I recently travelled out west to British Columbia for five days with two friends of mine. In my previous travels, I've explored multiple different countries, however, I had never travelled within my own country, Canada. Naturally, this was a super exciting trip for me! Within the five days we were able to visit three different areas of BC, including Vancouver, Whistler and Victoria Island.
We started our first full day in Whistler, which is just under two hours from Vancouver. This is where our accommodations were for our entire stay. If you're a skier or snowboarder, I can confidently say that visiting Whistler's mountains, specifically Blackcomb Ski Resort, needs to be on your bucket list. As I'm sure you can imagine, it is absolutely remarkable. Arriving in the village is where the fun starts. You are surrounded by lively restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and more! It's such an awesome atmosphere. One thing I loved and admired was the friendliness and positivity of the staff members within the village and throughout the mountain. They completely set the vibe for a relaxed, fun experience. Once you hop on the gondola from the bottom of the mountain, you will start experiencing the beautiful scenic views. After about a twenty minute ride up the mountain, you reach the landing where another mini village exists consisting of a couple of different chalets/restaurants. You truly feel like you're in a whole new world as you get off the gondola and realize you're now in the clouds. The skiing was amazing and we were lucky enough to have visited on a day where the mountain was full of fresh powder.. and lots of it! As you ski or snowboard, you truly do feel as if you need to stop every couple of minutes to pause and take in the stunning view. Overall, Whistler was absolutely one of my favourite spots we visited on our trip.
We spent majority of our time out west in Vancouver, because, as I mentioned, this is where our accommodations were for the five days we were visiting. It was quite easy to fill up a few days of activities just strictly within the Vancouver area. One day we took a short ferry ride to visit Granville Island where we browsed around the adorable boutiques and shops. The food options on the island were endless and delicious and there were musicians on every corner playing live music which created a really cool atmosphere. I would imagine that visiting this area of Vancouver in the warmer months would be great also. There were plenty of awesome patios right on the water!
One of our days in Vancouver was dedicated to exploring each of the little neighbourhoods within the city. Between Gastown, West End, Yaletown and others, we received a good idea of all the different areas and what they were made up of - of course, testing out all the unique restaurants/bars as we moved along. A few days after, we decided to explore North Vancouver. North Vancouver is about twenty minutes from downtown Vancouver and we took advantage of the city's easy public transit to get there. We ended up at the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge which absolutely did not disappoint. The bridge is located within a breathtaking park that included many other features. Not only could you walk across the suspension bridge or "Cliffwalk", but you could also stroll through the gorgeous lit-up walking trail. North Vancouver was also a favourite spot of the trip, especially if visiting in the winter months!
The last area we visited in BC was Victoria Island. To get from Vancouver to Victoria is approximately an hour and a half ferry ride. We used BC Ferries (British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.) and it was a smooth experience. The ferry ride itself had quite beautiful scenery overlooking the water with all the mountains in the distance. When we arrived in Victoria, we already had the places we wanted to see all planned out as we only had a short period of time there. We took a walk along the main pier/boardwalk where there were plenty of fun restaurants, as well as snack shacks along the water. Again, this is an area I would assume would be especially exciting to visit in the warmer months as you could take advantage of all the fun outdoor amenities. In Victoria, we also visited the well-known Beacon Hill Park which is located in the downtown area. It was full of stunning greenery as well as wildlife. There were peacocks walking around everywhere we looked!
I had such an amazing time exploring BC. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I recommend you go! I hope this gave you a little insight on places you'd like to visit or the things you'd like to see when travelling in BC. Between Vancouver, Whistler and Victoria Island, you truly do experience so many different surroundings and atmospheres. One thing that my friends and I all agreed on was just how unique each area was. Although each location was only a couple hours apart, it seriously felt like we were on opposite ends of the world! Overall, it's safe to say... BC didn't disappoint!
Thanks for reading,
-Miss Maddie
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