Beatriz_Madrid

Hi,

I've just found this website and got amazed with the great advices you provide to people travelling around West Canada. I couldn't avoid registering inmediatly and take profit of your experience before engaging with any route.

My husband and I are travelling from Spain next Sunday. We will spend a week in Chicago and then fly to Canada: we are arriving the night of 11th August to Vancouver and leave the morning of 23(12 nights after) from Calgary.

We have only booked first night's accommodation (11 August)in Vancouver as it's so complicated deciding what to do next day/wha's the best way to ensure we don't miss all wonders there within a reasonible timeframe!!

We don't want to spend much time in cities but quality and peaceful moments in contact with the forests, mountains, nature, bears, sealife!!! ... Taking a look to some guides and travel agency brochures it seemes to me that one day in Vancouver would be enough and visiting Tofino, Whistler, Blue River and Jasper, Yoho and Bank parks could be a nice ride. What we don't know is how much time we need to spend in each place, how much time we should consider driving from one place to the other, whether there are smaller towns to spend nights (between main "touristic" destinations), what's the best place to do some outdoor activities (rafting, bear & wales watching..)...

I would really appreciate your advice !!!

Thanks a million in advance and looking forward having news from you

Bea

murphey

Hi Bea. If you look down the thread a bit you will see a posting on driving from Calgary to Vancouver. You will get some great advice from that thread so I will not repeat it here.

If you can afford it I would recommend arranging a flight from Vancouver to Tofino. Tofino is one of my favourite places, but it will take a day to get there from Vancouver by car, and of course a day back, and that will not leave you with enough time to spend there and really appreciate what it has to offer. If you go, take the cruise out to hotsprings cove - you can do some whale watching and then enjoy a nice hike through the forest to a natural hotsprings. It is heaven.

When driving to Calgary, I recommend the northern route that will take you through Jasper. You can then drive south to Banff on the Icefields Parkway, and then over to Calgary for your trip home. Both Jasper and Banff are quite crowded this time of year so if you are planning on staying in hotels I recommend you book them now before you leave. Actually the same goes for Tofino.

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello Bea,

I second murphey's advice.

Here is an itinerary that would fit in what you say you want to see and that also would follow that northern route to Jasper that murphey recommended.

Aug 11, 12 – Vancouver

Aug 13, 14, 15 – Tofino

Aug 16 – Whistler

Aug 17 – Kamloops

Aug 18, 19 – Jasper

Aug 20, 21 – Lake Louise or Banff or Canmore

Aug 22 – Calgary

Aug 23 – Leave Calgary

I agree with murphey that it is imperative to line up accommodation in Tofino and Jasper as soon as possible.

There is a lot more information about Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies at my website:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips

Most of the suggested itineraries on my site list the main landmarks in Jasper, Yoho and Banff National Parks.

The TIPS section of my site has information on weather, what to pack, national park entry fees, driving distances and times, links to other websites, etc.

Also check out Paul Beddows "Circular Route" through British Columbia and the Alberta Rockies. The first half of his recommended circular route provides directions for the journey from Whistler to Jasper.

http://www.vancouver.hm/drivebc.html

If you go on a whale watching cruise at Tofino, you also may see bears. There is a chance, but no guarantee, that you may see a bear or bears in the Rockies. But I would not want to meet a bear if I was hiking. I've been fortunate enough not to encounter bears during hikes in the Rockies. As luck would have it, I've seen them only from the safety of my car.

A good place to go white water rafting is the Kicking Horse River in Yoho National Park. You could do that from your base in Lake Louise or Banff.

Beatriz_Madrid

Thank you both for your quick answer and great advices.

I've checked the prices for Vacouver to Tofino's flights as murphey recommends. The difference is huge (around $360 one way flight for two people against 120 return tickets for both by ferry...) I think we will consider getting up veary early for first ferry (9 am) and drive from Namaino to Tofino (2 hours) stopping in Coombs and Grove's Cathedral - I would say that we could arrive early in the afternoon to Tofino doing that --- does it make sense?

I've sent a dozen of emails to different resorts and b&bs in tofino to check availability for 13 and 14 August. I've asked also for outdoor activities there: whale watching, kayaking, hiking... Let's see if I get responses today and we can close that part of the trip.

