Last-minute Rockies
Jul 17th, 2007, 01:13 PM
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Last-minute Rockies
I know this post will go against the grain for many a Fodor-ite, but due to a last-minute change at work my girlfriend and I suddenly find ourselves with three weeks in August for a holiday - but with only two and a half weeks to plan it!
The best holiday we've ever been on was to the south island of New Zealand, which we planned some three months in advance, and we've long wanted to go to the Canadian Rockies, for the amazing scenery, wildlife and outdoor activities. We found some reasonably priced flights to Vancouver (less than £600 from London), but are worried that accommodation availability will be so tight, or prices so high in August, that a proper trip to the Rockies, seeing everything we want to see, will not be feasible.
What do people think our chances are for booking decent priced accommodation in August? And can anyone suggest a suitable itinerary (we'll be hiring a car) for around 16 nights? (We wanted particularly to spend time in Vancouver, Vancouver Island and 'classic' rockies i.e. Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise etc.) We like hiking but probably no longer than half or one day hikes. How far in advance do you need to book things like ferries to Vancouver Island and other activities/tours?
This is our first post so I hope these questions aren't too open ended - very grateful for any advice or ideas that anyone can offer!
The best holiday we've ever been on was to the south island of New Zealand, which we planned some three months in advance, and we've long wanted to go to the Canadian Rockies, for the amazing scenery, wildlife and outdoor activities. We found some reasonably priced flights to Vancouver (less than £600 from London), but are worried that accommodation availability will be so tight, or prices so high in August, that a proper trip to the Rockies, seeing everything we want to see, will not be feasible.
What do people think our chances are for booking decent priced accommodation in August? And can anyone suggest a suitable itinerary (we'll be hiring a car) for around 16 nights? (We wanted particularly to spend time in Vancouver, Vancouver Island and 'classic' rockies i.e. Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise etc.) We like hiking but probably no longer than half or one day hikes. How far in advance do you need to book things like ferries to Vancouver Island and other activities/tours?
This is our first post so I hope these questions aren't too open ended - very grateful for any advice or ideas that anyone can offer!
Jul 17th, 2007, 06:36 PM
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>>>>>>What do people think our chances are for booking decent priced accommodation in August?<<<<<<
In some places it will not be a problem. However, in small but popular towns like Tofino and Jasper, you'll have your work cut out for you.
>>>>>>And can anyone suggest a suitable itinerary (we'll be hiring a car) for around 16 nights?<<<<<<
Doing the circuit that you want to do in that time frame is borderline. What I mean is that you can physically drive the distance, but you'd have to be awfully efficient to cover the distance AND have quality time (time for hiking, etc.). As I said, it's borderline.
You could consider doing a circuit of Vancouver - Vancouver Island - Whistler - Vancouver OR ELSE doing a circuit of Vancouver - Rockies - Vancouver. If you did one of those circuits (either excluding the Rockies or Vancouver Island), it would allow you to cover the ground in more depth, do more outdoor activities at each destination, and so on.
Be that as it may, I'll give you a suggested itinerary that is tight, in that it covers the full circuit that you claim you want to do in the amount of time that you claim you want to do it in.
I forget when the cut off time for ferry reservations is. I seem to recall its being quite far in advance. There is an eternal debate as to whether or not you need ferry reservations. Many people feel you need them on summer weekends. I lean to the opinion that they are useful on any summer day. If it was my trip, I would try to secure ferry reservations just as soon as I'd figured out my itinerary (if, indeed I'd decided to keep Vancouver Island in my itinerary).
Most other activities do not have to be booked too far in advance.
More in next post .......
In some places it will not be a problem. However, in small but popular towns like Tofino and Jasper, you'll have your work cut out for you.
>>>>>>And can anyone suggest a suitable itinerary (we'll be hiring a car) for around 16 nights?<<<<<<
Doing the circuit that you want to do in that time frame is borderline. What I mean is that you can physically drive the distance, but you'd have to be awfully efficient to cover the distance AND have quality time (time for hiking, etc.). As I said, it's borderline.
You could consider doing a circuit of Vancouver - Vancouver Island - Whistler - Vancouver OR ELSE doing a circuit of Vancouver - Rockies - Vancouver. If you did one of those circuits (either excluding the Rockies or Vancouver Island), it would allow you to cover the ground in more depth, do more outdoor activities at each destination, and so on.
Be that as it may, I'll give you a suggested itinerary that is tight, in that it covers the full circuit that you claim you want to do in the amount of time that you claim you want to do it in.
