Canada, with two nights in Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort and two nights in Vancouver

Clinton and Nicola have just returned from a whirlwind four-night trip to Canada, with two nights in Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort and two nights in Vancouver. They flew Fiji Airways via Nadi on the airline’s near new Airbus A350 aircraft. In both Economy Class and Business Class the service and food were equal or better of many larger more well-known airlines. Business Class features modern fully lie flat individual seats, while there is plenty of “personal space” in Economy Class. And whilst it requires transits through Nadi in both directions, it was really nice to have a taste and reminder of the friendly Fijians and would be the perfect opportunity to have an island stopover.

Whistler is the quintessential North American Ski Resort, with a pedestrian only village featuring boutique shops and restaurants, and of course the gondola is right there in the village to whisk you up the mountain. The mountain had only just opened so the snow wasn’t great, however the resort is expecting significant snowfall this week. Clinton and Nicola still did get to ski and to experience the spectacular Peak to Peak Gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. There was some hard work involved and they inspected a wide range of accommodation to suit all budgets, along with some fabulous meals out and a magnificent champagne sabering experience at the Bearfoot Bistro, which also houses an ice bar.

Vancouver is a very nice city, and the downtown/waterfront area is more compact than they had realised, very walkable, with most central city accommodation is very accessible to the main attractions. Clinton and Nicola experienced the waterfront area, an ice hockey game (the Vancouver Canucks went down to the 2022 champion Las Vegas Golden Knights 4-1), Fly Over Canada, which is a fantastic video flying ride that takes you all over spectacular Canada, Granville Island which features a wonderful food market and boutique shops, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the VanDusen Gardens.  The VanDusen Gardens have the most spectacular Christmas light display, and best of all you can go at 5pm as it is already dark. No need to wait until 9:30pm as we do in New Zealand. It is a bit chillier though!

Overall, they found Canada to be a very easy place to visit, with friendly polite people, wonderful scenery, a real emphasis on sustainability, great food - including cafes with food cabinets and flat whites just like home! And of course, the exchange rate is better than the US.

Would go back in a heartbeat!