I'm taking my family to Vancouver in June for a few days but thinking whether it would be a good idea to spend a few days in Whistler. What is there to do (besides hiking, I suppose) during that time? I mean, is it worth the time and effort to get up there for a few days or should we just stay in Vancouver for four nights?

Whistler is stunning in the summer, with all the usual resort activities: ie, swiming, golf, horseback riding, biking, etc. You can take a ride to the top of the mountain, and from there either do some alpine hiking or just take in the amazing views. There's also sort of a water-luge thing at Blackcomb. I enjoyed just hanging out at one of the lakes.

On the other hand, Vancouver is pretty damn spectacular in June, also. If this is your family's first or second trip to the city and/or you're only there for a few nights, I'd stay put. On the other hand, if you've been to Vancouver a lot and are staying at least a week, it's well worth the (long, but pretty) drive up for a night or two at Whistler.

Whistler is spectacular but I'd stay in Vancouver. Do a day trip to Victoria. Ride bikes through Stanley Park. Visit the open markets and the cruise ship docks. Wonder through the many small shops. Go to Chinatown.

You really don't have time to do both well.

I agree that you should just stay in Vancouver. More than enough to do than adding in Whistler.

It's dependent on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. Just to ride on previous posters' comments, I'd probably recommend staying in Vancouver unless you've been here before. I think there's enough places to visit for four days..

Whister still has events happening during the summer but they're typically pretty minor. (Obviously, recommend checking an events calendar.) The stops along the way (Squamish, Britannia Beach/Mines, Shannon Falls, etc) might be of interest to the family also. One caveat though is the highway is a potential PITA. An accident or constuction could snarl up traffic so that you end up crawling or stopped along the highway.

Victoria is nice too but what prevents me from heading over more often is the ferry prices for a car & passengers. It might be worth checking out a coach tour if you want to daytrip to Victoria.

>is it worth the time and effort to get up there for a few days or should we just stay in Vancouver for four nights?

I would say stay in Vancouver, although you could certainly get the sense of Whistler in less than a few days. A lot of us locals do it as a day trip.

Keep in mind there are mountains 30 minutes from Vancouver - Although not as impressive as Whistler, a the gondola ride up Grouse or a hike in Cypress Provincial park will certainly put you deep in the mountains and still give you lots of time to see other stuff.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada