Hello, I am in the early planning stages of a trip to Canada in August 07.
We will be attending a conference in Seattle which ends August 1 and then have just over three weeks before flying out of LA on Aug 23. After consulting my Lonely Planet book, had been thinking of covering Vancouver Island, Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, then Skeena to Jasper, (pick up another car) Banff and eventually to Vancouver for transfer to LA. I have been reading comments on Fodors and now have a few preliminary questions please:

1. is there a “right way” to do this circuit? Ie. any advantage in doing this in reverse?
2. how long on Vancouver island? Victoria and Tofino?
3. mixed reviews of the Inside Passage – should we save money and time for elsewhere?
4. Skeena – a must do or not? If yes, do we have to do Inside Passage to get there?
5. how do we allocate time in Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise region?
6. have previously (in Europe) used holiday rentals, generally one week minimum stay – is there anywhere we could justify a week as a base?
7. is the ferry best way from Seattle to Victoria or should we go via Vancouver?

Not really “big city” travellers, prefer natural landscapes, love the coast, wildlife etc. although have been told Vancouver is a must see! Any advice re where to pick up/or lose a rental car (if we use ferry or train) would be great!
Thanks in advance, undoubtedly more questions to come.

>>>>>>1. is there a “right way” to do this circuit? Ie. any advantage in doing this in reverse?<<<<<<

In early summer (June) and autumn (September) it does make a difference, because the mountains warm up later and cool off earlier than the coast. In mid summer (July and August) I do not believe it makes any difference.

>>>>>>2. how long on Vancouver island? Victoria and Tofino?<<<<<<

A couple of days in Victoria. An ABSOLUTE minimum of 3 nights in Tofino. But I personally think that’s too little. I would recommend a couple more nights than that if possible.

>>>>>>3. mixed reviews of the Inside Passage – should we save money and time for elsewhere?<<<<<<

I’ve never sailed the Inside Passage. It used to be high on my wish list. After seeing and hearing mixed reviews, including some unfavourable ones from travellers whose opinions I trust, it has moved to a lower position on my wish list.

>>>>>>4. Skeena – a must do or not?<<<<<<

This is another trip about which I have read and heard mixed reviews. I have heard very mixed reviews about the train itself.

>>>>>>If yes, do we have to do Inside Passage to get there?<<<<<<

Yes, if you catch the Skeena, you pretty much have to sail the Inside Passage before or after the train (unless you ride the train in both directions).

>>>>>>5. how do we allocate time in Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise region?<<<<<<

In my opinion, you need an absolute minimum of 2 nights in Jasper, but I would highly recommend 3 nights.

The Banff / Lake Louise area requires an absolute minimum of 3 nights, in my opinion. Although it is possible to switch accommodation between Banff and Lake Louise. However, since they are about 45 minutes’ drive from each other, one can be used as a base for seeing the other. If you are more into nature, you would prefer smaller and quieter Lake Louise. If you like a huge selection of restaurants, etc., you would prefer the larger town of Banff.

>>>>>>6. have previously (in Europe) used holiday rentals, generally one week minimum stay – is there anywhere we could justify a week as a base?<<<<<<

I too love week-long holiday rentals and, as you say, Europe is ideally suited to that sort of thing. Western Canada is not suited to a week-long rental when you have to cover such a vast territory in only 3 weeks. In that sense Western Canada is more like Australia. Staying in one place in Western Canada would be like spending a whole week in Merimbula and then having only 2 weeks in which to cover the Barossa Valley, Adelaide, the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, Canberra, the Blue Mountains, Sydney, and the Hunter Valley. Well, that may not be an exact comparison, but I hope you get my drift.

>>>>>>7. is the ferry best way from Seattle to Victoria or should we go via Vancouver?<<<<<<

It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.

>>>>>>Not really “big city” travellers, prefer natural landscapes, love the coast, wildlife etc. although have been told Vancouver is a must see!<<<<<<

You have heard correctly. Even if natural landscapes and wildlife are your thing, Vancouver is indeed a must see – at least I think it is.

