DAY 01: UK TO CALGARY TO BANFF
Transfer from Calgary to the picturesque mountain town of Banff, Alberta. Enjoy the many sights this area has to offer including Bow Falls and Sulfur Mountain. Overnight in Banff.
DAY 02: ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TO KAMLOOPS
Board the Rocky Mountaineer train at Banff Station. Enjoy the spectacular array of scenery as you travel between the glacier and snow-capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies, over mountain passes and through remarkable tunnels, along rocky lakeshores and across the ranchlands of the Interior. Today’s highlights include the Continental Divide, the Spiral Tunnels, Kicking Horse Canyon, Rogers Pass, and Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven. Spend the evening exploring the city of Kamloops or relaxing in your hotel room.
DAY 03: ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TO VANCOUVER
Board the Rocky Mountaineer train at the Kamloops. On today’s journey west, you will again see dramatic changes in scenery, from the desert-like environment of the Interior, through winding river canyons and pristine forests, to the Coast and Cascade Mountains and the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley. Highlights include the steep slopes and rock sheds along the Thompson River and the rushing waters of Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon.
DAY 03 - 06: VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA
Once a trading post and a rough-and-tumble sawmilling settlement, today modern Vancouver, Canada is many things. It’s a bustling seaport, a hub for outdoor enthusiasts looking for active things to do in Vancouver, an ethnically diverse metropolis and Hollywood of the North. Hemmed in by mountains and sea, Vancouver seduces visitors with its combination of urban sophistication and laid-back attitude against a backdrop of glass towers and modern sights and plentiful green spaces.
DAY 06: BOARD YOUR CRUISE SHIP
Check out from the hotel and transfer to the city's port to board your cruise ship, which will set sail late afternoon. You will have plenty of time to relax following your flight and take full advantage of the ship's plentiful on board facilities.
DAY 07: DAY AT SEA - SCENIC CRUISING
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rain forests along the rugged coast of Southeast Alaska. Arguably one of the greatest cruising routes in the world, the Inside Passage stretches through stunning landscapes, from Misty Fjords National Monument to famed Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve.
DAY 08: TRACY ARM INLET, ALASKA
Steep cliffs and glacier-covered mountains flank this fjord, fringed by the largest intact coastal temperate rain forest in the United States. Old-growth trees colonised Tracy Arm's mouth long ago as the Ice Age retreated. But further up the sinuous 48-kilometre (30-mile) waterway, its icy grip lingers a little. There, the twin Sawyer Glaciers flow from the peaks down to the sea, sloughing off stories-high chunks of water frozen decades or even centuries before.
DAY 08: JUNEAU, ALASKA
Juneau, Alaska may well be the most remote, most beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountain sights, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau indoors and outdoors can hike a glacier, eat fresh-caught fish on a seaside patio and tour a grand capitol building all in one day.
The city itself is pleasant, but the real highlight of a visit to Juneau is tracking down some wildlife. You can hike up Mount Roberts to chance upon wild deer and bald eagles. Most sightseeing and whale-watching tours head north to Auke Bay—bring a good pair of binoculars to get the best view of these majestic and surprisingly graceful creatures. If you prefer land mammals, catch a floatplane to a nearby wildlife reserve such as Chichagof or Admiralty Island to spy some bears lolling around.
DAY 09: SKAGWAY, ALASKA
At the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, the port town of Skagway served as the primary gateway to the legendary gold fields, and quickly grew into Alaska’s largest settlement. It was then a raucous frontier hub packed with trading posts, saloons and guesthouses. As the gold rush faded into the 1900s, so did Skagway—but today it has been reinvigorated as a gateway for a new kind of visitor: those looking to explore Alaska’s colourful history, pristine wildlife and unrivalled natural beauty.
DAY 10: CRUISING GLACIER BAY, ALASKA
A bald eagle glides overhead when, in a flash, the ethereal silence is broken by the jarring boom of a calving glacier or breath-catching splash of a breaching humpback. Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve offers some of the most dramatic scenery and wildlife experiences in all of North America—which makes all the more reason for you to visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve with Holland America Line.
DAY 11: KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
Alaska’s “First City” of Ketchikan is so named because it’s the first major landfall for most cruisers as they enter the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage, where the town clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.
DAY 12: THE INSIDE PASSAGE - SCENIC CRUISING
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rain forests along the rugged coast of Southeast Alaska. Arguably one of the greatest cruising routes in the world, the Inside Passage stretches through stunning landscapes, from Misty Fjords National Monument to famed Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve.
DAY 13: CRUISE DISEMBARK TO UK
This morning arrive back at Vancouver's port where you will disembark and get your flight back to the UK.