Have you been to Vancouver / BC in the summer and what would you recommend?

[FusionChefGeoff]

About to book for next year - 2 weeks in August kids aged 15 and 12. No one wants to be driving more than 3 hours a day so not an epic road trip and hoping to narrow it to 3 main centres perhaps with 1 extra overnight ‘en route’ if we have to.

Want to see dramatic scenery, spend lots of time in nature, love lakes, 3 out of 4 love the sea. Wildlife a big plus too. 15 yo very active. Would also like to see baseball or an NFL type football game.

Im working with AI on ideas but also keen to get humans in on the action!!

Any experience greatly received as I’m very intimidated by the scale of what I’ve got to plan

I need to be in Calgary for a wedding in July next year but will fly to Vancouver. A previous visit to Whistler was one of the trips of my life so will do that again. There is very limited availability on the Rocky Mountaineer for summer 2027 I’m discovering.

Wow there’s a lot of work for me to do now - we have to book flights early next week so really need to make the Calgary decision now!

Dont think I want to spend too long in Vancouver itself as cities aren’t Walgrave we’re travelling for - it’s the nature and scenery really.

DH is refusing to get an RV but I’d still like to stay in some more campsite style places rather than hotels - maybe with glamping or lodges - anyone got any recommendations or advice on that idea??

OMG the Rocky Mountaineer is £2k per person for 1 night / 2 days?!??!!!! £8k for our family. That’s insane unless I’m missing something???

Tofino has glamping, as do a number of the Gulf Islands, and there are places to rent an RV as well

We did Canada with two teenagers and flew to Calgary, hired an RV for about 9 days to do the Rockies up to Jasper and back taking in Banff, Lake Louise etc… which was just amazing. We saw so much wildlife and amazing scenery and the beauty of the RV is you can just stop where you like for a walk or a cuppa by a fantastic view. I know your DH was not keen on the RV but it was genuinely one of the best holidays ever according to our now adult children and we all loved the RV part. We then flew to Vancouver for 2 nights, cycled round Stanley Park etc.. before getting the ferry to Vancouver island and stayed in Tofino for 3 nights. Very jealous as I would love to go again! Have fun planning.

We did the Rocky Mountaineer many years ago with 3 DSs we all loved it. Vancouver is great to visit.. loads to do. Also Vancouver Island.. lovely

Stay at the Wickaninnish Inn ♥️

https://www.youtube.com/@JamesandJosieTravel

Currently doing BC and Vancouver Island.

FusionChefGeoff.. we didn’t do the Rocky Mountaineer. We stayed in Canmore and did day trips to Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, Athabaska Glacier including Icefield Skywalk and Ice Explorer, Lake Minnewanka, Canmore raft trip. It was a great base and cheaper and quieter than staying in Banff itself. The whole experience was amazing. If you love lakes you will be blown away 😊

Fair warning ,they are extremely annoying!!

Yeah, I get the irrits but dh keeps watching them. I really, really like their camper van, but.

We (DH and I) went in May for just over 2 weeks and it was fab.
vancouver 3
Victoria 2
Whistler 2
Sun Peaks 1
lske Louise 2
banff 2
flew from Calgary to Toronto 3

I could have spent more time everywhere except Toronto which I didn’t love. We had fab weather except there and I didn’t really click with it. But I heard others say that about Montreal which I loved on a separate trip, so don’t read too much into that.

We hired a car (it was a monster truck!!) which was daft for 2 of us but perfect for Canada. The distances were ok and I enjoyed being able to stop where I wanted to stop. The country was just spectacular.

We thought about the Rocky Mountaineer but I’m really glad we didn’t do it. We met lots of people who’d done it and most were v positive, but they were all relatively old (we are mid/late 50s). One guy told us that you spent a lot of time in the train, in sidings and at the mercy of the goods trains which take priority. I think I’d have found it quite frustrating. Definitely not something for younger people.

Local buses in Vancouver are great. PPs have mentioned the main attractions… the city is brilliant for wandering. We did the Grouse Grind (one way) and food is amazing.

Whistler was fun. We hired e-bikes and cycled round the valley and saw a bear on the golf course!

Sun Peaks was just a stop - nice place but it’s a bit out of the way. Kamloops (not much to see) is more practical as a stop.

LL was relaxing other than a rather long hike (we got a great deal on the hotel in shoulder season) and Banff was great. Did the gondola (expensive) and hired bikes again.

I’d do it all again! You’ll have an amazing holiday. The Canadians are wonderful and the country magnificent.

