[PeanutButter]

Hey RS,

I am curious about how much you spend on vacation and how much vacation you take during the year.

I was talking to a client yesterday and she said she gets 10 weeks of paid vacation. She works at Fortis and she's on some grandfathered employee contract (she's one of their oldest employees), that's why she has so much vacation.

I was curious what vacations look like in your household.

We just booked an all-inclusive in Mexico for two adults and a toddler for $4,600 all in for seven nights. We usually do at least one of these trips a year and then at least a couple smaller three to five nighter local trips a year.

Are you guys around the same?

[SSM_DC5]

Too poor to go anywhere for vacation.

[Great68]

I get 5 weeks, but I usually have a few carry over days (I had 8 carry over for the start of this year). My wife only gets 3 weeks right now (but she has the flex every 2nd friday)

Traditionally I do two main trips in the summer:

For July I do the 5-6 day fishing trip in Bamfield with my Dad & Uncle (doing this for the last 10+ years). We tally up all the bills at the end of the trip, and split exactly 3 ways, usually works out to about $1500 each.

For August we do the camp trip to the lake in the North island in our trailer, usually about 10 days. Food, Gas, Supplies, Campsite rental is probably all in at ~$1200.

Other than that I burned a bunch of V days by taking some of the fridays off that coincided with my wife's flex days over the summer. I could get used to that flex day shit.

We're not really lusting to go on any fly away vacations right now.

[supafamous]

I currently get 5 weeks. Past jobs were between 4 weeks and unlimited.

I have historically set aside between $500-700/mo for vacation related spend but my kid is at an age (4.5y) where we'd like to travel more and that amount just doesn't cut it. Our trip to Australia last month rang up a $13k bill while our next targets are Disneyland, Hawaii, and Japan - none are cheap so I've now become quite focused on collecting travel points to help make it more manageable but I need to set aside more money for travel.

Even those local getaways are expensive for what they are though - we looked at popping over to Victoria to visit some friends over Xmas and it'll run us $2k for 4 days after everything.

[JDMDreams]

:alone:

[Badhobz]

i got 30 days of vacation a year. But i always carry some over into the next year.

We usually take 1 big vacation and then a couple of smaller ones to north american/sun destinations.

Price depends on what we do but suffice to say it aint cheap with the ole ball and chain. Its much cheaper if i just go myself. Like this year in may i drove down to SF myself and spent less than 1k for 3 days of peace and quiet. That included hotel, gas, and food for a head full of memories driving my inlaw's lovely SC430.

[CivicBlues]

Doesn't matter what you spent in the past. After 2022 everything has gone up, flights, hotels, food, etc.

Before the two of us would try to spend less than 10K on 2-week trips to Europe, and less than 8k for trips elsewhere (domestic, US, LATAM, Asia). Went to NZ this year and it was over 12K but it was for 3 weeks.

Now? Who knows. Everything fucking keeps going up.

[sonick]

We budget a max of $10k for our annual 'big' overseas vacation per year for 2 ppl.

Last year (and probably for a few years moving forward) we had to reduce that scope and so went to Atlantic Canada instead due to inflation and also did a bathroom reno.

[Hondaracer]

Get 6.5 weeks of vacation, in my working history I’ve never once carried over vacay to the next year, I value time off over everything.

As DINK’s I feel like we Yolo quite a bit lol..

Ie. we go to penticton/osyoos multiple times a year to visit friends, some times we’ll get away cheap, gas, food, wine tastings $600-$700. Other times we’ll buy boxes of wine and get a hotel for a few nights and just blow money eating out and drinking and it could be $2000.

As CB said, shit is getting crazy now in general. Our recent Disney trip going to Disneyland and Universal over 5 nights, 6 days, was touching 10k. Didn’t expect it to go that high but we also have the mentality of we do whatever we want while we’re there because in a few months/years, you won’t remember the 1-2k you saved, but the memory of the thing you didn’t do because you wanted to save money will haunt ya lol

[Gumby]

I'm not sure I want to know how much I spend on vacations... for me, the important thing is to spread out the spending. For example, my family of 4 will be going to Japan in March for 2 weeks. Back in August, I spent $8k on flights already. I have gone to exchange CAD for Yen once, and will probably do that 2-3 more times. Hotels booked as well, but those I won't get charged until later. The other major cost I need to pay up front for will be train passes and tickets to Universal Studios. Apart from that, I guess I'll spend the cash for food?

I don't think I could dig up $15k in one month just for vacation purposes.

[N.V.M.]

Hey RS,

I am curious about how much you spend on vacation and how much vacation you take during the year.

I was talking to a client yesterday and she said she gets 10 weeks of paid vacation. She works at Fortis and she's on some grandfathered employee contract (she's one of their oldest employees), that's why she has so much vacation.

I was curious what vacations look like in your household.

We just booked an all-inclusive in Mexico for two adults and a toddler for $4,600 all in for seven nights. We usually do at least one of these trips a year and then at least a couple smaller three to five nighter local trips a year.

Are you guys around the same?

about the same, but leave the kid with someone else.

[Tapioca]

I don't think it's possible to do any vacation involving a plane these days for less than $5K.

We're super frugal and we did Disneyland last year with the kids for ~$5K. When it comes to family vacarions, we stay at 2.5/3 star properties with free breakfast, prepare our own meals for the road, and optimize wherever else that we can.

[Badhobz]

Just dont go to hong kong. flights expensive, hotel's expensive, and food's expensive.

[rb]

Only ever been on one family vacation in 1989. I personally haven't been on an airplane since 1992. Though every single property we own is debt free because we busted our asses off for every dollar, It's really an empty life lol. Happy that you guys are able to share in good times with family. You can't take that money with ya...

[Traum]

Employees at my workplace gets anywhere between 15 - 35 days of paid time off a year. Unpaid leave can also be negotiated. I think I have just gotten into the 30 days club a year or two ago, and it'll be a while before my vacation allotment starts trickling towards the 35 days end.

With travel being fairly expensive, we only did a long weekend getaway to Victoria this past summer. When everything was set and done, our total trip cost came out to ~$1200.

I've been wanting to do a Drumheller dinosaur trip for a while, and it was supposed to happen this year. But then some semi-expected home repairs came up, and that took away both our travel budget (and then some) as well as the time for us to go.

I know le wifey could totally use a vacation to let off some steam, but we are not quite in the position to do something proper just yet. According to the news, plane tickets are supposed to be trending cheaper, so there is hoping that we can make it happen some time next year.

[winson604]

Vacations in my household are difficult. I get approx 8.5 weeks of paid vacation and I can quite literally take any time of year off no matter the duration with little to no notice if I wanted to. However, the wife only gets 3 weeks and she works in a place that not only has blackout periods (Xmas for example) but the hoops she has to jump through for approval is painful so planning is kind of hard.

That said, I've honestly not once taken a vacation with the family or even when it was just her and I before kids and had a total tally of how much it costed us in the end because I probably don't know lol.

[Liquid_o2]

Where are you all working that you have 6 weeks vacation?:speechless:

I get 4 weeks per year. We try and be as thrifty as possible - especially now with two kids. Did a Kelowna trip in the spring and stayed at our friends house. Did a summer trip to Salt Spring Island and stayed at my wife's aunt's house. Finally a trip to Tofino for a wedding, stayed in AirBnB house.

I don't know if we will be doing any flights until childcare costs come down. Road trips until then.

