We are arriving in Vancouver on 5th August, have booked accommodation for 4 nights, which takes us until 9th August. We will be staying in Banff 16th-19th August, and in Jasper 19-23th August. Return to England on 27th August. Where should we go/stay between 9th and 16th? And between 23rd and 27th (flying back to London from Vancounver)? We are a family of two adults, two teens from UK, first time to Canada, want to see as much as we can, not wild about cities but looking forward to Vancouver....Please help, my husband refuses to get involved in planning, so as usual it's down to me. He thinks we should leave it til we arrive, but I favour planning and booking ahead in peak season. We will hire a car in Vancouver. Budget around $200 per night.

That's a bit awkward. Unless you're prepared for some very long one-day drives (minimum 10 hours not counting any stops) you will need at least one overnight stop going from Vancouver to Banff and from Jasper to Vancouver. Of course, there are many good places to stop along the way. I think the threshold question you will need to consider is whether you're going to include Vancouver Island in your travels.

Yes, am serously considering Vancouver Island, but think that might make it even more awkward!

Sorry, should add wasn't planning on doing Vancounver-Rockies-Vancouver run in one day, but just seeking advice on must see places we should visit en route. Budget up to $300 per night is probably more realistic

Since you'll finish up your stay in the Alberta Rockies in Jasper, it makes sense to return to Vancouver by a somewhat northerly route. You might consider spending the night of the 24th in Clearwater. That would enable you to go into Wells Gray Provincial Park and visit Helmcken Falls that afternoon. Then you could spend the night of the 25th in Whistler.

Where you should spend the night of the 26th depends on your flight's departure time on the 27th. Vancouver Airport is located in Richmond, to the south of Vancouver, but Whistler is north of Vancouver. If I'd spent the last night in Whistler, I'd want to be driving out of Whistler 6 - 7 hours before departure time.

Whistler - Vancouver nominally takes 2 hours, but they say there's construction taking place on that highway at the moment, in preparation for the Winter Olympics, so driving may be a bit slower than usual. I would check in at Vancouver Airport 3 hours before my flight's departure time. Then it takes a little time to cross Vancouver from North Vancouver to Richmond. Traffic wouldn't be bad on a Sunday, but I'd still allow a bit of time for that. Then you'd want to stop somewhere and have a bite to eat. Then you'd want a bit of time for contingencies. That's how I arrived at the figure of 6 - 7 hours. The shorter time is feasible, but the longer time is safer.

On the other hand, you may choose to spend the night of the 26th in Vancouver.

I'll address the earlier leg of your journey in another post.

Here are a few thoughts about filling the first gap in your itinerary.

OPTION #1

9th – Last day in Vancouver

10th – Take ferry from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver to Nanaimo / Departure Bay. Drive to some place on Vancouver Island (Tofino, Courtney, or wherever).

11th & 12th - Vancouver Island destination to which you drove on the 10th

13th – Drive back to Nanaimo, catch ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen, drive to Hope or perhaps Harrison Hot Springs.

14th – Drive via Manning Provincial Park and Princeton to the Okanagan Valley (Penticton or Kelowna).

15th – Spend second day in the Okanagan Valley and have a long-ish drive to Banff on the 16th or else drive to Revelstoke or Golden on this day.

16th – Short-ish drive to Banff from Revelstoke or Golden if you’d spent the previous night there, or longer drive from the Okanagan if you’d spent a second day there.

I’m a bit confused as to where you’re going to spend the night of the 19th. If you’re going to transfer to Jasper on the 19th, you won’t have that much time in the Banff / Lake Louise area. In that case it would be good to move on to Revelstoke or Golden on the 15th so you could have a relatively leisurely drive to Banff on the 16th and stop off and see Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park en route to Lake Louise / Banff.

OPTION #2

9th – Last day in Vancouver

10th – Drive to the Okanagan

11th – Okanagan

12th – Okanagan

13th – Nelson

14th – Nelson

15th – Revelstoke

16th – Banff

Hope that helps.

Judy, thank you so much for your help. I have now managed to find accommodation in Tofino, but for 11th-13th August only. This means we will have to spend around 6 nights in Vancouver. Is this too long in a 21 day holiday? Is the journey from Tofino to Banff reasonably do-able in this time, and are we sacrficing too many beautiful sites on the way? Would it be more sensible to skip Vancouver island altogether - though kids are v keen on beaches!
Sorry to keep asking, but this is our most expensive holiday ever, and don't want to mess it up before we start.

Why don't you drive to Victoria after Tofino. I can't imagine being on the Island and not having at least a day there - it is a highlight. The ferry ride from Victoria back to the mainland is much more scenic than from Nanaimo as well. I really think you would be sorry if you missed Victoria!!!

Tofino is great , but would you be interested in going further north on Vancouver Island to the Port McNeill area for excellent Killer Whale watching and loads of other wildlife and beautiful coastal scenery?

Early August is 'prime time' for Orcas in that area. If you are interested I can supply more info.

cheers

Jerry

Thank you for your suggestions - The problem comes down to:
1 Are we spending too long in Vancouver (6 nights).
2. Are we leaving enough time to get from Tofino to Banff (leave Tofino on 13th, arrive in Banff on 16th) and are we missing out on stuff between Vancouver and Banff by going to Tofino?

Thanks again

>>>>>>Are we spending too long in Vancouver (6 nights).<<<<<<

No.


>>>>>>Are we leaving enough time to get from Tofino to Banff (leave Tofino on 13th, arrive in Banff on 16th)<<<<<<

Yes.

