Help for Vancouver, Alaska and Canadian Rockies June 2015

[battymum]

Following intently - I have a friend who is trying to plan a Canadian trip - she has never planned a trip before on her own, so is looking at the APT tours , but the cost is almost prohibitive.

She is asking me as she thinks I am the trip planning guru and I have no clue - I sent her to tripadvisor and she got scared off.

She is also hoping to be there for the Calgary stampede - but was also hoping to go right across the country to to see Niagara as well.

 

[Kangarucci]

Shush- arrived back home today.

The tour operator was M&M Tours for both Skagway and Juneau. M&M Tours
toursskagway@gmail.com Direct: 1(907)983-3900

Juneau and I think the others are only accessible by air or sea.

Ketchikan had a lumberjack show organised by Disney (in town) that was very popular.

We had aft staterooms on deck 5, no balcony. Plenty of places onboard to see the views. Our friends went on an Alaskan cruise with another cruise line and suggested that we have a balcony but with 2 staterooms and a 4 week trip we decided no.

 

[shushh]

I've been AWOL again...sorry...

Big news is that I resigned from my job last week! There was a bit of turmoil before hand and it's still tense at work.

The good news is that DH paid for our flights to Canada! Yay! It was enough to cheer me up as the trip now seems real and too far away.

So we've also decided to drive one way from Vancouver to Calgary. It gives us more time on the drive and we don't have to rush quite so much.

So excited! Now the pressure's on to find a new job!

 

[shushh]

Sounds like a great trip. I am just outside of Calgary AB so about 1.5 hours to Banff. It really is beautiful summer and winter. We have 3 kids also and when we go to Banff we rent a chalet as it has a loft with 2 queen beds for the kids and then a main floor bedroom for us, 2 bathrooms an small kitchen and living room which helps with space and snacks/beverages as we pack those to go hiking etc. This is where we usually stay http://www.douglasfir.com/ Kids love the waterslides and we can usually find deals there.


You can take day trips or tours to Jasper and Lake Louise from Banff if you did not want to drive there and spend a night or 2 there.

The 2015 Stampede is July 3-12, 2015 so not sure if that will work with your June dates.

I also lived in Vancouver for 7 years and still travel there as my oldest daughter is out there. There is lots to do for a few days pre/post cruise and if you are interested in Whistler its a great drive with breathtaking scenery. I only ever went there in the winter to ski so not sure what is on offer in the summer but I am sure it is similar to Banff.

I would recommend driving from Vancouver to Calgary/Edmonton or Banff/Jasper as its a nice drive and saves lots on flights for families as I usually pay $300-$400 CDN for return flights and that's on seat sales.

Enjoy Canada.................its a large country with so much to see. Sadly I haven't even seen 1/2 of it as we travel out of country as its cheaper. Trying to decide if we will head to Australia with our without the kids

Thank you for chipping in! We have taken your recommendation of the one way drive from Vancouver to Calgary. We're very excited about the Calgary Stampede. Our flight out of Calgary is on July 11 so we'll be going! We managed to get the Calgary to Vancouver flight for only an additional $60 on top of our SYD to Vancouver return fares so pretty happy with that.

We've also decided to stop by Whistler. Again the scenery everywhere just looks so beautiful. I haven't had time to look closely into summer offerings but I'm looking forward to the planning. If you have any recommendations of accommodation, I'd be very interested. All the resorts look pretty similar at a quick glance...

The chalet in Banff looks absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for providing the link.

Its funny. I haven't seen 1/2 of Australia because it is cheaper to travel overseas! I hope you make it down here one day. Beautiful big country with such diverse landscape.

 

[shushh]

Following intently - I have a friend who is trying to plan a Canadian trip - she has never planned a trip before on her own, so is looking at the APT tours , but the cost is almost prohibitive.

She is asking me as she thinks I am the trip planning guru and I have no clue - I sent her to tripadvisor and she got scared off.

She is also hoping to be there for the Calgary stampede - but was also hoping to go right across the country to to see Niagara as well.

Feel free to copy...I'll do my best to organise the best trip ever!

 

[shushh]

Shush- arrived back home today.

The tour operator was M&M Tours for both Skagway and Juneau. M&M Tours
toursskagway@gmail.com Direct: 1(907)983-3900

Juneau and I think the others are only accessible by air or sea.

