Canada 2025

We went on a Fly Drive holiday from Calgary to Vancouver.

All the organisation was done by My Canada Trips.  The booking experience was brilliant, they listened to what we wanted, on a couple of occasions, made suggestions which were the right thing to do.  We needed to make a change of hotels to cut down on the driving between Jasper and Whistler and they made the change in less than a day.  The hotels were all at least very good and always in great locations, near the centre of town, and some of the hotels were truly exceptional.    They included a number of activities in the package and these were some of the highlights of the holiday.  If you are reading this thanks Jennifer! and all the team who helped us.

It was one of the most amazing holidays I have ever had.  The Rockies were amazing: The Icefields Parkway, the Lakes, the glaciers, the waterfalls, Kootenay, Yoho, West Grey. Then onto Whistler and the Peak to Peak Gondola.  Then it was over to Vancouver Island, and the rugged beauty of the Pacific Rim, and wildlife trips.  Before finishing at the very different cities of Victoria and Vancouver.

The online resources to plan the trip were incredibly useful in identifying places to visit.  The Banff Blog became my reference guide for the Rockies there was just so much useful information.  The various Facebook groups provided a huge amount of up to date information about the conditions of places we were visiting. 

In total, we covered 2,550km (1,585 miles).  The longest drive was from Clearwater to Whistler at around 465km.  The longest day was Emerald Lake to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, at nearly 10 hours, but there were a few stops on the way. 

We had some great weather, especially in the Rockies with temperatures in the 30s; We also had issues with wildfire smoke from Jasper to the coast; The worst weather was probably the two days in Ucluelet. I did come back with unworn fleeces and trousers and had to buy a fourth pair of shorts!

Itinerary

27 August: Heathrow to Calgary

27-29 August: Banff 

30-31 August: Emerald Lake

01-02 September: Jasper

03 September: Clearwater

04-05 September: Whistler

06 September: Parksville

07-08 September: Ucluelet

09-10 September: Victoria

11 September: Vancouver

12 September: Vancouver to Heathrow

 

The story, and pictiures from the trip:

Banff including Sunshine Meadows - Click Here

Banff Hop On Hop Off bus - Lake Louise and Moraine Lake - Click Here.

Kootenay - Stanley Glacier, Marble Canyon, Paint Pots, Numa Falls - Click Here

Yoho - Natural Bridge, Emerald Lake, Takkakaw Falls, Wapta Falls - Click Here

Icefields Parkway. - Click Here

Jasper - Maligne Lake - Click Here

Jasper to Whistler - Clearwater - Wells Grey - The Chasm - Seton lake - Duffey Lake - Click Here

Whistler, Peak to Peak - Click Here

Vancouver Island - Parksville and Ucluelet - Click Here, 

Victoria - Butchart Gardens - Click Here

Vancouver - Capilano Park - Click Here