Canadian Rockies & Beautiful BC

We depart for Calgary. Upon arrival we will enjoy a city tour before transferring to our hotel. This evening is our Welcome Dinner.

We begin the day travelling into the Canadian Badlands to take in the geological formations and dramatic landscapes of Drumheller. The highlight of our day will be our visit to the famous Royal Tyrrell Museum, which houses one of the largest dinosaur collections in the world. This afternoon we enjoy the scenic transfer into the Rocky Mountains to our hotel in Banff.

This morning we take a gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain for breathtaking views of the town and Rocky Mountains. This afternoon we will enjoy a leisurely float trip along the Bow River, enjoying the awesome views of the snowcapped Rockies all along the way.

We begin the day with a visit to Lake Louise. With its emerald waters set against the backdrop of Victoria Glacier, Lake Louise is probably the most photographed scene in the Canadian Rockies. We then proceed along one of North America’s most spectacular highways—the Icefields Parkway, where wildlife sightings are common— with a stop along the way at Peyto Lake. The highlight of the day will be our ride aboard a unique “Ice Explorer” up the Athabasca Glacier to the Columbia Icefield— the world’s largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle.

Today we will enjoy a day of sightseeing in and around Banff including many scenic wonders of Banff National Park. We will also enjoy a cruise on Lake Minnewanka, the largest lake in Banff National Park. Known to the Stoney Nakoda First Nations people as “Lake of the Spirits,” you will experience breathtaking views while learning about the native folklore and geology of the area.

This morning we continue our journey into British Columbia along the wonderous route through Yoho National Park and Glacier National Park and end our day in Kamloops.

Our first stop is the Hat Creek Ranch heritage site where we venture back in time to the 1860s for a glimpse into the history of this region. We then proceed to the scenic Fraser Canyon for a ride across the Fraser River on Hell’s Gate Airtram, which offers a bird’s eye-view of the point where the Fraser River squeezes through Hell’s Gate—a narrow gorge where over 200 million gallons of water per minute flow through—twice the volume of Niagara Falls! We end our day in Vancouver.

Our morning city tour includes Stanley Park, Gastown, Chinatown and much more. The afternoon is at leisure to explore this beautiful city on your own.

We take the scenic ferry ride to Victoria and upon arrival immediately proceed to the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, where we can explore the 50-acre display of magnificent floral colour. We then proceed to downtown Victoria where we will see the Inner Harbour, the Empress Hotel, Legislative Buildings and Beacon Hill Park.

This morning, we will visit the Malahat Skywalk, a 600-metre walkway suspended amongst the treetops of a beautiful arbutus forest. It leads to a spectacular viewpoint offering stunning vistas of the surrounding waterways and mountains. We then continue our sightseeing en route to Duncan, famous for its Totems.

We begin the day with a scenic drive up the coast to the charming town of Chemainus, once home to the largest enclosed sawmill in North America. The town is now known for its beautiful murals, which you may explore during our free time. Next we will stop at Coombs—a farmers market where goats live on the roof of the moss covered store, before continuing to Cathedral Grove—an old growth forest of Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, Broadleaf Maple and Balsam Fir. Some trees are estimated to be 800 years old.

This morning we will enjoy a walking tour of Victoria’s Inner Harbour with an entertaining local guide. The afternoon is at leisure to explore this quaint city on your own. With its turn-of-the-century buildings and tweed shops, you might think Victoria is a transplanted corner of Britain! Tonight we enjoy our Farewell Dinner.

We transfer to the airport for our Air Canada flight home.