I forget when the cut off time for ferry reservations is. I seem to recall its being quite far in advance. There is an eternal debate as to whether or not you need ferry reservations. Many people feel you need them on summer weekends. I lean to the opinion that they are useful on any summer day. If it was my trip, I would try to secure ferry reservations just as soon as I'd figured out my itinerary (if, indeed I'd decided to keep Vancouver Island in my itinerary).
Most other activities do not have to be booked too far in advance.
More in next post .......
Jul 17th, 2007, 07:03 PM
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Suggested itinerary:
Day 1 - Land in Vancouver.
Day 2 - Visit Vancouver’s centrally located attractions (Stanley Park, Granville Island Market, Yaletown and Robson Street).
Don’t bother with Gastown or Chinatown.
Don’t bother with Grouse Mountain. An expensive and totally unnecessary outing if you in any case will be going to Whistler.
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is a free and very charming spot, but you don’t have time to visit it and, besides that, you don’t need to visit it if you are going to be experiencing Vancouver Island and Whistler.
Give expensive and touristy Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge a wide berth.
Day 3 - Catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo / Departure Bay and drive to Tofino on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island.
Day 4 - Explore Tofino's environs (whale watching cruise, hiking in old growth temperate rainforests, surfing, etc.).
Day 5 - More Tofino.
Day 6 - Cross from Departure Bay / Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, and drive to Whistler.
Expect this to take 7.5 hours door to door even if you don’t stop for a meal or to view scenic lookout points on the way.
However, I recommend stopping to see Shannon Falls just before Squamish and Brandywine Falls just before Whistler.
Day 7 - Drive to Clearwater.
Visit Nairn Falls just before the first town beyond Whistler, which is Pemberton. That stop will require about an hour.
If you cannot find a vacancy in Clearwater, consider spending the night in the quite large town of Kamloops (but reserve ahead if it's a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday night because the Rocky Mountaineer train passengers occupy quite a few hotel and motel rooms) or else the mountain resort town of Sun Peaks.
Day 8 - Drive to Jasper (with two-hour detour at Clearwater to see Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park).
Day 9 - Explore Jasper National Park.
Day 10 - Drive the Icefields Parkway (Hwy #93) to Lake Louise. Stay in Lake Louise, Banff townsite or Canmore (in that order of preference, according to my taste).
Days 11, 12 & 13 - From your chosen base, explore the Canmore - Banff townsite - Lake Louise - Yoho National Park area.
Day 14 - Drive to the Okanagan Valley (Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos or such).
Day 15 - Relax in the Okanagan Valley (think lakes, beaches, boating, wineries, etc.).
Day 16 - Drive to Vancouver; catch homebound flight. This assumes a late afternoon / early evening departure for the UK. Allow plenty of time to drive to Vancouver Airport.
Use Map Quest to calculate the driving time from whichever town you used as a base in the Okanagan Valley to Richmond, where Vancouver Airport is located. It most likely will be somewhere in the order of 5 hours.
Add an hour for lunch. Add an hour for contingencies. Allow 3 hours for check in.
This probably means departing from the Okanagan about 10 hours before your flight’s departure time.
If the logistics are too awkward for that, I suggest abbreviating your Banff / Lake Louise stay by one day so that you can drive back to Vancouver on the day before your flight.
TOFINO
Do not go there unless you can spend a minimum of 3 nights there.
VICTORIA
Victoria is a charming little city at the southeast tip of Vancouver Island. One of its claims to fame is that it is the most "English" town in North America. Utter nonsense to anyone who has actually been to England. It has no place on a 16-day itinerary that attempts to cover Vancouver Island AND the Rockies. If you drop the Rockies from your plans, then by all means include Victoria.
SIGHT SEEING IN THE ROCKIES
If you read the sample itineraries on my website, you'll find suggestions on what to see and do in the Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and Yoho National Park areas and along the Icefields Parkway, the road that connects Jasper and Lake Louise.
http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips
WHAT TO PACK
Go to the TIPS page of my website to find out what to pack for the Canadian Rockies and to find other practical advice about the area.
Hope that helps.
Day 1 - Land in Vancouver.
Day 2 - Visit Vancouver’s centrally located attractions (Stanley Park, Granville Island Market, Yaletown and Robson Street).
Don’t bother with Gastown or Chinatown.
Don’t bother with Grouse Mountain. An expensive and totally unnecessary outing if you in any case will be going to Whistler.
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is a free and very charming spot, but you don’t have time to visit it and, besides that, you don’t need to visit it if you are going to be experiencing Vancouver Island and Whistler.
