Rockies to Pacific: Mountains, Rainforests and Coastal Cities

Touch down in Calgary, Alberta’s biggest city, and the place where the Canadian Prairies run up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Meet your guide at the airport, transfer to your hotel and enjoy a welcome reception, as well as a little free time to take a stroll downtown.

Leaving the city behind, take the Trans-Canada Highway into the ever-climbing foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. These snow-dusted peaks fill the horizon as you approach today’s destination: Banff National Park. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Meals: breakfast

Established around the hot springs of Sulphur Mountain in 1885, Banff is the birthplace of Canada’s national park system. Find out more about the park as well as its historic Banff Springs Hotel, TunnelMountainand Bow Falls on a guided tour. Travel on to Lake Louise, one of the most beloved beauty spots in Canada, then return to Banff in the late afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Meals: breakfast

Take in Banff at your own pace. This mountain town is a joy to explore independently. Stroll through its streets, breathe in the clean mountain air – 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) above sea level – and perhaps take an optional ride on the Banff Gondola, which will whisk you a further 700 metres (2,300 feet) up steep slopes to the summit of Sulphur Mountain, enabling you to enjoy the sweeping views of the Canadian Rockies.

Meals: breakfast

Strike out on the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most scenic drives and the mountain highway that links Banff and Jasper national parks. Your first destination is the Columbia Icefield, the largest in the Rockies. After passing blue-green lakes, streams,forestsand snow-frosted peaks,you’llstopat the Athabasca Glacier andboard an all-terrain Ice Explorerand step out onto the ancient frozen expanse before continuing to Jasper.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Embark on a full tour of Jasper National Park, a hugely varied expanse of the Rocky Mountain range that has lofty peaks, ancient glacial ice, flower-peppered meadows and glassy lakes. Explore Maligne Canyon* before reaching Maligne Lake, the largest lake in the Canadian Rockies and one of the best-loved sights in Canada, to embark on a narrated cruise. *Access to Maligne Canyon is subject to reopening following the Jasper wildfires. Inclusion in the itinerary is conditional upon confirmed public access at the time of travel.

Meals: breakfast

Board the Rocky Mountaineer and travel from Jasper in GoldLeaf through some of the most breathtaking and varied scenery found anywhere on rails. Marvel at spectacular Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and travel past stunning lakes, into the vast ranch lands of the Cariboo Plateau, through the coastal rainforest and the arid conditions of the Fraser Canyon, arriving in Kamloops where you will disembark and spend the night.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Board the train once againand ride the rails to Rocky Mountaineer’s terminus: Vancouver’s elegant, neoclassical Pacific Central Station. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for the evening and perhaps take a stroll along the city’s waterfront.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Travel by ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island, enjoying the scenic crossing through the Gulf Islands. Visit Butchart Gardens, a hugely impressive and varied work of horticulture, before travelling on to Victoria, the verdant capital of British Columbia. Set around the picturesque Inner Harbour, the city is known for its fine museums, galleries, as well as its expertly preserved mansions, pioneer homes, and abundant parks and green spaces. Relax beside the Inner Harbour, perhaps, take in the ocean views, or catch a few songs from some of the city's lively street entertainers.

Meals: breakfast

Enjoy a morning sightseeing tour of Victoria, including such highlights as Beacon Hill Park, Thunderbird Park and Oak Bay. Afterwards, take Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel - a time-honoured tradition at this hotel’s Lobby Lounge – then enjoy the rest of the day at leisure to explore independently.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Take a whale-watching excursion out on the coastal waters of the Pacific and enjoy the chance to see orcas, minkes and humpback whales, among other marine life. Afterwards enjoy the rest of the day at leisure, with the option to visit the Malahat Skywalk – a tall, spiral forest walkway – as well as the totem poles on display at the nearby city of Duncan.

Meals: breakfast

Cruise back through the Gulf Islands, a popular summer retreat for residents of both British Columbia and Washington State. Once back in Vancouver, you'll be stopping off at Granville Island’s food stalls, market and galleries before continuing to Stanley Park in the city’s downtown peninsula, to see its collection of totem poles.

Meals: breakfast

Tour the North Shore of Vancouver, beginning at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, where the famous bridge spans 137 metres (450 feet), at a height of 70 metres (230 feet) above the Capilano River. Experience the park’s thrilling Cliffwalk, which follows the granite cliffside high above the canyon, before continuing to Grouse Mountain. Ride in the Blue Grouse Gondola up the mountainside for sweeping views across the city. Later, enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travellers.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Enjoy breakfast and a final morning at leisure before you transfer to Vancouver International Airport for your return flight home.

Meals: breakfast

Arrive home.