Holiday to Canada

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ci1

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Hi, just wondering has anyone been on holiday to Vancouver and done a trip to the Rockies whilst there?
We are going at the end of the summer but are only spending 4 nights in Vancouver, any trips I've checked to the Rockies are all for 2+ nights.

Anybody have any day or overnight trips there?
thanks,
 
Re: Holiday to Canda

my wife and I are going for two and a half weeks in early July.We are starting in Calgary,getting coach to Banff,hiring car there and travelling north to Columbia Icefields,Jasper,west to Clearwater,Whistler on to Vancouver Island to Tofino then south to Victoria and ferry back to Vancouver.I got great advice on the trip advisor website,you can check British Columbia and Alberta sections. We are mainly staying in B/Bs and some hotels[check trip advisor for sites on B/B.We were advised to book accomodation well in advance for early Summer.There are train tours from Vancouver to the Rockies some of which are a bit pricey,but these train journeys are geared towards tourist market.
 
Re: Holiday to Canda

How long are you going to be in Canada in total?
To get to the real Rockies (i.e the area you always see in the tourist brochures, Bannff, Lake Louise, Columbia Icefields, etc ) from Vancouver takes about an 8/10 hours drive.
Else you can just drive north a few hours and head up to Squamish and Whistler (80 odd miles north of Vancouver).
It is very nice area, it's in Coast Mountains rather than the real Rockies.
Trust me those mountains are still big and beautiful.
Also you might see bears around the area.

Check out following link...
http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/explore/vancouver/points_of_interest/index.html

One thing you gotta remember is BC is the about size of France, Germany and Holland combined. It is bigger than Texas. Distances are massive and unless you fly you are going to be a day in a car to get to certain places.
There is a tourist train that crosses the Rockies but it is expensive and will be full of Japanese tourists in summer.
 
Re: Holiday to Canda

Haille if you are having trouble finding accomodation in Banff just drop down road to Canmore. It is very close to Banff, outside the national park and there are lots of nice Motels.
In two weeeks you will clock up a few miles on that trip.
Tofino is nice, right out on the coast.
 
Re: Holiday to Canda

Hi,

we doing 4 nights in toronto, 4 nights in vancouver and 4 nights on vancouver island (victoria bc, we have relatives there)
I wanted to do lots in vancouver and not have to spend hours and hours getting to the Rockies.

I believe there is a mountainous wildlife park on Vancouver Island aswell but I cannot see it being better than the Rockies.

We might have to reduce the 4 nights in Vancouver and travel to the Rockies for 2 nights...not going all the way there to miss them.

checked the trips and they are pricey but would have to go see them anyway.

thanks everyone.
 
Vancouver Island is really cool. I stayed up in Campbell River for 5 nights.
You will see black bears all right but I don't think there are any grizzles.
The mountains and forests are pretty cool even though they are not Rockies.
You could also go Whale watching, depending on time of year, up north.

As I said before the distances are huge, so do you want to spend a day in car/bus?
The major tourist centres do not have large airfields because they are in National Parks.

Take a look at maps, if you want to get to the touristy Rockies i.e. Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff you are talking about nearly 10 hour drive from Vancouver. They are actually in Alberta now BC.
You could go Wells Gray National Park up near Clearwater, nice place, mountains, rivers etc and lots of bears. It is nearer than other locations but not as touristy or doesn't have the lakes.
 
Great, thanks for the info.

No - don't fancy spending that long travellling to be honest.
It should have been checked before we booked but thats what happens when you let other people plan it.

We'll see nearer the time I guess!

Thanks again!
 
I'm heading to Seattle, Vancouver and BC for my honeymoon at the start of May.

Hotel booked for Seattle and Vancouver and nothing thereafter.