[roastpuff]

I get 5 weeks, and my wife gets 4 weeks. But she has to submit all 4 weeks one year in advance (nurse union things...)

We try to be as smart as possible with our travel and use points/deals, but other costs always add up. Our last big trip was a road trip to California last year and that cost us 7-8k even with using AirBnBs split with friends and points for hotels. I imagine it would cost 30% more this year if not more.

We were going to go to Yellowstone this year but that got canceled. We had flight credits to use but then once we calculated the other costs for traveling (hotel, food, etc) we felt it wasn't worth it. There were some other house costs this year that ate up our budget so we didn't want to spend more money traveling.

Hoping that we can save enough to go to Japan next year, but that's unlikely.

[Presto]

Where are you all working that you have 6 weeks vacation?:speechless:



Some of have that sweet compensation from landing the right job, or others, like myself, have been working the same job for a long-ass time.

[6793026]

i get 3 , wife gets 6.
she takes weeks off.
1st trip with inlaws to a cruise but it's going to be cut down quite a bit.

bro in law is debt free so he's doing better but we are just starting with a 30 yr mortgage and this 7% is really killing us.

we still try to make it work but we cut down to zero ubers and zero eating out to make up forit.

vacation this yr is bahamas carnival cruise we'll see what happens next yr.

[bcrdukes]

Just dont go to hong kong. flights expensive, hotel's expensive, and food's expensive.

I looked at my credit card bill. I need to declare bankruptcy. :pokerface:

[murd0c]

I'm in on the I don't have a family gang :alone:

[CivicBlues]

Only ever been on one family vacation in 1989. I personally haven't been on an airplane since 1992. Though every single property we own is debt free because we busted our asses off for every dollar, It's really an empty life lol. Happy that you guys are able to share in good times with family. You can't take that money with ya...

I just read a post on reddit asking how immigrants are finding their life in BC. One comment hit hard, it was something like (and I'm obviously paraphrasing here) "Canadians are obsessed with acquiring properties. It doesn't matter if they work 5 jobs and spend no time on vacation or with family, if they have 3 or more properties under their belt they have found meaning in their life. Fuck that, I'm moving back to Europe. You can keep your goddamn mountains"

But that being said rb I hope you know that as long as you have your health it's never to late to do what you want to do with your life now.

[unit]

we're going for a quick 8 day trip to mexico city in jan. flying on points and just paying taxes, points for one of the two hotels (4 nights), and so we're only up to about $800 so far on spending. we don't really drink and party so i figure maybe $200-300 per day for both of us, so maybe only about $3k for this trip. i got a lot of my travelling out of my system in my 20s/30s so i dont feel the strong need to go anywhere for 3-4 weeks at a time anymore. also work is pretty demanding so it's hard to up and leave like that too.

[Special K]

We wanted to go to Japan disney next year but flights are $2.8k each for spring break. Bought LAX instead for $400 each.

Miss the days when direct flights to Japan were $550-750.

[winson604]

We wanted to go to Japan disney next year but flights are $2.8k each for spring break. Bought LAX instead for $400 each.

Miss the days when direct flights to Japan were $550-750.

I too want to go back to Japan so bad, it was our last family trip for Xmas and new years 2019/2020 right before the pandemic, talk about good timing. I'm just quoting what my wife has been spitting to me but I know she has been throwing numbers at me in the $1200 range while playing around with dates in/around Spring break so possibly if you're slightly flexible i.e. pulling kids out of school for early it can be had for much cheaper?

[Hondaracer]

Having to pay for extra people, aka kids is a real bummer lol

[Razor Ramon HG]

I work for a small company, so we have what is called "unlimited vacation" - basically if my manager is cool with it, I can take time off.

I try to take around 4-5 weeks of vacation a year (so basically two vacations), but this year I'll be taking about 8 weeks off in total (including a week for a minor surgery).

Going to Hong Kong and Taipei next month, but that's a special case since I managed to snag two tickets during that Cathay Pacific giveaway.

On a site note, we never went on a family vacation with my dad before he passed in 2021. My mom says she regrets focusing on work instead of going places as an entire family (especially when we were younger). She went on a few trips with my dad, but us kids never went (school, work, etc). She always assumed that once she got older that we'd all have the chance to go together. I would highly recommend going on places together with your siblings and your parents if you haven't yet.

[Doubl3_H]

8 weeks a year, spring break, summer months and 1 week in Dec off. Spring break usually somewhere tropical with the kids, summer months are usually for myself, and Dec Xmas week with the extended family.
Wife has 6 weeks, she takes those during the summer when the kids are off school.
We going to China in March for 2 months next year so that burn up my 8 weeks.
We're allowed to use our OT bank for time off as well upto 2 weeks max.

[twitchyzero]

when nonstop to asia used to be $600 r/t pp, now double-triple that with significantly worse service

heck, even skipped road trip this year

these days rather put funds toward camping gear and do that instead.. though late winter would call for flying somewhere warm

[Badhobz]

I’ve yet to be able to register for a god damn camp site. I’ve been trying to go to porteau cove for ever and I can’t even find a single date on a single camp site that’s near the water.

I don’t even know why I bother…. That system is so fucked

[sonick]

I’ve yet to be able to register for a god damn camp site. I’ve been trying to go to porteau cove for ever and I can’t even find a single date on a single camp site that’s near the water.

I don’t even know why I bother…. That system is so fucked

Porteau cove is probably one of the hardest campsites to book in the lower mainland.

My parents have lucked out several times previously but it would be for shoulder season mid week days.

Mid summer weekend waterfront fugghedaboutit

[bcrdukes]

when nonstop to asia used to be $600 r/t pp, now double-triple that with significantly worse service

Ditto on this.

We recently came back from a 15-day "vacation" in Hong Kong. I had to take my mother in law to HK to renew her HK ID and risk of some financial assets being frozen/seized thanks to new Chinese gov't laws and stuff.

Long story short - we planned this trip well in advance, and even then, flights were $1850 per person and that was the "cheapest." Air Canada, EVA, Cathay etc were well into the $3500 - $4500 per person in economy. We managed to get our flights on China Airlines which was not bad, but service is not as polished as say EVA Air which is pretty good for its service.

Hotels - We got "lucky" and got our hotel of choice and location at what is in today's terms a fair price. Surrounding hotels were triple the cost.

Dining - You still can find good food for cheap but that's all relative. I don't think it's sustainable to eat curry fish balls or street side snacks all day unless that's your thing. Food is very expensive in HK now, often comparable to Vancouver prices, if not more.

I cried when I saw my credit card bill at the end of the trip.

[Badhobz]

our flights to Hong Kong was 9200 for business on AC. utterly insane. I was able to cheap out and grab premium economy for myself (since i only went for 10 days instead of my wife's 2.5 months) and then use my eupgrades to get bumped up to buisness. Even premium economy was 3900 for round trip

dont get me started on food... on average like 1000hkd (175 cad) per meal per person not including booze.

[EvoFire]

We traveled multiple times a year before kids and covid. Typical large trip before 2019 was around 7-8k before any expensive shopping (shopping doesn't always happen), plus a few local excursions to the Okanagan or to Seattle/Portland, and an annual snowboarding trip to an interior mountain.

We splurged hard on our trip for Euro Delivery in 2018 and spent about 11k before shopping. We knew that was potentially our last huge trip with just the two of us and went relatively crazy.

