Inside Passage, Canadian Outback and the Rockies
The trip begins in metropolitan Vancouver, a cozy city with hip neighborhoods, diverse restaurants, good shopping and beautiful city parks of which Stanley Park is the largest. You will then take the ferry to Vancouver Island. Explore the exceptional flora and fauna during one of the many hikes in the Pacific Rim National Park. Several boat tours also depart here where you can look for whales, black bears, sea lions and otters. In MacMillen Provincial Park there are huge Douglas fir trees as much as 800 years old and with a circumference of nine meters.
FIRST NATIONS AND NATIONAL PARKS
You will leave Vancouver Island on the Inside Passage, a ferry crossing to Prince Rupert through deep fjords and along green wooded shores. A pristine landscape passes you by and bald eagles gracefully soar with the boat. Sometimes whales even surface. In Prince Rupert, it seems as if time has stood still. This region is known for its First Nations heritage, and in the town you will find old, colorful houses, some more than a hundred years old. There are also remnants of Prince Rupert's history as a railroad town and main city for the fishing industry. The towns of Smithers and St. George testify to this as well. You follow the prospectors' route to Williams Lake and Clearwater, the base for Wells Gray Provincial Park with magnificent waterfalls and hiking trails. The trip ends with the Icefields Parkway, one of the most beautiful routes through the Rocky Mountains connecting the two national parks Jasper and Banff. Here you will find clear blue lakes, glaciers, rugged mountains, forests and rivers. An absolute must for any nature lover!
TIPS & TOPS WEST CANADA COMPLETE:
- Rent an (electric) bike in Vancouver and explore Stanley Park by bike
- From late June to early October, you are most likely to spot whales along the north coast of Vancouver Island
- Make your trip extra special with the Inside Passage. A ferry crossing from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy (or v.v.) through deep fjords, while green forested shores glide by. A pristine landscape passes you by and bald eagles glide gracefully with the boat. Sometimes whales even appear
- Northwest of Port Hardy is the Cape Scott Provincial Park. This is a hiker's paradise with hiking trails of various levels
- In Prince Rupert, visit the North Pacific Cannery, one of the remaining 19th century preservation factories of the salmon industry. Here you will see old fishing methods and learn about lifestyle of the workers of this era
- At the Ksan Historic Village Museum on the way to Smithers, you can learn a lot about the First Nations and take a look at traditional homes
- Visit Fort St James, an ancient trading post in fur
- On the way to Williams Lake, you can drive on to the town of Barkerville. This is an open-air museum where you can see what life was like in the gold mining era
- Helmcken Falls and Spahats Creek Falls are the two most beautiful waterfalls in Wells Gray Provincial Park
- Interrupt your drive to Banff for a snowcoach tour of the Athabasca Glacier; for a moment you are surrounded by ice and snow
- Don't know which hotels you want to stay in? We are happy to think with you. For example, you can combine lodges with hotels
