Opinions pleas: July 8 day trip-Whistler? Lake Louise?Vancouver? San Juans?
May 6th, 2009, 06:58 AM
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Opinions pleas: July 8 day trip-Whistler? Lake Louise?Vancouver? San Juans?
We will be visiting our daughter who is spending the summer in the San Juan Islands, flying from NYC area. We are not hikers but love the outdoors, kayaking and gondolas.
We hope to start or conclude our trip within a few hours of Friendly Harbor/Anacortes WA. We will have about a week plus to spend prior to that visit.
Trying to decide between Banff/Lake Louise, Whistler/Vancouver or maybe Bamff/San Juans.
In terms of weather, lodging, beauty, etc. what would you do?
Other ideas happily accepted. Accomodation recommendations would be great too.
Thanks!
We hope to start or conclude our trip within a few hours of Friendly Harbor/Anacortes WA. We will have about a week plus to spend prior to that visit.
Trying to decide between Banff/Lake Louise, Whistler/Vancouver or maybe Bamff/San Juans.
In terms of weather, lodging, beauty, etc. what would you do?
Other ideas happily accepted. Accomodation recommendations would be great too.
Thanks!
May 6th, 2009, 06:28 PM
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It's been three years since we were there but, we (my husband, 10 year old daughter and I) stayed at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It was stunning. The poppies were in bloom and the weather was perfect. It was one of our favorite vacations, and we have been a lot of places.
We started the trip in Calgary. We stayed downtown, shopped, ate, and went to a dinosaur dig in the bad lands. We were there three days, then moved to Lake Louise.
We spent a week at the Chateau. The first two days just hanging around property: we walked the shoreline (very easy), hiked up to a tea house (Lake Agnes - hike to the ''highest tearoom in the Rockies'' ... it was the best strawberry tea ever, but a little more energy than the lakeline), went out on the lake in a canoe and had spa treatments...were generally lazy.
The rest of the week we did little day trips from Lake Louise: we went to the Columbia ice fields (the explorer tour... very worth the money and something we still talk about), went to BC to some waterfall, shopped in Banff and went up in the Sulphur Mountain gondola, visited cave and basin and drove to Moraine Lake.
Those were pretty much the highlights.
The beauty of the area is something you will always remember. Of course, I have heard that about Whistler too.
Hope this helps and you have fun!
We started the trip in Calgary. We stayed downtown, shopped, ate, and went to a dinosaur dig in the bad lands. We were there three days, then moved to Lake Louise.
We spent a week at the Chateau. The first two days just hanging around property: we walked the shoreline (very easy), hiked up to a tea house (Lake Agnes - hike to the ''highest tearoom in the Rockies'' ... it was the best strawberry tea ever, but a little more energy than the lakeline), went out on the lake in a canoe and had spa treatments...were generally lazy.
The rest of the week we did little day trips from Lake Louise: we went to the Columbia ice fields (the explorer tour... very worth the money and something we still talk about), went to BC to some waterfall, shopped in Banff and went up in the Sulphur Mountain gondola, visited cave and basin and drove to Moraine Lake.
Those were pretty much the highlights.
The beauty of the area is something you will always remember. Of course, I have heard that about Whistler too.
Hope this helps and you have fun!
May 11th, 2009, 06:17 AM
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I would take a ferry from the San Juans to Sidney, then drive to Victoria. This is a small pretty city with a decidedly English flavor. After a couple of days, I would drive to Nanaimo, then take the ferry to Horseshoe Bay, which is about 1.5 hours from Whistler. I'd spend a few days there, taking the Whistler gondola high up on that mountain, then the spectacular 'Peak to Peak' gondola, which is suspended between Whistler and the adjacent Blackcomb Mtn. You could decide to spend a day or two in Vancouver as well, which is has a bunch of interesting locations.
I've also done a similar trip to Kendra's and it is admittedly spectacularly scenic; more so than the trip I've outlined. Still, it seems more sensible to check out what is within short driving distance of the San Juans. The ferry rides are fun, as is the driving scenery.
I've also done a similar trip to Kendra's and it is admittedly spectacularly scenic; more so than the trip I've outlined. Still, it seems more sensible to check out what is within short driving distance of the San Juans. The ferry rides are fun, as is the driving scenery.
