Canada 🇨🇦 summer 2026

[dimsiaradcymraeg]

We are starting to plan a three week trip to Canada next summer. We’ll book flights using Avios as soon as we can but we need to start thinking about accommodation as I believe August is the peak season.

Our rough route will be Calgary, Banff, Whistler, Vancouver/Island but open to suggestions along the way.

Will be me, DH and two DC (14 and 13).

Purpose of the trip is mountain biking (DS) and nature watching.

I’d love some suggestions for accommodation (we’ll drive and stop rather than motorhome).

I can't help with suggestions for where to stay (price, quality, facilities etc) but allow plenty of time for each city, enjoy, enjoy , enjoy the Icefield parkway if you're going there. Why are you planning to drive and stop rather than a motorhome? You will have so many more opportunities if you're flexible about where to go and when. Watch out for mossies the size of bees with a bite to match. I am so envious!!

🤣 I have terrible vertigo so I’ll be holding the coats but the rest of the family would LOVE this. Thank you.

We just want a bit of space which is why motorhome doesn’t work. DH and I want time together, and my DS and DD, although they get on brilliantly, would prefer separate rooms for three weeks.

We stayed at Wildwood in Whistler last year for 2 weeks. Lovely apartment booked through outpost Whistler. Also has a pool and hottub.

How long are you going for and how are you getting from place to place? The first time we went we went for three weeks and flew into Vancouver and did the circular as a drive but it is MUCH further than you think so when we have done it again we have gone just to van, whistler and van island and then a separate trips for banff and jasper. It sounds like advice to ignore but honestly don’t try to do it all. If you were to fly across from Vancouver to Calgary that would work or even if you took the rocky mountain railway. The Banff leg of the trip is INSANELY beautiful, you have icefields parkway which is one of the most beautiful drives in the world and it’s incredible lakes like peyto BUT the vancouver whistler and van island leg has more variety, better cities/towns, as well as still having mountains and glaciers and lakes…(joffree lakes rivals peyto tbh) but it also has oceans. If you let me know your thoughts on this I’ll give as much detail as you want and lots of suggestions it is literally my favourite place on earth and we have been many times!

Sorry i just re-read and literally your first sentence addresses the time length!!! Based on your main purposes i would do the Vancouver whistler and island leg. A week on each. Is your budget £, ££ or £££? I do a mixture of all three. I mix it up so am happy y to suggest which locations you can scrimp on and which are best to splurge!

Ah thank you for this insight. We have to do this all in one trip - Whistler MTB is a must, as is Vancouver Island. We might be able to extend by a few more days. Would that be more doable?

I would like to splurge on the Vancouver Island leg but the rest we are happy to go budget - location is more important.

Watching, as bizarrely I started a thread about this very trip earlier today. I’m also looking for recommendations especially for wildlife viewing/places to stay/whether to book independently or through a company.

We did East to West coast of Canada in 2022 including Banff and the Rocky Mountaineer train to Vancouver staying overnight in Kamloops. . We loved the Mountaineer trip (Gold coach as that has best views) and Vancouver Island whale watching. We did the Icefields trip up in the Rockies which was great. Loads of nice hotels in central Banff and Lake Louise is worth a trip. We spent a week in Vancouver so only a day trip to Vancouver Island. We rented bikes and rode round the centre which is very bike friendly. We also did a harbour trip. Have a great time.

I'd spend minimal time in Vancouver city - there is really not a lot to do there as a visitor.

We did a similar trip years ago (Seattle- Vancouver-Whistler-Kamloops-Jasper- Banff then down to Glacier National Park in the US and then back to Seattle again with a couple of stops on the way. We also stayed at Lake Louise for a couple of nights but I can't remember where that came in the itinerary.

I think we were probably away for three weeks overall and had plenty of time in each location.

Only thing to add is to take the little boat in Vancouver across to Granville Island and get food

