Jewels of Alaska & Canada

Day 1 - Arrive Vancouver

Arrive at Vancouver Airport and transfer to Victoria. The coach will take you onto the ferry and drop you off Victoria downtown. You will be able to get off the coach on the ferry and take in the scenery either indoors or out on deck.

Day 2 - Victoria Sightseeing

Victoria is British Columbia's capital, situated at the Southern tip of Vancouver Island. The city has been influenced with everything British, from afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress, double decker buses, horse drawn carriages to Victorian architecture. Spend today at your leisure taking a stroll around this laid back city which has more of a town feel.

Day 3 - Victoria Sightseeing

You have a complimentary excursion today. Please advise at the time of booking if you would prefer to take the Butchart Gardens tour or a Canada Food Tour.

Day 4 - Board your Alaska Cruise

This morning you will be transferred by coach/ferry from Victoria downtown to Vancouver downtown for your 7 night Alaska Cruise.

Day 5 - Cruising the Inside Passage

The fabled Inside Passage is one of the most scenic sea-lanes in the world, and one of the few where deep-draft vessels can sail close to steep mountain walls. The scenery is unbelievable, with forests in a hundred shades of green, tumbling turquoise glaciers, and evocative towns loaded with history, culture and adventure. With most of Southeast Alaska accessible only by boat or plane, the Inside Passage is a lifeline to the outside world. All day long it hums with activity

Day 6 - Juneau

No roads lead to Juneau, which gives the Alaskan capital a misty inscrutability. You need to come by air or water, but when you arrive, the place will delight you with its bounty of water, forests, and mountains. Squeezed between the Gastineau Channel and Coast Mountains, Juneau offers a lot of variety in close proximity. The massive Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau Icefields are at its back door. The vast Tongass National Forest stretches away to the northeast. You can shop downtown or get out and kayak, dogsled, raft, hike, whale watch or fish. The adventures are as bountiful as the daylight.

Day 7 - Skagway

Some of the aspiring Klondike gold rushers who made it to Skagway took a look at the 500-mile journey that still lay ahead of them and decided a change of profession was in order. So many of them set up shop as provisioners that Skagway was the largest city in Alaska by the end of the 19th century. Booms fade and dreams move on, but the glory days still reverberate through the town. Ride the antique White Pass & Yukon narrow-gauge railway, step into the Red Onion Saloon or peruse the restored buildings and wooden boardwalks of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Day 8 - Glacier Bay

If you didn't know any better, you'd think Glacier Bay ostentatious for the way it flaunts its ice. The glaciers practically terminate in your lap. A cruise to Glacier Bay National Park with Holland America Line will show you a UNESCO World Heritage Site that protects a unique ecosystem of plants and animals living in concert with an ever-changing glacial landscape.

When a monumental chunk of ice splits off a glacier and thunders into the sea the impact shoots water hundreds of feet into the air. You hold your breath as you catch the moment on film. Then you wait for it all to happen again. And it does: Glacier Bay has more actively calving tidewater glaciers than anyplace else in the world.

Day 9 - Ketchikan

Ketchikan clutches the shores of the Tongass Narrows, with many shops and houses built right out over the water. The stairways are weathered and the vibe is cheerful in the town that calls itself the Salmon Capital of the World. Besides the main attractions – Creek Street, the Tongass Historical Museum, Totem Bight State Park and Saxman Village. These deepwater fjords were gouged out by retreating glaciers, leaving granite cliffs towering thousands of feet above the sea and countless waterfalls plunging into placid waters.

Day 10 - Cruising the Inside Passage

The fabled Inside Passage is one of the most scenic sea-lanes in the world, and one of the few where deep-draft vessels can sail close to steep mountain walls. The scenery is unbelievable, with forests in a hundred shades of green, tumbling turquoise glaciers, and evocative towns loaded with history, culture and adventure. With most of Southeast Alaska accessible only by boat or plane, the Inside Passage is a lifeline to the outside world. All day long it hums with activity.