Kid arrived in 2019 and covid happened so we haven't really done anything until last month when we cruised to San Diego. The cruise for 4k, accommodation in SD was under 2k, plus car rental and we ate cheap. I think total was around 7-8k with 2 kids. Before that we've done Kelowna, Whistler, and Victoria a few times. Whistler is a little cheaper at around 1k for 3-4 nights, Victoria and Kelowna adds up with travel.

I'm planning to go to HK next year, and potentially swinging down to Singapore during, and up to Shanghai on the way back. It'll be a larger 3-4 week trip and it'll depend on where I am at work at that time. I expect it to be a 20k trip with 2 kids, and that's with accommodations already in place for all three cities.

I've always had 3 weeks of PTO every year and typically use it all up. Covid happened and somehow all my jobs became unlimited vacation but with no way to use them. Now I am back to 3 weeks vacation as we are starting to travel again. Go figures.

[Traum]

our flights to Hong Kong was 9200 for business on AC. utterly insane. I was able to cheap out and grab premium economy for myself (since i only went for 10 days instead of my wife's 2.5 months) and then use my eupgrades to get bumped up to buisness. Even premium economy was 3900 for round trip

What?! So Badhobz is all alone by himself in the Richmond mansion for the next 2 months?!

Time to call the hookers and par-tay it up~
(Or we can borrow Mike's pic to create a profile on POF or Tinder, and go wild with it.) :alonehappy:

[EvoFire]

Meet at Hobz

[Badhobz]

nah nah she's already back. she was gone in early sept till now

[yray]

badhobz needs a detached garage

[Badhobz]

I’m surprised I didn’t use leolist and call 20 hookers (10 will likely require refunds which I’ll then shoot on the way out of the house)

Too bad lousy spy balloons got the entire house wired up with nest cameras. Supposedly for the dogs but it’s more so I don’t jerk off everywhere.

[Hondaracer]

our flights to Hong Kong was 9200 for business on AC. utterly insane. I was able to cheap out and grab premium economy for myself (since i only went for 10 days instead of my wife's 2.5 months) and then use my eupgrades to get bumped up to buisness. Even premium economy was 3900 for round trip

dont get me started on food... on average like 1000hkd (175 cad) per meal per person not including booze.

My dad and his buddies just went to Thailand and Cambodia and flew Eva in Premium economy YVR - Taipei - Bangkok for $2400 taxes in round trip.

You got raped paying that for AC.

[PeanutButter]

our flights to Hong Kong was 9200 for business on AC. utterly insane. I was able to cheap out and grab premium economy for myself (since i only went for 10 days instead of my wife's 2.5 months) and then use my eupgrades to get bumped up to buisness. Even premium economy was 3900 for round trip

dont get me started on food... on average like 1000hkd (175 cad) per meal per person not including booze.

Wait, $175 CAD per meal per person? That's not typical though. That's like a nice dinner with your uncles and aunties right? HK isn't that crazy?

[Hondaracer]

We traveled multiple times a year before kids and covid. Typical large trip before 2019 was around 7-8k before any expensive shopping (shopping doesn't always happen), plus a few local excursions to the Okanagan or to Seattle/Portland, and an annual snowboarding trip to an interior mountain.

We splurged hard on our trip for Euro Delivery in 2018 and spent about 11k before shopping. We knew that was potentially our last huge trip with just the two of us and went relatively crazy.

Kid arrived in 2019 and covid happened so we haven't really done anything until last month when we cruised to San Diego. The cruise for 4k, accommodation in SD was under 2k, plus car rental and we ate cheap. I think total was around 7-8k with 2 kids. Before that we've done Kelowna, Whistler, and Victoria a few times. Whistler is a little cheaper at around 1k for 3-4 nights, Victoria and Kelowna adds up with travel.

I'm planning to go to HK next year, and potentially swinging down to Singapore during, and up to Shanghai on the way back. It'll be a larger 3-4 week trip and it'll depend on where I am at work at that time. I expect it to be a 20k trip with 2 kids, and that's with accommodations already in place for all three cities.

I've always had 3 weeks of PTO every year and typically use it all up. Covid happened and somehow all my jobs became unlimited vacation but with no way to use them. Now I am back to 3 weeks vacation as we are starting to travel again. Go figures.

No offence to anyone who mentioned it before but all these jobs that have “unlimited time off” seem like they are all the same, you get “unlimited time off” but you can never take it or even use an amount a regular arrangement would provide you lol

[quasi]

I only get 4 weeks vacation.

We try for one family vacation a year, usually ends up costing 5-7K but we haven't went since covid. This year was a little hectic with my work, wifes job and my sons football schedule not aligning.

I go to Vegas at least once a year on my own, cost varies depending on the type of trip whether I'm just playing poker or I'm with my friends. Next year I'm probably going to skip this trip, the cost of Vegas in general is getting out of control, money could be better spent somewhere else.

I usually do one trip for an NFL game per year, take my son. This year we went to Minnesota, trip was relatively inexpensive honestly but I had some flight credits I had to use. I spent well under $2,000 Canadian including airfare, hotel, game tickets and food for the 2 nights we were there. Memorable trip because I forgot my wallet including credit cards and DL at home and didn't realize until I was in Seattle and my flight was leaving in 90 minutes, don't do this lol. Thankfully my buddy and his son were also on same trip, he saved the day.

My wife and son go on a few camping trips a year, I'm not about that tent life so I just hang back with the dog and get the house to myself for 3-4 days at a time.

[Badhobz]

My dad and his buddies just went to Thailand and Cambodia and flew Eva in Premium economy YVR - Taipei - Bangkok for $2400 taxes in round trip.

You got raped paying that for AC.

Yeah but I refuse to fly connections so I’m stuck paying those prices. Direct or no go for me

Wait, $175 CAD per meal per person? That's not typical though. That's like a nice dinner with your uncles and aunties right? HK isn't that crazy?

No man. That’s friggin dai pai dong (street vendor) food. Yeah okay we had seafood but still. Dim sum in Stanley cost 20 dollars per har gao. One har gao. One.

[bcrdukes]

Wait, $175 CAD per meal per person? That's not typical though. That's like a nice dinner with your uncles and aunties right? HK isn't that crazy?

For family meals, this is about normal'ish. The reality in HK has changed dramatically.

Be prepared to shell out a premium for dai pai dong.

[twitchyzero]

dafuq, triple digits for street food?!

[mikemhg]

Man you guys are dropping serious dime on flights, notably to Asia.

We lucked out recently with our flights to Thailand in this upcoming February 2024. Direct flight with Air Canada, $1,200 roundtrip.

The deals are out there, you just really need to look for them.

Google Flights price alerts are a godsend if you're flexible.

[bcrdukes]

Thailand =/= HK

[Badhobz]

Ill just throw up some random meals receipts i took throughout my trip. Note these are pretty run of the mill places that my wife and her cousins eat at everyday

This one is from the dai pai dong
https://i.postimg.cc/hGBymCBs/IMG-9856.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/FHcC1M21/IMG-9855.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/ZKDzrz7c/IMG-0764.jpg
This one below is in causeway bay, near sogo. Some vietnamese place and it wasnt even good
https://i.postimg.cc/Pxmd4Vpq/IMG-0713.jpg

This is some central brunch place. like i said all the prices are insane nowadays
https://i.postimg.cc/dtZ4xMQn/IMG-1431.jpg

20 bucks yo. 20!!!! for one...
https://i.postimg.cc/NGJzn76G/IMG-1222.jpg

you add in the real fancy places like 10 Shanghai restaurant in HK and it works out to an average of 1000 bucks per person per meal. utterly insane.
http://www.10-shanghai.com/

[bcrdukes]

Looking back at the dinner we had at the HK Jockey Club, it was cheap in comparison to the dai pai dong we went to :fuckthatshit:

[sonick]

Looking back at the dinner we had at the HK Jockey Club, it was cheap in comparison to the dai pai dong we went to :fuckthatshit:

Did u guys go to the rec room and play the race simulator there?

