2010 Winter Olympics - On A Budget by Paul la Vella

Coming up fast are the 2010 Winter Olympics - this time scheduled for Vancouver in Canada.
Vancouver, British Columbia is located on the Canada/U.S. border. It's a prime location for both Americans and Canadians to catch what may be a once-in-a-lifetime event opportunity.

Those who don't want to miss the rare opportunity to see the Olympic Games needn't let cost deter them. It's possible to take in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics even on a budget. Here are eight ways for travelers to make the most of their dollars while taking part in history:

1) Drive instead of fly. Travelers from within the western half of North America can save money by driving to Vancouver. Driving is still less expensive than flying, even with the rising price of gasoline. Opting to drive can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in travel costs.

2) Take public transportation. Taking a bus, train or the Skytrain during the games can save money in gas. Plus, Vancouver parking fees (which are usually expensive) can be avoided when you opt for public transportation. Additionally, direct shuttles will be running between many of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic event locations and other important Canada ski destinations within the area.

3) Stay in the suburbs. Hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts get less expensive the further from the heart of Vancouver that you travel. The city is surrounded by smaller cities and towns. Areas such as Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Langley, Port Coquitlam and others are still an hour's drive or less from many winter Olympics venues. They feature many places to stay at considerably cheaper prices.

4) Choose economical accommodations. Avoiding hotels in favor of less expensive accommodations can often save travelers a significant amount of money. Bed and breakfasts and campsites are scattered throughout the greater Vancouver area. They tend to run five to fifty percent less in price than hotels.

5) Look for private accommodations. Internet-savvy travel bargain hunters may be able to find economical deals for accommodations online. Many greater Vancouver locals are offering rooms, condos, apartments and homes for rent during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. These deals can be significantly cheaper than staying in hotels or motels.

These kinds of accommodations often come with access to a kitchen/cooking facilities. This means that travelers can save even more money by cooking their own meals instead of eating out in restaurants.

6) Attend less popular sporting events. The official Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games website boasts over 100,000 events tickets at a cost of just $25. Half of all events tickets that are available are less than one hundred dollars each. Many of the more popular events (including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies) have already sold out.

However, many Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics tickets are still available for less popular sports. Some of these events include biathlon, luge, curling, freestyle skiing and skeleton.

7) Opt for cheaper seats. It's possible to see even some of the more popular sports for under one hundred dollars. Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics events tickets are priced categorically according to seat location in each venue.

Category "A" tickets are for the best seats and tend to run over one hundred dollars each (or more) for every event. Choosing seats from categories B, C and D can mean significant savings. A vast number of tickets in these categories are under one hundred dollars each. It may be well worth it to be a part of history, even if you have to bring your binoculars.

8) Stick around for the Paralympic Games. The 2010 Paralympic Games take place immediately after the Winter Olympic games. Tickets for these events are considerably less expensive, and feature as much excitement as the Winter Olympic games.

It isn't often that the Olympics come to North America. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games offer the rare chance for North Americans to see some of the world's best athletes. Americans and Canadians need not even leave the continent to enjoy this great sporting event.



About the Author
Information for skiing in Europe including an Andorra snow report are at yourandorra.com/canada_ski