Day 11 - Vancouver

This morning you will disembark your Alaska cruise in Vancouver. Transfer to your downtown hotel and spend the rest of the day taking in Vancouver's sights and attractions. You have a two day Hop on Hop off Sightseeing pass to help you get around the city.

Day 12 - Vancouver Sightseeing

Continue to use your Hop on Hop off Sightseeing pass to take in the best of Vancouver such as English Bay, Stanley Park, Gastown, Chinatown and Granville Island.

Day 13 - Vancouver

Spend your last day in Vancouver at your leisure.

Day 14 - Vancouver to Whistler - Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf

This morning you will be transferred to the Rocky Mountaineer for the start of your spectacular 3 day journey from Vancouver to Jasper in SilverLeaf. Beginning at the foot of the Coast Mountains, overlooking the stunning city of Vancouver, you’ll roll along the scenic fjord of Howe Sound. Prepare to be amazed as you make your way past massive cliffs, deep canyons, and stunning bridges. You’ll then arrive at world-famous Whistler, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games co-host city. There, you’ll explore the picturesque village and enjoy a relaxing stay at one of Whistler’s hotels.

Day 15 - Whistler to Quesnel - Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf

This morning you’ll depart from the wonderful Whistler and travel up the Pemberton Valley, as you glide beside gorgeous Anderson and Seton Lakes. Turning north and west, the landscape becomes more rugged. More wild. Sheer cliffs on one side, milky-green lakes on the other. You’ll emerge into the arid ranchland near Quesnel, Canada’s gold rush capital. The gold rush may be over, but there are still many treasures to be found in this historic region.

Day 16 - Quesnel to Jasper - Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf

After an overnight hotel stay in Quesnel, you’ll head north again. Wide-eyed, you’ll experience mountainous terrain, untouched lakes, and incredible waterfalls. You’ll gradually gain altitude and enter the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The awesome sight of Mount Robson, the range’s highest peak, will greet you as you wind your way to the alluring alpine town of Jasper. Every step of the way, your emotions will follow the extremes of the journey, from silent awe to uncontained elation. This route offers the best kind of drama—the nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat kind!

Day 17 - Jasper Sightseeing

Take in this scenic alpine town which is surrounded by the Rockies at your leisure. Why not ask one of our Canada Experts for details on the Jasper Tramway ride or even a Wildlife excursion.

Day 18 - Jasper to Banff via Icefield Parkway

This morning you will be picked up for your coach tour from Jasper to Banff. Following the spine of the Canadian Rockies, view a never-ending procession of mammoth mountains, jagged snowy peaks, and over 100 glaciers. The entire day is spent in the majesty of Canada's two most famous National Parks, Banff and Jasper. Enroute, make a stop at Athabasca Falls located just outside of the Jasper Townsite. Among the most powerful and breathtaking falls in the Rocky Mountains, the Athabasca River thunders through a narrow gorge where the walls have been smoothed and potholed by the sheer force of the rushing water carrying sand and rock. Our next stop is the breathtaking Columbia Icefields and Athabasca Glacier where we will allow time to enjoy a Ice Explorer ride (included) on the Glacier & Glacier Skywalk (included). Next we continue to the Weeping Wall, Peyto Lake and the Crowfoot Glacier before joining the Trans Canada Highway near Lake Louise where a stop will be made to view the lake and famous Chateau, then continue on the Trans Canada Highway, passing fortress formations of Castle and Protection Mountains to arrive in to Banff late afternoon.

Highlights: A hearty picnic lunch is included and will be enjoyed at a secluded location along the Icefields Parkway.

Day 19 - Banff Sightseeing

Spend today at your leisure, sightsee in Banff and it's National Park.

Day 20 - Fly from Calgary to UK

Coach Transfer from your hotel to Calgary Airport for your flight home.