The shuttle costs $88 roundtrip, tax not included. After tax, it comes out to $98.56. Unfortunately, the shuttle schedule just didn't work for me. The first shuttle leaves at 10:40am but I would have to take the 3:30pm shuttle if I wanted to make my flight. The last shuttle at 7:00pm would have cut it too close for comfort.
On Expedia.ca, I was able to find a Whistler tour with the Westcoast Sightseeing Company, which includes a ten-hour guide and an additional stop at Shannon Falls for a total of $122.90 (taxes included.) Even better, I found a coupon voucher for the tour in my Vancouver City Passport. Sweet!
The driver/tourguide picked me up at the hotel around 8am. I was the only person in the tour bus for the first hour or so. The tourguide was so easygoing that it wasn't awkward at all. We made it all the way to Stanley Park before he had to turn back and pick up a few last-minute additions. He felt so awful about the sudden interruption that I think he actually added a new stop just for my sake.
A nice Australian family joined us and we were on our way. There were a
total of four stops before Whistler. A nice vantage point over Vancouver
(according to the best of my memory and Google Map, it was most likely
the southernmost edge of Cypress Provincial Park.)Just as we were pulling out of the park, a couple of deer crossed the road right in front of us. The tourguide pulled the car over just so we could fully embrace our inner wildlife paparazzi and waste an exorbitant amount of memory card space.
He was also nice enough to point out the eagles in the sky (too far out to take a picture, but the shape was definitely not that of a seagull or a Canadian goose.) Totaling my wildlife sightings to 3.5 - a respectful number if I do say so myself.
We stopped at the Proteau Cove Provincial Park for a nice short break. A small park to be sure, but one that has a terrific view. Vancouver is beautiful when the weather is like this.
That's Stawamus Chief, a popular climbing spot.
Shannon Falls. A completely different feel from Niagara Falls.
The sun was so bright when we got to Shannon Falls that half of my pictures turned out like a scene from an alien abduction.
Close-up of Shannon Falls. My coat was pretty wet after this photo. There's some talks about waterfalls giving off anions, which supposedly increase happiness. Can't say that there was a noticeable change in my happiness level after the visit but I did leave the park feeling pretty good.
Brandywine Falls. About 15 minutes from Whistler. It may very well be one of the most graceful waterfalls I've ever been to.
The other view from the observation deck. I think that's Daisy Lake in the photo but is not 100% sure.
so the 3.5 wildlife... the 0.5 is the blurr of the bear butt you may have seen on the way to the ferry right? or did you see .5 of something else?
ReplyDeleteYour tour sounds like it was worth every penny so far!
I'm counting the bear blur I saw on the train as the 0.5.
DeleteIt really sucks that I didn't see any wildlife on the ferry, but like you said, whale sightings are really rare on the ferry ride to Victoria.