12-Nights Iconic Rockies and Western Canada with Rocky Mountaineer Goldleaf

12 nights from: $7,856

Iconic Rockies And Western Canada With Rocky Mountaineer Goldleaf
Explore the traditions of the First Nations, behold the icy fingers of the Columbia Icefield and meet a retired Mountie. Relax onboard the Rocky Mountaineer for two days of all-daylight rail travel through Canada's West and the Canadian Rockies.


Dining Summary

• 4 Dinner (D)
• 12 Breakfast (B)
• 3 Lunch (L)

• Jasper: Learn about the local flora through the lens of the Indigenous Peoples and how to make curated drink bitters utilizing the foraged ingredients as you enjoy storytelling and drumming during dinner.

• Vancouver Island: Taste local cider at a familly-owned ciderhouse before continuing to Victoria.
• Banff National Park of Canada: Meet a retired Canadian Mountie and hear exciting and colorful stories of their rich history and traditions.

• Vancouver: Vancouver's historic neighborhoods spring to life on a tour with your Travel Director. Savor the smells of freshly steamed Siopao in Chinatown and admire the Victorian facades, cobblestone streets and charming lighting of Gastown as you make your way to the leafy sanctuary of Stanley Park.
• Victoria: Victoria. A waterfront city of historic sites known for its gardens and British influence. View the Parliament Buildings erected in 1897 with beautiful gardens. Then explore on your own, strolling along the Inner Harbor where you will have the chance to watch street buskers perform or venturing to Victoria's unique shopping areas in Market Square.
• Victoria: Buchart Gardens’ lush and expansive garden is a must-see oasis which has been growing in Victoria, BC for over 100 years. With over a million visitors per year, you will love this morning's visit to the gardens before opening hours. Starting with a breakfast on the grounds, you will get to explore the 55-acre garden rich with ever-changing colors and blooms before the crowds arrive.
• Chemainus: Enjoy looking upon the Murals of Chemainus that started in 1981 and is now the world's leading community driven art experience.
• Squamish: Enjoy a drive along the 300 kilometers long Sea to Sky Highway and bask in the variety of landscapes on offer.
• Squamish: Enjoy a ride on the Sea to Sky Gondola and bask in the stunning views of the coastal mountains and panoramic views.
• Sun Peaks: Spend some time seeing Seton Lake and the beautiful snow capped mountains surrounding it.
• Sun Peaks: Take a drive through the Glacier National Park of Canada and enjoy the landscape of mountains along the way.
• Sun Peaks: Drive through Yoho National Park and marvel over the spectacular landscape of massive ice fields and mountain peaks.
• Sun Peaks: Enjoy a visit to Golden Skybridge and take in the views of the Rocky and Purcell mountain ranges as well as the tumbling waterfall.
• Banff: Uncover how Banff is in a league of its own. Stroll through the downtown lined with historic buildings as majestic mountains stand tall in the distance. This is your chance to visit the iconic sites and the local spots on a guided tour around town. Stop at Bow Falls for great sightseeing opportunities of the river and the falls. At Surprise Corner, named for its spectacular, surprising views from Buffalo Street, capture a photo of another unique vantage point.
• Lake Louise: Get ready for a showstopper. Walk down a forest path before coming up upon the unreal turquoise color of Lake Louise popping through the trees for the first time. After this stunning first-time glance, admire the turquoise waters of Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier with its scenic mountain backdrop. Be amazed by the glacier-fed waters fringed by high peaks, deep forests and overlooked by Victoria Glacier and palatial hotel.
• Columbia Icefield: Gear up for a Columbia Icefield Adventure. Board a massive, specially designed ‘Ice Explorer’ to view one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world, the Athabasca Glacier. Stop at the best spot to walk on, feel and drink from the Glacier. What better way to appreciate this natural wonder You’ll even enhance your visit learning about the Columbia Icefield, how the glacier has changed and the thrill of driving up the moraine deposits to reach the glacier.
• Icefields Parkway: Unlock the Canadian Rockies' pristine wilderness on one of the most scenic drives in North America – the Icefield Parkway. This stretch of double-lane highway from Jasper to Lake Louise winds along the Continental Divide through rocky mountain peaks, rock spires, waterfalls, icefields, valleys and more than 100 ancient glaciers. Snap a pic at a viewpoint to capture the beauty.
• Jasper: Maligne Canyon promises natural wonders from mosses and lichens on the canyon walls to ice caves, fossils and frozen waterfalls. On this guided walk, admire this incredible natural landmark as you cross bridges built across various points of the canyon. As the deepest canyon in Jasper National Park, you pass incredible sights including a spectacular waterfall that makes for a great photo opp.
• Maligne Lake: See how Maligne Lake is in a league of its own on a scenic cruise. Discover world-famous Spirit Island and get great photo opportunities with beautiful views of the mountains, its three glaciers and Spirit Island - significant to the Indigenous Stoney Nation. Learn about the geology, wildlife and history of this spectacular alpine destination and how, because visitors cannot walk on the island, it remains an enclave of evergreens. And since you can only see Spirit Island from a cruise, you’ll love being one of the few who get to see it.

• Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre: Enjoy an insightful visit at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center. Learn about the First Nations cultures as y
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Vancouver Island, a huge (12,410 sq mi/32,140 sq km) island off the southwest coast of British Columbia, 40 mi/65 km west of the city of Vancouver, is said to be the top island destination in North America. Simply stated, it's beautiful. Home to the provincial capital, Victoria, the island is a mix of urban delights and wilderness adventures, as well as a year-round favorite for golfers, surfers and anglers (steelhead in the cold weather, several varieties of salmon April-October, trout all summer and bass in June). Almost any stream or lake has possibilities.

