Explore Alaskan and Rocky Mountaineer

Banff is regarded as one of North America’s loveliest small towns and makes a wonderful base for exploring the scenic surrounding area. With a charming and friendly atmosphere, you’ll want to spend the day exploring on foot - but we have bigger plans. Today we head out on an excursion to Lake Louise - known as ‘the jewel of the Rockies’. Named after Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter, Lake Louise is one of Canada’s most beloved attractions and perhaps the most picturesque body of water in the world. The best view is from the chateau on the eastern shore, where you can snap a postcard-pretty view of snow-capped mountains and picturesque pine forests. This is just a sample of the natural glory of Banff National Park.

Royal Canadian Lodge, Banff (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Tour of Banff with Lake Louise (all day)

Take a day to yourself to browse the craft shops, boutiques, cafés and restaurants of Banff. Or you could join an optional gondola ride to Sulphur Mountain for an amazing bird’s-eye view of six mountain ranges.

Royal Canadian Lodge, Banff (4-star)

We journey north through the Rockies to Jasper, with captivating vistas unfolding at every turn of the road. En route we make a stop at the Columbia Icefield for a unique Ice Explorer ride on the surface of the Athabasca Glacier (weather permitting). The vehicle’s expert driver teaches us about glaciers, icefields and the environment. There’s also a chance to safely hop off and stand on this icy giant. We’ll arrive in Jasper later this afternoon.

Crimson Hotel, Jasper (3.5-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure (afternoon)

Jasper National Park is one of Canada’s oldest and largest, brimming with cultural treasures and miracles of nature. Our guide will take us deep into the park, where we’ll gawp at the dramatic Maligne Canyon, pause for a moment of peace at Medicine Lake and - another icon of world travel - Maligne Lake. Surrounded by mountains and glaciers, you’ll really get the feeling of being in the middle of this great wilderness. We’ll enjoy an interpretative talk at dinner this evening.

Crimson Hotel, Jasper (3.5-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Jasper National Park (morning)
Interpretative talk during dinner (evening)

Dinner

Step on board the renowned Rocky Mountaineer train today for a railway ride unlike any you’ve taken before. Sink back into your seat and get ready for the breathtaking scenes that await as we wind our way through the Canadian Rockies over the next two days. This exhilarating journey between Jasper and Vancouver is punctuated with an overnight in Kamloops.

We’ll dart between valleys and lake shores, over mountain passes, through forests and remarkable tunnels hewn from the rock. On this part of the journey, look out for the towering peak of Mount Robson, the Albreda Icefields’ expansive glaciers, the Pyramid Falls and the snow-capped Monashee peaks.

Hotel in Kamloops

Today includes…

Breakfast & Lunch

On the menu for today’s scenic feast: the lush green fields of Fraser Valley, Coast and Cascade mountains, the steep slopes of the Thompson River and tumbling waters of Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon. After all that you’ll want a rest, so you have the afternoon at leisure in Vancouver.

Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel (4-star)

Today includes…

Breakfast & Lunch

There’ll be more time to explore Vancouver at the end of our cruise, but this morning is at leisure to gather memorable first impressions of a city before we board our ship. You’ll have some time to get acquainted with the ship before we set sail late afternoon.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Today includes…

Lunch & Dinner

Today we intrepidly explore the awe-inspiring panoramas of Canada’s Inside Passage, a peaceful and picturesque ‘marine highway’ between British Columbia’s islands and mainland. Look out for intricate fjords, dense forests and snow-topped mountains. There’s plenty of wildlife to spot, too. Harbour seals, humpback whales and swooping eagles call this beautiful area home.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Today includes…

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

Sightings of whales, seals and sure-footed mountain goats are likely today as the ship makes its way through narrow waterways to Juneau, Alaska’s state capital since 1906. Though it covers a large area, this cosmopolitan city has a surprisingly small population. Juneau’s location, in the heart of the Tongass National Forest and at the foot of the towering mountains that overlook Gastineau Channel, makes it a memorable visit.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

Skagway was the coastal gateway to the goldfields of the Klondike during the ‘rush’ of the late 1890s and this ‘boom town’ owes its size and prominence to those thousands of fortune-seekers on the Chilkoot Trail. In its boardwalks, pebble streets and turn-of-the-century buildings, the town has captured an ambience of those frantic times.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

There can be few more inspiring sights to greet you on waking than Glacier Bay National Park. This morning, you’ll find yourself in the midst of towering mountains, magnificent tidewater glaciers, vast icebergs and an abundance of wildlife - a paradise for photographers, artists, birdwatchers and anyone who appreciates the majesty and beauty of the natural world.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

Beautifully located, Ketchikan stretches like a ribbon along the shoreline below Deer Mountain - so remote that it may only be reached by sea or air. Echoes of pioneer days still haunt the historic Creek Street area. But these days, Ketchikan is better known for its extraordinary collection of tribal totems and its salmon production. As ‘the salmon capital of the world’, it is the perfect place to sample the freshest and most delicious wild fish.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

We return southwards through Canada’s Inside Passage on a last full day at sea, with more epic views from the deck or time to enjoy the ship’s fine facilities.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner

Lapped by the Pacific Ocean on one side and overlooked by mountains on the other, Vancouver isn’t your average grid-iron sprawl. Both historically interesting and cutting edge - with the most dramatic setting you could think of, there’s a reason why we save this Canadian city until last. We hop off the ship this morning and head straight into our orientation tour of the city for all the standout highlights. This afternoon is free for you to explore independently.

Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel (4-star)

Excursions & visits: Vancouver orientation tour (morning)

Breakfast

Today is free to make your own discoveries in Vancouver. Or join an optional excursion to Vancouver Island, to view Butchart Gardens with its display of flowering trees and shrubs, and also explore Victoria, one of Canada’s most beautiful cities. Amongst its many attractions are the British Columbia Museum, Thunderbird Park and the Parliament Buildings.

Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel (4-star)

Enjoy a further leisurely morning, with some time for shopping, before we transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK.

Vancouver - In flight