Regarding the way to the Rockies I'm still thinking whether we should or shouldn't spend a night in Whistler. It seems to me that all we will find there is a crowded touristic village that I'm afraid will not differ too much to other sky resources in Europe - On the other side I've found some articles about doing snorking and diving (which we r relly fun of) in Kamploos and have sent also a couple of emails to ask for more details... Do you think that one night in Kamploos and another in Sunpeaks or Blue River would be a better option or would you still go for the night in Whistler? what would you recommend?

Regarding the 3 nights in Jasper and 2 in Banff... could you give me any advice for a good place to stay in? (something out of the main cities but in a fair location to take as base to move around)?

Thanks a million!!!

PS: Judy, I've downloaded all the maps from your website! you are amazing!!

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello again Bea,

>>>>>>Regarding the way to the Rockies I'm still thinking whether we should or shouldn't spend a night in Whistler. It seems to me that all we will find there is a crowded touristic village that I'm afraid will not differ too much to other sky resources in Europe<<<<<<

I sympathize with your reservations about Whistler. I would not call Whistler crowded. It is a very tasteful mountain resort town. In fact it has been arranged in such a way that cars are not allowed inside the main village, which is a pedestrian-only zone. That is a very nice arrangement, in my opinion. That said, when I recently visited it for the first time, I found the town to be a very “yuppie” and upscale environment, and it did not appeal to me (although the mountains, forests, waterfalls, biking trails and other natural elements in the area were just awesome).

The reason to include Whistler as an overnight stop in your trip is not for the sake of visiting Whistler itself. Rather, it is to break up your drives into manageable chunks that reasonably can be accomplished in one day each.

Getting from Tofino to Whistler takes about 8.5 hours. It takes 3 hours to drive from Tofino to Nanaimo / Departure Bay, where you have to catch the ferry. Even if you have a reservation, which I recommend, you should arrive at the ferry terminal at least 45 minutes prior to sailing, let’s say a full hour before sailing to be on the safe side. The ferry crossing takes 1.5 hours. You should be able to disembark from the ferry at Horseshoe Bay within a few minutes, but let’s play it safe and assume that takes up to 30 minutes. Then you have a 2-hour drive from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler. Your drive to Whistler would be greatly enhanced if you were to stop at Shannon Falls just before Squamish and at Brandywyne Falls just before Whistler. Give yourselves about an hour (30 minutes each) to see the waterfalls.

You should not attempt to get to Kamloops, which is almost another 5 hours beyond Whistler, on the day on which you leave Tofino. Between Whistler and Kamloops, you would encounter some steep inclines, especially between Pemberton and Lillooet. The scenery is beautiful and deserves a few stops. Besides that, the drive requires concentration.

If you don’t want to stay in Whistler, you could go to the next town, which is Pemberton, and which is <b>much</b> smaller and more modest than Whistler. It is 45 minutes beyond Whistler. There is a gorgeous waterfall, Nairn Falls, just before Pemberton. You would need about 45 minutes to walk to Nairn Falls, look around, and walk back again. So continuing from Whistler to Pemberton, assuming you include Nairn Falls, will add 1.5 hours to your day.

More in next post ............

Judy_in_Calgary

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;On the other side I've found some articles about doing snorking and diving (which we r relly fun of) in Kamploos and have sent also a couple of emails to ask for more details. Do you think that one night in Kamploos and another in Sunpeaks or Blue River would be a better option or would you still go for the night in Whistler?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don’t think you understand where these places are in relation to each other, the distances amongst them, and how difficult it would be to include overnight stops at these places and still fit in everything else you want to see (Tofino, Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff).

I don’t know what diving you’ve read about in or near Kamloops. Perhaps you’ve read about the stromatolites in Pavillion Lake between Lillooet and Cache Creek. That’s not exactly near Kamloops, but it’s on the way from Whistler to Kamloops. You possibly could go for a dive there on the day that your drove from Whistler / Pemberton to Kamloops. The nominal driving time from Pemberton to Kamloops is 4 hours, so fitting in a dive sounds feasible to me.

There is no point in spending a night in Kamloops <b>and</b> another night in Sun Peaks. Sun Peaks is a ski resort an hour’s drive from Kamloops. I suppose you could spend a night there instead of staying in the city of Kamloops.

Blue River would be a nice place for an overnight stop. It’s on the way from Kamloops to Jasper. It’s 3 hours from Kamloops and 2.5 hours from Jasper. But again you bump up against the problem of fitting in everything that you want to do. If you want to get from Tofino to Calgary in the amount of time that you’ve stated, I feel you need to do the drive from Kamloops to Jasper in one day. I suggest that you take a couple of hours on that day to do a detour into Wells Gray Provincial Park, near Clearwater, to see Helmcken Falls.


