Help for UK family planning Canadian vacation

[Sian]

I am planning ahead for summer 2006 and hoping to bring my two teenage sons on a 2 week trip to Alberta/BC. Very tentative initial plan is to fly to Calgary and drive to Vancouver via some nice hotels and spectacular scenery. Any suggestions would be welcome, eg.
Is there any preference in doing Calgary - Vancouver or the other way round?
Is it worth visiting Whistler or is this more a winter resort?
What are the 'don't miss' things en route?
Can't decide whether to do fewer stops and longer drives or more stops and shorter days....There will just be me driving.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Pokemom]

You may want to check out www.fodors.com/forums and look under the Canada forum. There have been many discussions there about the trip you are considering. You can do a search or just ask for some planning help. You will get some very detailed replies. I live in Alberta and the scenery through the mountains is breathtaking. If you come during July, you'll be able to see the Calgary Stampede. You'll want to see Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper (much more wildlife to see around Jasper than around Banff and Lake Louise). I'm sure you'll have a wonderful trip.

 

[MECH8T7]

I would definitely suggest timing your visit around the Calgary stampede. Also, did you consider going from Calgary to Vancouver via train? If that doesn't work, there are trains tours that depart and arrive at the same city. (I haven't done a train trip through the Rockies but plan to when we are out there next time.)

 

[ChisJo]

FYI - VIA train, the only train that caters to travellers, doesn't have a station in Calgary, so you would have to take it from Edmonton.
I would recommend, being from Alberta, to definately not miss Banff (this is the Rocky Mountain area closer to Calgary). There are trails there that are amazing, as well as some wonderful cabins and falls.
I agree that you should try to check out the Calgary Stampede, but there are also some other wonderful festivals in the summer around Calgary.
Cannot help you with BC - I have only been there a couple times myself, so hopefully you will get some good advice from a veteran from there.
Jo

 

[c&m]

Sounds like a great trip you're planning! I have some ideas for your teenage kids. This is not a thorough list; if I think of more, I'll post again. Feel free to PM me if you want more details on each of these places.

Vancouver:
- Grouse Mountain. Ride up the gondola. Spectacular scenery and some events up there during the summer (i.e. a logging show but don't know if they replace shows with something else each summer)
- Stanley Park. Rent bikes and ride around the seawall for some great sights along the way.
- Aquarium in Stanley Park. More for younger kids but always recommended for tourists. Not of Seaworld calibre but attracts tourists and young children nevertheless.
- Science World. Located in the "golf ball" that remains from Expo '86. Quite interesting; also houses the IMAX theatre.
- Fort Langley. A fort that takes you back to the turn of the century in B.C. There are blacksmiths, traders, etc. who walk around.
- FOOD. Vancouver is very ethnic with lots of authentic cuisine. Go to Richmond for Chinese food (lots of great Hong Kong chefs moved here), Commercial Drive for Italian, Main St. for Indian and anywhere else for Greek and Japanese food, Yaletown for upscale dining.
- Granville Island. For fresh fruits and veggies, buskers performing at the market, a walkway to see the sights, a smallish water park (great for young children tho).
- Centennial Beach and Crescent Beach. If you like to go to a beach on a summer day. Centennial Beach has PaJos which is a great place for a fish and chips break.
- Steveston Village. In Richmond, it was an old fishing village. Lots of shops and places to eat. Walk down to the docks for some fresh fish.

Manning Park:
- On the Hwy 1, take Route 3. About a 3 hours' drive from Vancouver. There's a lodge at Manning Park (if you aren't going camping) where you can stay. You can hike, fish, canoe here. Go up to the alpine meadows for a refreshing walk and to look and the fabulous view. The alpine flowers come out end of July/early August.

Whistler:
A long winding drive but worth it when you get there. There are some good hotel rates during the summer since it's not peak season, so if you do go, you may want to spend a night there. The drive is hard if you're tired. Plus, there is continual road contruction there, part of the gearing up for the 2010 Olympics.
- Cheakamus Lake. Nice short hike through a beautiful forest.
- Alta Lake. Rent a canoe or a kayak.
- Whistler Village. Some good shopping and restaurants.

...and if you plan on going to Vancouver Island:
- Tofino/Long Beach. Miles of beach, the Pacific Ocean. Gorgeous place.
- Victoria. Royal B.C. Museum. Fabulous place to walk through.

...and when we camp in Banff/Lake Louise, we really enjoy:
- the Lake Moraine trail. The start of the trail is behind the Chateau Lake Louise. A bit of a long hike (approx 9km) but your reward is this beautiful scenery and a log house that is a tea house. Reward yourself with a great cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie. We have great memories of this hike!

 

[c&m]

...add to the Vancouver list:

- Capilano Suspension Bridge. Could be interesting for teenagers to be on a swinging bridge. A must for visitors.
- Ambleside Beach. In West Vancouver.
- Robson Street. For shopping (if your teens are into that), dining, and the occasional celebrity sightings.

 

[chasbos]

Sian - your trip sounds amazing - I would love to do it myself. Western Canada is a lot different in Ontario. One word of advice is that Canada is a BIG country! We never really think of it living here until you travel to Europe and almost everything is only a couple of hours away (and that is far to our family from Europe!) It makes us laugh here because were we live about 2.5 hours from Pearson Airport in Toronto and when our family arrives from Europe and they drive to our home they can't believe how long it takes! And when we travel in Europe we find everything to be very short distances!

Not sure how long you were planning on coming to Canada but make sure you leave yourself enough time to see everything you want to see and not have to feel rushed! After all it is a vacation.

