A visit to Whistler, BC - Our 8 Day Itinerary

My Whistler trip was unforgettable – arriving by seaplane, exploring the village, gondola rides to snowy peaks, forest walks, sushi, poutine, local markets, and endless family fun. A perfect mix of food, culture, and adventure in the heart of British Columbia.

Day 1

We arrived in Whistler via seaplane (Harbor Air) and wow what an incredible experience that was. It was my first time ever on a seaplane and it was a lot smoother than I was expecting. The views, oh my gosh the VIEWS from the window were absolutely breathtaking. The kinds of blues on lakes that you’d think is photoshop if you weren’t seeing it right in front of your eyes. When we arrived we were greeted by our family that was already there. Then we went and explored a bit of Whistler village and little gift shops. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club in Whistler and it was really great. Our room was really comfortable and well equipped. The bathroom was reallyy nice and every room had an aircon. The little mart at the bottom of the hotel has all the essentials you might need as well as a little coffee dispenser and grinder which I found so cool! (I later learned a lot of the shops around here actually have those coffee grinder and bean dispenser setups). Our first dinner here was a soy seasoned steak on a stick with a side of noodles. 

Day 2

I wasn’t expecting the bed at a place like this to be uncomfortable, but I think I’m just so used to my bed and pillow and stuff that I was expecting to struggle, but I actually slept so well and didn’t struggle much to get comfy at all. The morning started with a toasted bagel and some veggie cream cheese spread. Then we headed into the village again for a Starbucks coffee (Shaken espresso brown sugar oat latte) and another walk about to browse some more of the shops. There are some really cool skate shops and the prices are actually relatively good. After that it was time for a snack and beer stop at the Amsterdam Cafe and some ice cream at Cows. This was so so good. They fresh make the waffle cones in house from scratch and have allll the flavour options. They also have a bunch of funny cow themed shirts. I also tried Nerds Gummy Clusters for the first time. We get Nerds at home, but we don’t get the gummies, these are pretty good. 

Day 3

Today was my sister’s birthday so the day started with a really good breakfast; an English muffin with scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh berries and a hash brown. Then after another Starbucks, this time a signature blonde vanilla latte, we played a bunch of Mexican Train Dominoes. I hadn’t played this game before our trip to Canada and after this I couldn’t stop it’s so much fun. We even bought our own set to bring back to Cape Town. Then after some chilling we headed to Earls for a sharing table of some tapas and cocktails. The rest of the afternoon was just chilled family vibes and then we had dinner all together on the patio - Grilled steak slices with potatoes, quinoa salad and grilled corn. The dessert was a special Tiramisu cake and oh my goodness I think this was the most delicious cake I’ve ever had, literally, it was so tasty and had all the best flavour notes of a Tiramisu, but just a cake! We ended the night playing some Code Names. 

Day 4

This morning we started pretty early with a walk through the forest. It was so stunning, the tall tall trees and moss and unique plants growing all around. And everything is so vibrant and green.

Then we met up with some friends to go up the mountain via the gondolas. We had lunch at Christines and used Peak2Peak gondolas to cross over to the other mountain peak. And then from there we took a set of open chairs right to the tippy top where I got to see snow for the first time! It was pretty old and icy snow, but it was still snow! The views all around on top here were absolutely breathtaking. This is definitely one of my highlights of the whole trip, I’ve never seen or felt anything like that.

Once we were back on the ground we went to the Irish Pub for some beers and Kombucha (I didn’t feel like beer). Dinner was a bunch of the nicest sushi ever at the Sushi Village. And also RAMUNE!! Such a unique soda. It’s from Japan and sealed with a marble which you pop into the bottle to open it up. 

Day 5

Breakfast was simple and light this morning; a fruit salad with yoghurt and granola, but then I was still hungry so I had a bagel with cream cheese right after that haha. After breakfast settled we headed to the Sunday Farmers Market in the village. This was really awesome, there were so many cool makers and foods to see and eat here. As well as fresh fruit and vegetables and other kitchen supplies. This is where I decided to buy one of these handcrafted Japanese mugs that are made by these folks. He’s literally busy carving as he sits there in the market. On  their website they have a full breakdown of the whole process which she kindly explained to me and it’s just so special this had to be one of the things I needed to take home with me to commemorate this trip and share the story. Another must have is Lemon Squares here at the market and sold across Canada, they are so damn delicious. Lunch was a simple croissant filled with mixed cheese, tomato and ham. Firing up the BBQ for dinner we made a tonne of chicken for the whole family as well as some roast vegetables and corn on the cob. 

Day 6

Another forest walk that lead to an abandoned train. These box cars have been here since 1956! They derailed due to excessive speed on tracks that were under repair. It was too expensive to get them back up/repair them so a local logging company was hired to move them, dragging them into the forest where they’ve been ever since.

We also went to Whistler Brewing where we tasted some awesome and limited craft beers. I actually bought a growler filled with some of this sours craft which was super interesting. It was like sweet and sour and kinda hoppy at the same time haha, it definitely kinda seemed more like a cider than a beer. Camp coffee. After having some beer and snacks there we headed to do some axe throwing which was also near by so we just walked. We also passed one of my favorite coffee shop combo stores I’ve ever visited: Camp Coffee, which not only had the nicest coffee milkshake I’ve ever tried, but it also has a tonnn of really really cool like highly photography based coffee table books that are all about, cabins, caravans, camping, motorbike trips and more! Really my kind of store, I could’ve filled my bag and killed my budget from books from there if I had a lot of money haha. This was also the day I tried poutine for the first time! The poutine here at Zogs was not only my first time trying poutine, but it’s also the tastiest poutine I had the whole rest of the visit to Canada.

 Day 7

We started this day earlyy and went to grab some E-Bikes to do a nice tour around the forests and seeing some more incredible views. Yet another first time for me haha, riding these electric assist bikes is sooo much fun. You still pedal, but it just kinda feels like barely any effort, it was great. When we got back to the village and handed back our bikes we went to sit down for a beer and the biggest nachos I’ve ever seen in my life. After lunch I showered up and then I actually went to go get a semi-last minute tattoo. I had wanted to get a tattoo and had a design in mind, but just managed to find a walk in gap which is why I say sort of last minute. I’m sooo happy with this, I’d like to get a tattoo at all the major places I travel. This was of a moka pot, which is the coffee pot I use every single day. Of course for my love of coffee, but also because I got it here in Whistler, Canada it was that much more special than any other tattoo I can get back home.

Day 8

Our very last day in Whistler. We started the day slow and cleaned up and back everything up. Then we went down to do the First Nation’s history walk through the forest. Then it was time for one last new experience in Whistler; Beaver tales. This was so so delicious and so so sweet. We shared one topped with cheesecake filling and a caramel ice cream scoop. Leaving Whistler we took the bus home to get some more unique experiences and views on the way back to Vancouver.