there's definitely trails I'd rather have a big bike on. Top of the World is fun, but the run off the back down to Creekside is even better.

[Waves at GolfChick] 😀

Yep, there's definitely money to be saved on food and booze, and I'd 100% second not buying days and days worth of lift passes unless park riding is your big thing. The out of park stuff is wonderful.

End of season worked pretty well, although we were clearly lucky with the weather.

🙂

If you're saving every penny, look at flights from Dublin to Van. Even with the cost of the UK-Dublin flight the overall cost is sometimes less due to lower taxes.

Three tips:

1. Fat tonys pizza
2. Bring a trail bike (150/60mm is fine for the bike park)
3. Ride the trails outside the park

The grocery store down by mcdonalds does a baked potato with salsa, sourcream, cheese and bacon for $3, very filling.

Everyone always says ride stuff outside of the park, I think the opposite if you are only going for 2 weeks. Why bother pedaling? If you are going up Garbo you will at no point in 2 weeks find yourself looking for more trails to ride. If you want to ride stuff outside of the park go when the lifts aren't open, sure it will be rainy but it will also be cheap as.

We stayed in Creekside-Whistler for a couple of days on our honeymoon last year. The wife doesn't ride but i got a morning pass as it was my birthday. Hired a Rocky Mountain and rode over to the lost lake trails for some amazing trail riding. Ending the ride on the shores of the lake was perfect. I would love to go back to explore and ride the park.

Whistler can be expensive but like others have said it depends where you go. Fat Tony's is good for lunch and you can save costs by cooking your own food if you have an airbnb. Whistler Brewing Co beers are very good!

If you do want bike park passes they usually do an early bird discount, normally available til mid May at reduced rates

Remember Top of the World tickets only allow a limited amount of riders per day and cost extra on top of your normal pass

I went Summer 2015 for 2 weeks, when the exchange rate was better than it is now (about 2 to 1), I'd budget £2.5k for two weeks.

Probably best to avoid Crankworx as accomodation prices go through the roof

I'd echo the comments about the riding outside the bike park - I spent a couple of days riding in Squamish - my favourite trail accessible from Whistler was Up Up & Away

If I went back, then I'd be aiming to do most of my riding outside the bike park

If you go in September you can get a fall season pass relatively cheaply in comparison to normal prices. Bearback are very good we went with them in 2015 and would highly recommend if your travelling singly. Exchange rate makes a massive difference as last year we found it cheap in comparison to what you would pay for food and drink in a uk city but this year was more was a lot more expensive. Make sure you spend a day in Squamish bearback normally offer a days guiding at a small extra cost but definitely worth it johnny lives and Squamish and will show you all the best bits. Worth paying for the worca ap on your phone as well excellent for guiding yourself in the valley