Holiday to Canada and the Rockies
Discussion
We're off to the rockies in August and intend to visit Vancouver for a couple of days and then move on to Banff, Jasper and Whistler. We are undecided which location to spend the most time in and how to split the 2 weeks. Any suggestions?
Anywhere else we should visit without huge mileage.
Anywhere else we should visit without huge mileage.
http://www.knightinletlodge.com/
This place is worth checking out if you can make time. We went there 12 years ago for our honeymoon - absolutely mind blowing. We accessed it via floatplane from Vancouver onto Vancouver Island then a bit of a drive up to Campbell River where you take a float plane to Glendale Cove - Knight Inlet. This was the highlight of our Canadian trip.
Also, other places of interest - Rocky Mountanier Train, Jasper Park Lodge, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Athabasca glacier to name a few.
This place is worth checking out if you can make time. We went there 12 years ago for our honeymoon - absolutely mind blowing. We accessed it via floatplane from Vancouver onto Vancouver Island then a bit of a drive up to Campbell River where you take a float plane to Glendale Cove - Knight Inlet. This was the highlight of our Canadian trip.
Also, other places of interest - Rocky Mountanier Train, Jasper Park Lodge, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Athabasca glacier to name a few.
We did a month last year (with 2 small kids!) and finished in Vancouver after coming across from Toronto. The second half was therefore:
Calgary x 3
Jasper x 6
Kamloops x 1
Whistler x 3
Vancouver x 5 (with an overnight trip to Victoria via the ferry).
Jasper and surrounding areas are gorgeous and more laid back than Banff. Banff is still pleasant though. The Icefields Parkway is a great drive but you'll get more out of the rockies if you immerse yourself in them. I recommend Jasper as an 'unwind in fantastic scenery' part of the holiday.
Whistler is what you'd expect - upmarket ski resort. Not unpleasant but not "WOW"
Vancouver is a lovely city. Stanley Park, Ice Hockey, wander round the cultural bits. A nice city to stay in.
The road from Pemberton to Kamloops is epic for scenery.
Calgary is worth a day trip if you want to go that far. the Stampede is meant to be a good day out if you're about during that time.
Calgary x 3
Jasper x 6
Kamloops x 1
Whistler x 3
Vancouver x 5 (with an overnight trip to Victoria via the ferry).
Jasper and surrounding areas are gorgeous and more laid back than Banff. Banff is still pleasant though. The Icefields Parkway is a great drive but you'll get more out of the rockies if you immerse yourself in them. I recommend Jasper as an 'unwind in fantastic scenery' part of the holiday.
Whistler is what you'd expect - upmarket ski resort. Not unpleasant but not "WOW"
Vancouver is a lovely city. Stanley Park, Ice Hockey, wander round the cultural bits. A nice city to stay in.
The road from Pemberton to Kamloops is epic for scenery.
Calgary is worth a day trip if you want to go that far. the Stampede is meant to be a good day out if you're about during that time.
Me and Mrs Ghost did 6 days in Vancouver last september. To be honest it was too long but we did a few things whilst we were there. The City is also host to a large number of micro breweries that either have their own places or use various eateries as outlets and allow you to have good food and unusual beers 
One good thing to do is a float plane tour http://www.harbour-air.com/ Excellent flight, great people at the flight centre and some excellent piccies to boot. You really get a feel for how vast the distances are between places and the remoteness of some settlements.
We also hired a car for 3 days which allowed us to get out and about. The areas around Vancouver are quite explorable and we found a few nice places to visit for photos and meals. As mentioned above Stanley Park is a nice place for drive/walk about and has one or two nice eateries.
We also drove to Whistler for the day and it is a lovey place to visit outside of the ski season.....although the first person we saw had clearly performed a major "face plant" off of their MTB
We took a lot of diversions on the way back and you can get some excellent photos of the wild natural beauty of the mountains, waterfalls and water fronts.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge is worth half a day as well http://www.capbridge.com/ Be aware that the bridge itself can get rather wobbly once a few people are on it
Also worth a trip out is Grouse Mountain http://www.grousemountain.com/ Make sure you go to the top of the mountain when you get there and see the Grizzlies
One good thing to do is a float plane tour http://www.harbour-air.com/ Excellent flight, great people at the flight centre and some excellent piccies to boot. You really get a feel for how vast the distances are between places and the remoteness of some settlements.
We also hired a car for 3 days which allowed us to get out and about. The areas around Vancouver are quite explorable and we found a few nice places to visit for photos and meals. As mentioned above Stanley Park is a nice place for drive/walk about and has one or two nice eateries.
We also drove to Whistler for the day and it is a lovey place to visit outside of the ski season.....although the first person we saw had clearly performed a major "face plant" off of their MTB
We took a lot of diversions on the way back and you can get some excellent photos of the wild natural beauty of the mountains, waterfalls and water fronts.The Capilano Suspension Bridge is worth half a day as well http://www.capbridge.com/ Be aware that the bridge itself can get rather wobbly once a few people are on it
Also worth a trip out is Grouse Mountain http://www.grousemountain.com/ Make sure you go to the top of the mountain when you get there and see the Grizzlies
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