 

[oracle]

Calgary to Vancouver is a great drive, you should really enjoy it. You're definitely going to want to see Banff, the area is just amazing there. Jasper is another place I wouldn't want to miss. Depending on your budget, I would highly, highly recommend the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. It's not cheap, but it's worth every dollar. The Fairmont Banff Springs is great too, but again, it's not cheap.

As for Whistler, it's nice in the summer, and there's lots going on. Personally I found it a bit too much of a tourist-trap, but I know lots of people enjoy it in the summer.

 

[hellooothere]

Just wondering if you have looked into house swapping instead of hotels etc. We have done it successfully as have my parents on more than one occasion with people in the UK. There are some excellent organizations out there. Usually you pay a joining fee of around $100 and then you list your house. You trade everything including your vehicles etc. Makes for a huge cost saver plus allows for a total immersion in the community etc. You are planning quite far ahead so it allows for a lot of time to research.

We just had relatives here from Middlesbrough a couple of years ago and they did the same trip that you are doing and really enjoyed it. They purchased round trip tickets to Vancouver from London. They rented a car in Vancouver and drove to Calgary then caught a cheap flight on WestJet back to Vancouver.

By the way I love York!! Beautiful!!!

c&m managed to point out all the beautiful sites in the Lower Mainland not to miss.


Good luck in all your planning!

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi Sian ......

We went to Canada for three weeks in Summer 2002 and after a 4 night stay in Toronto flew over to Calgary, got a rental car and drove to Banff. I'd HIGHLY recomend taking the Banff Gondola up to the top of the mountain - they have footbridges linking some of the mountain peaks and the views are wonderful! We took so many photos up there and there is also a restaurant at the top if you want to stay a while.

We took the bus from the back of one of the hotels off the main Banff Avenue to the Gondolas, as it would be a very wearying uphill climb, but once we'd taken the gondola back down, we walked down through wooded footpaths to the Fairmont Banff Springs - like a little castle on the mountainside! A word of warning, although this hotel is highly rated (and expensive), the rooms are small and there are a lot of hotels to choose from in Banff.

Lake Louise is a 'must see' and if you do take the path upwards that you'll see many people taking, be sure you have enough bottled water with you and good walking trainers. However, I preferred the nearby Moraine Lake as it is less touristy.

We drove along the "Icefield Parkway" which has stunning scenery and stopped off at the Columbia Icefield where special "Snocoaches" take you onto the glaciers! We also stopped off at the Athabasca Falls.

We went onto Jasper - now I hope I'm not offending anyone on the Canadian board but I have to say that we did not like the town of Jasper at all - except for the wonderful Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge which Oracle mentioned - we stayed in Jasper because it is at the other end of the LONG drive along the parkway and also to visit other lakes and superb scenery in Jasper National Park, but unless I could stay at the wonderful Fairmont, set in superb scenery, I would not recommend it. (My brother stayed in this hotel this year and loved it and so did not go into the centre of Jasper at all).

White water rafting is available in Banff and Jasper (and nost places!), and you can select different levels according to your nerve/experience/physical ability! We also went on a horse trail at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

We drove the VERY long way from Jasper to Sun Peaks - this was chosen as a stopover to break the journey to Vancouver - Sun Peaks is really a skiing resort, and we were advised to stay there rather than Kamloops.

Our holiday continued onto Vancouver............ and then to Vancouver Island and a stay in Victoria where we took a whale watching trip.

In all, I would say that we probably did a bit too much - DH planned the whole thing and was so determined not to miss anything - and so I would suggest really looking into it closely and deciding what your absolute "must dos" are.

Hilary on the UK boards went to Canada a year after us and she will be able to offer you some great advice - she posted some great trip reports on UK Report board. I believe they concentrated more on Vancouver Island.

 

[Sian]

Wow! Thanks for all the terrific information. Taking what everyone has said on board I am now wondering about staying a few days in Calgary to catch the stampede as I think the boys would love it. This would mean cutting out some of the original journey, perhaps doing a shorter round trip from Calgary. Maybe up to Jasper and back and saving Vancouver for another time. I've looked at the Fairmont hotels and I'm hoping we could stretch to at least one of them. I'm off to look at some maps now and see if I can find a nice route around Alberta.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Pokemom]

If you are planning to spend more time in Alberta, I would also recommend visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. It is one of the best "Dinosaur" museums in the world. If you do the Calgary-Banff-Jasper-Edmonton-Calgary circuit, you might want to stay at the Fantasyland Hotel at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton. They have theme rooms (CN Rail, Igloo, African, Western, etc) that would be kind of fun for your boys. The Mall is the largest mall in the world and has many activities that your sons would enjoy - indoor waterpark, amusement park, skating rink, mini-golf, theaters, submarine rides.
One of the posters mentioned that they didn't like Jasper as much as Banff (no offence taken). They are quite different towns. Banff is much more touristy and has a lot of trendy stores. Jasper is more of a small mountain town. You won't find many high-end hotels or restaurants in the town-site, but you also won't have to fight your way down the sidewalks. If the Jasper Park Lodge is unavailable, you might want to check out Pyramid Lake Lodge.

 

[oracle]

Originally posted by Sian
I've looked at the Fairmont hotels and I'm hoping we could stretch to at least one of them.

If you go for just one Fairmont, I would definitely say the Jasper Park Lodge should be your choice. It's really different from a regular hotel. It's a huge collection of log cabin-style buildings, really unique, but luxurious. Well worth the money, IMO. On top of that, the hotel has two incredible restaurants. Also, if you're into golf, it's ranked the #1 golf resort in Canada. I really can't say enough good things about our trip there.