Canada & Rocky Mountaineer by Stacey

DAY 1

It all started with a flight to Calgary. When we arrived, we were taken to Banff by shuttle bus which took around 2 hours and allowed us to get our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains before we were fully immersed in them.

After arriving in Banff, we settled into the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel for a 2 night stay. This hotel is truly amazing. Built in 1888 it is styled in the spirit of a Scottish baronial castle nestled into the mountains. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the hotel which started as a 5 storey wooden structure, but as it became increasingly popular, hundreds of Scottish stonemasons were drafted in to complete the now 11 storey replacement and it is now the tallest building in Banff!

Regulations now state that buildings can be no taller than three storeys, so you won’t ever find a taller building in the area. As we arrived in the evening, we headed straight to the Waldhaus pub for a bite to eat before bed. On our way back, we were delighted

DAY 2

This morning, we woke up to a beautiful blue sky and a fantastic view of the Rocky’s from our room. After breakfast in the Vermillion Room, the hotel provided us a transfer to the Banff Gondola. Weather conditions were excellent so we took the 8 minute gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain.

The views just got better and better and when we reached the gondola summit we hiked the boardwalk over to Sanson’s Peak to experience the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station—a National Historic Site of Canada where Norman Sanson checked the weather for 30 years until he was 84!

On the walk over, we took in the sights of Banff and the Bow River. Our hotel now looked like a small dot in amongst the trees….. At the Gondola Base we could see the Rimrock hotel and headed on over for lunch. We dined at the Larkspur lounge and sat right at the window looking onto the mountains which had a light covering of snow – beautiful! The Rimrock is also home to the only 5 diamond restaurant west of Toronto ‘Eden’ – an amazing dining experience with 5 star reviews.

After lunch we ventured into Banff town for a stroll, where we got a great feel for the place and enjoyed all the shops along Banff Avenue. There are some great souvenir shops in town. We then stopped at The Keg in the Caribou Lodge for dinner. The Keg is a chain of steakhouse restaurants throughout Canada and the USA and I must say it’s one of the best steaks I’ve ever had! The Caribou Lodge itself is in a great position in town and

DAY 3

Day 3 was very different as we woke to find 12 inches of snow had fallen! Overnight, Banff had turned into a winter wonderland and it was beautiful! We said goodbye to the Fairmont Banff Springs and instead of a standard transfer to Lake Louise, we incorporated a day tour on the way.

On the tour, our guide Becca showed us various beauty spots and gave us plenty of opportunities to capture some breath-taking photos. The first stop was the Bow Falls, just 5 minutes from the Banff Springs hotel – we had heard the falls when we went to the Wauldhaus on our first night so it was great to actually see them in daylight!

The Bow River begins in the Rocky Mountains at the Bow Glacier, flows for 587km through various towns and villages and is one of 5 rivers which eventually join and feed into Lake Winnipeg. We followed the river to a site of geological formations – the Hoodoos. These are a group of limestone columns that have formed naturally through erosion by water and wind. We could also see Tunnel Mountain from here and I could see why the First Nations called it ‘Sleeping Buffalo’.

Our next stop was Johnston Canyon for a hike up to the Lower Falls. The pathway was snow covered so we decided against the Upper Falls! Although a bit cold, it was worth every step. When we reached the falls, they were beautiful and the story of the couple who created the trails, Mr and Mrs Camp, is lovely – their family still run the operation.

On our way to Lake Louise we stopped at Morant’s Curve for a photo (luckily a train was just passing by) and Lake Moraine – the valley of ten peaks. We were lucky to get there as the road closes in winter due to the risk of avalanches. Driving along said road, we were delighted to see a moose grazing at the side!

On arrival we checked into the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for a night. Until now, I was unaware that the lake was named after Queen Victoria’s daughter Louise Caroline Alberta who was married to a Governor General of Canada in the 19th century. The hotel itself is amazing and it offers various activities for guests of all ages. One of the most popular things to do in the area is ski and the runs are very close by.

DAY 4 & 5 (am)

The next morning, the temperature had plummeted to -16! I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such cold but it didn’t matter as we were on our way to board the Rocky Mountaineer!

