The BIG 50th Vancouver Vacation - Sept/Oct 2021 - Pre Trippy

[smithlane]

Hello . Welcome to my latest pre trippy for our impending holiday across the Atlantic. No not to the USA but to its next door neighbour, Canada!

This is a relatively last minute booking as our original holiday plan had us going on a 10 night road trip around Lake Michigan starting and ending in Chicago but alas this was not meant to be. I have lost count how many US holidays I have had to cancel these past 18 months but I think this was number 6 😭
HOWEVER like they say, every cloud has a silver lining and we are VERY excited to be going somewhere new!

When it was becoming increasingly apparent that Biden was not going to open the borders to tourists in time for our holiday I began looking at alternative options.
With more and more rumours appearing that Canada may open its borders on September 7th I started looking at flights to either Toronto or Vancouver. Having never been to Canada I was a complete novice at planning a holiday here.
We had 10 nights to play with and after asking a few questions on here we decided that a Vancouver road trip fitted the bill perfectly. I do still desperately want to visit Toronto but would love to twin that with Niagara Falls and crossing the border to road trip around New York State.

So before I fill you in on the details I’ll introduce who we are and the background of this trip.

First up there’s me, Alicia. Still 38 (just!) and still a mobile beauty therapist, oh and still partial to the odd bit of shopping!
Mum to 2 wonderful children, Hope and Sam but they won’t be featuring in this report. Yes that’s right, it’s an adults only holiday

Next up, Jim. Still the long suffering partner of mine and wonderful stepdad to the kids and still a golfaholic (yes that’s a real word!)

Last but not least we have Helen and Nick, Jim’s sister and BIL. We have holidayed with these two many times before so are really looking forward to sharing this trip with them

How it all came about
Last December, before we were plunged into Tier 4 and then Lockdown 3 we were having dinner with Helen and Nick and were discussing a certain somebody’s (*cough* Nick *cough*) 50th birthday the following year. I was saying how Jim and I had a rough plan once Hope had settled into University in the September to visit Chicago for a few nights and for him to play golf at Whistling Straights which is where the Ryder Cup has just taken place in Wisconsin. As we would be there just after the competition, the course would be back open to the public. We would then drive around to Mackinac Island before ending the holiday in a spa hotel in Traverse City, Michigan.
We asked if they wanted to join us as we could be there for Nicks big day.
They jumped at the chance so we booked some flights and a car there and then! We actually got World Traveller Plus flights with BA and a 7 seat SUV for £650pp. Bargain!
Never in a million years did I think 9 months on we still wouldn’t be allowed in, although after our recent defeat in the Ryder Cup it may not be a bad thing…. American spectators I’m looking at you

Like I said above when it was looking likely we couldn’t travel I needed to get a plan B in action so just before we travelled to Crete for our family holiday in August I began perusing the BA site once again.

Flights were looking very reasonable into Vancouver, especially when taking into account the ridiculously high car rental prices. I found direct flights with BA from Heathrow to Vancouver with a 7 seat minivan for £503pp, so cheaper than our Chicago flights but we are having to slum it in cattle class this time
Our dates our 29th September to 9th October, landing on the 10th.

So until we got the thumbs up on the borders I just had the flights booked. I didn’t have the mental energy to make any more accommodation bookings that could potentially be cancelled. The only reason I booked the flights was because I knew the prices would rocket when the borders opened and I could secure them with only a £150 deposit.
Literally the day before they reopened, the Canadian government finally confirmed they would indeed be reopening to double vaccinated tourists the very next day. So with that very happy news I went about booking up where we would be staying and for how long in each place.

Accommodation
I’m very fortunate that everyone trusts me with planning a holiday so I almost get free rein on what we do
I knew I wanted 3 nights in Vancouver so I found a great deal on Booking.com for The Sutton Place hotel right in the centre of the city for £615 for 2 rooms. This is a 5 star hotel right in the city centre so a bit of a bargain!

Then I ummed and ahhed about driving up to Whistler for a night or 2 and eventually settled on a 1 night stay, just so we can see the main sights and the fabulous scenery on the drive up. It’s on Jim’s bucket list to ski in Whistler so we’ll hopefully return for longer in the winter season. Again through Booking.com I booked 2 rooms at the Listel Hotel for £201. This is right in the centre of the town so handy to leave the car and walk around.

