Hi,

After a few days in Vancouver (business) my husband and I are hoping to do a round trip - Vancouver - Jasper -Vancouver Island and Vancouver - all in 9 days!

I would value opinion as to whether the following itinerary is do-able, or if not, how best to get the most out of such a (sadly) short trip!

We want to take the train from Vancouver to Jasper 25th May (overnight)and there, hire a car. Ideally we would like to make our way to Vancouver Island - taking the ferry from Prince Rupert (I want to see Orcas if possible). We want to stay B and B rather than grand hotels!

We have a passion for wildlife and beautiful scenery and are fit and active 50 year olds! Any tips would be very much appreciated.

We have not visited Canada before.

Our flight out of Vancouver to UK is on 3rd June.

H

Where to begin?

If you like non-stop travelling, the route you suggest would be feasible. But there would be precious little time to stop and smell the roses.

British Columbia and Alberta, together, are the size of Europe excluding Russia. Vancouver Island alone is two-thirds the size of England.

To get an idea of the distances involved, look at Map Quest ( www.mapquest.com ). It provides driving distances and estimated driving times.

Also, by picking up a car in Jasper and dropping it off in Vancouver, you probably will incur a hefty one-way drop off fee. It most likely would be cheaper to pick up and drop off a car in Vancouver.

If you are committed to train travel, however, I don't know if you are aware that VIA Rail also covers the route from Jasper to Prince Rupert.

If you go to Jasper and Prince Rupert, you will miss a part of the Canadian Rockies that is very scenic, namely, the Icefields Parkway, the road that connects Jasper and Lake Louise.

In addition to that, you will miss the very beautiful lakes around Lake Louise -- Lake Louise itself, Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake and Emerald Lake.

I realize the timing of your trip is dictated by business considerations. However, even if you were to travel down the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise, you unfortunately would arrive in the area too early to see beautiful Moraine Lake fully thawed and looking its turquoise best.

In 9 days it would be feasible to do a circuit of Vancouver - Jasper - Lake Louise / Banff - Okanagan Valley (around Kelowna) - Vancouver. It would not be feasible to include Vancouver Island in that circuit in 9 days.

An alternative that I think would make a lot of sense is to forget about reaching the Rockies. Rather do a circuit of Whistler, Tofino, Victoria, and some more time in Vancouver itself.

Whistler is a mountain resort town about 2 hours' drive northeast of Vancouver.

Tofino is a great base from which to do whale watching. You have a good chance of seeing black bears there. The old growth temperate rainforests in Pacific Rim National Park are wonderful to walk in.

Victoria is a charming, small city. It is known as the most "British" city in North America. You should put that thought out of your mind entirely. To British people it does not seem British at all. You will be disappointed if you go there with that in mind. However, it does have the beautiful Butchart Gardens, the excellent Royal BC Museum, and a pretty Inner Harbour.

Vancouver has so much to offer, I don't know where to begin. Your husband probably won't have time to do it justice during his business meetings, so you most likely would benefit from having a couple of extra days there.

If you have 9 days to spend, I would recommend the following allocation of time (these times include the considerable travel time to get from place to place):

2 days - Vancouver

2 days - Victoria

3 days - Tofino

2 days - Whistler

Final day - Drive from Whistler to Vancouver Airport, and catch flight home.

I would recommend that you do the trip in a clockwise direction, so that you end your trip on the mainland and are not dependent on the punctuality of ferries to catch your homebound flight.

Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive reply.

I rather thought we were being too ambitious! You have given us some more realistic options to mull over.

Best wishes,
H

Two summers ago, we drove from lake Louise to Prince Rupert and took the now gone Queen of the North ferry to Port Harty.

(As you may have heard, the Queen of the North sank in a storm and now rests on the bottom of the Inside Passage.)

We saw no Orcas on the trip.

The drive to Prince Rupert took us the better part of 2 days.

The cruise was a long affair, about 15 hours. The ferry is smaller I am sure because it has a capacity of about 100 cars.