>>>>>>Any advice re where to pick up/or lose a rental car (if we use ferry or train) would be great!<<<<<<

To be honest, I think your best bet, from a price point of view, is to drive the whole way (using car ferries to get to and from Vancouver Island of course). What I mean by that is you should start and end your land journey in Seattle. Then fly from Seattle to Los Angeles. I believe you will save a huge amount of money if you collect and drop off your rental car in Seattle. It will save you the one-way drop off fees that can be quite considerable on rental cars. In addition to that, it may not be a huge saving, but I think you’ll probably find the air fare from Seattle to LA cheaper than from Vancouver to LA or Calgary to LA.

Just to get you started, you might want to check out the sample itineraries on my website:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips

I also recommend that you go to the TIPS section of my website and read the What To Pack page. The weather in the Canadian Rockies is VERY changeable, and you need to pack more layers than you may appreciate if you have not experienced the phenomenon.

If you pick up a rental car in the USA and drive it into Canada, you must have written authorization from the car rental company to do that. Usually a written notation on your car rental agreement is sufficient. The immigration and customs authorities, either American or Canadian, may ask to see documentation related to your car.

If I have some free time later, I’ll come back to you with a suggested itinerary.

Here’s the suggested itinerary I mentioned before.

Aug 2 – Drive from Seattle to Vancouver.

3 - Vancouver

4 – Catch ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria in the morning. Visit Butchart Gardens in the afternoon. Overnight in Victoria.

5 - Victoria

6 – Tofino

Be aware that Monday, August 6, 2007 will be a public holiday in British Columbia, and the 4th, 5th and 6th will be an especially busy weekend. I would consider advanced reservations on the ferry to be ESSENTIAL.

7 - Tofino

8 - Tofino

9 - Tofino

10 – Drive from Tofino to Nanaimo / Departure Bay, catch ferry to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, drive to Whistler.

11 - Whistler

12 - Clearwater

13 - Clearwater

14 - Jasper

15 - Jasper

16 - Jasper

17 – Lake Louise

18 – Lake Louise

19 – Lake Louise

20 – Okanagan Valley (Kelowna or Penticton or one of the smaller towns in the Okanagan Valley)

21 – Seattle

22 – Fly to Los Angeles

23 – Take off from LA

Use www.mapquest.com to get driving times and distances (you can change the default setting from miles to kilometers).

Use www.bcferries.ca to get ferry timetables from the BC mainland to Vancouver Island and back again and to make ferry reservations.

You’d be wise to have your reservations for Tofino and Jasper (and probably Lake Louise as well) in place around March 2007.

Hope that helps.

Judy you are an absolute gem! This is exactly the response I was looking for and most helpful. I am rushing off to work now but will be back with some 'fine tuning' later! Thanks again.

If the new ferry is in service, you might enjoy the trip up the inside passage. We found it to be a long day but beautiful scenery and a relaxing ride. This would leave from Port Hardy and arrive in Prince Rupert.

You have to consider the Rocky Mountaineer train trip from Jasper to Vancouver. I have friends, both Australian and British, who have done this and they said it was the greatest experience of their life. Try Googling it on the web and, if you decide to do it, spend the extra money and do the Gold Leaf package. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/discovery/

A truncated version of the complete Inside Passage.

Covers the most scenic parts of the trip and visits some tiny out-of-the-way places.

You land in gorgeous Bella Coola and have a fabulous trip back up/over the Coast range and through Canada's '<i>Cowboy Country</i>' -the Chilcotin.

Overnight in Williams Lake and head east to Jasper in the AM.

This reply is meant more for Judy, I think. We want to do about half of ozgirl's itinerary in July, beginning and ending in Seattle. Really curious about the time invested in Tofino v. Vancouver - surely not the latter in one day? I can't seem to make up my mind about Tofino - the rave reviews about the scenery and the town I get, but I have to say it is one of the most phenomally expensive places to stay I have ever seen outside of major cities in Europe or resorts like Lizard. And especially in July, there are NO deals to be had. We do not do budget accommodations, but there doesn't seem to be the middle of the road that at least includes a/c for $300 night. Would it be sacrilege to skip it? Or at least skip it in July when it sounds overrun with people anyway? We had planned to go around the coast to Sooke anyway, but is that enough? I should add we love scenery, but are in no way serious hikers or kayakers. Thanks, everyone.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Really curious about the time invested in Tofino v. Vancouver - surely not the latter in one day?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don't like to suggest doing Vancouver in one day. I think it takes at least 3 full days to do justice to Vancouver, and I would prefer that folks had 4 days there. However, there were a couple of factors that influenced me to suggest one day in Vancouver to ozgirl.

