TravelTST’s Experts

I have often been accused of looking like a tourist in my own city.

When I go downtown I like to stare at the skyscrapers and wander around aimlessly (for the record I live in Vancouver) but this weekend I took it a step further as I journeyed on one of the regions most popular attractions: Rocky Mountaineers’ Sea to Sky Climb train trip from Vancouver to Whistler.

Now I would suspect by now that most people reading this blog (and hopefully there are some of you out there) know all about Whistler thanks to its co-starring role in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, well the Rocky Mountaineer is how you get there in style.

The Whistler Sea to Sky Climb runs round-trip Thursday through Monday from May until the end of September. The train leaves the North Vancouver rail yard at 8:30 am and takes about three hours to get up to Whistler.

There are two different classes of service available for the trip. The Whistler Dome Service (which I traveled on) offers spacious leather seats; large windows and the attendants provide enjoyable commentary describing the sights you see. Breakfast is served on the morning run to Whistler while tea and sandwiches are served on the return trip to Vancouver.

The Whistler Classic Service is the other category.

The trip offers stunning views of Howe Sound, the Coast Mountains and travels over a pair of trestle bridges. The Dome Service has an open-air car and if you’re on it while going over the trestle bridges you can clearly see the raging waters below.

Many of the sights you’d never be able to see from the Sea to Sky highway, the road link between North Vancouver and Whistler.

Passengers can go round-trip or one way and several packages are available that include accommodation.

If you are planning to make it a day trip though you’ll have to sightsee fast as you need to be back at the station by 2:15 pm, leaving you less than three hours to explore.

There are several excursion options however that you can fit into that short period of time. I recommend the floatplane tour over the Whistler area offered by Whistler Air, it’s not cheap but it is spectacular.

Shuttle service to the train is offered from several hotels in Vancouver’s downtown core and if you are a local I recommend getting yourself to one of those hotels and hopping on the shuttle, as I couldn’t see any parking at the rail yard.

One of the bonuses of being a local is knowing many of the answers to the questions the attendants ask, so you look like you really know your stuff.