You can do it in 9 days, but I strongly suggest NOT taking a train. The train I don't think is all that scenic and you cannot stop and get out and look when you want to.

Besides to see the best part, you must have a car. No two way about it.

I suggest opening by driving from Vancouver to Revelstoke or Golden via the Okanagen Valley your first day.

Take Route 6 from Vernon to the Columbia River near Nakusp. Then turn north to Revelstoke.

Rejoin the the Trans Canada Highway at Revelstoke and continue east via Rogers Pass and Glacier National Park.

Descend to Golden and continue on to Lake Louise via Field, which is in Yoho National Park.

I recommend staying in an apartment in Field of which there are several good ones that rent on a nightly basis, usually with a 2 or 3 night minimum.

From Field you can visit Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and other attractions in the area.

On the morning 4th day, head for Jasper along the Icefields Parkway. Be prepared for a long day of it because there is so much so see and do.

I think 2 nights in Jasper will be sufficient.

On the morning of the 6th day get an early start out of Jasper for Prince Rupert.

On the 7th day head south on the ferry to Port Hardy. Because of the late arrival time, book a motel in Port Hardy.

The 8th day, drive south to Victoria. You can do it in one day, but is will be a long one.

On the 9th day, explore Victoria and take a late afternoon/early evening Ferry back to Vancouver and turn in your car and go home.

Summary:
Night 1 Revelstoke
Night 2 and 3 Field
Night 4 and 5 Jasper
Night 6 Prince Rupert
Night 7 Port Hardy
Night 8 Victoria
Night 9 Vancouver

I will warn you now, the drive from Jasper to Prince Rupert once you leave Mount Robson is boring.

The ferry ride is equally boring. I got tired of it in about 4 hours and we had 11 hours to do. There is only so much forested hillside that interets me, and I found that after 5 hours of exploring the boad and looking at the hills on either side of the passage, one spruce looked about like another, and one mile of Inland Passage looked about like another.

On the Queen of the North we had a cabin with a bunk. I slept for about 3 hours in the afternoon.

I think you could use your time much more profitably exploring the Canadian Rockies.

Having done the ferry cruise, my curiosity is satisfied, and I doubt if I will ever do it again. Fifteen hours on a boat like the Queen of the North was more tedious than I expected. At least the food was good, although my request of the entertainer was to quit singing and just mouth the lyrics.

I would have enjoyed my time around Banff and Kootenay Parks more!

If you want to see Victoria, drive to the ferry dock at Tsawwassen and go over in about 90 minutes time.

That drive south on Vancouver Island is also sort of tedious.

Why did I to the ferry? It was my 8th trip to the Rockies, and I decided I wanted to see the Inside Passage.
Well, I saw it. Once was enough.

Thanks very much for this. We will definitely take your advice and thanks especially for sharing your experience of ferry trip.

I am so glad I found this excellent forum - the advice posted to my question is going to be very useful.

Best wishes from the UK.

H

Next time I will proof my post better before sending it off.

I am not sure what size vessel has replaced the Queen of the North. It was a very good boat and we were comfortable while making the trip. As I said, my main problem was that after about 4 hours I had seen the inland passage and explored the boat.

My travel mate and I (wife) have mixed feelings about the trip even now. It satisfied our interest in seeing what was there. We wanted to know what was out in that part of British Columbia, and we saw what we could.

After a trip like that, there is always the imponderable question: Was it worth it?

Had it been our first trip, or even or second, I think the answer would have been "No," because of better alternative use of time and money.

Given that this was our 8th visit to the area of British Columbia, we felt the urge to explore elsewhere.

If you take the trip for what it is, and do not expect something that it is not, you will be more satisfied.

I must admit I expected the Inland Passage to be more spectcular. That expectation in retrospect was a little unrealistic.

I think I was left feeling that I had satisfied my curiosity, but I saw nothing to lure me back for a second visit along the same route.

NOt only have you found a great forum, but your questions have been answered by two of the best!!
Judy and Bob are both very knowledgable and truly know what they are talking about.

Good luck and have a great time.