[bcrdukes]

Sadly, no.

[EvoFire]

No offence to anyone who mentioned it before but all these jobs that have “unlimited time off” seem like they are all the same, you get “unlimited time off” but you can never take it or even use an amount a regular arrangement would provide you lol

I did find some places are more restrictive about it. Typically they don't care if you take a few days off, but needs explicit approval for anything more than 2 weeks, and not always granted either.

I didn't have a problem with taking time off since well, I didn't have to. It was always just a few days here and a few days there.

Wait, $175 CAD per meal per person? That's not typical though. That's like a nice dinner with your uncles and aunties right? HK isn't that crazy?

It's hobz, his idea of dai pai dong probably includes abalone and shark fin soup. He drives a Corolla, albeit the fanciest one. He'll go to dai pai dong, but the fanciest one

[Great68]

Yeah, stats are showing that on average employees actually take less time off overall in these sort of "unlimited vacation" workplaces.

It's a larger issue in the USA where there are typically no legislated minimum vacation, it's all dependent on what's stipulated in an individual's employment contract. And when an employment contract says "unlimited" or omits designated vacation, the ambiguity is open for abuse. Like say you get let go from a company you have to be paid out your unused PTO. Well, if your contract doesn't actually state the level of PTO days, then you're SOL on that payout. There's also social/moral pressure, ie "Well the boss doesn't take any days off, so I better not either" or "They say I can take time off but I'm worried they'll bring it up i'm taking too much my performance review"

In Canada we have legal minimums for vacation days, both federally and provincially. An employer MUST give you AT LEAST your minimums. So it's far less open for abuse here.

As I've become older and crustier with work and my vacations, like Honda, I supremely value my vacations, more than ever being paid out. They are supposed to be just that, no work. I used to answer calls, check emails etc. I do not do this anymore (My attitude seriously changed one day I was sitting up on the Whistler roundhouse patio after a morning of skiing, and I felt compelled to dial into a conference call because I had a big job going on at the time and it basically turned out to be a waste of two hours of my expensive skiing time, and it just totally put a chip on my shoulder). Nowadays My out of office reply goes up and says "I will not have access to phone service and emails while I am away, in emergency contact X". It's the company's job to accomodate my vacation with coverage, not the other way around.

My last camp trip over the summer my new boss was like "we could get you starlink!" and I'm like "How about no"

[supafamous]

No offence to anyone who mentioned it before but all these jobs that have “unlimited time off” seem like they are all the same, you get “unlimited time off” but you can never take it or even use an amount a regular arrangement would provide you lol

I worked at two places that had unlimited time off and was able to pretty much take however much I wanted. At the first place I was able to take a paid month off after having been there for only a month for the birth of my kid. At the second I told them upfront I was planning to take 6 weeks off a year and it was no problem for them and that's what I ended up doing (they had a 4 week minimum as well plus a few bonus days) so I really took 7 weeks off.

I think unlimited only works if they have a minimum amount you're required to take and management actually lives it and takes time off.

[bcrdukes]

I did find some places are more restrictive about it. Typically they don't care if you take a few days off, but needs explicit approval for anything more than 2 weeks, and not always granted either.

I didn't have a problem with taking time off since well, I didn't have to. It was always just a few days here and a few days there.



It's hobz, his idea of dai pai dong probably includes abalone and shark fin soup. He drives a Corolla, albeit the fanciest one. He'll go to dai pai dong, but the fanciest one

In his defense, he went to a pretty shitty (worst) dai pai dong where he was :lol

I wish he were exaggerating the costs. Hong Kong is a dangerous place for your wallet.

[Razor Ramon HG]

No offence to anyone who mentioned it before but all these jobs that have “unlimited time off” seem like they are all the same, you get “unlimited time off” but you can never take it or even use an amount a regular arrangement would provide you lol

Probably differs from company to company. I've been at mine for five years and I've pretty much taken four weeks off minimum per year.

My manager started a few months prior to me, and he regularly takes 6-8 weeks off a year.

Makes it much easier for me to apply for that 8 weeks this year.

LUL

[Badhobz]

It's hobz, his idea of dai pai dong probably includes abalone and shark fin soup. He drives a Corolla, albeit the fanciest one. He'll go to dai pai dong, but the fanciest one

I tried to go to the one at the end of temple street but the wife started throwing up in her mouth and gagging at the smell. I guess they put those porta potties right next to the restaurant so it stinks. The “chickens” right across from the restaurant also didn’t help cuz I was totally starring at them.

I wanted more “chicken” than dai pai dong.

[6793026]

Ill just throw up some random meals receipts i took throughout my trip. Note these are pretty run of the mill places that my wife and her cousins eat at everyday


First of all, you're at chuen kee at Sai Kung and you order the epic meal special.
I live in sai kung and it's a famous tourist trap despite i go there almost daily when I'm back.

You can eat dim sum and get out of there economically but you got the 'pissing shrimp', clams and a few other seafood and a beer... so it's not a typical meal at 2 PM.

Good place for normal seafood with a decent place by the sea though

[Razor Ramon HG]

Man, those places are expensive as fuck and can't be in any way representative of what average HKers or average tourists eat, lol.

[TOS'd]

20 bucks yo. 20!!!! for one...
https://i.postimg.cc/NGJzn76G/IMG-1222.jpg


Heres my $23 dim sum

https://i.imgur.com/sa6EZa0l.jpg
$23HKD ($4.00 CAD)

#feelspoorman

Did HK and Japan this year, AC economy for $860 multi-city per person.

[Badhobz]

Man, those places are expensive as fuck and can't be in any way representative of what average HKers or average tourists eat, lol.

I must be doing it wrong then. I blame spy balloon and her baller ass cousins.

Not a single place we went to was affordable by my standards. Heck, the dessert place me and bcrdukes went to ended up costing 350hkd and all we got was some shaved ice (albeit delicious and well presented) but that’s like 60 bucks cad for shaved ice man.

I don’t even think it was in a good neighborhood.

[Razor Ramon HG]

I must be doing it wrong then. I blame spy balloon and her baller ass cousins.

Not a single place we went to was affordable by my standards. Heck, the dessert place me and bcrdukes went to ended up costing 350hkd and all we got was some shaved ice (albeit delicious and well presented) but that’s like 60 bucks cad for shaved ice man.

I don’t even think it was in a good neighborhood.

https://www.ice-monster.com/

This is like the most famous chain of shaved ice in Taipei. Almost everything is under 200NTD ($10 CAD).

350HKD = 1400 NTD

Can't really compare TW vs. HK costs, but even then it's pretty fucked up, lol.

[Badhobz]

https://www.ice-monster.com/

This is like the most famous chain of shaved ice in Taipei. Almost everything is under 200NTD ($10 CAD).

350HKD = 1400 NTD

Can't really compare TW vs. HK costs, but even then it's pretty fucked up, lol.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/WZf5uo3GXrLssk7R6?g_st=ic

We met up here. Honestly the prices are ridiculous
I got this durian shaved ice and the wife got that soup thingy. Dukes and his wife shared a mango shaved ice.
https://i.postimg.cc/mkVMKJGV/IMG-0503.jpg

[TOS'd]

Thanks for the invite. :alone:

[bcrdukes]

Ice Monster is awesome!

