Canada .... Inspire me!

[ijustneedtokeepbreathing]

Never been to Canada before, but I am planning a trip with my youngest 2 DC for June 2025 (they will be 8 and 6 by then). Probably for 10 to 12 days.

I'm feeling overwhelmed by the many options and things to see and do and would appreciate some ideas and advice please!

We will probably fly to Vancouver and spend the first few days there.

What next?

We are open to driving, trains, buses and internal flights. We don't necessarily need to fly back to the UK from Vancouver.

Any advice and suggestions appreciated!

We did Vancouver, Vancouver Island: Victoria (gardens and whale watching) Tofino and then Nanaimo and then back to the mainland for Whistler - bears and cable cars.

Watching as we're looking at this too - when I get a second to breathe I keep meaning to ask ChatGPT to suggest some itineraries as it's supposed to be pretty good at that and you can tell it what you're into etc

We went to Banff, Lake Louise and Vancouver. We did the Rocky Mountaineer train which was fantastic.
Beautiful places.
Vancouver is a great city.

Canadian Affair are really good they did a whole itinerary for us and got us a great price too.

Vancouver Island - the ferry trip over is amazing. Tofino at the top end is in my top 10 favourite place in the wold - bear watching, whale watching, eagles, kayaking. It's a gorgeous drive too, stop at the Cathedral of Trees. Wow.

Vancouver is a great city too.

I think in 10-12 days you don’t have enough time to head to the Rockies from Vancouver with how long the drive is- you’d spend more time in the car than sightseeing, also it sounds like you will be the only driver so won’t necessarily be able to do 10-12 hours per day on the road!

I would do 4 days Vancouver- Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge, some great museums with kid friendly stuff, possibly one of the cable cars up to the mountains close to Vancouver like Grouse Mountain for views.

Take the ferry over to Victoria on the Island for Butchart Gardens and a whale watching boat trip- would do 2 nights.

Then the next morning, hit the road and drive up to Tofino and the Pacific Rim National Park- stop in Cathedral Grove to break it up. The Pacific Rim then has incredible sandy beaches, gorgeous accommodation with direct access to the beach, plenty of short hikes suitable for kids your age and a boat trip to look for bears! Stay 3/4 nights then it’s a whole day’s drive/ferry back to the city, which you could split up by staying overnight in Nanaimo before catching the ferry back to the city.

There’s a few places on the mainland close to Vancouver that would be fun to stay for a final night or 2 to enjoy the scenery without having to do big long 10 hour days in the car! Something like the Great Bear Rainforest, then fly home from Vancouver.

Alternatively cross the border, head down to Seattle and do the Space Needle and market before flying home from SeaTac!

Remember that Vancouver Island alone is nearly as long as the UK, so what looks small compared to the mainland has huge drive times! Amazing scenery and places to stop at lakes and mountains though!

Thanks so much everyone for your comments and ideas!

We are going in 6 weeks with 8 and 11 year olds. We are going to Ontario rather than The west though.
i can highly recommend Canadian affair, who did us a fantastic price for flights, car hire and accommodation.

We are spending 4 days with family in the Niagra region . Then have a cottage booked up in the lakes in Muskoka. Then we are spending 10 days visiting Ottawa, Mont Tremblant, Montreal, Kingston and Toronto