Amazing spot

Ok SO! I would suggest
Vancouver: £££ hotel rosewood georgia (premier king as their cheapest rooms are a bit not worth it) or shangri la. for ££ i would stay in kitsilano in one of the lovely bbs there and for £ i would go for the YWCA. The YWCA is in a great location and perfect for a bed for the night, no frills.
Activities i would definitely recommend granville island market as the food is unbelievable. I would also consider a food tour. Hire a bike and cycle down to English bay or kitsilano (if you’re staying central) or even just stanley park. Cycling over lion’s gate bridge is FUN and finding the redwood trees is lovely too. I would recommend grouse mountain, and capilano suspension bridge as well as just the surrounding areas. Lynn canyon is a cheaper alternative. East of Vancouver i haven’t been to but i plan to go to Twin islands, indian arm lake and Belcarra provincial park next time :) i have also enjoyed van dusen botanical gardens .
The ferry to Vancouver island i recommend departing from the beautiful Horseshoe bay. It’s VERY easy to miss the turning though. On Vancouver island I have never actually been to Victoria or the south, we usually head up and across to uclulet and Tofino. My personal preference is Ucluelet because although Tofino has more going on it’s not as…naturey! The drive to both is amazing. Stop at cathedral grove if you can. There is only one road though so do check closures as it can be closed due to rock fall, which will render you trapped!!accomodation wise I think a lot of people recommend wickanninish inn but i have not experienced that, it’s a little bit out of the action. There are a lot of awesome looking cabins and lots of great splash out options in Tofino and Uke so no sense in me recommending anything as choice is all gorgeous. Activities-wise kayaking in Clayoquot sound, surfing and going to the pacific rim national park. I had private surf lessons that also involved a photographer from out of Ucluelet but i can’t remember the provider’s name. I do believe there is a plane crash site nearby though it seems hard to get to and also the pacific trail.
Also on Vancouver island i recommend Campbell river. Here i can be specific on providers. 49 north helicopters do amazing tours including heli-skiing, and heli-kayaking. They are exceptional. Discovery west adventures do whale-watching and i would recommend going from browns bay rsther than campbell river centre. On our tour we saw black bears (several!) porpoise, dolphins, humpbacks, orcas and seals. It was incredible. Elk falls provincial park is beautiful too! Now i have only been to campbell river once and staying in the pacific rim motel as there didn’t seem to be much accommodation available but perhaps there are air bnbs if you fancy those.
On to whistler! Now…if you love action i would probably recommend partaking in some activities in Squamish which is on the way. You can even scuba dive there! There are waterfalls and the sea to sky gondola. Whistler itself the summit lodge boutique is still expensive (whistler is too expensive!!) but good enough. If you wanted to stay further out try Jofree Cabins but that gets booked up very much in advance. There is no shortage of great options in whistler in terms of activities. There is a shortage of good food though haha. Ok i’m gonna do a separate comment for the journey to Alberta and those places there!! If you do want any more specifics for any of these places do let me know!

So there are two main routes into jasper/banff. i would drive down from Vancouver, then east onto kelowna, golden or revelstoke first myself for two reasons. First of all the route on icefields parkway from Banff to Jasper is more spectacular than Jasper to Banff and secondly because hitting Golden, thwn glacier national park and yoho national park is nice while you still have energy. The alternative route, going up the whistler and east to Kamloops is objectively less impressive and might he a nice low octane option for your way back, finishing on a high in whistler itself. Bear in mind that these are LONG drives. In fact don’t under-estimate distances in any spot, for example whistler bungee is about a 30 min drive out of whistler itself as is the gorgeous brandywine falls.
I can’t really recommend spots along the way to sleep in as i think anywhere will do really, again, nowhere on the route is massively exciting and they are just ‘travel’ days though of course the national parks mentioned are beautiful and just stopping along the lakes and bits along the way will be stunning. Radium hotsprings is a cool little spot that you have to drive through a very cool “wiley coyote” looking landscape crack in the mountains to access but bizarrely the hotsprings themselves are a public pool.

Mentioning distance again sorry but the gorgeous Moraine lake and also lake louise are NOT in banff itself they are separate locations. Moraine lake you WILL be turned away from if the carpark is full so go at the crack of dawn!
Banff is similar to Whistler in it’s make up, lots of expensive ok hotels and of course there is the fairmont chateau in Lake Lousie that is a £££ option. If you’re up for it there are some great campgrounds!
I would head to Calgary next, then come back and do icefields parkway. For that drive get the GyPSy app as it uses your gps to give you a guided tour, it is so informative and so worth it. If you want a glacier tour you must book in advance, when i went there was a four hour wait. The bridge is not as scary as it looks, it’s really fun.
Now Jasper is a tricky one because since i last went they had a wildfire that pretty much razed it so i aren’t sure about hotels there, however I can recommend Jasper east cabins. There is an onsite brewery and pizzeria but they disappear fast.
The drive back will be through the unremarkable Kamloops. I stayed in a motel there, maybe stay in a posh place if you want to make it a bit more worth your while, maybe treat it as a means to an end as we did! Coras did a great breakfast!
Oh my gosh i think that might be everything. If you want any more info do let me know!!