The one definite destination that we all wanted to do is Vancouver Island, however I couldn’t decide on whereabouts as there are too many places I wanted to stay! The island is huge at 283 miles long and with only 6 nights left to play with I needed to narrow down the options.
I eventually settled on Ucluelet and Nanaimo, 3 nights in each. The ferry actually arrives and departs from Nanaimo but we will be heading to Ucluelet on the West coast first as it’s a nearly 3 hour drive I’d rather a shorter travel on our last day before the flight, just in case of any hold ups! It does mean a long day driving from Whistler but with 4 of us sharing the driving I’m sure it’ll be fine.

I found the cutest AirBnB in Ucluelet which is a stones throw from the Wild Pacific hiking trail and a 5-10 minute walk into town. It has 2 bedrooms and a lovely outdoor space, not sure how much we’ll use it though as it’s looking a bit chilly for our time there 🥶
For the 3 nights it was £650, not bad when split between us.

For Nanaimo I was tempted with another AirBnB but with reading that the Canadian govt require a quarantine plan in place which I believe means they want to see that you have a place to stay in the event of us needing to isolate, we have somewhere that has room service so we wouldn’t need to leave the room. I wasn’t sure how it worked with self catered accommodation and if they needed to see the place had availability beyond your stay.
Again through Booking.com I secured us 2 rooms at the Best Western Dorchester which is in the town centre for £533 for 3 nights so less than £100 per room per night.

Plans
With this trip only being booked less than a month ago I haven’t done my usual in depth research of each destination but I do have a few things planned and we will wing the rest!

Vancouver
Hiring bikes and cycling around Stanley Park. I have found a bike hire shop within walking distance from our hotel and is a reasonable $44CAD for the whole day

Capilano Suspension Bridge - This is about 30 minutes north of the city and an absolute must according to anyone that has visited Vancouver. This is $54.95CAD per person

Granville Market - I think we may go here one afternoon to browse the stalls and grab some food from one of the vendors

Whistler
Sea to Sky Gondola - This is on the drive up to Whistler on the Sea to Sky highway. We’ll hopefully try one of the trails at the top if the weather behaves! $55.95 per person

Big Sky golf course. Now this is one for the boys but looking at the photos on their website I might be tempted to drive the buggy to take in these views!

Ucluelet
Wild Pacific Trail - We are staying right on the doorstep to this famous trail which goes alongside the dramatic Pacific coastline on this part of VI.

Bear Watching - This isn’t booked yet but hoping to go bear watching from Tofino which is about 30 minutes north of Ucluelet. $129 each

Cathedral Grove - This is on the way to Nanaimo and has various trails with some of the tallest Douglas fir trees on the island

Nanaimo
Whale Watching - This is an absolute must for Helen and I. The boys would rather poke their eyes out as I quote this from Jim after our whale watching trip in Monterey a few years back “well that’s 3 hours of my life I’ll never get back” 🙄. He’s not really one with nature, unless it’s on a golf course .
$159CAD per person so a bit pricey but you do get around 3-4 hours out on the water so will be totally worth it if we get to see Orcas!

Seaplane tour - It’s Nick's big birthday while we’re here and we’re considering a private seaplane tour for him (and us!). It’s not cheap so we’ll see once we’re out there how we feel. If not then the boys will play golf!

Shopping
Some of you may be wondering the distinct lack of any shopping being mentioned so far! Fear not there will be plenty
I was embarrassingly happy to find out there is a Walmart, Bath and Bodyworks, Sephora and Michael’s in Canada! No Target though, why Canada why 😩
There is also a rather large MacArthur Glen outlets right by the airport so that sorts out the last few hours before we fly home!

I have already made a list of the MANY foaming hand washes and candles I’ll be buying from BABW and the long list of American sweet treats and over the counter drugs from Walmart!

I’ll also be on the hunt for Autumn and Christmas home decor and crafty bits, hoping they have as good a range as the US.
It’s Canadian Thanksgiving the day after we get home so thinking there may be some sales on in the shops around that weekend.

Itinerary
Now apart from where we’re staying this plan is likely to change slightly as we just don’t know what the weather will be like until we’re there or what we will fancy on the day.

