Canadian Rockies & Rainforests with Alaska Cruise
SELF DRIVE TOUR
CANADIAN ROCKIES | SUN PEAKS RESORT | WHISTLER | TOFINO | PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK | VICTORIA | VANCOUVER | HOLLAND AMERICA INSIDE PASSAGE ALASKA CRUISE
Discover glistening snow-capped mountains, sparkling glacial lakes and dense rainforests as you drive from Banff through the Rockies to the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island and on to cosmopolitan Vancouver. Then embark on a spectacular 7 night Alaskan cruise with Holland America.
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Your Itinerary
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Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 4
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Day 5
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Day 6
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Day 7
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Day 8
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Day 9
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Day 10
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Day 11
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Day 12-13
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Day 14
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Day 15
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Day 16
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Day 17
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Day 18
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Day 19
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Day 20
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Day 21-22
Day 1 : Banff
Arrive at Calgary Airport, collect your car and take the short drive to Banff. The remainder of the day is yours to explore at leisure.
Day 2 : Banff
A full day to enjoy Banff. You can choose from one of 4 excursions to help you explore the region: Banff Gondola, Lake Minnewanka cruise, River Explorer Canoe Tour or Bow River Horseback Adventure.
Day 3 : Jasper
Drive the Icefields Parkway with a stop at the Columbia Icefield for an included Ice Explorer Ride & Glacier Skywalk. Continue to Jasper.
Day 4 : Jasper
A full day to enjoy Jasper, choose from one of 3 excursions: Maligne Lake Cruise, Jasper River Float or Jasper Nature Walk.
Day 5 : Sun Peaks (276 miles)
Leaving Jasper, follow the Thompson River through the snowy peaks of the Monashee and Caribou Mountains to the resort village of Sun Peaks.
Day 6 : Whistler (222 miles)
Continue to Lillooet and travel the Duffey Lake Road to Whistler. Be sure to stop at Joffre Lake for breathtaking views of Joffre Glacier.
Day 7 : Whistler
A full day to enjoy Whistler. You can choose from 1 of 4 excursions to help you explore the region: Whistler Guided Lunch Tour; River of Golden Dreams Tour; Guided Bike Tour or Whistler PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
Day 8 : Tofino (206 miles + ferry)
Drive to Horseshoe Bay, board BC Ferries to Vancouver Island, then drive through the majestic Sutton Pass and the Sawtooth Range of the Cascade Mountains to arrive in Tofino late afternoon.
Day 9 : Tofino
A full day to enjoy Tofino. You can choose either a Coastal Bear Watch Cruise or a Whale Watching Cruise.
Day 10 : Victoria (195 miles)
Travel back to the East Coast of Vancouver Island and head south to Victoria.
Day 11 : Victoria
A full day to enjoy Victoria. Choose from 1 of 4 excursions: Butchart Gardens Admission, Eat like a Canadian Food Tour, Whale Watch Cruise or High Tea at the Empress Hotel.
Day 12-13 : Vancouver (43 miles + ferry)
Enjoy a 90-minute ferry ride to Tsawwassen, then continue on to downtown Vancouver.
Day 14 : Holland America Inside Passage Alaskan Cruise
Depart Vancouver late afternoon. On-board your cruise ship relax, unpack and settle in before enjoying an evening meal. Surrounded by remarkable nature, you may even see breaching whales, soaring eagles and barking seals.
Day 15 : Scenic Cruising The Inside Passage
Today will be spent cruising the Inside Passage. This beautiful scenic waterway reaches 1000 miles from British Columbia to historic Skagway. Through a maze of bays, straits, arms and fjords, you’ll cruise past an everchanging panorama of unspoiled beauty; cascading waterfalls, virgin forests and majestic glacier-carved fjords.
Day 16 : Tracy Arm to Juneau
You’ll arrive at Tracy Arm fjord at around 10am. Listen carefully and you may even hear the ice crackle and pop, and take in the sights uninterrupted while you wait for the glacier to calve. Later, you’ll continue your journey to Juneau, Alaska’s capital city
Day 17 : Skagway
Your next stop is Skagway. The staging grounds for the most incredible gold rush the world has ever known, today you’ll stroll past false fronted buildings and the wooden boardwalks that line the street. If you want to know more, you can head to the ship’s luxury jewellery boutique to learn about gold nuggets and maybe even pick out a piece of jewellery for yourself or a loved one to forever remind you of your Alaska cruise.
Day 18 : At Sea - Glacier Bay
Your ship edges so close to the face of Glacier Bay’s Margerie Glacier that you can feel its coolness in the air. If you listen closely, you’ll hear ‘White Thunder’ the Tlingit name for the sound of glaciers crashing into the sea. Keep an eye out for wildlife too; Glacier National Park is home to wolves, moose, grizzly and brown bears, deer and lynx. National Park Service rangers will board your ship to point out wildlife and explain glacial activity.
Day 19 : Ketchikan
Today you’ll be heading to Ketchikan; much of the town’s colourful past is still in evidence, as you’ll realise when you the world’s largest collection of totem poles which stare out to sea. Study the stories carved into the Tlingit totem poles and carve a story of your own with a tribal elder.
Day 20 : Scenic Cruising The Inside Passage
As you make your way back to Vancouver via the Inside Passage, you’ll be surrounded by natural beauty and an abundance of wildlife. Keep an eye out for fishing trawlers laden with their catch heading to harbour, historic lighthouses on rocky isolated shores, coastal First Nations long houses fronted with proud totems and all manner of marine life.
Day 21-22 : Disembark Vancouver - UK
Arrive back in Vancouver early morning and disembark after breakfast. Make your way to the airport for your return flight.
