Canadian Rockies & Vancouver with Calgary Stampede pre-tour stopover

You will stay in hotels such as the Sandman Hotel South in Calgary, Rundlestone Lodge in Banff, Amethyst Lodge in Jasper, the Hotel Five Forty in Kamloops and the Empire Landmark Hotel in Vancouver. Hotel standards are extremely high in Canada. All rooms feature private facilities, TV, telephone and coffee-making facilities. There is a restaurant and/or bar in each hotel. Hotels will be confirmed in your final documents.

You will stay for three nights at the Sandman Hotel or similar. You will enjoy the two-hour parade as colourful floats pass the grandstand, attend a rodeo and an evening Chuckwagon show, which ends with a spectacular firework display.

Day 1: UK/Calgary

Depart on your scheduled flight to Calgary. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Calgary for a three night stay.

Days 2 - 3: Calgary Stampede Parade

You will stay for three nights at the Sandman Hotel or similar. You will enjoy the two-hour parade as colourful floats pass the grandstand, attend a rodeo and an evening Chuckwagon show, which ends with a spectacular firework display..

Your afternoon rodeo seating is in the Platinum section and the seating for the evening shows in the Gold section.

You will then transfer to Banff where you will begin the main tour itinerary.

Please note: This special departure is offered on a room only basis and will be accompanied by a Tour Manager.

Day 4: Calgary/Banff

Leave Calgary and transfer to Banff for a three night stay.

Day 5: Banff

This morning you will be taken on an included sightseeing tour of Banff. This takes you to Surprise Corner, the Hoodoos and the Bow River.

During your stay enjoy an interesting programme of optional excursions is available to give you the opportunity to see as much as possible of the spectacular Rockies scenery.

Day 6: Lake Louise

Full-day optional excursion to Lake Louise, described by many writers as the most beautiful place in Canada - a glacial, jade-green lake, high in the mountains surrounded on all sides by towering peaks

Day 7: Jasper

We head north along one of North America’s most majestic highways. At times, the Banff-Jasper Highway reaches nearly 7,000ft above sea level, whilst the great mountain ranges flanking both sides of the highway soar to more than 11,000ft. A stop will be made at the Great Columbia Icefield for the opportunity to take an Ice Explorer ride across the Athabasca Glacier. Early evening arrival in Jasper for a twonight stay.

Day 8: Jasper

Free in Jasper, a former railroad town and now the focal point of its own breathtakingly beautiful national park. Optional excursions include a tour of Jasper, a visit to the spectacular Maligne Lake, and a nature walk in Jasper with experienced guides. The more adventurous can join the unique Athabasca River Raft Tour, shooting the rapids on a two hour adventure down the glacial river - don’t worry, it’s not as dangerous as it sounds! (subject to season).

Day 9: Kamloops

We travel over the Yellow Head Pass and around Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, before rejoining the Trans-Canada highway for the town of Kamloops and an overnight stay.

Day 10: Vancouver

Continue across British Columbia to Vancouver. Drive through the rugged Fraser Canyon, which for many years could only be negotiated by wagon trains and mules, but is now served by a fast, smooth highway. From Hope, we gradually descend through rich green valleys to Vancouver for a three night stay.

Day 11: Vancouver

Surrounded by mountains, forests and beautiful islands, Vancouver has one of the most beautiful settings of any city in the world. As Canada’s third largest city, it is a busy seaport and important centre for the fishing and timber industries. An introductory half-day tour of the city takes us to visit Chinatown, Gas Town, the remarkable 1,000 acre Stanley Park with its famous totem poles and the magnificent harbour.

There is certainly plenty to see and do in Vancouver. Enjoy an optional half-day excursion to Vancouver’s Northshore featuring the spectacular Capilano suspension bridge and a cable car ride up Grouse Mountain for breathtaking views of the city and the snow-capped mountains of Washington State (America) and Vancouver Island.

Day 12: Vancouver

Perhaps the most popular excursion is to Victoria, capital of British Columbia, where much of its British Victorian heritage is still preserved. The full-day optional trip includes a ferry across to the island, and visits the marvellous Butchart Gardens, Parliament Building and the fabled Empress Hotel. What’s more, for those of you with friends or relations in the area, our stay in Vancouver allows plenty of time to stop by and say hello.

Days 13 - 14: Vancouver/UK

Free in Vancouver, until your afternoon flight on day 10, arriving in the UK the next day.