Ski holiday companies include Crystal ski

2010 Winter Games by Sara j

The scenic and bustling city Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the proud host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The International Winter Olympics Committee chooses Vancouver as host of the games in 2010 on April 23, 2005. Greater Vancouver, with a population of 2.1 million, is Canada's third largest urban area. Located in British Columbia, Canada's western-most province, the region covers nearly 2,900 square kilometres, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the U.S. border to the south, the valley of the Fraser River to the east and the Coastal Mountains to the north. Seattle, Washington is 226 km to the south, while Calgary, Alberta is 975 km to the east. Vancouver's ocean-side location gives it a mild climate year round. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Vancouver as the world's most liveable city in 2006. The Mercer Group's 2007 Quality of Living Survey ranked Vancouver third of 215 cities worldwide, and first in North America. The games will officially commence in February 12-28, 2010. The organizers of top-notch sporting events expect 80 countries and 5,500 athletes and coaches and sport officials to joint the highly anticipated event. Some 86 events comprising seven sports are also expected to be shown during the almost month long games. The Canadian Olympic Association chose Vancouver as the Canadian candidate city over Calgary, which sought to re-host the games and Quebec City, which had lost the 2002 Olympic bid in 1995. On the first round of voting on November 21, 1998, Vancouver-Whistler had 26 votes, Quebec City with 25 and Calgary 21. On December 3, 1998, the second and final round of voting occurred between the two leading contenders, which saw Vancouver win with 40 votes compared to Quebec City's 32. The win allowed Vancouver to prepare its bid and begin lobbying efforts internationally. Here are quick facts regarding the prestigious event: • Number of Olympic athletes and officials: 5,500 • Number of Paralympics athletes and officials: 1,350 • Countries participating in Olympic Winter Games: 80+ • Countries participating in Paralympics and Winter Games: 40+ • 2010 Olympic Winter Games events tickets available: 1.6 million • 2010 Paralympics Winter Games events tickets available: 250,000 • Estimated number of media representatives: 10,000 • Estimated number of Games volunteers: 25,000 To make the 2010 Winter Olympic exciting SEGA Corporation recently announced an exclusive partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the official licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to develop Vancouver 2010 - the Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games. Eurocom Entertainment Software is developing the game for PC, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Vancouver 2010 is an authentic simulation of a host of events from the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, focusing on the adrenalin rush that comes from the extreme speed of winter sports. Including the all-new challenge mode, it will allow players to immerse themselves in the world's greatest sporting event like never before. In addition to the new challenge mode, Vancouver 2010 also offers revamped online game play and brand new control schemes new to an official video game of the Olympic Games. With this, Vancouver 2010 will be the new benchmark for the Olympic-themed videogames genre and truly allow gamers to experience the "Olympic Spirit". Vancouver 2010 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 is set for release in the winter of 2010. The opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympic Games will be held at BC Place. BC Place is an amazing inflated white dome stadium that can hold just over 59,000 people, and it is located in the downtown core. As the Host City for the 2010 Winter Games, Vancouver has been given an extraordinary opportunity to welcome the world to our city, and share with all that our city has to offer, including: spectacular, natural beauty, excellent sports and entertainment, innovative leadership in business, the environment and social issues, extraordinary community, cultural diversity, and commitment to excellence in accessibility. More information on 2010 Winter Olympics Tickets


About the Author
Sara is a creative writer and love to write on musical play, concerts and sports games. She is currently working for TicketLoot ( http://www.ticketloot.com ).

Whisler Ski Resorts by Dnair

Whistler, in British Columbia, with the most desirable and breathtaking locations in Canada ,has been voted one of the favourite ski destinations in North America.It is a skier's and snowboarder's heaven in winter and for this reason the Winter Olympics in 2010 will be held at Whistler Blackcomb.
Whistler Blackcomb offers skiing and snowboarding for all ability levels. Featuring more than 200 trails, Whistler skiing includes everything from tree skiing to wide-open cruising runs. Cross-country skiers can also find miles of trails to satisfy.The Ski season for the Canadian resorts starts in early November and extends through to June and summer offers all sorts of additional outdoor sports.

One of newest and hottest ski resort in Whistler Blackcomb is the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre Hotel located in the heart of Whistler Village, moments from the base of the Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.The resort also provides access to over 8,000 acres of skiable terrain stretching over eight miles, including North America's steepest mile vertical drop, and to four award-winning golf courses.One can also revitalize at the boutique spa or relax poolside at the year-round outdoor heated salt water lap pool all with spectacular views of the idyllic mountains.

Another Ski resort worth checking out is the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside Resort Hotel consistently rated one of the best in North America. It is also the co-host venue of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games.Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside resort hotel offers unforgettable team building opportunities in summer and winter playground of mountains, lakes and golf courses.And for family gatherings it offers boutique, all-suite accommodations that are comfortable for grandparents, stylish for the younger crowd and fantastically fun for the kids.