On the trip i outlined you will be doing six travel days there at a minimum. Two days travel from Vancouver to Banff, two days travel from Jasper to Whistler and one day of travel from Vancouver to your chosen location on Vancouver island. One day back. So nearly a week just on travel. I would stay no longer than 2 days in each spot as a rule, but the exceptions would be whistler and tofino/ucluelet. If you’re going to get it all in :)

i would recommend renting a truck rather than a car because many roads are not tarmaced and you’ll need power for the gradients.

I heard the same about Jasper and was advised to avoid it until the rebuild has completed. Maybe next year.
watching this thread with interest; love the thought of doing this trip with my family. I did some many years ago and recently have visited in winter.

Vancouver island !! Definitely go north to Telegraph cove and do a trip with Rolf Hicker wildlife tours .
Saw many bears , grizzlies and black. Humpbacks, otters, dolphins, hummingbirds, bald eagles by the score.

Western Canada is stunning - I have been 4 times. As previously mentioned though, the driving distances are long so be prepared. Also, it is insanely expensive - eating out is on a par with the USA plus the tipping culture is the same so don't expect to pay less that £100 for a 2 course dinner plus drinks for 2 people
You'll love it though - we took our kids when they were teens and they still talk about it 20 years later 😊

Just booked our second trip to the Rockies- DS has been living there for last 3 years. Accommodation in Banff is very expensive.. we have booked an Air BNB in Canmore.. not far from Banff and still stunning. The scenery in the Rockies is amazing Happy planning! 😊

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Best place on the island for mountain biking is Cumberland according to my Dh & kids. It's also only an hr or so away from Parksville. Lots of beachside accommodation up around there. Iove the Beach Club hotel. It has the best patio views and great cocktails. The kids can go off along the beach looking for sand dollars or hire a bike to explore the town.

@dimsiaradcymraegFlights get booked up quickly. I’d spend at least 1 week on Vancouver Island. Vancouver has an amazing First Nations museum at the University. It’s a lovely city but not one with iconic buildings. When on VI definitely book wildlife trips and there should be orcas and whales as well as bears.

I’ve been to the Great Bear Rainforest but no further into the mountains than Whistler. To get an itinerary I’d look at companies like Audley and see what they recommend. Wildlife viewing is better on VI in my view so you might need to think about priorities. Agree it’s not cheap!

We did this 2 years ago. Our itinerary was:
Banff 4 nights
Jasper 3 nights
Kamloops 1 night [pure stopover - not much there]
Whistler 2 nights
Tofino 3 nights
Vancouver 3 nights

It mostly worked well for what we wanted - though we wished we had added another night in Tofino (long way for 3 nights!) and possibly taken 1 off Vancouver.
Standout accommodation was Patricia Lake Bungalows in Jasper and Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino.

I found the TripAdvisor boards absolutely invaluable in planning - so much useful info and so many helpful people.

I do think VI is worth much more than 3 nights. It’s around 280 miles long. There’s a variety of areas to see. With 3 weeks you can add at least 4 more into VI.

Thank you so much for all your input and sharing your experiences. I’ve not had a chance to read them all properly but I will do over the weekend and get ideas jotted down.

I’m thinking Airbnb for the most part as it’s lovely to have space.

Question: while DS is throwing himself down mountains on this bike in Whistler, what activities could you suggest for me, DH and DD? I’d rather not drive off far just in case (DS will be with a coach) but it happens so best to stay close. We can go walking but if there is anything more interesting then would love to hear.

We did a 3 week trip a couple of years ago. It was incredible, the highlight for me was seeing a grizzly and a black bear, parking up and just quietly watching them. Sitting watching a grizzly eating a dandelion is one of the best moments of my life. And the orcas, something to remember for ever.

A few things we learnt for next time:

It's really busy in the tourist areas. We went in May and you could sense it getting busier as time went on. DH found some wonderful places slightly off the beaten track which helped.

Distances - we did 4000 miles! Get a big comfortable car, we were very pleased we did.

The road noise is hard to get away from in many places you stay, that surprised us.

Supermarkets are really expensive.

Wild fires are likely to have an impact in summer. We woke up one morning and the view of mountains had entirely disappeared. BC has a wildfire app which is useful.

Buy bear spray and listen to what they tell you in the shop - we saw plenty of bear poo whilst out walking

Use the tripit app, it's brilliant for planning

Booking direct is often cheaper than booking the same accommodation via Airbnb if you're happy to do that

Happy to post our itinerary and accommodation if it helps?