The drive along the eastern (Strait of Georgia) coast is very scenic. Though you could drive it in eight hours, take as much time as you have available—even up to a week—to go from Victoria to Port Hardy. After leaving the capital, stop off in Colwood (just west of Victoria) to see Hatley Castle. Then head for the nearby Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Park, which contains Fisgard Lighthouse, built in 1860. Free Vancouver Island Travel
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When you're ready, take Highway 1 north along the coast. On your way up Malahat Summit, drop into the Restaurant Alpina at the Villa Eyrie Resort, offering soaring views and upscale fare. Next you'll reach Duncan, where you can visit the BC Forest Discovery Centre, a park dedicated to the understanding of forestry, from the earliest indigenous practices to present-day logging. Known locally as the City of Totems, Duncan has 60 totem poles and the world's largest hockey stick (300 ft/100 m long). Just north of Duncan, Highway 18 runs to the west: Consider a detour in that direction to see Cowichan Lake.

Back on Highway 1, stop in Chemainus to view the 30 large murals depicting the history of the Chemainus Valley. Try to make time to take in a performance at the Chemainus Theatre Festival, a year-round theater. Farther north, before you arrive in the town of Nanaimo, you'll reach WildPlay Element Park—an adventure park offering zipline tours and bungee jumping from a specially built bridge. Even if you don't take the plunge yourself, it's fun to watch the jumpers dive headfirst toward the water.

Pick up Highway 19 in Nanaimo and continue northwest. Nanoose Bay, 12 mi/20 km beyond Nanaimo, is a torpedo test range where Canadian warships often anchor. Parksville offers fishing and the beaches at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, where sand dollars abound and the campsites are among the nicest in the province.

The central section of the drive passes by Qualicum Beach (fishing and swimming) and Courtenay (boating, fishing and a museum). If you're a fishing enthusiast, you should definitely stop at Campbell River. You can throw your line either from the many charter-fishing boats or from the city's fishing pier. Nicknamed the "Salmon Fishing Capital of the World," it's the only place where catching a 30-pound salmon might earn you membership into the prestigious Tyee Club of British Columbia. (Members have included Bing Crosby and John Wayne.) From Campbell River, Quadra Island is just a short ferry ride away. Search for petroglyphs along the shoreline and see the indigenous heritage displays at Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre.

Campbell River is the home base of the Aurora Explorer, a 12-passenger packet freighter that navigates the coastal inlets to remote communities and logging camps. It's quintessential British Columbia and yet one of the most offbeat cruises around. Nearby is Gold River and the gateway to exploring other coastal communities aboard the workboat MV Uchuck III. This boat operates year-round; reservations in the summer for both daylong and overnight trips are recommended.

Take Highway 20 out of Campbell River and head inland to Strathcona Provincial Park, home of the Forbidden Plateau alpine meadows and Della Falls—the highest cascades in Canada. Then return to the coast, where the rest of the trip will take you through Comox (golf), Sayward (a logging town), Telegraph Cove (a 1930s heritage community on stilts), Port McNeill and finally Port Hardy. On the northwest tip of the island is Cape Scott Provincial Park. It's a remote, rocky and wild coastal park with stunning beaches. Be aware that the weather is often rough, and the trails can be extremely muddy—this is not a park for the dainty traveler or faint-of-heart hiker.

Summer whale-watching trips leave from Tofino, Sayward, Port McNeill and Alert Bay to an area the World Wildlife Fund regards as one of the top 10 whale-watching spots in the world. Another boat excursion is the 15-hour ferry ride from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert (on the mainland) up the Inside Passage (May-October): It's a spectacular trip and has a fairly reasonable price (reservations recommended). You can make connections there with the Alaska State Ferry System to go farther up the Inside Passage.

Traveling across the island to its west coast, you'll drive through MacMillan Provincial Park, where 600-year-old Douglas firs rise from the forest floor to form a high ceiling in Cathedral Grove. The rather industrial town of Port Alberni is next. Located at the head of Vancouver Island's longest inlet, the landscape rivals the fjords of Norway with 4,265-ft/1,300-m wooded peaks and dozens of streams running down mountains. This is home to the Lady Rose, a passenger and cargo ship that serves the communities of Barkley Sound. Day trips aboard the ship are a treat.

Bordering the Pacific Ocean is the world-renowned Pacific Rim National Park, which is broken into three segments along the west coast: the West Coast Trail, the Broken Group Islands and the magnificent, rugged Long Beach—miles/kilometers of windswept golden sands and fascinating tide pools. Sea lions, surfers and whales add to the scenery. Serious hikers may want to try the 46-mi/74-km West Coast Trail between Bamfield and Port Renfrew: It's considered one of the most grueling and beautiful treks in North America. Only a limited number of hiking spots are available each year—reservations are essential. The Wild Pacific Trail is a much easier excursion located just outside the park's perimeters. The trail starts near Ucluelet and is suitable for all ages. The park also incorporates the Broken Group Islands, known for their scuba diving, gentle kayaking waters, whale-watching and fishing.

Several miles/kilometers past the park's northern boundary is Tofino, a charming coastal community that draws more than a million visitors annually for its quaint beauty, luxurious hotels, funky restaurants and abundant outdoor recreation, including Canada's best surfing.