This durian thing, my god. :inoutugh:

Costs in Taiwan are still reasonable. Your dollar goes further, even at places like Ice Monster. The place we met up with Badhobz at for dessert in HK is actually quite "normal" for HK standards. Yes, there are cheaper places but you might get yelled at or share a table with strangers and have visits from unsavory bugs and rodents haha

Edit: Weren't we just around the corner from Time Square? :lol

[Hondaracer]

HK sounds like a treat. As if it wasn’t a place I cared to ever go to to start with lol

[mikemhg]

Thailand =/= HK

Cathay had some smoking deals a few months back, sitting at $1,300 - $1,500 roundtrip. We were actually going to fly with them to HK > Thailand.

They were running a good sale around August/September for dates in Q3/Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024.

We just sat on it too long and the sale was over. I regret it actually because I've never flown Cathay, they used to be a client of ours, and I've been wanting to try that damn beer they make that supposedly tastes better at elevation :lol

You just need to be on top of it.

[mikemhg]

Get a job where you WFH, vacations become endless :lawl:

I can't tell you how many times I'm running meetings and firing off emails from the balcony of some random Airbnb in a tropical land :lol

Props to you guys with 6-8 week vacations, that's quite impressive, that must be based on tenure.

Nurses have it the fucking worse as someone else mentioned, I hate how my GF has to book vacation time a year ahead of time, it's a real pain in the ass for spontaneity.

[radeonboy]

Cathay had some smoking deals a few months back, sitting at $1,300 - $1,500 roundtrip. We were actually going to fly with them to HK > Thailand.

They were running a good sale around August/September for dates in Q3/Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024.

We just sat on it too long and the sale was over. I regret it actually because I've never flown Cathay, they used to be a client of ours, and I've been wanting to try that damn beer they make that supposedly tastes better at elevation :lol

You just need to be on top of it.

My parents want me to visit them for CNY and Cathay tickets started at $2,500 for economy per person. I usually go one step up to Premium economy and those are $4,500. I really like the airline despite their recent cost-cutting measures but those prices are a bit hard to swallow.

Ended up finding tickets through Lufthansa - I get a 12-hour layover in Frankfurt out of it as well which is worth the extra leg for me. Not sure if I can make it to Stuttgart and back but it'd be nice to visit a museum while I'm there.

[Badhobz]

i hate to sound like some amex promoter, but that Aeroplan reserve card paid for itself and then some.

Due to me having to travel for work occasionally and our monthly spending, I easily hit Aeroplan 50k status this year. This gave me almost 80 e-upgrades to burn. Hong kong costs 17e upgrades per trip but I basically paid 3800 bucks for a business class fare (~9000 bucks for the fare).

Granted e upgrades are not always a guarantee, but the higher your status with Aeroplan the higher the chances. Before I was only getting cash back and I thought that was worth it, but this is SO SO SOoooo much better. On these 13h+ flights, you want to lay down and sleep. Being crammed into economy is brutal.

On the way back i literally slept for like 8h straight and because of that, i was able to head into work the next day. Otherwise, id be rightfully fucked up and jetlagged to all hell.

[Hondaracer]

Yea I’m in idiot I’ve been humming and hawing that aeroplan reserve card for almost a year now and in that time I would have easily spent enough on it to get all the reward points as well as status.. annoying

[Badhobz]

this jan will be my full calender year, but i truly believe it's a friggin fantastic card. They give you 80k with of aeroplan right off the hop which is enough for a round trip asia flight.

OH and i found out that if you previously held any amex cards (which im sure a lot of us did, because amex used to be the only card taken at COSTCO!!!!) then they backdate your "join date" to whenever you activated that previous amex card. This allows you to straight away ask them to lower the annual fee. They'll do it because of your loyalty

[HonestTea]

YVR-HKG is so expensive these days, I was able to use 70k pts to get me to HKG in biz (one-way) or else it'd be $4500-ish

If you got any questions regarding what credit card sign-ups are best, DM me and I'll try to help.

[EvoFire]

I'm such a peasant because I love my cash back card.

Pretty much impossible to fly business with two kids because all the fancy pants business class seats are now individual. The kids need to be with us 24/7

[6793026]

2900 CDN just landed back to YVR ....
oct 25 - Nov 30
cathay... FML.

[Badhobz]

For what ? Economy ? Jesus Christ. These flight prices are utterly insane.

[Hehe]

I don't even care where I go anymore, just be patient and find something that works. I focus on business-class deals now.

Spent in total about 24k CAD and I have the family vacation for the next 2yrs done as far as air fare is concerned. 3 tickets... first is YVR-CDG. Then the other is the crazy mini-around the world CDG-YVR--(next summer)AKL--TYO (stop there for a few days and ticket 3 to TPE and back)----CDG and then back to YVR from ticket 1.

Sounds like a lot at 6k per person. But this is basically 2 full vacays that goes around the world and all in business. I think it's quite cheap for what it is. Just the miles I figured is worth 2k per person if redeemed for future trips.

[bcrdukes]

PeanutButter must be dying reading that.

[JqC]

Vacation around Christmastime this year with 10 nights hotel in Anaheim, 4 days admission to Disneyland, will likely be $11k to $12k when all said and done. 2 adults 3 kids.
We always look for 'value' options, but there's only so much you can compromise on when travelling with kids. I feel like an idiot agreeing to this trip.

Summertime we load up on weekend trips to local campgrounds, as the costs of these getaways are minimal compared to flying somewhere. Family still has a great time camping thankfully.

[Hondaracer]

Honestly, I’m not some crazy Disney adult but Disneyland is pretty fantastic

Whether it’s worth it might be questioned to some but I’d honestly rather go to Disneyland and spend a couple days in San Diego/santa Monica over going to some all-inclusive

[Gumby]

Honestly, I’m not some crazy Disney adult but Disneyland is pretty fantastic

Whether it’s worth it might be questioned to some but I’d honestly rather go to Disneyland and spend a couple days in San Diego/santa Monica over going to some all-inclusive

Edit: Disneyland is pretty fantastic outside of peak season.

[GLOW]

what are people's local (driveable) family vacation spots for those whom don't like to fly?

i've like sunshine coast & parksville/qualicum, though these days i'm not keen on taking a ferry

[bcrdukes]

Main and Hastings is always a good trip to remind the kids to stay in school and say no to drugs.

[Badhobz]

what are people's local (driveable) family vacation spots for those whom don't like to fly?

i've like sunshine coast & parksville/qualicum, though these days i'm not keen on taking a ferry

Oregon coast baby! my favorite place on earth to be honest. :alone:

[yray]

I think we blew 10k at disneyland for 3 people

4 days 3nights at disneyland, kid dance parade thing, grand Californian and genie pass

[supafamous]

what are people's local (driveable) family vacation spots for those whom don't like to fly?

i've like sunshine coast & parksville/qualicum, though these days i'm not keen on taking a ferry

Seattle and Victoria are my go-to's. I have friends in both spots and there's lots to do in both.

I do love Parksville/Qualicum though - I'm sure my daughter would love the goats. I'd like to hit up Tofino at some point as well with my kid but I'm not sure there's enough there to keep her interested, I think I'd have to do it with another family.

