Have you always wanted to see the Winter Games live? Even if that's not one of your dreams you may still want to do it and take the opportunity to discover Vancouver a bit more! Below is part of another msnbc.com article giving you important advice on transportation, tickets, etc:
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For tickets and accommodations, this is shaping up to be a particularly challenging Olympics.
Whether it's Vancouver, B.C.'s stunning setting, easy accessibility or the growing popularity of winter sports, Vancouver 2010 has been selling beyond expectations, according to Tourism Vancouver ... and many of you. But as we researched answers to Reader Questions About Visiting Vancouver During the Olympics, we dug up some good news.
Tickets
Readers such as Ross and klbears wanted to know how to buy non-package tickets in advance. We feel your pain. I ndividual tickets went on sale May 14 via CoSport, which essentially has a monopoly on selling Olympic tickets in the U.S.
Purchasing through CoSport is a way to insure that your tickets are legit and that you're not paying a fat markup to a scalper. But of course scalpers and other resellers will be out in full force later this year! If you go the resold-tickets route, know that you have more protection against deceit by using established online resellers like StubHub and TicketsNow.
And keep an open mind. If you can't get tickets, all is not lost. "This will be the biggest party that's ever hit Canada," says Emery, citing massive light shows, live bands, public art and other amazing-sounding official events. Then, there are always the unofficial ones. Vancouver will be a rich, wonderful, exciting place to be next February.
Lodging
Luckily, one of these challenges — sold-out accommodations — is partly a myth. A few of you — Megan Greve, M.O. Nichols, and Ross — wrote to bemoan the lack of hotel rooms in Vancouver, due to media blocks, minimum stays, and so forth. But lodging is actually in abundance, just not in traditional form.
"At this point, traditional hotel accommodation is unavailable. But there are alternatives, such as cruises, B&Bs, home and condo rentals, and hotel rooms in outer-lying areas. A commute to an event or venue should be expected as a normal part of an Olympic day," says Katie Emery, at Tourism Vancouver, who cites the two-hour-plus commutes of many Athletes' Villages in the past as proof that it can be done.
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