British Columbia – A Land for All Seasons

British Columbia and Canada’s Western regions have something for everyone.  Flying to Vancouver, the capital of British Columbia, is easy from Australia and is a great starting point for an incredible range of holidays.

It’s worth spending a few days just around Vancouver.  It is situated on a beautiful harbour and has Victoria, on Vancouver Island, on its doorstep.  Victoria is a throw back to last century with Victorian architecture and beautiful gardens.  From Vancouver you can tour the Western Rockies, with a range of options depending on how many days are available.  One great tour for about 5-7 days takes you from Vancouver to Kamloops, to Jasper and then down to Banff passing through the Columbia Icefield and Lake Louise.  From Banff you can head on to Calgary, home to the world’s largest rodeo, before returning to Kamloops and Vancouver.  The trip takes you through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world.

There are several options for touring this area, including self-drive and coach.  One way to see it is by train.  The Rocky Mountaineer is a great rail journey allowing you to take in the scenery from the comfort of the viewing car.  They offer two classes of service, Red Leaf and Gold Leaf.  Both classes include all meals during the journey with Gold Leaf offering full silver service.  Both have great big viewing windows with the Gold Leaf offering the amazing glass-top dome carriages, making this trip one of the world’s most sought after rail journeys.

In winter skiing options abound.  From Vancouver skiers can choose from world-class skiing at places like Whistler, Sun Peaks, Big White and Banff Lake Louise.

If none of this appeals to you (you are getting pretty picky!), another option from Vancouver is cruising the west coast of Canada through the Inside Passage to Alaska.  This is one of the world’s great cruising experiences.  If you’ve got two weeks and want to see it all, why not do both?  You can tour by coach from Vancouver to Prince Rainer, taking in the Rockies and the best of British Columbia before cruising back through the Inside Passage to Vancouver Island and Vancouver.

Whichever way you look at it there is something for everyone for all seasons so for prices and details please contact us at Travelscene Samford on 32893700.  Don’t forget you can now redeem your American Express reward points through their new Travelkey Programme to pay for all your travel needs.