kodi

Dotty , no problem . We can easily go to Bowmanville
for an afternoon .
We can do whatever you'd like !
You can see on the map , I'm very close to Niagara on the Lake , brantford , Toronto ..

I think you will be happy if you do go up the Icefields Parkway . It's stunning .
Don't let the name scare you ... You won't be running into ice and snow in the summer .

I'm very excited !!

dottyp

Hi, ovenbird, and anyone else interested. Here is the website I mentioned about the drive between Banff and Jasper. I thought it was pretty good but if anyone local has a better site I'd be interested in looking at that too, please.

http://www.banff.com/banff-to-jasper/index.shtml

ovenbird

Thanks for the link, hope you and your hubby have a grand trip!

snowgirls

Niagara on the Lake and the drive along the parkway to Niagara Falls is beautifull in the summer. Grab a picnic lunch and eat in one of the Niagara Parkway parks along the river gorge- always a favourite summer thing to do.Bowmanville may look "close" but believe me the drive through Toronto to get there is anything but. We have some of the worst commuter traffic in North America here.

dottyp

Hopefully I now have everything sorted as to how many days in each area will give us a reasonable picture of the place. I have also changed the timing of our visit to Canada to late September, hopefully to see the start of your fall. I have considered suggestions from everyone and incorporated what I can into the plan. So here goes:

Day 1 fly into Ontario/stay Brantford
Day 2 Brantford
Days 3 - 6 in Burlington / sightseeing
Day 7 Toronto to Calgary - morning flight
Day 8 Calgary to Jasper
Day 9 Jasper - Lake Maligne Trip
Day 10 Jasper to Banff via Icefields Parkway
Days 11 - 13 Banff
Days 14/15 Rocky Mountaineer
Days 16/17 Vancouver
Day 18 Vancouver Island
Day 19 Vancouver
Day 20 Return to NZ

I have sorted activities for Banff and Burlington but not Vancouver yet. Any suggestions for Vancouver and Vancouver Island would be welcome. We are interested in wildlife and history, but not hiking, extreme sports, etc.

Thanks for your invaluable help, everyone. It has made my planning both much easier and much more difficult with the extra recommendations, and extended our visit to Canada by another 12 days. At least I will help boost your country's income while there! Dot

tomfuller

My most recent trips to the Canadian Rockies have been on the ViaRail Canadian to Jasper. Below Maligne Lake is the Maligne Canyon with a beautiful hike. The way we did it was to have DW drop me off at the top. She drove to the parking at the bottom and walked over the foot bridge and up the trail until she met me. We also liked the trip north from Jasper to Patricia Lake.
If you don't want to do a lot of walking in Vancouver try the HOHO trolley. http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours/hop-on-hop-off
Stanley Park and Gastown are my favorites.

snowgirls

To avoid exra packing, jumping around hotels etc, which can waste time I would just stay in Vancouver and do day trips.
i.e Whistler, the islands by ferry or here:http://www.steveston.bc.ca/ which we loved biking though


Other than that, your plan looks great.

arjaykay

What happened to London? You should go to London, Ontario just to say you got to London.

dottyp

sorry, arjaykay, we are going to London, England first. Not sure where London in Ontario is but I shall look in the atlas tonight and if it is near Brantford/Burlington we might be able to fit in a visit. Our time in this area is going to be pretty busy already.

Aramis

Stick with the real London.....

tomfuller

London Ontario is exactly halfway between Detroit Michigan and Toronto. (121 miles from each).
You could take the Empire Builder to Chicago and then take another train to Detroit, walk or take a cab into Windsor Ontario and take ViaRail to London.

dottyp

Having looked at a map, I'm afraid London, Ontario, will not have the pleasure (or otherwise) of a visit from me! As with Moose Jaw - maybe when I win Lotto I can visit there!!

lanejohann

hi there..we have just come back from south island in nz and saw the beautiful scenery...i love mountains cos we dont have any that really earn that title lol so i was super excited to go to nz

i have been to canada and switzerland so ive seen mountains that just made my head spin with awe

and now that i have seen these fabulous places i think i can order them in preference

nz is gorgeous no doubt but i still believe that canada and switzerland are even more spectacular mountain-wise


so
go
do jasper

that road trip from banff to jasper cant be discounted just because theres an ex nzlander on board!
watch 'the edge' (again, if youve seen it) before you depart and you might just spot some of the scenery from that movie as you travel the road to jasper

buy a jaw support...cos the beauty is going to make you do so much oohing and ahhing youre going to get sore! lol

krp329

The weather in Jasper will be similar to the weather in Banff (not sure where you got the idea that Jasper has perennial winter LOL). In fact, the town of Jasper is 1000 feet (300m) lower than the town of Banff, so the weather in Jasper is often warmer than Banff - but in any case, July or August is full summer here (such as it is in the Rockies... it can still be cool!)

Two better web resources for the Icefields Parkway are www.icefieldsparkway.ca and the guide on the Parks Canada website (the Icefields Parkway is completely within two national parks): http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/visit/visit14.aspx

dottyp

Thanks, lanejohann and krp329, for your inputs. We are definitely driving between Jasper and Banff because so many people have told us to, and I always do as I am told (well I did when I was a child!!) I have bookmarked the two websites about the Icefields Parkway so I can find them in September.
Love the idea of a jaw support. Could be needed before we even hit Canada.

Dot

dottyp

bumping up for Janet