Give expensive and touristy Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge a wide berth.
Day 3 - Catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo / Departure Bay and drive to Tofino on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island.
Day 4 - Explore Tofino's environs (whale watching cruise, hiking in old growth temperate rainforests, surfing, etc.).
Day 5 - More Tofino.
Day 6 - Cross from Departure Bay / Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, and drive to Whistler.
Expect this to take 7.5 hours door to door even if you don’t stop for a meal or to view scenic lookout points on the way.
However, I recommend stopping to see Shannon Falls just before Squamish and Brandywine Falls just before Whistler.
Day 7 - Drive to Clearwater.
Visit Nairn Falls just before the first town beyond Whistler, which is Pemberton. That stop will require about an hour.
If you cannot find a vacancy in Clearwater, consider spending the night in the quite large town of Kamloops (but reserve ahead if it's a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday night because the Rocky Mountaineer train passengers occupy quite a few hotel and motel rooms) or else the mountain resort town of Sun Peaks.
Day 8 - Drive to Jasper (with two-hour detour at Clearwater to see Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park).
Day 9 - Explore Jasper National Park.
Day 10 - Drive the Icefields Parkway (Hwy #93) to Lake Louise. Stay in Lake Louise, Banff townsite or Canmore (in that order of preference, according to my taste).
Days 11, 12 & 13 - From your chosen base, explore the Canmore - Banff townsite - Lake Louise - Yoho National Park area.
Day 14 - Drive to the Okanagan Valley (Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos or such).
Day 15 - Relax in the Okanagan Valley (think lakes, beaches, boating, wineries, etc.).
Day 16 - Drive to Vancouver; catch homebound flight. This assumes a late afternoon / early evening departure for the UK. Allow plenty of time to drive to Vancouver Airport.
Use Map Quest to calculate the driving time from whichever town you used as a base in the Okanagan Valley to Richmond, where Vancouver Airport is located. It most likely will be somewhere in the order of 5 hours.
Add an hour for lunch. Add an hour for contingencies. Allow 3 hours for check in.
This probably means departing from the Okanagan about 10 hours before your flight’s departure time.
If the logistics are too awkward for that, I suggest abbreviating your Banff / Lake Louise stay by one day so that you can drive back to Vancouver on the day before your flight.
TOFINO
Do not go there unless you can spend a minimum of 3 nights there.
VICTORIA
Victoria is a charming little city at the southeast tip of Vancouver Island. One of its claims to fame is that it is the most "English" town in North America. Utter nonsense to anyone who has actually been to England. It has no place on a 16-day itinerary that attempts to cover Vancouver Island AND the Rockies. If you drop the Rockies from your plans, then by all means include Victoria.
SIGHT SEEING IN THE ROCKIES
If you read the sample itineraries on my website, you'll find suggestions on what to see and do in the Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and Yoho National Park areas and along the Icefields Parkway, the road that connects Jasper and Lake Louise.
http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips
WHAT TO PACK
Go to the TIPS page of my website to find out what to pack for the Canadian Rockies and to find other practical advice about the area.
Hope that helps.
Jul 18th, 2007, 11:16 PM
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Thank you so much Judy, that is so helpful! We really appreciate it. Your itinerary looks amazing, and all the advice on your website is brilliant. We take the point about whether it's sensible to squeeze all this in, in the time available, though. If we could stretch our dates a bit to include a couple more nights, and to get a very late flight back out of Vancouver, where would you use the extra time? Could we break up some of the longest driving times (e.g. vancouver island to whistler)?
Also, does it help at all with cutting down driving times to be able to fly into Vancouver and out of Calgary, or vice versa?
many thanks!
Also, does it help at all with cutting down driving times to be able to fly into Vancouver and out of Calgary, or vice versa?
many thanks!
Jul 19th, 2007, 12:53 PM
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Check the website Brewster tours for day trips from Jasper. I took the Airproter Brewster from Jasper train station for a day at the Columbia Icefields,Make Sure yu drive the Icefields Parkway too.Lots of free info at the JASPER TOWNSITE.
Jul 19th, 2007, 01:01 PM
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Try the flights from London Gatwick or Heathrow to Seattle,take 4-5 hour QUICK SHUTTLE to Vancouver airport from Seattle Airprot.Do drive the route from Nanaimo to Tofino,very scenic and check the Pacifc Rim National park near Tofino and Jamies whaling station in TOfino.Ucluelet is another city on Vancouver Island. If you can try the VIA rail train from Vancouver to Jasper,then pick up car in Jasper right at the station, VIA RAIL.COM
