DAY 1
Meet your travelling companions in the executive lounge prior to your scheduled flight to Calgary. On arrival transfer to your hotel in Banff for a three night stay. Welcome drink on arrival.
DAY 2
Welcome breakfast followed by an included tour of Banff, a natural starting point for your Rockies adventure. In Banff National Park, marvel at wondrous snow-capped peaks, crystal-clear lakes, sparkling streams and rugged canyons with crashing waterfalls. Black and grizzly bears still roam free in the huge pine forests. Enjoy visits to the Hoodoos, Surprise Corner and Bow Falls, and perhaps take a ride on the Sulphur Mountain Gondola.
DAY 3
Relax or join our optional excursion to Lake Louise – a glacial, jade-green lake, high in the mountains surrounded on all sides by towering peaks – often described as the most beautiful place in Canada.
DAY 4
We head north along the majestic Banff- Jasper Highway, at times reaching almost 7,000ft above sea level and flanked by great mountain ranges soaring to more than 11,000ft. A stop at the Great Columbia Icefield provides an opportunity to take an Ice Explorer ride across the Athabasca Glacier. We arrive in Jasper early evening for a two night stay.
DAY 5
We go sightseeing in and around Jasper, a former railroad town, now the focus of its own breathtakingly beautiful National Park home to the sparkling Pyramid and Patricia Lakes.
DAY 6
We travel along the Trans-Canada Highway, around Mount Robson, and over the Yellow Head Pass for an overnight stay in the Kamloops area.
DAY 7
We continue through the rugged Fraser Canyon to Hope and gradually descend through the rich green valleys to Vancouver for a three night stay.
DAY 8
Vancouver has one of the most beautiful settings in the world, surrounded by mountains, forests and delightful islands. As Canada’s third largest city, it is a busy seaport and important centre for the fishing and timber industries. Our morning introductory tour of Vancouver takes us to see Chinatown, Gas Town, the remarkable 1,000 acre Stanley Park with its famous totem poles and the magnificent harbour. Enjoy a farewell get-together this evening.
DAY 9
We take the ferry across to Victoria on Vancouver Island, the capital of British Columbia, where much of its British Victorian heritage is still preserved. We will visit the marvellous Butchart Gardens, the Parliament Building and the fabled Empress Hotel.
DAY 10
The morning is free in Vancouver before boarding the Zuiderdam which sails at 5.00pm.
DAY 11
Cruising the dramatic and beautiful Inside Passage, a natural playground for wildlife.
DAY 12
Juneau
Arrive 1400 - Depart 2230
Explore Alaska’s capital, or visit the mighty Mendenhall Glacier.
DAY 13
Skagway
Arrive 0700 - Depart 2100
Discover this lively relic of the famous Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.
DAY 14
Glacier Bay National Park
Arrive 0700 - Depart 1600
The scenic highlight of your cruise. Great ice castles float serenely in radiant blue-green water and as a glacier calves it crashes into the mirror-calm water with a thunderous roar.
DAY 15
Ketchikan
Arrive 1400 - Depart 2000
You can take a seaplane flight over the spectacular Misty Fjords, explore the Totem Poles Park, or enjoy a lunch of fresh Alaskan salmon.
DAY 16
Cruise through the Inside Passage back towards Vancouver.
DAYS 17 & 18
Morning arrival in Vancouver to disembark for your return flight to the UK, arriving the next day.