We didn't camp, so can't help there, but my hotel recommendation would be Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino - we went nearly 25 years ago, but it still looks lovely. It's perched on a headland surrounded on three sides by the Pacific - just beautiful.

Currently planning 2 nights in Jasper and 2 in Banff, if you had an extra night to play with which you would recommend spending it in please?

There's a poster here called @mumtobabyhavocwho is based in Vancouver.

She might be able to recommend things to do.

Personally I’d spend the extra night in Banff @LIZS.

Now this sounds like a great itinerary - can I ask what you did in your 5 nights in Canmore? I looked at doing day trips but felt like we’d be seeing the same stretch of road every day just a bit further some days!

@TheSandgroper you're right their camper van is adorable. As annoying as they are they do really make you look at the area through a different lense. I took the ferry today to Victoria and for us it's just a basic ferry crossing to get to where we're going but today I looked out and thought of their enthusiasm and it did make me take a second and realize how beautiful it really is. We really are blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

I loved the ferry ride from Victoria. The scenery!
I really liked Victoria too. The BC museum and tea at the Empress. Lovely place.

Yes - it was only four full days really as we arrived jet lagged Sunday and set off early Friday for next place.

But Day 1 was the best weather so did the Icefield Parkway as far as the Columbia Icefield pulling over at Bow Lake, Peyto Lake and all the many stops along the way!

Day 2 we got the bus 3 to Banff (20 mins or so) and then the bus to Lake Louise - part of the 8X Roam transit route that also allows you to get a shuttle from Lake Louise to Moraine Lake - which you can’t get to by car. That was a lovely day.

Day 3 we had bad weather so we got the bus to Banff again and looked around it properly and had lunch there. Then we drove the Bow Valley Parkway - which is stunning and you have a chance of seeing bears etc. We actually saw our only bear on the Icefield Parkway though.

Day 4 we did Johnston Canyon (arrive early!) and then drove the Lake Minnewanka scenic drive. My son was hoping to see moose. And other bits and bobs. We never got bored anyway! Canmore itself is lovely for mooching around (prefer it to Banff and accommodation is much cheaper!) Also had a brilliant lunch at the Grizzly Paw brewery in Canmore - a must visit!

My kids are not that outdoorsy so we had to do a bit of nature and then a bit of other stuff and downtime but it worked well!

We did 5 days in Canmore. 1- Athabasca Glacier and Icefield Parkway. 2. A relaxed day in Canmore and did the Canmore raft trip at 6pm. 3. Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. You drive to Lake Louise and get the shuttle buses to the lakes- all need to be prebooked via Parks Canada but not expensive. 4. Boat trip on Lake Minnewanka and time in Banff - a busy but beautiful town. 5. Banff Sulphur Mountain gondola. Canmore was a great base. We stayed in a 2 bed condo with a pool - good for some downtime.

The Roam public transport around Banff is pretty good. When we were there it was free for a lot of the local bus rides. As PP said you can’t get to some of the lakes by car anyway and it can get quite crowded in places for parking. We saw a lot of black bears including a mother and two cubs usually on the bus trip from Banff to Lake Minnewanka which is one of my favourite places as it’s a bit quieter. We also saw elk, foxes, marmots. No moose sadly.

Great, thank you!

We did an RV trip with our then 9 year old DD for 15 nights in August 2022 - it was such an incredible trip. Shame your DH doesn’t want to rent an RV, it’s a great and flexible way to get around (even though we nearly got divorced getting out of Vancouver city the first time ). We did 3 nights in Vancouver (just the best city, beautiful and so much to do) and then over to Vancouver Island for a week before heading up to Whistler and then back to Vancouver city for one more night.

I strongly recommend that you don’t miss Vancouver Island - it’s unbelievably beautiful (and huge), endless wildlife, a real difference in climate on the west coast (pacific rim) vs east, awesome landscapes etc. We hope to return one day. Off the top of my head, Wally Creek, Ucluelet (best for wildlife boat tours), Tofino (surfy vibes), Cathedral Grove, and Parksville were all fab. Great food and drink and super friendly people. We didn’t even make it to Victoria as we ran out of time! If you decide to visit the island then make sure you book accommodation early (eg now) as places get booked up very quickly. We struggled to find campsites for the RV when booking in February.

We did this in July, hired an RV from Canadream. Picked up in Calgary, very efficient and easy pickup, did a big shop in Costco, literally round the corner from RV Depot and hit the road . We were very organized and booked our campsites early
Lake Louise 2 nights
Jasper 3 nights
Clear water - Dutch Lake 2 nights
Whistler - 4 nights
Vancouver - 3 nights Capillano RV Park
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