Vancouver - 3 nights
Day 1 - 29th
Flight to Vancouver
LHR 17.05 - YVR 18.35
Pick up car
Drive to hotel
Dinner @ Joey Burrard
Sutton Place Hotel
Day 2 - 30th
Breakfast @ Tim Hortons
Hire bikes - Cycle round Stanley Park
Lunch @ Stanley Park Brewing Restaurant
Granville Market
Sutton Place Hotel
Day 3 - 1st
Breakfast @ Starbucks
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Pipeline Trail
Walmart
Dinner @ LIFT Bar & Grill
Sutton Place Hotel
Whistler - 1 night
Day 4 - 2nd
Breakfast @ Denny’s
Sea to Sky Gondola
Drive to Whistler
Dinner @ Mongolie Grill/Earls Kitchen
The Listel Hotel Whistler
Ucluelet - 3 nights
Day 5 - 3rd
Golf @ Big Sky Golf Club
Drive to Horseshoe Bay
Ferry to Vancouver Island (Nanaimo Departure Bay)
Drive to Ucluelet
Dinner @ Eagle’s Nest Pub
AirBnB
Day 6 - 4th
Breakfast @ Barkley Cafe
Kayaking
Bear watching - Adventure Tofino
Dinner @ Wickaninnish Inn
AirBnB
Day 7 - 5th
Wild Pacific Trail hike
Dinner @ Howler’s
AirBnB
Nanaimo - 3 nights
Day 8 - 6th
Drive to Nanaimo
Cathedral Grove hike
Dinner @ Lighthouse Pub
Best Western Dorchester
Day 9 - 7th
Breakfast @ Ironworks Cafe
Golf @ Winchelsea Golf Club
Shopping
Dinner @ Beefeater’s Chophouse
Best Western Dorchester
Day 10 - 8th
Whale Watching - Nanaimo Whale Watching
Adventure Nanaimo
Dinner @ Gina’s Mexican Cafe
Best Western Dorchester
Day 11 - 9th
Ferry to Horseshoe Bay
Drive to MacArthur Glen Outlets
Flight to London
YVR 20.35 - LHR 13.50 (10th)

So that there ends a very jam packed 10 nights and we’ll probably need another holiday to recover from but we can’t wait!

We have received our negative PCR results earlier this evening (phew!) and I have finally packed after a very busy weekend moving Hope into her Uni accommodation. I just have work to get through tomorrow then will get Sam sorted as he is going to stay with his Nan for the duration we're away. I don't quite trust him to stay on his own yet although at 16 going on 26 he thinks he is more than ready to

Even though our flight isn't until 5pm on Wednesday, I'm planning on getting there for 1.30 as I would rather get the rigmarole of dropping our bags and security before we can relax with a drink in the bar!
We only live 15 minutes away from Heathrow T5 so will just order an Uber on the day, it's one thing we don't have a shortage of! Talking of shortages, we're hoping we have enough fuel to drive Boris our Labrador round the M25 to Hertfordshire tomorrow evening and don't encounter any protesters blocking the motorway
Wish us luck!

[anji]

You have no idea how excited I am to read this! About to re-book our 3rd attempt for next September and very interested to hear all about your trip!
I had bear watching booked from Ucleulet with Jamie's for 2019 - you may want to check them out and I hope they've survived.
Have the best time! 😃😃

[WileyCoyote]

Looks an amazing holiday Alicia. Love the plans and some great hotel bargains there.

Err, quite a lot of stuff that involves heights also. Will be covering my eyes at the sky gondola and suspension bridge pics!

Can’t wait to read along.
Safe travels and happy hols x

[Disneycraft]

So excited for you I shall be following along .have a great time x

[P&S]

Sounds like an amazing trip

[vegboatride]

Looks fantastic! I’m very interested to read along, have a fabulous trip

[Goosey-Lucy]

Will definitely be reading along, Canada’s always been a place of interest for us so will be great seeing what you guys get up to. Also really excited to be reading a new trip report 😁

[JoS]

Sounds fantastic and I shall be following along with you. I have twice cancelled Vancouver, but will definitely go in the near future, so will be interested to hear your views. Another plus point is the exchange rate is quite good at about $1.70 CDN to the pound. Just a point of interest Target used to be in Canada and didnt do well. Can you believe that?, So they closed their stores after maybe a year. Hope you have an amazing time. So looking forward to reading about it all. Have fun.

[Twiggy1953]

This was pretty much our last holiday before COVID arrived. Wish I was back there now.😳 Pretty sure you won’t find a Denny’s in Whistler. I don’t think there’s even a Tim Hortons there. Nice place to wander around though.

[Buggles94]

This looks amazing and just realised you go tomorrow! So exciting We love Vancouver - absolutely beautiful city with the sea and the mountains. The views are stunning. Have a fantastic time!