Canadian Road Trip, Vancouver to Vancouver
Discussion
Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone had done a road trip around the Rockies? I'm planning on visiting family out there and was thinking of doing a 10 day (could be a bit longer) road trip along the west coast and Rockies. Has anyone done one or could recommend a good site to plan (copy) an itinerary?
I also want to go to Great Bear Rain-forest but not sure on the best way to visit it. Can it be done from Vancouver island?
Cheers!
Just wondering if anyone had done a road trip around the Rockies? I'm planning on visiting family out there and was thinking of doing a 10 day (could be a bit longer) road trip along the west coast and Rockies. Has anyone done one or could recommend a good site to plan (copy) an itinerary?
I also want to go to Great Bear Rain-forest but not sure on the best way to visit it. Can it be done from Vancouver island?
Cheers!
Following this as we have a similar plan.
Suggest you look at flying into / out of Vancouver and Calgary. This way you’d avoid a loop back which could waste some time / miles (think it’s minimum 12hr drives from e.g. Banff to Vancouver ?).
FWIW - our plan is into Calgary, head east to the dinosaur national park, loop up into Banff then Jasper. Potentially drop the car here and jump on a train to Vancouver. Or keep the car, down through the wine valleys then onto Vancouver Island.
Still planning but hoping that can be done, in a relaxing manner, across 2.5 weeks. I might be wrong.
Suggest you look at flying into / out of Vancouver and Calgary. This way you’d avoid a loop back which could waste some time / miles (think it’s minimum 12hr drives from e.g. Banff to Vancouver ?).
FWIW - our plan is into Calgary, head east to the dinosaur national park, loop up into Banff then Jasper. Potentially drop the car here and jump on a train to Vancouver. Or keep the car, down through the wine valleys then onto Vancouver Island.
Still planning but hoping that can be done, in a relaxing manner, across 2.5 weeks. I might be wrong.
Last time we were that way we did Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Penticton, Banff and then flew out of Calgary, that was two weeks bearing in mind we’d done Vancouver, Whistler and Banff before.
Vancouver island itself just didn’t really do much for me. The first time we went we stayed in Tofino which people rave about, honestly I was quite underwhelmed. Sure it’s beautiful but then much of Canada particularly BC is. Second time was Victoria which is nice but again, there’s so much natural beauty in Canada it’s almost a crime to spend time in a city.
My advice would be not to put too much into the itinerary. We definitely did that the first time we went and ended up having to drive on by places like Joffre lakes which is a massive shame. Have a look at google maps and work out what you’re prepared to do in terms of travelling in a day and how much there is you want to see along your prospective route and then work back from there. It’s vast, it’s stunning and it’s impossible to do in a short trip. Just pick your key items and then accept you’re definitely going to be returning because trust me it’s inevitable.
Vancouver island itself just didn’t really do much for me. The first time we went we stayed in Tofino which people rave about, honestly I was quite underwhelmed. Sure it’s beautiful but then much of Canada particularly BC is. Second time was Victoria which is nice but again, there’s so much natural beauty in Canada it’s almost a crime to spend time in a city.
My advice would be not to put too much into the itinerary. We definitely did that the first time we went and ended up having to drive on by places like Joffre lakes which is a massive shame. Have a look at google maps and work out what you’re prepared to do in terms of travelling in a day and how much there is you want to see along your prospective route and then work back from there. It’s vast, it’s stunning and it’s impossible to do in a short trip. Just pick your key items and then accept you’re definitely going to be returning because trust me it’s inevitable.
Ten days for the Rockies and BC is... not a long time! Best to pick a few places you really, really want to visit, then start stringing them along an itinerary. To give you an idea of the distances, a straight shot drive from Vancouver to Banff is 9-10 hours without stops. Add in a Jasper stop (which you really, really should!) to make a triangle back to Whistler/Vancouver and that's over 24 hours driving again without stops. In a ten day trip, that could break down to four days travelling/only six days on location.
I've travelled to BC many times in nearly 25 years. Every winter and most summers I'm there. Ask away
ETA you mention the Great Bear Rainforest. Getting there and getting back may take a day each way. This isn't a short distance from Vancouver and there isn't public transport you may have to take two or even three planes, ending with a float plane for a fair distance especially if you're staying at any of the off grid lodges.
I've travelled to BC many times in nearly 25 years. Every winter and most summers I'm there. Ask away
ETA you mention the Great Bear Rainforest. Getting there and getting back may take a day each way. This isn't a short distance from Vancouver and there isn't public transport
you may have to take two or even three planes, ending with a float plane for a fair distance especially if you're staying at any of the off grid lodges. Edited by Whoozit on Wednesday 17th January 22:41
Whoozit said:
Ten days for the Rockies and BC is... not a long time! Best to pick a few places you really, really want to visit, then start stringing them along an itinerary. To give you an idea of the distances, a straight shot drive from Vancouver to Banff is 9-10 hours without stops. Add in a Jasper stop (which you really, really should!) to make a triangle back to Whistler/Vancouver and that's over 24 hours driving again without stops. In a ten day trip, that could break down to four days travelling/only six days on location.
I've travelled to BC many times in nearly 25 years. Every winter and most summers I'm there. Ask away
ETA you mention the Great Bear Rainforest. Getting there and getting back may take a day each way. This isn't a short distance from Vancouver and there isn't public transport you may have to take two or even three planes, ending with a float plane for a fair distance especially if you're staying at any of the off grid lodges.
Cheers!I've travelled to BC many times in nearly 25 years. Every winter and most summers I'm there. Ask away
ETA you mention the Great Bear Rainforest. Getting there and getting back may take a day each way. This isn't a short distance from Vancouver and there isn't public transport
you may have to take two or even three planes, ending with a float plane for a fair distance especially if you're staying at any of the off grid lodges. Edited by Whoozit on Wednesday 17th January 22:41
The rain forest and the ice fields parkway were two I really wanted to do, Banff in summer (as I've skied it) as well. Will look into the driving and see what we can fit along it.
We're planning start/end in Vancouver as my in-laws now live on Vancouver Island, so going to be staying them before/after the travelling.
jimKRFC said:
Cheers!
The rain forest and the ice fields parkway were two I really wanted to do, Banff in summer (as I've skied it) as well. Will look into the driving and see what we can fit along it.
We're planning start/end in Vancouver as my in-laws now live on Vancouver Island, so going to be staying them before/after the travelling.
To add to your thinking, Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island takes at least 2.5 hours from downtown Van -> Horseshoe Bay onto a ferry -> the ferry ride. Going to Victoria via Tsawwassen will take longer. The rain forest and the ice fields parkway were two I really wanted to do, Banff in summer (as I've skied it) as well. Will look into the driving and see what we can fit along it.
We're planning start/end in Vancouver as my in-laws now live on Vancouver Island, so going to be staying them before/after the travelling.
Add on driving the other side. Ferry rides best to have a reservation.
As an alternative to the Great Bear Rainforest, and since you will be on Vancouver Island anyway, consider going to Tofino/Ucluelet/Bamfield and taking bear + whale watching tours?
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