[Hondaracer]

I think we blew 10k at disneyland for 3 people

4 days 3nights at disneyland, kid dance parade thing, grand Californian and genie pass

How did you stay at grand Californian with 3 people for 10k? Lol

We stayed at Disneyland hotel and it’s like half the price of Grand Californian and still spent 10

[mikemhg]

what are people's local (driveable) family vacation spots for those whom don't like to fly?

i've like sunshine coast & parksville/qualicum, though these days i'm not keen on taking a ferry

Penticton/Osoyoos/Vernon are our go to spots during the Spring/Summer. Wineries, beautiful lakes, lots of sun.

Sunshine Coast (specifically Madeira Park area) and Parksville are fantastic as well, but you've been.

Sooke/Jordan River is also great, but alas, ferry.

Heard good things about Lake Chelan on the US/WA side too, but haven't been yet.

[BIC_BAWS]

what are people's local (driveable) family vacation spots for those whom don't like to fly?

i've like sunshine coast & parksville/qualicum, though these days i'm not keen on taking a ferry

Idk about kid-friendly but I recently went to Nelson with Skunkworks and co. It was awesome seeing all the small towns and exploring new roads (and sights).

We went to small towns like Tulameen, Coalmont, and Salmo which look like they're right out of the Wild Wild West. We took a ferry from Balfour to Crawford Bay on BC's longest free ferry ride. Greenwood is super cool, apparently it's BC's smallest town or smt and has the best drinking water (voted by 500 residents lol).

But I guess my idea of cool is exploring things I don't normally see like small town stuff. Btw skip Trail, it literally looks like what you would imagine Saskatchewan to look like. I put on a country playlist and really got immersed into the environment.

3 day weekend getaway, around $1K? Accommodation, gas, and food (dining out and groceries).

[mikemhg]

Nelson is on our list for next year, how were the lakes and such?

Heard all the hippy foods spots in Nelson are pretty cool.

[Badhobz]

Nelson ?!
https://media.tenor.com/bmL21Em6rzsAAAAC/ha-ha-point.gif

[GLOW]

thanks for the suggestions all, i've done a lot of 'em already, short of a few suggestions

seattle is great (science centre + zoo), also done tofino/uclulet, and port renfrew... but ya that ferry is making me weary these days :lol

don't worry dukes, skytrained to the QE Theatre with the family once and they got that experience just getting off at stadium... my kids are so sheltered :lol

yes i miss the oregon coast, but don't miss the ~8hr drive :lol

[PeanutButter]

People tell me Hornby Island is the Hawaii of Canada... but it takes three ferries to get there.

If you want a nice getaway with multiple families, we stayed in Yale, BC at this airbnb.

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/37817155?adults=8&check_in=2024-03-04&check_out=2024-03-09&source_impression_id=p3_1701475334_%2BtNPM7Y62f1hZ %2Bhf&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=f86c5b0e-793f-4d18-a56b-507b88323e42

It was a huge property with tons of space for everyone and the kids. The kids had a blast and there were enough hikes around that gave us something to do. It felt like camping with a house. We made a fire every night, kids LOVED that.

If you can get a couple families together, I think you would really enjoy it.

[Hondaracer]

Airbnb is the devil bro, you should be staying at home with your kids

That type of thing is bye bye with the new legislation. Hope everyone knows somebody with a cabin

What’s crazy is like.. probably half the people I knew growing up had a cabin or a rec property, the VAST majority within 5 hours of the lower mainland.

Now everyone makes wayyyy more than those households did and buying a second property within 5 hours of Vancouver is a not even a passing thought. Or.. If you can afford to buy a second place in these times, that’s where you vacation, period.

[PeanutButter]

What do you mean by airbnb being the devil?

The interesting thing about that place is the couple who runs it lives on the property in some sort of lane way house there, so I think it is still considered their principle residence.

[Hondaracer]

Just being a dick ie. airbnb is responsible for housing crisis

I love airbnb, 60+ stays

[twitchyzero]

chill vibe but a good amount of gulf island travels feel wasted if youre not into kayak/boat/fishing

[Badhobz]

i like the san juan islands too. USA ferries are so so much more affordable than canadian ferries and it makes a day trip to San juan island totally feasible.

[Hondaracer]

Laying on the beach and guzzling isn’t enough for ya?

[yray]

How did you stay at grand Californian with 3 people for 10k? Lol

We stayed at Disneyland hotel and it’s like half the price of Grand Californian and still spent 10


kids parade dance thingy

we had 7am access and rode the incredible coaster like 10 times nonstop lol

[noclue]

Keep in mind some of the reasons why airfare to asia is higher is because of russia sanctions, can't fly over Russia which adds to flight time = more costs. Also the Chinese airlines aren't coming to Vancouver to suppress prices either.

[BIC_BAWS]

Nelson is on our list for next year, how were the lakes and such?

Heard all the hippy foods spots in Nelson are pretty cool.

Couldn't tell you about the lakes since we got smoked out. Everything was yellow / ashy. Link to short clip of our drive

I wouldn't say it's hipster, but we went to an amazing smokehouse in Nelson called Broken Hill. The pork belly was absolutely spectacular and the fries were delicious. We also went to an Italian restaurant called Marzano, the waitresses are smokin'.

For hipster joints, Alpine Grind Coffeehouse in Rossland was pretty cool.

[68style]

Watched video

Waited for red car to fly

Much disappoint

[mikemhg]

People tell me Hornby Island is the Hawaii of Canada... but it takes three ferries to get there.

If you want a nice getaway with multiple families, we stayed in Yale, BC at this airbnb.

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/37817155?adults=8&check_in=2024-03-04&check_out=2024-03-09&source_impression_id=p3_1701475334_%2BtNPM7Y62f1hZ %2Bhf&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=f86c5b0e-793f-4d18-a56b-507b88323e42

It was a huge property with tons of space for everyone and the kids. The kids had a blast and there were enough hikes around that gave us something to do. It felt like camping with a house. We made a fire every night, kids LOVED that.

If you can get a couple families together, I think you would really enjoy it.

Hornby island is beautiful, but calling it Hawaii is a stretch :lol

Saltspring, Hornby, Thormanby, if you've seen one, you've seen them all, they're all quite similar, but beautiful.

I love swimming in the ocean for long durations so I love these spots, but if water stuff isn't your thing, go to Tofino/Ucluelet.

[Hondaracer]

None of the southern gulf islands are comparable to the ones north of Powell river, Savary, Cortez, etc. are all way nicer imo.

[twitchyzero]

Keep in mind some of the reasons why airfare to asia is higher is because of russia sanctions, can't fly over Russia which adds to flight time = more costs. Also the Chinese airlines aren't coming to Vancouver to suppress prices either.

oh shit you weren't kidding, i thought it was in my head the flights felt longer

certainly not 2x more fuel though :D

[CivicBlues]

Big one is the Chinese airlines missing. Not sure about Korean, Japanese airlines but they wouldn't be affected by Russia sanctions and they would undercut and keep prices low.

[donk.]

Watched video

Waited for red car to fly

Much disappoint

Wrong trip

[twitchyzero]

Big one is the Chinese airlines missing. Not sure about Korean, Japanese airlines but they wouldn't be affected by Russia sanctions and they would undercut and keep prices low.

yeah crazy to think there were 57 daily chinese nonstops before 2020

there's now less than 10, weak demand is the main reason? some other internal reason? or a diplomatic thing

[Alpine]

Notable:

$4k+ for 5 days in New York back in 2016? Last second trip...
$10k+ for 3-4 weeks in Japan in 2017. Family trip for 1 of the weeks in Japan so had no choice but to pay full price for tickets (3k round trip).
$7k+ for 2-3 weeks in Europe in 2019...

