Whistler in British Columbia, Canada, is the resort that’s on every skier’s bucket list.
It’s not just the biggest ski area in North America with one of the biggest lift-served-verticals on the continent, it’s also one of the most vibrant, exciting resorts in the world with a phenomenal choice of activities, dining, shopping and world-class après-ski.
But did you know that it’s best to book your Whistler holiday as early as possible to get the best deals?
All lodging, flights and ski essentials in Whistler are heavily discounted as long as you book early. Book by 31st August for the very best deals and discounts. If you wait until the next ‘Book by’ deadline of 15th November, the deals are still discounted, but just to a lesser extent.
Specialist travel company Ski Independence, who provide bespoke holidays closely tailored to the individual needs of each skier, have been experts on holidays to Whistler for well over 20 years. They have very close ties with the resort and its accommodation providers and work in partnership with them every year to create some sensational early booking offers. The best deals for next winter, including savings of up to 50%, are on sale until 31st August, 2017.
The extra good news is that BA and Air Canada are also running flight sales to coincide with the 31st August ‘Book by’ deadline, so Ski Independence are able to offer savings on the complete package including accommodation, flights, transfers and your Whistler ski essentials (lift tickets + equipment rentals + snow school lessons and much more!).
Why Whistler?
Whistler is universally regarded as one of the world’s top ski resorts and whilst some ski destinations gain a similar reputation because of their great terrain or illustrious history, Whistler has it all – not just great skiing but also a brilliant and convenient resort base where everything is close at hand and easy to get to.
Whistler was planned from the start to be very ‘skier-friendly’ with a pedestrianised heart featuring comfortable accommodation located near to the slopes and close to all other resort facilities. Over the years, Whistler has grown into the amazing resort it is now regarded as, throughout the world. In fact, Whistler has topped prestigious Ski Magazine’s annual skier poll as the # 1 Overall Ski Resort in North America 4 times in the past 5 years. It’s pretty hard to beat as a destination!
On the slopes Whistler and Blackcomb are hard to beat too. Along with hundreds of runs for absolutely every ability level, from long easy cruisers to steep powder fields, Whistler has one of the world’s best lift networks with a fleet of high speed chairlifts and gondolas to whisk you up the slopes quickly and efficiently.
The lift network is crowned by the remarkable award-winning $50M ‘PEAK 2 PEAK’ gondola which connects Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains in the world’s largest continuous lift connection.
Whistler’s commitment to green energy means that the resort lift network and most of Whistler’s other power needs are met by renewable energy generated locally by the Fitzsimmons Creek hydro-electric power plant, a small river you actually pass over on the PEAK 2 PEAK lift.
Snow cover isn’t ever a problem either. Whistler has one of the world’s longest ski seasons – more than six months long from mid – November to late-May, thanks in part to its reputation for huge natural snowfalls (it’s close to the Pacific so the snow-bearing clouds don’t have far to come before they’re forced up by the coastal mountains and deposit their white bounty in abundance), and part to its glacier ski areas, with eternal ice below the snow which actually, uniquely in Canada, re-open for summer skiing in June and July. The resort has a 10-year average of 11.70 metres of snow per winter. Winter 2015-16 and 2016-17 both produced a whopping 12+ metres – a staggering 40+ feet of snow.
Finally it’s worth remembering that Whistler is very easy to reach with a comfortable direct flight to Vancouver, followed by a short trip up the spectacular Sea-To-Sky highway (which had a major upgrade ahead of Whistler and Vancouver hosting the 2010 Olympics) that takes you seamlessly from Vancouver’s modern international airport up to Whistler along Canada’s west coast with the remarkable scenic views just an added bonus.
The highway had major upgrades ahead of Whistler and Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics – the last in North America or Western Europe before the games began their (so far) 16 year trend of moving ever further East in to Asia. Whistler got many other benefits from hosting the games and the long list of things you can try on holiday there besides skiing and boarding include visits to the Olympic venues and perhaps trying out some of the other snow or ice sports you see on the Olympics this coming winter at the upcoming 2018 games.
Why Ski Independence?
Ski Independence are one of the UK’s leading independent ski tour operators and part of a family owned and run travel firm established over 50 years ago. They are tailor-made ski specialists and pride themselves on the quality and knowledge of their Ski Specialists and their unrivalled standards of service.
Ski Independence offer a broad range of hand-picked ski holiday options. Everything they do is based around what best suits their clients and they are dedicated to providing the highest possible levels of personal service.
Three friends on the P2P with view to Whistler Mountain
Stopping-over in the vibrant city of Vancouver on your way to or from Whistler is just one option that Ski Independence can easily tailor in to your holiday.
31st August Too Soon To Book?
If you can’t book before 31st August, 2017 you can still take advantage of special deals on holidays to Whistler which will run up to 15th November, the discounts just won’t be quite so generous,
“There’ll be broadly similar deals to the 31 August deadline, but smaller savings,” confirmed a Ski Independence spokesperson.
How to Book
To book your Whistler & Vancouver ski holiday, call Ski Independence for a tailor-made quotation on 0131 243 8097 or visit www.ski-i.com/whistler
