Spectacular Canadian Rockies

Arrive in Vancouver and transfer to your hotel.

Vancouver, where the mountains meet the sea, and every scene looks like something straight form a postcard. Vancouver was founded as “Gastown” by an Englishman with a penchant for beer and storytelling. Today Gastown is a historic section of the Canadian metropolis, and the lively pubs still reflect the area’s former status as a sort of community drinking center. The city’s forests, grand parks, and impressive suspension bridge beckon travelers to explore them, as do the city’s shops and museums. Relive the glory of the 2010 Winter Games with visits to Olympic venues and the marvelous Olympic Cauldron.A

Morning:  This is the best of the West Coast! After experiencing the highlights of vibrant downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park, travel into the Coastal Mountains to visit the original VancMouver tourist attraction – Capilano Suspension Bridge and Park. Spend time exploring our temperate rainforest, and the park’s many thrilling attractions including the Cliff Walk and Treetop Adventure. You finish your tour with a visit to the Granville Island Public Market and driving through Robson Street Shopping District, Chinatown and Historic Gastown. Don’t forget your camera!

Afternoon: Granville Island is Canada’s second most-visited destination, behind Niagara Falls, and Vancouver’s destination for lovers of food, art, and culture. During the 2-hour tour, guests can eat their way through the world-famous Public Market and hear the intriguing stories, culture, and history behind the tasty creations. Tour highlights include 20 tastings of regional foods that include cured meats, small production local cheeses, and freshly baked artisan bread. Touring the Granville Island Public Market is one of the most authentic ways to experience Vancouver.

Option:  Take the ferry from the mainland over to Granville Island.

Mid-Morning – Early Afternoon:  Eat and drink your way through Vancouver’s #1 foodie district, just like the locals love to do! Indulge in the boozey, foodie, historic neighborhood with Canadian poutine, Vancouver’s best pizza, wicked desserts, cocktails, craft beer, wine and more! Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood, laden with iconic restaurants, quirky pubs, and historic spaces. To uncover the alleyways and doors that hold Gastown’s gems, a Foodie Tour can’t be beat!

Depart Vancouver Station at 7:30am and travel to Kamloops, in the heart of British Columbia’s interior. On the journey you will see dramatic changes in scenery, from the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley, through forests and winding river canyons surrounded by the peaks of the Coast and Cascade Mountains, to the desert-like environment of the BC Interior.  Highlights include the rushing waters of Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon and the steep slopes and rock sheds along the Thompson River.  The day concludes along the shores of Kamloops Lake into Kamloops Station between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. Transfer to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch on board train

Depart Kamloops Station around 6:30am, to continue the journey east to the mighty Canadian Rockies and the province of Alberta.  You’ll travel across ranchlands, along rocky lakeshores, over high mountain passes and through the remarkable tunnels that form part of the rich rail history f the Canadian Rockies. Highlights include Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven, the climb over Rogers Pass, the Kicking Horse Canyon, the Spiral Tunnels and the glaciers and snow-capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies.  Arrive at 5:00pm and transfer to your famous hotel, The Fairmont Chateaux Lake Louise.

You’ll go onto the surface of the Athabasca Glacier by Ice Explorer; a massive vehicle specially designed for glacial travel. Here your guide will share a wealth of fascinating information about glaciers, icefields, and their impact on our environment. During the tour you’ll step out onto the glacier and take in the most stunning alpine and glacial vistas. you’ll also go out on the award-winning Glacier Skywalk, a 1,640 long boardwalk extending 100 feet out over the Sunwapta Valley allowing one to float in the sky amidst spectacular scenery.

This tour will take us into Yoho National Park to view its natural wonders.  Among the attractions are the Spiral Tunnels, Emerald Lake and a natural rock bridge that spans the Kicking Horse River. During the day your luggage will be transfer to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.  Located in the heart of Banff National Park, the world-famous Fairmont Banff Springs hotel stands as a landmark in the alpine town of Banff, Alberta. Canada’s “Castle in the Rockies” has been providing legendary hospitality to guests for more than 125 years. The Fairmont Banff Springs is a year-round luxury mountain resort that offers a championship golf course, the award winning European-style Willow Stream Spa, and authentically local dining experiences.

Explore Banff and the surrounding area at your leisure. Also a great opportunity to enjoy a fabulous spa treatment.

This morning explore the natural wonders near the town of Banff on this half-day, small-group tour. Admire the unparalleled beauty of natural sights including visits to the Hoodoos (shaped by centuries of wind) & Bow Valley Viewpoint, Surprise Corner, Bow Falls, Lake Minnewanka and Bankhead: An abandoned mining town and the relic of Banff’s industrial past.

At the end of the tour you will be taken to the Banff Gondola for a breathtaking ascent to the pinnacle of Sulphur Mountain for an awe-inspiring 360-degree panorama of sheer mountain majesty.

Next, depart for Calgary on a scheduled coach transfer; following the Trans-Canada Highway, leave the Rocky Mountains to the Great Central Plains that roll to the east for 2000 kilometers and extend as far south as Mexico. This is ‘cattle ranching country’ and the breadbasket of Canada.

Arrive in Calgary late afternoon with drop-off at your downtown hotel.

Transfer to the Calgary Airport for your flight home.