Both the destinations provide luxury accommodation and stylish venues that combine with Whistler's spectacular scenery to provide the perfect setting for weddings or business meetings.

One can also enjoy the Whistler's classic hike along Piccolo and Flute summits Travel from Vancouver to Whistler via Helijet or Paddle down the River of Golden Dreams through the wetlands of the Whistler Valley.Regardless of what you opt to do, the choices are as varied as the splendid terrain ,Whistler offers tons of activities that will remain unique lifetime experience. Take your family, or go with friends. Whatever you do you will have a memorable experience to look back on for years to come - ski holidays can be great fun!



About the Author
For Accomodation Booking details to Whistler Resorts vist Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre Hotel or Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside Resort Hotel

My 2010 Olympic Hockey Predictions by Greg LaForge

The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver are coming up. They are only a few months away. When they get here, the entire world will support their athletes.
Every hockey fan will also be supporting their country. Some are looking forward to the 2010 Olympics as an opportunity for a gold. Other countries can't wait until they're done.

Anyway, here are my predictions for who is going to win the medals.

There are a lot of good teams that are going to be competing in the tournament this winter. The biggest ones are Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. These are the teams that are probably going to win the top 5 spots.

You may notice that the United States is not on this list. They have a young team and will probably place in the lower half of the pack.

Of the 5 teams that I mentioned above I've got Canada winning the gold. Canada has a lot of all stars and is extremely prepared for the Olympics. They are going to take some of the hard lessons that they learned in the last tournament and use them this winter.

The silver medal will go to Russia. This year, Russia will be trying to win it's first gold since its days as the Soviet Union. However, I don't think that they have to defense to match up with Team Canada.

The bronze medal is going to be interesting. They're are a lot of good teams that are still in the tournament. Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic all have a good chance of winning the bronze medal.

However, my bet is going with Sweden. They have a lot of good players. In fact, they are pulling most of their talent from the Detroit Red Wings. Definitely not a bad team to pull a good portion of your Olympic team from.

Anyway, those are my predictions for the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament. Once again, there are a lot of teams that could place well, but the two teams that you will want to watch are Russia and Canada. Even though I have Canada winning the gold, there's a good chance that Russia will beat them.



About the Author
I am the owner of the blog tipsforhockey.com. You are invited to check out some of my articles. Aside from the blog I have articles that give hockey tips, help buying merchandise, and help finding autographs. Feel free to check it out.

Renting out your Home for the 2010 Olympic Games by Mike Andruff

As soon as it was announced that Vancouver, British Columbia was selected to host the 2010 Winter Games, property managers and private homeowners salivated at the prospect of renting out their properties at a premium to the thousands of people expected to descend on the city in February. Now the Olympic Games are fast approaching, and it's time for you to decide whether you're going to get in on the action and rent your own place out.
In deciding what to do, the first thing to consider is whether or not there will be much demand for accommodations outside of traditional hotels and motels.

There are approximately 23,000 hotel rooms located in the city of Vancouver, though 21,000 of which have already been reserved by the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC).

To give you an idea of how many people are expected to attend the Games, there are 1.6 million tickets available for events at the Olympics, with another 250,000 tickets available for the Paralympic Games. Estimates suggest that there will be about 25,000 volunteers and 10,000 media representatives in addition to more than 6500 athletes and officials.

This means that there is a huge gap between the number of readily available rooms, and the number of people who need a place to stay.

Many private homeowners have already began advertising their properties online through sites like Craigslist, asking for around $300 per bedroom, per night. Rates are better among properties that have several bedrooms available, as are homes that are located away from hotspots like Whistler, Squamish, Downtown Vancouver, and Richmond.

While some people are offering weekly rentals, monthly accommodations are also being advertised-some charging as much as $10,000 for the month. In fact, one downtown luxury condo owner is asking for $11,000 for a two-week stay in February, or $20,000 for the whole month. Clearly, many homeowners are expecting Olympic visitors to be willing to pay big bucks for nice accommodations set in a convenient location.