Vacation days have become sleep in days now lol.

[OriginalJC]

I'm currently planning our next big family trip for March next year. Have been wanting to take the kiddos to the motherland (S. Korea). Airfare was discouraging.
But then we looked into Air Canada flight passes, and they had a Home Away from Home flight pass, 8 flight credits, saved about 3k total and booked dates that worked for us. Included seat selection.

Now just need to figure out accommodations, but between Hotels & AirBnB should be able to find some deals.

[Badhobz]

I don’t even know how these flight passes work. I got perks for flight passes but I’ve never used it.

[bcrdukes]

Flight passes have their advantages and disadvantages.

From a business (not consumer) standpoint, it provides a lot of flexibility for travel, especially if you know how many times you are traveling, and it has a fixed cost. You can factor the cost into your annual travel budget in advance and not have to deal with fluctuating costs. Like OriginalJC mentioned, flight passes come with seat selection, and sometimes (not always) they even allow last minute cancellations.

Disadvantages are exactly the opposite - the costs are fixed and if you see a fare that is cheaper, you are stuck dealing with that. There are also some (not always) blackout dates and restrictions, but it depends on the flight pass you purchase, so make sure Mabel doesn't mess that up for you.

[OriginalJC]

Flight passes have their advantages and disadvantages.

From a business (not consumer) standpoint, it provides a lot of flexibility for travel, especially if you know how many times you are traveling, and it has a fixed cost. You can factor the cost into your annual travel budget in advance and not have to deal with fluctuating costs. Like OriginalJC mentioned, flight passes come with seat selection, and sometimes (not always) they even allow last minute cancellations.

Disadvantages are exactly the opposite - the costs are fixed and if you see a fare that is cheaper, you are stuck dealing with that. There are also some (not always) blackout dates and restrictions, but it depends on the flight pass you purchase, so make sure Mabel doesn't mess that up for you.


Totally. In my case, flights around Spring Break were looking costly. And the flight passes came in well under. Booked the flights, seats, and went pretty smooth.

[bcrdukes]

Awesome! I really like the flight pass option offered by AC and not too many people know about it, or at least, they don't do a very good job of advertising it. Regular consumers can score big wins on them pending the right product is available.

Edit: I am not an AC employee (but I wish.)

[Badhobz]

….so make sure Mabel doesn't mess that up for you.

That stupid dame, she couldn’t find her own asshole with both hands. God if this was the mad men era I’d slap her in the face and tell her to stop being so emotional

https://i.gifer.com/F1yB.gif

[bcrdukes]

Me and 68style need to meet this legend. She will surely b-line it to him.

[Badhobz]

She’s like a gazillion years old. I don’t know why they gave me this terrible broad. It’s like a cosmic joke. The only benefit is she classes up my office by calling everyone darling in a Hepburn voice

She keeps asking if I want something to drink. How many fucking times do I need to remind you I don’t drink. Go get me bubble tea

[bcrdukes]

Be glad she doesn't travel with you. :pokerface:

[JqC]

Hornby island is beautiful, but calling it Hawaii is a stretch :lol

Saltspring, Hornby, Thormanby, if you've seen one, you've seen them all, they're all quite similar, but beautiful.

I love swimming in the ocean for long durations so I love these spots, but if water stuff isn't your thing, go to Tofino/Ucluelet.

I heard that comparison too and was skeptical. Then we finally visited Tribune Bay and were blown away. Great water, ample beach for the amount of people, can easily spend entire days there as a family.
It's not Hawaii, but I think calling it "The Hawaii of BC" is fair.

We're not well travelled in BC though. If anyone knows of similar beach spots that are easier to get though, let me know lol.

[dark0821]

Had 4 weeks paid vacation at my last signage place, but very flexible to take additional time off since It was a smaller company with a "family"-esque dynamic.
I want to say 3 weeks vaca at the dealer? Tbh I am not sure, but its all online and it shows how many hours I am entitled to "book off"?

Didnt really vaca at all with 2 expections since mortgage and kids happened over a decade ago.

2 exceptions are
Shanghai in 2014
Ontario + Quebec in 2018
Both were "powered by parents", especially Shanghai, it was the 1st time my kids were in China to meet their Great Grandparents, pretty sure my family "made money" going back.


Otherwise we havn't flown at all, the prohibitive cost of just airfare + accomadation for 4 is stupendous.

Camping every year has been the tradition because of cost and kids + doggo love them.

We did Banff this year, 12 days and I think was in the neighbour hood of $8K for 2 adults and 2 kids? We were a decent group of 12 (3 families of 4). The cost was up there because we did everything (since we don't know when will be the next time we will be in banff, so we wanted to have good memories and made sure we experienced the best that was on offer, also we had ballin food (by my standards). Included breakfast, fast food lunches and actual dine in dinners lolol

It was great but it is not something my family can sustain year to year...

Next goal will defn be Asia, my grandparents are well into their 90's, need to work hard to earn that airfare + accomdation money

After that will be my promise to my wife of taking her to Europe (never been) lolol all those moons ago even before we had a mortgage LOL

After that will be to go on a cruise (never been)... or go to an all inclusive (never been) of just waking up naturally and do nth but sit by the water

After that vegas (never been, but may be too old at this point to really enjoy?)

Always nice to see RS doing well, I will try my best to keep up.

[westopher]

We usually do one decently big one, like 3 or 4 smaller ones and I'll do 2 or 3 small ones with the guys.
Montreal was the bigger one for 8 days.
About $3500 for the 2 of us, left our daughter with the grandparents
Whistler family trip
About $1000 for 2 nights, plus our edge cards that we already had
Vegas with the guys for 3 nights
$3500 each with concert tickets and being completely blackout the whole time we were there
Tofino with the guys for 3 nights
About $1500 with an ocean fishing charter
Catboarding in whistler with the guys for one night, one day
$1200
Family trip to Bowen for 2 nights
Like $1000?
Fuck that's a lot now that I add it up haha.

[Hondaracer]

Especially for a couple nighters etc.

Whistler now is $300+ a night anywhere anytime. We used to get $100 nights at crystal lodge etc. in shoulder seasons all the time before Covid

[westopher]

Honestly won't be doing whistler this year overnight, which is a bummer. It's like $600 a night for a fucking shithole now.
Crystal was always our choice too. Great unpretentious place with a great place to get shitfaced and eat wingys.

[Badhobz]

Gtfo, Bowen island two nights is 1k ?!?!?!?!?!!!? Bowen fucking island ?!?!? Basically chilliwack condensed to an island is 1k !?!?!!!!?

Fuck that shit

[westopher]

Yeah I wouldn't do that "vacation" again. We just wanted to do somewhere close to get the youngin a little away from home test drive. We stayed in a nice place, but I feel like you can't get accommodations anywhere for less than $350 a night these days.

[sonick]

Gtfo, Bowen island two nights is 1k ?!?!?!?!?!!!? Bowen fucking island ?!?!? Basically chilliwack condensed to an island is 1k !?!?!!!!?

Fuck that shit

I loved Bowen Island before the pandemic, used to go a few times a year. Such an easy hidden gem getaway from the city.

Used to rent a super nice long cabin with wood fired stove for like $89 a night easily. Since COVID they've been booked solid and charging like $150+ a night.