Simply going to rent a car and spend 2/3 weeks touring parts of BC, checked out plenty of sites, etc and it seems there are plenty of places to stay and things to do.......much more of an adventure with nothing booked:)
 
Ci1 there are plenty of pretty mountaineous areas on Vancouver Island and nearer to Vancouver. Even check out the mountain overlooking Vancouver. It offers great views of the city, park and the bridges etc.
Infoseeker you should have no problems with accomodation in most places but beware you may have to share motel with road/forest workers and miners etc. Still they all disappear very early in the mornings. The bears should be more visible at that time of year.
 
thanks JMayo,

we have no accomodation booked as yet for Vancouver Island.
Hotels booked in Vancouver & Toronto.

We were planning on staying in a hotel on the island for 2 nights and then my relatives were going to book log cabins in the mountain park on Vancouver Island which sounds fab.
my parents did it a while back and they loved it.

so it looks like the Rockies are not on the agenda this time, so its just an excuse to go back I reckon..

thanks,
 
Take a look at
http://www.vancouverisland.com/
http://www.bcpassport.com/

BTW the mountain overlooking Vanvcouver is called Grouse and I would highly recommend it if the weather is clear. The views are fantastic.
Also Stanley Park is nice especially down along water.

On Vancouver island the mountains are not as big as Rockies but the wilderness is still unbelievable.
Even psotted young black bear cub loitering along highway one morning. Most of the island is covered in forests.
From Vancouver, seriously check out getting upto Squamish, Whistler and as far as Pemberton if you have couple of days to kill.
You can sometimes spot bears in the area and if you are into golf there are a few courses around Whistler town.
You could take ferry from Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) back to Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) which is almost on the road to Whistler. You would not have to go back into city.

Anyway enjoy, it is the nicest part of the world I have had the pleasure of visiting.
 
Re: Holiday to Canda

ci1 said:
Hi,
we doing 4 nights in toronto, 4 nights in vancouver and 4 nights on vancouver island (victoria bc, we have relatives there)
Click to expand...

I presume you are flying between Toronto and Van? Give yourself sometime to relax after the flight, it is a 5 1/2 hr flight remember!

The Rockie towns of Banff and Jasper can get extremely packed in the summer months. Your best bet is to explore the wilderness north of Vancouver and on Vancouver island. Places like Tofino are just beautiful, the Gulf Islands are worth a visit too (where us locals like to go on holliers!) or if you want you can spend 4 days on the beach in vancouver soaking up the sun by day and dining by night.
 
Tks JMayo for the response but I think your advice

'Infoseeker you should have no problems with accomodation in most places but beware you may have to share motel with road/forest workers and miners etc.'

should not apply as we will be on our honeymoon and will be staying in nice B&Bs', guesthouses, etc so unless these road/forest workers & miners stay in the higher end of lodging we should be ok:)
 
Infoseeker the advice was meant if you end up in town that is in middle of nowhere and not necessarily on the main tourist beats.
Take a look at Chetwynd, Fort St John, Burnside or Lilloet on the maps.
You don't often have choice of driving to next town, especially if next town is 2 hours away.
Btw you may look down on motels but a huge part of their accomodation is motels and some of them are very good.
If you do serious travelling in that country you will not have a choice in some locations.
 
Thanks JMayo, no offence meant.
We have both slept in places far worse than motels but if there is a nice option in any place then we will try and stay there.
Basically we have guides and hopefully local advice from owner of places we do stay in will help us on the way.
If the worst comes to the worst we have a rental car:)
 
Infoseeker beware if you are sleepng in car near forests etc make sure your food is in airtight containers. Otherwise could get woken by Yogi and Boo Boo looking for a picnick basket. (sorry can't do the voices here) Actually some of their motels are great. Then again I spent one night wondering if the big flies that were in the kitchen came from a nuclear plant :-() If you head up towards Yukon, the towns have numerous motels, not sure about guesthouses/B&Bs. Also if you pass a "gas station" fill up, the next one might be 3 hours drive.
 
ci1 - Are you going with a boy?
If so it's a bad idea - he might get courageous and propose in one of those log cabins - then you'll end up getting married - having children - taking maternity leave!
You know that interviewer would not be happy now would he!
 
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