>>>>>>are we missing out on stuff between Vancouver and Banff by going to Tofino?<<<<<<

No.

More in next two posts.

While I was typing my response to you, you received two other good replies.

Wrldtrvlr05 and Jerry (gannetmusic) have made valid points.

However, I think the response that I've prepared for you has some valid ideas too, so I'm going to go ahead and paste it here.


Spending 11th – 13th in Tofino is very feasible.

I don’t think a person can have too much time in Vancouver, so I wouldn’t worry about the extra day there.

Here are some itinerary options with your new constraints in mind.

9th – Vancouver

10th – Here you have two options: (1) Spend another day in Vancouver, or (2) take the ferry to Nanaimo and spend that night nearby, in Parksville or Qualicum Beach or some such place.

The drive from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver is about 0.5 hours, you should arrive at the ferry terminal about 1 hour before sailing, the ferry voyage from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo / Departure Bay is 1.5 hours, disembarking at the other end takes about 0.5 hours. Then, if you drive on to Parksville or Qualicum Beach or somewhere like that, it’ll take you another 0.5 hours or 1 hour. So, from the time that you leave downtown Vancouver until the time you reach your overnight stop, it’ll be about 4 or 5 hours.

Well, that’s if you split your journey to Tofino over 2 days. If you choose to spend this day in Vancouver and travel to Tofino all in one go, the journey will take 7+ hours.

11th – Travel to Tofino. Nanaimo to Tofino is between 3 and 3.5 hours, not counting stops (but I’m sure you’ll stop to look at the trees in Cathedral Grove).

12th & 13th - Tofino

14th – Drive back to Nanaimo, catch ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen, drive to Hope.

Since this will be a Sunday in August, I strongly recommend a ferry reservation ( www.bcferries.ca ).

It’ll take you about 9 hours to get from Tofino to Hope. Time will be used as follows : 3.5 hours to drive to Nanaimo + 1 hour to board ferry + 2 hours for voyage + 0.5 hours to disembark from ferry + 2 hours to drive to Hope. However, keep in mind that, for 2 of those hours, you can stroll around the ferry. So it won’t be 9 straight hours of driving.

15th – Drive to Kelowna. If you take the most direct route, via the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy #5), you’ll get there in about 2.5 hours, which will give you the rest of the day to enjoy Lake Okanagan. The Coquihalla Highway is quite scenic.

If you go through Manning Provincial Park and Princeton, the route will be even more scenic than the Coquihalla. But then you’ll have less time to spend in Kelowna. From Hope to Kelowna via the more scenic route will involve about 4 hours of driving. But the drive will take longer, because you’ll want to stop to enjoy the scenery in Manning Provincial Park. So that route will leave you with less time to relax in Kelowna.

16th – Drive to Banff (between 6.5 hours and 7 hours, not counting stops and not counting the loss of an hour when you cross from the Pacific to the Mountain Time Zone between Revelstoke and Golden).

Optional 15th – Drive from Hope along the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy #5) to Kamloops, and then on the TransCanada Highway (Hwy #1) to Revelstoke. Driving time, not counting stops, will be about 5 hours. When you get to Revelstoke you could drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway in nearby Mount Revelstoke National Park.

Optional 16th – Drive from Revelstoke to Golden to Lake Louise to Banff. This nominally takes between 3.5 hours and 4 hours, but it effectively would take between 7.5 and 8 hours, made up as follows: 3.5 hours for the drive + 1 hour time zone loss + 1 hour for lunch + 1 hour for Emerald Lake + 1 hour for Takakkaw Falls.

Even the option has an option. On the 15th you could drive as far as Golden. Your drive from Hope to Golden would be 7 hours in actual driving time, but it effectively would be 9 hours because you would change time zones and you’d probably spend an hour on lunch.

But if you drove to Golden on the 15th, you’d cut your journey on the 16th by 3 hours. Golden to Banff, even including stops at Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls and a stop for lunch, would take between 4.5 hours and 5 hours.

To put this all into context, I should tell you my opinion that, while I consider the Okanagan Valley (around Kelowna and Penticton) to be very pleasant indeed, I do not think of it as a "must see."

More ......

OTHER POSTERS' SUGGESTIONS

Nanaimo to Port McNeill is about 4 hours.

Nanaimo to Victoria is about 2 hours.

Port McNeil to Victoria is about 6 hours, not counting stops.

Tofino to Victoria is about 5.5 hours, not counting stops.

To cross from Victoria to the mainland, you drive about 30 minutes to Swartz Bay and then take a 1.5 hour voyage to Tsawwassen. That voyage takes you through the Southern Gulf Islands, which is what makes it pretty.

If you want to use Jerry’s and wrldtrvlr05’s suggestions, you could consider doing this:

10th – Travel to Port McNeill.

11th & 12th – Port McNeill

13th – Drive to Victoria.

14th – Look around Victoria.

15th – Cross to Tsawwassen and drive to, say, Kamloops. (Tsawwassen to Kamloops is about 4 hours.)

16th – Drive to Banff. (Kamloops to Banff is about 6.5 hours, not counting stops and not counting time zone change.)


Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for this. I am really excited about our trip now, and don't know how I would plan everything without the practical advice you have given me. Maps and guides are OK, but your wonderfully detailed breakdown inspires confidence! I favour visiting Tofino, so, Judy, will go with your itinerary. Now just need to book accommodation for the remaining days.