Ketchikan had a lumberjack show organised by Disney (in town) that was very popular.

We had aft staterooms on deck 5, no balcony. Plenty of places onboard to see the views. Our friends went on an Alaskan cruise with another cruise line and suggested that we have a balcony but with 2 staterooms and a 4 week trip we decided no.

Welcome back! And thank you for the details. How far out from your trip did you book your shore excursions?

 

[CJ2001]

Thank you for chipping in! We have taken your recommendation of the one way drive from Vancouver to Calgary. We're very excited about the Calgary Stampede. Our flight out of Calgary is on July 11 so we'll be going! We managed to get the Calgary to Vancouver flight for only an additional $60 on top of our SYD to Vancouver return fares so pretty happy with that.

We've also decided to stop by Whistler. Again the scenery everywhere just looks so beautiful. I haven't had time to look closely into summer offerings but I'm looking forward to the planning. If you have any recommendations of accommodation, I'd be very interested. All the resorts look pretty similar at a quick glance...

The chalet in Banff looks absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for providing the link.

Its funny. I haven't seen 1/2 of Australia because it is cheaper to travel overseas! I hope you make it down here one day. Beautiful big country with such diverse landscape.

You won't be disappointed with Whistler - it's stunning. I definetly recommend Crystal Suites & lodges but we only had 4 of us so not sure what they offer for 5 people.

Good luck with your job hunting

 

[zanzibar138]

I've been AWOL again...sorry...

Big news is that I resigned from my job last week! There was a bit of turmoil before hand and it's still tense at work.

The good news is that DH paid for our flights to Canada! Yay! It was enough to cheer me up as the trip now seems real and too far away.

So we've also decided to drive one way from Vancouver to Calgary. It gives us more time on the drive and we don't have to rush quite so much.

So excited! Now the pressure's on to find a new job!

Oh, work drama is never good

At least you have your trip to look forward to now

Good luck with the job hunting!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shushh - Apologies in being late in catching up on your news. So sorry about your job but I know you wouldn't have taken the decision lightly. I hope something comes up quickly!

But on the plus.....good for you and DH in booking your flights to Canada. Let the planning begin in earnest!

 

[shushh]

We've finally started our trip! If you're interested in following along, I've restarted my blog
http://deliriouslydemented.blogspot.ca/2015/06/pedobuster.html

 

[PrincessInOz]

Always happy to see you posting....on your blog or on the Dis.

Hope you've been well. Looks like a GREAT vacay so far....with lots of lovely photos, as always.

 

[shushh]

Hello Princess! So happy to be blogging again...as it means we are travelling again!! I must say it was difficult as first. I had forgotten how tiring it was to blog on the go and having to catch up on the cruise days is always difficult. There's a trip to Japan (including TDR of course!) coming up shortly in December so hopefully the blog will be a lot more active!!!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Lovely to see you back Shushh.. we did alaska and Canada in 1999. Briefly as have an early start tomorrow we did the local ferry Ketchikan to Juneau. Loved both destinations but stayed in B&bs and felt like locals. Our day trip to Tracey Arm is still one of the highlights of all our trips with icebergs off the glacier to touch, whales, seals, bears and the glacier calving for us which is amazing to experience. We flew out so can't comment on Denali etc - on wish list.
Flew Juneau to Vancouver (flew in to Ketchikan via Seattle and lax) where we stayed with rellies. Did a road trip to Calgary then looped back through Cascade mtns to Seattle. Jaspar was lovely small town. Icefields parkway was great espy going out onto the glacier midway point on big special truck things and walking on it and Banff is totally gorgeous. Did a great hike at Lake Louise. The Fairmont looked stunning, but for us on a budget did it as a day trip. The lake was frozen and it was a memorable hike up the mountain through the snow to the tea house -recommend it. Not right time for stampede but liked Calgary - interesting system of linked malls all above ground to get around the city in warmth cept I caught dreaded lurgy in them. The zoo was good. Looking forward to hearing more of your plans. I can dig up routes and places we enjoyed best for stops on the weekend.
How is the 'new' (not so new now!) House. Good luck with job hunting. Sounds like a necessary decision.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I am soooooofar behind as I realise you are now ON the trip - idiot that i am. Reading along.