Travelocity Reports Pre-Olympic Bargains in Vancouver

Published on: November 5, 2009

Travelocity recommends visiting Vancouver before the crowds arrive and the prices go up for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Travelocity data found average hotel rates in the Vancouver area are a minimum of $100 less per night in January as compared to February through late March. Travelers can expect to spend an average of $178 per night as compared with $279 and up for the rest of the winter season. For a typical five-night stay, travelers will save an average of $500 just on the hotel stay alone by visiting Vancouver in early 2010. Early travelers can take advantage of the improvements the city and surrounding areas have made in preparation for the big event. Skiers, for example, won’t want to miss the Peak 2 Peak gondola linking the mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb.

Visiting Vancouver in early 2010 has another advantage for travelers -- bragging rights for having “been there, done that” once the rest of world tunes in to see this beautiful city showcased on television. For air travelers, flying into Seattle ($350 roundtrip on average, 150 miles from Vancouver) or Portland ($282 roundtrip on average, 300 miles from Vancouver) may be a more economical choice than flying to Vancouver, where January roundtrip airfare is over $600 on average. Amtrak offers service from both cities and a 25 percent discount on all tickets purchased before Dec. 31, 2009, for travel through January 2010. Train passengers and drivers must have a valid U.S. passport or other accepted form of identification for land travel across the U.S.-Canada border. For more information, visit www.travelocity.com.