Homeowners wishing to rent out their homes are allowed to under certain provisions made by the 2010 Winter Games Temporary Accommodation By-law. Homeowners are allowed to rent to "visitors for periods of less than 30 days if their home is not occupied by tenants or boarders and lodgers after June 1, 2009," and until March 31, 2009. The City said, "The goal of the by-law is to prevent the conversion of long-term rental accommodation to temporary Games time accommodation." If you'd like to rent your home for more than 30 days, you will need a license to do so. Condo owners must check with their strata to see if they're allowed to rent out their space.



About the Author
At VancouverPropertyFinder.com, the Vancouver MLS listings are at your fingertips. You can perform a customized search for properties throughout the Greater Vancouver area, including the Oakridge real estate market.

Skiing Vacations For 2010 - Canada by Paul Ashton

There's plenty of great ski holidays available in Europe, so it's surprising perhaps that quite a few Europeans make the trip across the Atlantic to have a ski holiday in Canada.
Maybe it's less of a surprise perhaps when you consider that no fewer than 5 of Canada's ski resorts made Conde Nast Traveler's Top 20 Ski Destinations in the world. This fact doesn't surprise Canadians, who have always known that skiing in Canada is a cut above the rest, nor to the Europeans who make the effort to visit.

The travel poll was Conde Nast Traveler's 13th annual ranking of world class ski resorts. Whistler-Blackcomb, a regular on the list, came top.

Whistler-Blackcomb will play host to many of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games events. This fact is a testament to the resort's ability to compete with the world's best ski resorts. It is the official Alpine skiing venue for the Vancouver 2010 games.

It has already held several pre-Olympic races and events, with more to come leading up to the Games. Local tourism officials and business owners are thrilled with the attention the 2010 Olympic Games have already brought to Whistler-Blackcomb. They expect a great ski holidays season next year as the Games draw ever closer.

Sun Peaks Resort in Kamloops, British Columbia blasted onto Conde Nast's list, taking 10th place overall. It also makes it the second best in Canada. This Canadian Ski Holiday Resort is relatively new by some world standards and has Olympic ties. Former Canadian Olympic skiing champion Nancy Greene is the resort's director of skiing. Greene, a major investor and developer of the resort is pleased to see Sun Peaks getting the recognition it deserves.

Other Canadian ski resorts to make the top 20 were Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec (no. 12), Big White in Kelowna, British Columbia and Lake Louise in Alberta (tie for no. 16). This strong showing for skiing holidays in Canada will likely continue to boost winter tourism long after the Winter Olympics have come and gone.

Lake Louise, like Whistler-Blackcomb, frequently makes a strong showing on the international ski scene. Nestled deep in the Canadian Rockies, it boasts some of the world's most breathtaking scenery. This Canadian ski resort will play home to a number of pre-Olympic events and races beginning in December. Her pristine snow and quality runs make it a force to be contended with on the international ski holidays scene.

Hopefully for these as well as other popular ski in Canada holiday resorts, it will be a good year for snow. Those who were fortunate enough to obtain season passes for last year's skiing got their money's worth with good snowfall throughout the season.

The wintry weather isn't the only thing that makes a Canadian spring ski holiday appealing. The weak Canadian dollar means that visitors from other countries can get more bang for their ski buck. The Canadian dollar has been languishing at just under 80 cents U.S. for a while - that translates to an extra 20 percent for American visitors.

Many tourism experts agree that a nod from Conde Nast Traveler is a significant endorsement. Over 32,000 readers, many well-versed in travel, voted in the ski holiday poll. Thanks to their knowledge, the enthusiasm of Canadians and the impending winter Olympic Games, Canadian ski resorts are bracing for a healthy 2010 and beyond.



About the Author
For skiers 2010 ski holidays are on-line at yourandorra.com and for those considering Austria for a ski holiday they also do ski holidays Austria