OVERVIEW
With its natural good looks, the west coast is home to some of the more common images that come to mind when you think of Canada. Jagged peaks and alpine firs line glistening blue lakes, setting the stage to spot some of the nation’s most symbolic creatures: bears, moose and beaver, to name a few. In Alberta, experience Cowtown culture in Calgary, before a visit to the resort village of Banff, the iconic Lake Louise and the Jasper National Park. After, it’s British Columbia bound, where you’ll pause for a break in Kamloops en route to Vancouver. Revel in this sea-to-sky city and then slow down the pace on Vancouver Island with time in Victoria and Tofino.
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Transport: Rail/Flight/Private Vehicle -
Hotel: 4-star and above Luxury hotels -
Fast service & ongoing support: We promise a 24-hour turnaround time for requests from our clients and partners. Throughout the planning and travel, we stay connected. -
Authentic experiences: We go beyond the booking of tours; we connect you with our local friends who take you behind the curtain with culturally rich and in-depth events. -
EXPERIENCE
This is a sample itinerary curated and designed to offer the highest value and experience. Keep in mind that each one is customizable — we love to personalize the experience for every operator and traveller!
The Itinerary
Saddle up for an adventure through Canada’s Cowtown, which is perhaps most notable for its annual Stampede. Beyond this week-long festival, Calgary’s urban core sees soaring skyscrapers and pockets of diverse neighbourhoods, all to an eye of striking natural beauty. Retrace the history and tunes of Canadian music greats at the National Music Centre, which features interactive displays and artifacts from musical talents. Saunter across the bridge that leads to Prince’s Island Park for an afternoon of hanging out on the grassy fields and perhaps catching a music festival or outdoor theatre performance.
Banff is a resort town within the greater Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. As the country’s oldest national park, it was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for its outstanding natural beauty. A lovely main street passes through the village, lined with wood and red-brick buildings backdropped by rugged snow-capped mountains. Venture into the town’s environs to indulge in the area’s famous hot springs or hike the 4.3 km trail up Tunnel Mountain for a bird’s-eye view of the valley and make friends with the local wildlife along the way. The village comes to life at night, with many bars and restaurants serving up local fare and craft brews.
Lake Louise is one of Canada’s proudest landscapes; a stunning scene of turquoise blue waters, with jagged peaks and pine trees that hug its perimeter. After you’ve snapped a few mandatory selfies, you can hit the surrounding trails for more epic viewpoints, or hop in a canoe and soak up your surroundings with a paddle across toward the Victoria Glacier.
The Jasper National Park occupies the largest protected area of the Canadian Rockies. It’s home to a collection of wildlife such as moose, caribou and grizzly bears, as well as a slew of rushing waterfalls and cobalt-blue lakes; the Athabasca Falls and Bow Lake being two such natural wonders that are not to be missed! Jasper has all the makings of a nature-lovers idyll, with plenty of opportunity for hikes and other outdoor activities.
A pitstop in Kamloops is the best way to break up the journey on Highway 1 between Jasper and Vancouver, where its desert-looking hillocks, clay spires and sandy lakeside beaches offer a different completely landscape from the jagged peaks of the Rockies. Unwind with a round of golf—the city is known for its top-notch courses—or meander the delightful downtown.
Vancouver is as beautiful as it is lively. Here, outdoor enthusiasts and city dwellers are one and the same; you can hike, bike, swim and ski, all within the city limits, and find an organic wine bar or high-end restaurant for a night on the town. Get lost on a stroll through Stanley Park—an urban patch of green (well, at 450-hectares, a bit more than a ‘patch’), hugged by the shores of English Bay. Take a water taxi over to Granville Island, where you’ll find boutique shops, art galleries, a brewery and a fresh food market. Head to Lynn Canyon for a worthy component to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (with fewer tourists) and take to the surrounding trails amid a forest of Douglas firs and deep gorges.
Off the coast of Vancouver sits its island of the same name, and it’s here where you’ll find British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria. As nods to its British colonial heritage, Victorian-style architecture and English gardens define the city’s aesthetic, particularly noted through the lavish Craigdarroch Castle and the blooms of Butchart Gardens. Pedal stress-free on one of the city’s designated bike paths (they have more than in any other city in Canada!) and revel in nature at the Beacon Hill Park. History enthusiasts shouldn’t miss a visit to the Royal BC Museum and admirers of Canadian art can check out works by Victoria native, Emily Carr, at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
The jaw-droppingly gorgeous town of Tofino sits on a peninsula of the Clayoquot Sound. Perfect waves, mountain backdrops and old-growth forests paired with a laid-back attitude make it at once a paradise for luxury travellers and local hippies. Try your hand at surfing and catch sight of a sunset like you’ve never seen at Chesterman Beach. Land-dwellers can opt instead for a hike through the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and take on a beachside trail like the one at Schooner’s Cove, which passes through rainforest and towering ancient firs.
GALLERY
