Glacier Bay Alaska Cruise & Gems of the Canadian Rockies

Transfer (your own arrangements) to your downtown hotel for an overnight stay.

Your Alaska journey starts early this afternoon at the Vancouver cruise terminal where you board the ms Zuiderdam. (dinner included)

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. (breakfast, lunch & dinner included).

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, flightsee or fish. The adventures are as bountiful asthe daylight (breakfast, lunch & dinner included).

By the end of the 19th century, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska. Klondike 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 (breakfast, lunch & dinner included).

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 any place else in the world. (breakfast, lunch & dinner included).

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 – try a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. 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. (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)

Enjoy sailing through the fjords of the Inside Passage (breakfast, lunch & dinner included).

After breakfast on board take a taxi ( own arrangement ) to your downtown hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Take advantage of your Vancouver Hop On Hop Off pass and explore this beautiful pacific coastal city. This flexible city tour offers up the highlights of downtown Vancouver including major attractions and scenic points of interest. Choose to Hop-Off at any of the 29 stops and Hop-On again to continue the tour. Take an up close and personal look at Vancouver’s urban oasis, Stanley Park, have lunch at Granville Island (not included), visit the historical Gastown or the trendy Yaletown, and don’t forget Robson Street to do a little shopping! Highlights of the route include English Bay, Stanley Park, Granville Island, Yaletown, Gastown, Chinatown, Robson Street, and the Entertainment District. Your Hop-On-Hop-Off ticket is giving you access to all Hop-On, Hop-Off busses in the city for 48 Hours! Overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver.

Today is also at your leisure. You can use your hop on hop off pass to continue exploring vibrant Vancouver. Overnight hotel accommodation in Vancouver.

Today your 2 day Journey through the Clouds Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure begins. Travel onboard the Rocky Mountaineer from the pacific coastal city of Vancouver to Kamloops, in the heart of the interior of British Columbia. From the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley you will see a dramatic change in scenery as you travel through forests, winding river canyons surrounded by the snow capped peaks of the Coast and Cascade Mountains. Highlights on todays journey include the rushing powerful waters of the Thompson River rushing through Hells Gate in the Fraser Canyon. Your rail journey today will end as you travel along the shores of Kamloops Lake into the town of Kamloops for an over night hotel stay. You will be transferred from the train by coach and the evening is at your leisure. Breakfast and Lunch is included on today’s train journey.

Today your journey continues north and east to the magnificent Canadian Rockies and the Province of Alberta. Once again you will be surrounded by dramatic scenery as you follow the banks of the Thompson River through the Monashee and Cariboo Mountains climbing nearer the high peaks of the Continental divide where the 2 provinces meet. Today’s highlight has to be Mount Robson which at 3,954 meters is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. You will pass Pyramid Falls and the climb over Yellowhead Pass into Jasper National Park. Your rail journey ends with an evening arrival in the resort town of Jasper where you will have an overnight hotel stay.

Today we have included the Jasper Tramway which includes round-trip transportation to “Jasper’s Peak Attraction” and your Tramway ticket. This is the longest and highest aerial tramway in the Rockies. The ride up to the top of Whistlers Mountain is breath-taking. Your Tramway Guide will provide a fully narrated tour during the seven-minute ride to the top. Once at the upper terminal you can enjoy a meal in the Treeline Restaurant (MEAL NOT INCLUDED)or take part in a complimentary interpretive hike with Mountain Guide. Overnight hotel accommodation in Jasper.

Coach transfer from Jasper to Banff, including a stop at the Columbia Icefield & Glacier Skywalk. Travel by coach today via one of the most scenic highways in North America - the Icefields Parkway. Visit the Columbia Icefield that covers an area of nearly 325 sq km and reaches a depth of 320 m. Time allows for an Ice Explorer ride (included) on the Athabasca Glacier, then a stop at the award-winning Glacier Skywalk (included) to experience a glass-floored observation platform 280 m over spectacular glacier-formed valleys and rushing waterfalls. After, continue along the Icefield Parkway where stops will be made at Lake Louise, Bow & Peyto Lakes, the Crowfoot Glacier and the Athabasca Falls. This highway is renowned for sightings of bears, elk, moose & mountain sheep, so keep your camera handy. Overnight hotel accommodation in Banff.

Spend your day at leisure exploring the beautiful mountain town of Banff. A “must do” is to take the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain ( admission included) Departing from base of Sulphur Mountain a breath taking ascent to the pinnacle of Sulphur Mountain for an awe-inspiring 360-degree panorama of sheer mountain majesty. Enjoy the interpretative hiking trails that lead along the ridge of the mountain. Enjoy mountain top dining lunch or dinner ( not included) at the Sky Bistro a dining sanctuary in the sky. Discover a distinctly Canadian culinary experience. Over night hotel accommodation in Banff.

There are various tours available from Banff and our specialists can recommend how to spend your final day. You may want to take the day at your own pace and do some last minute souvenir shopping on Banff Avenue. We have included an Evening Wildlife Safari which is a great way to end your holiday .This sightseeing and wildlife seeking tour travels through a variety of landscapes giving you the best chance to observe animals in their natural environment. Learn what is threatening wildlife today and how the National Parks strive to protect animals and their habitat. You will leave the Safari with a greater understanding of the land and animals. Overnight hotel accommodation in Banff.

Today you will check out of your hotel and take a coach transfer (included) to Calgary airport for your return flights home to the UK.