So bummed.

[mikemhg]

Honestly won't be doing whistler this year overnight, which is a bummer. It's like $600 a night for a fucking shithole now.
Crystal was always our choice too. Great unpretentious place with a great place to get shitfaced and eat wingys.

I don't understand why people still bother with Whistler.

Hit up Big White or Silverstar, better snow, and both mountains are fantastic, affordable accommodations as well.

[westopher]

I mean, silverstar is 9 hours away instead of 1.5, and big white is the worlds largest bunny hill.

[twitchyzero]

1.5 is like saying you can get to an offce d/t from north van in 5 min :lol

[westopher]

My door to the parking lot on any day other than Saturday Sunday is 1:40 at the absolute most. That's why I schedule myself off Sunday-Tuesday.

[underscore]

I mean, silverstar is 9 hours away instead of 1.5, and big white is the worlds largest bunny hill.

How does it take you 9 hours to get to SilverStar? Big White has some decent terrain but it's really not *that* advanced, you're better off driving a little further and hitting Revy for that.

[westopher]

Ahhh I was mistaken. I was thinking of whitewater.
Revy is one of my favourites if not favourite mountain I've ever ridden. I'd usually go to baker though based on proximity which is smaller but still amazing.

[twitchyzero]

seymour and baker are such gems being family-owned instead of foreign corporations

[Hondaracer]

1.5 is like saying you can get to an offce d/t from north van in 5 min :lol

My door to the parking lot on any day other than Saturday Sunday is 1:40 at the absolute most. That's why I schedule myself off Sunday-Tuesday.

I can consistently get from the PNE to parked at Whistler village in under 2 hours, if you’re west of Lonsdale, you probably cut 10-15 minutes off me, no problem

[mikemhg]

Silverstar isn't 9 hours LOL.

Big White isn't a bunny hill either, it has tons of good terrain to keep me happy. To me the quality of the snow is more important, I love that champagne powder, I hate the heavy/slushy stuff we get at the local mountains, and Baker to a degree as well.

I find people who ski Whistler as their only choice to be snooty uppity dickheads, another reason I rarely ski that mountain nowadays.

[westopher]

seymour and baker are such gems being family-owned instead of foreign corporations

I have a pass at seymour and have for the last 6 years now. I probably get 20 days a season up there and it can't be beat for the cost.
This year is a fuckin no bueno start though.
And big white is absolutely a bunny hill. Champagne powder only goes so far when you only have 10 degrees of pitch on 90% of the mountain lol.

[mikemhg]

I have a pass at seymour and have for the last 6 years now. I probably get 20 days a season up there and it can't be beat for the cost.
This year is a fuckin no bueno start though.
And big white is absolutely a bunny hill. Champagne powder only goes so far when you only have 10 degrees of pitch on 90% of the mountain lol.

You tryna jump off cliffs, old man?

[westopher]

Still jumpin off cliffs my man. Only thing that still makes me still feel young.
https://instagram.com/p/CagddI_rHSK/
https://instagram.com/p/CagddI_rHSK/

[underscore]

I've been skiing at Bite White since I was 3 and he's right. It's great for families/tourists/really anyone up til about the upper intermediate level. Excellent layout, it's easy to get around, lots of ski-in/ski-out places and even if you really, really, really fuck up and end up out of bounds there's a road downhill from everywhere that you could hitchhike/hike out on.

But for people who are hitting up places like Revy and Whitewater it's pretty limited. There's only a couple actual steep pitches where you can play around in serious powder, on the rest of the hill anything beyond a few inches is actually a hindrance because it's too flat for you to stay on top of it. I have some stupidly wide powder skis that are totally useless up there. I still bring them out for laughs every so often though.

[Hehe]

IMO Revy is so much better than resorts we have here. Whistler/Blackcomb is decent... but the snow quality is nowhere near what Revy can offer consistently.

Nevertheless, I think my absolute favorite resort is Kickinghorse. Those cliffs down the bowl scare the shit out of me. And that's a single black diamond. I don't think I have what it takes to ride down their double blacks. I thought I was ok snowboarding... until I got to Kickinghorse.
And there's a single gondola to the peak, and you could ride the entire way down... so one actually spends more time riding than up the lift.

[westopher]

Kicking horse is amazing on a good day but snowfall is a lot less frequent than revy considering how close it is. I've ridden maybe 10 days there and 9 of them were icy. Its a lot more lake Louise kinda snow than revy kinda snow.

[6793026]

revy is a very difficult mountain. IIRC, verticals are the key to revy's famous runs and earned the title for all of america

[underscore]

I've only been to Revy once but it was an eye opener. I'm a pretty good skier but I'd only ever skied Big White. So walking into the day lodge and seeing people checking their avalanche gear and their touring skins was like in a movie when the guy who is the top athlete at his shitty school goes to nationals and gets his ass handed to him.

[RabidRat]

You know what's cheaper than avalanche gear? Not getting stuck in an avalanche!

[westopher]

Gotta take risks for the good stuff, and gotta take the right risks not to die. If you set one foot out of the boundary, it's important to have, along with at least AST level one. It's a really fun program to take too. I think next year I'll do level 2 since there isn't going to be any snow this year.:alone:

[mikemhg]

I've only been to Revy once but it was an eye opener. I'm a pretty good skier but I'd only ever skied Big White. So walking into the day lodge and seeing people checking their avalanche gear and their touring skins was like in a movie when the guy who is the top athlete at his shitty school goes to nationals and gets his ass handed to him.

Felt the same way when I was a teenager and I skied my 1st time at Whistler after doing Cypress for years prior.

I remember sitting on the Glacier Express and watching these white dudes jumping off these full on cliff face drops, seeing ski tracks through the most dense tree filled steep portions of the hills that I couldn't imagine how one would ski through.

A piece of me died that day, I realized I would never be on that level :lol

[Badhobz]

so im off till the new year. i was gonna go to vegas and then drive to zion national park / grand canyon and other very very hipster activities but spy balloon only wants to gamble eat and party

Plus we need to leave my fuzzy wuzzy honey bunny chi chi's with my parents and i cant do that to the fuzzers! (what? im not gay, youre gay!)

So instead i think im gonna drive down to the states and go visit these little buttfuck towns that i always wanted to explore and bring the fuzzy's with us.

First up La Conner
https://maps.app.goo.gl/a5MN1RofsoY5Frvi6
https://lovelaconner.com/
looks cute and lovely

Poulsbo WA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pZocHKaLVpJ27ZUd7
https://cityofpoulsbo.com/

Sun Lake dry falls state park
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dBvygARr9nkNjuLKA
I've always wanted to head out that way and see the desert in washington. Ive never been to spokane either so i think ill try this

Any more little butt fuck towns that's interesting? even in BC cuz i really havent explored the Okanagan either

[punkwax]

That’s too bad I’ll be in Vegas for NYE.. could’ve had a mini meat over a popsicle or two.

I’ve heard Leavenworth is worth checking out and it’s on my list of places to visit.

[underscore]

Felt the same way when I was a teenager and I skied my 1st time at Whistler after doing Cypress for years prior.

I remember sitting on the Glacier Express and watching these white dudes jumping off these full on cliff face drops, seeing ski tracks through the most dense tree filled steep portions of the hills that I couldn't imagine how one would ski through.

A piece of me died that day, I realized I would never be on that level :lol

The terrain park is even more brutal, you go through there feeling good about landing something new and then you see some 8 year old go do a double backflip.