Days 1 & 2: Vancouver: Big City Life with Outdoor Recreation

Visit Vancouver’s exciting and unique neighborhoods and parks. Go shopping in the historic and fashionable Gastown, browsing its many boutiques and markets. Explore Chinatown and taste some of the best bubble tea in North America. Walk the 5.5-mile seawall along the waterside edge of Stanley Park and view the many Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, and Sitka Spruce trees, as well as the totem poles at Brockton Point.

Day 3: Victoria and the Gulf Islands

Navigate through the Gulf Islands, known for the scenic beauty that has attracted Canada’s most renowned artists, as you ride a ferry to Victoria. The Gulf Islands contain one of the last remaining Garry oak ecosystems and are home to wild lilies, Orca whales, and sea lions. After docking visit The Butchart Gardens, which has beautiful and varied flora year-round. On your return route to Vancouver, enjoy the scenic beauty of the Gulf Islands this time by floatplane. That night board The Canadian.

Day 4: View the Canadian Rockies from a Rail Car

Spend the day in the comfort of your rail car aboard The Canadian, a transcontinental passenger train operated by VIA Rail Canada. It began service in 1955 and still retains its vintage rail cars. Take in the magnificent scenery of gigantic glaciers and snow-capped mountains that make up the Canadian Rockies. Cross the Continental Divide into Alberta and Jasper National Park.

Day 5: Jasper National Park

Spend the day exploring Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. Get up early to watch the sunrise over one of the park’s many picturesque vistas, such as Pyramid Lake & Mountain, or the Tonquin Valley. Enjoy the day canoeing, playing a round of golf, or hiking among the park’s elk, caribou, and moose. Watch the sunset over Maligne Lake and the surrounding mountains.

Day 6: Icefields Parkway & Athabasca Glacier

Drive on the Icefields Parkway, the scenic road that parallels the Continental Divide and traverses Alberta’s landscape for breathtaking views of mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, and snowfields. Watch for bears, elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats along this scenic drive. Get up close to see the Athabasca Glacier flowing steadily from the Columbia Icefield. Climb the glacier’s surface in an Ice Explorer.

Day 7: Kicking Horse & Yoho National Park

Hike Kicking Horse Pass and see the natural bridge that Kicking Horse River created through solid rock. Cross into Yoho National Park, located along the western slope of the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies. See the Spiral Tunnels that were dug into challenging mountains. See the emerald waters of the glacial Lake Loise. Enjoy hiking around or kayaking in the lake. You could also go rock climbing or bird watching.

Day 8: Banff National Park

Take a float trip down the Bow River in Banff National Park, located east of Yoho in the Canadian Rockies. View the deep, glacial-formed U-shaped and hanging valleys. Ride the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain and see six mountain ranges in one view. Enjoy horseback riding or a round of golf, and then relax in one of the natural hot springs.

Day 9: Journey home

Enjoy a hearty Canadian breakfast and travel to Calgary to board your plane for a safe flight home.

Situated atop 200-ft. high cliffs, alongside the St. Lawrence River, and surrouned by the Laurentian Mountains, Quebec City is majestically beautiful. Founded in 1608 by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, the city celebrates and embraces its French heritage to this day.

Its main sight is the stone-wall-surrounded Old Town, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Town is divided into two sections: Upper Town (Haute-Ville), which contains the oft-photographed Chateau Frontenac and scenic Dufferin Terrace, and Lower Town (Basse-Ville), which contains the postcard-perfect Place-Royale and the Musee de la Civilization.