We were lucky enough to experience GoldLeaf service on the first leg of our journey and the scenery on the way to Kamloops was just stunning. The hosts onboard were so friendly and they shared some interesting stories aswell as funny anecdotes. It was brilliant to go to the open-air vestibule area every so often and you can still hear the hosts from there too. The food was brilliant and plentiful, snacks were available between meals and drinks were free-flowing. The seats are spacious and comfortable and the full glass dome means there is unlimited viewing potential!

We arrived in Kamloops a bit later than expected so it was a short coach ride to our hotel for some shuteye and then back to the station early morning for the second leg of our train journey – this time in SilverLeaf.

We were greeted by Hosts at the station and waved off by them as we made our way out of Kamloops. The main difference in SilverLeaf is that you are served your meals at your seat but that didn’t make any difference to me. The food was just as good and the service was top notch. Also, it’s not a full glass dome in SilverLeaf but again, it was nothing to complain about. The full size windows still allow spectacular viewing and there’s also a vestibule for passengers to get fresh air.

On arrival at the Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver, we were again greeted by hosts who were all waving to us and as we disembarked, they were very eager to assist us in showing us to our coaches for our onward travel. They couldn’t be friendlier and I think that’s true of everyone in Canada!

DAY 5 (pm) - 7

A very short bus ride took us to our home for the next 3 nights – the Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver. A stunning hotel in a prime waterfront location, this hotel is ideal for guests embarking or disembarking a cruise in Vancouver as the port is directly across the road.

While in Vancouver, we were lucky enough to experience lots of fantastic attractions and we visited many hotels too. My favourite hotels included the Loden, Blue Horizon, Sheraton Wall Centre and of course the two Fairmont hotels - Waterfront Vancouver and Pacific Rim. We were treated to lunch and dinner in many of the hotels and I was delighted with the quality. Often, when people stay at a hotel, they don’t want to eat at the on-site restaurant, but in Vancouver, these restaurants are amongst the best! I had a ‘Korean Rice Bowl’ at the Boulevard which is in the Sutton Place hotel and it was amazing!

Over our three days in Vancouver we visited a whole host of attractions and saw a lot of famous sights. First up was ‘FlyOver Canada’. This is an 8 minute flight simulator which takes you across Canada from East to West. The special effects are brilliant; you feel the mist and smell the scents along the way so you really feel like you’re flying.

Next, we drove over the Lionsgate Bridge into North Vancouver to take the gondola up Grouse Mountain where we got to see bears Grinder and Coola. They were rescued when they were just cubs and have been cared for by the Grouse Mountain Refuge ever since. They are now both 19 years old and they live together very happily. Grinder is the mischievous one who is always looking to play while Coola is a bit more relaxed. A webcam has been set up so you can watch the bears year round – I’m told it’s very entertaining when they wake from hibernation to lots of snow as they just love to roll around in it!

The Capilano Suspension Bridge Park was next on our itinerary and it was a real surprise to me. We learned all about the history of the bridge and the area and then explored for a while. There are three activities here – the suspension bridge, which is the main attraction, was originally built in 1889 by George Mackay. He was a keen fisherman who frequented the area and eventually bought the land from the people of the First Nations. He built a cabin on the edge of the river for a place to stay while he was fishing and then the suspension bridge followed later. The other activities included the Tree Top Adventure – 7 rope bridges which meander through the tree tops, and the Cliff Walk – exactly what it says on the tin!

For a spot of shopping we went to Granville Island. The public market there is bustling and vibrant – lots of unique craft stalls and plenty of food stalls. We had a bite to eat there and then we picked up some souvenirs. Lots of sweet treats and maple syrup of course!

One evening in Vancouver I took a ‘Forbidden History’ tour to learn a little about prohibition and scandal in the city. The guide was great – he really brought the history to life through story-telling and his knowledge of important people and places was fantastic. I learned a lot on this walking tour about the foundations of Vancouver and found it really interesting.

Lastly, we made our way to the waterfront for a sea plane tour courtesy of Harbour Air. This was spectacular. We were in the air for around half an hour and got a birds-eye view of the city and surrounding area. It was brilliant to do this last as we had a bit of knowledge about the city now, so we knew what we were looking at. The best part was flying over Stanley Park as the colours were just beautiful.

I loved every part of the trip and would go back in a heartbeat! There are so many options that we can tailormake for customers, dependent on their own individual requirements, so please, drop us a line and let us tailormake your dream Canada & Cruise Adventure.