Book a flight into Vancouver's airport. This airport is the closest international airport to Whistler. From the airport, you will be able to rent a car or take a bus to Whistler. The airport code is YVR.
Decide whether you want to take a bus or rent a car to travel to Whistler. If you plan to do a fair amount of traveling while in Whistler, a car rental is the best way to go.
Reserve your rental car or your bus tickets ahead of time. Go to the YVR website and click on your preferred method of transportation in the drop-down box underneath "Parking & Transportation" in the center of the screen. Allow enough time between the arrival of your flight and the pick-up time of your car or the departure time of your bus for you and your family to get off the airplane and go through international customs.
Figure out how many hours it will take to drive from your starting destination to Whistler, BC. Use Google Maps or another site that generates driving directions to find a close estimate. For example, driving from the Vancouver airport takes about two hours, while driving from Seattle, Wash., takes a little more than four hours. Add in time for rest stops if needed.
Write down the directions you need to get to Whistler. For example, if you travel from Seattle, the basic directions are to take Interstate 5 to Highway 99, which leads you directly into Whistler. Be prepared to stop at border checkpoints entering and leaving Canada by car.
Find the exact street address of your arrival destination and figure out how to get there from Highway 99. You can use your GPS or an online road map service such as MapQuest or Google Maps.