&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Regarding the 3 nights in Jasper and 2 in Banff... could you give me any advice for a good place to stay in? (something out of the main cities but in a fair location to take as base to move around)?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

Jasper is a town of about 5,000 people. It is the best base from which to see the sights in Jasper National Park. If you will be there on a visit as short as yours, there is no other base that is as suitable. Valemount and Mount Robson to the west are too far away, as are Jasper East and Hinton to the east. Besides that, Hinton, which used to provide overflow accommodation for Jasper (albeit accommodation that was too far away to be convenient in my opinion), now is clogged up with oil industry workers. It’s no longer that easy to find a reservation even in Hinton. Jasper has several chalet-style properties that are a couple of kilometers outside of the town, and you might enjoy staying in one of them. They include Alpine Village, Becker’s Chalets, Jasper House Bungalows, Patricia Lake Bungalows and Pine Bungalows, amongst others.

If you want to get away from Banff townsite’s tourist crowds, your best bet is to stay in the Lake Louise area. Lake Louise is a small village about 45 minutes from Banff townsite. Good properties there include Baker Creek Chalets, which are in the forest, 10 minutes’ drive from Lake Louise village, Paradise Lodge and Bungalows, which are half way between the village of Lake Louise and the lake of Lake Louise, so about 2.5 km from each, and Deer Lodge, which is close to the lake of Lake Louise. Another option would be staying in a B&amp;B in the hamlet of Field, British Columbia, about 20 minutes west of Lake Louise, if you can find accommodation there at this late date. Still another option would be Emerald Lake Lodge, which is in a secluded spot a few km outside of Field, BC. Lake Louise and Field are in the heart of wonderful hiking territory.

Like Tofino, Jasper, Lake Louise and Field would be challenging places in which to find accommodation at this stage of the game.

You can use Map Quest ( www.mapquest.ca ) to find out driving distances and times.

Hope that helps.

Beatriz_Madrid

Wow! thanks a million Judy. Yeah, I think we are going for Pemberton! Also I think it will be easier to ensure accommodation there than in posh Whistler
Thanks also for all your advice to book on Jasper &amp; Banff. I will spend more time tomorrow with that part of the trip. Just to let you know, we have finally booked the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo the 12 at 9:30pm. We will ensure we have a full day to visit Vancouver and will travel that night to Nanaimo. We have booked a great b&amp;b there so we will do the way to Tofino early in the morning, after some rest. Now difficult part is finding 2 other nights accommodation in Tofino (I'm thinking now that maybe last night (14) could be again in Nanaimo...)

Ah, just last query (sorry to bother you with so many questions!!!!) : I've found a website offering multiple adventure packages (THE GREAT CANADIAN ADVENTURE COMPANY: http://www.adventures.com/): Do you know them? I have emailed them and they offer to organize my trip and accommodations if I send them a VISA Number... do you think they are trusty?
Thanks a million for all your help!!!

Judy_in_Calgary

I had never heard of The Great Canadian Adventure Company before. Their website provides a toll free number (at least it is toll free for me), so I called it.

The man who answered the phone was John. He was friendly, seemingly knowledgeable, and patient in answering my questions. Although the only information I have to go on is the company's website and my phone conversation with John, my &quot;gut feeling&quot; is positive.

I told John that something that worried me about your posts was that on the one hand you conveyed the impression that you were someone who liked outdoor acitivites (rafting, diving, etc.), but on the other hand you also were trying to travel at a pace that was too fast to allow time for those kinds of activities.

John agreed with me that the amount of territory you wanted to cover in under two weeks would allow you to drive around and see the scenery on the way, but it would not allow you much time for outdoor pursuits.

He and I agreed that, with that kind of time frame, you would be better off if you confined yourself to Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Coast Mountains near Vancouver. Then, on a future trip, you could visit the Rockies.

However, if you already are committed to your flights into Vancouver and out of Calgary, you'll have to work with the arrangements you have put in place.

If I were in your shoes, I believe I would be comfortable working with The Great Canadian Adventure Company. Tell them what you would like to accomplish, and I believe they have the experience to suggest how best you can accomplish what you want to accomplish.

Now that you've made what I consider to be a less than ideal arrangement, by trying to cram too much into a short time, your next best solution is to listen to someone who knows the area and take their advice regarding what you should include and exclude from your trip. Well, that's my opinion at least.

Hope that helps.