(1) In her opening post she specifically said that they were not big city travellers, preferred nature, but had been told that Vancouver was a must see. It seemed to me that their visit to Vancouver was a concession, a departure from their normal habits. I was trying to respect that and not overdo Vancouver.

(2) A visit to Vancouver needs to be put into the larger context of the overall trip. If visitors have three days in Vancouver, this is how I recommend they divide their time:

Day 1 - Visit Vancouver's centrally located attractions -- Stanley Park, Granville Island Market, Yaletown and Robson Street.

Day 2 - Visit Vancouver's North Shore, which is located across Burrard Inlet from downtown Vancouver. The most popular attractions there are the SkyRide up Grouse Mountain and a visit to one of North Vancouver's canyons, either Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge or Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge. If time permits, it's nice to finish this off with a drive to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

Day 3 - Visit the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, and follow it up with visits to Queen Elizabeth Park and VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Now in the case of ozgirl's trip, the visits to Seattle, Victoria and Whistler will provide some elements that a 3-day visit to Vancouver might have provided.

Seattle's Pike Place Market is bigger than Vancouver's Granville Island Market.

The Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria has excellent Aboriginal exhibits, so it's not essential to see that museum as well as the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver.

The quary that has been converted into a garden in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park is beautiful, but the converted quary in Victoria's Butchart Gardens is even more beautiful.

What you could see in North Vancouver (say Grouse Mountain followed by a walk in the delightful temperate rainforest of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park) is a treat, but not as impressive as the mountains, temperate rainforests and waterfalls you see if you go to Whistler.

Also, ozgirl's trip from Tofino to Whistler will take her to Horseshoe Bay and along Howe Sound before she starts climbing up into the Coast Mountains.

So I hope that explains how ozgirl will be incorporating some of these elements into other parts of her trip and how that decreases the urgency to include them while she's in Vancouver.

About Tofino ...... If you don't want to go there, there are other wilderness areas on Vancouver Island and the nearby Gulf Islands that other Fodorites know and that I don't know. Perhaps there would be merit in starting a new thread just about Vancouver Island.

Thanks everyone. Sam, I had noted your recommendations for the Discovery Coast Passage in other posts. When looking at the schedule I was confused because it appears that the only daylight (and single day) trip would be on Thursdays, is that right? Perhaps you mean we should do a longer trip?
Judy, flights to Seattle and from Vancouver to LA are pretty similar cost wise and I am investigating what difference in costs are associated with the different car pick ups. I am thinking that ferry to Victoria and then pick up car would be a nice introduction to the area but will wait and look at impact of one way drop offs. Thanks for the tip about public holiday weekend as I agree with oliverandharry, Tofino ain't cheap! (But it looks so beautiful!)

Thanks for that perfect answer, Judy. Will follow that Vancouver outline to the letter - it incorporates everything we wanted to do. Will start a new thread on the Gulf Islands.

Before the sinking of the &quot;Queen of the North&quot;, in the summer months the ferry traveled to/from Port Hardy to/from Prince Rupert every other day. With it's replacment, the schedule changed to fit the smaller vessels capabilities.

BC Ferries has purchased a new vessel and it is enroute from Greece at the present time. If it is put into service before next summer, expect the schedule to change again to reflect this vessel's capabilities.

The more time aboard the Discovery Coast Ferry the better.

It's a little rough around the edges but like nothing else in the country, you'll never regret going.

You'll love the country you're travelling through and once you get to Bella Coola you'll see you've made the right decision.

It's <i>possible</i> that you may have to choose between a nighttime ferry trip and spending time in the mountains around Bella Coola when you arrive though-your time is limited.

So few people so much country.

Judy, can I have some more advice about &quot;tweaking my itinerary&quot; please? We probably don't need to fly to LA (at the end of our trip) until the 23rd as our flight from LA is at 2140 and I think we will fly out of Vancouver.If we do go direct to Victoria (from Seattle)at the bginning of our trip then we would be able to have a couple of days in Vancouver at the end ie. 21 and 22 Aug. If we do that, I think we would now have another day &quot;up our sleeve&quot; - where would you reallocate that?

If you had another day up your sleeve, ozgirl, it would be nice to spend it in the Okanagan Valley.