Look out to the left, the captain said, and you can see killer whales. Now that’s not the kind of invitation you expect when you’re on a car ferry, especially if you are more used to the hop between Dover and Calais, when there is normally nothing to see… except other ferries.

But this was Canada and I was on a 90-minute crossing from Swartz Bay near Victoria on Vancouver Island to Tsawwassen, about 15 miles south of the city of Vancouver on the Canadian mainland.

For me, the sight of whales is one of those things that always thrill me to my boots (like the sudden and occasional views of Concorde we used to get). But, clearly, they are no big deal to Canadians, since few of my fellow passengers bothered to stir themselves from their breakfasts to catch a glimpse of the passing pod.

People are just used to things being on an epic scale here, and not just the wildlife. Vancouver Island, for example, may look like a dot on the map - inviting comparisons with the Isle of Wight - yet it is nearly 300 miles long and some 50 miles broad at its widest point.

Standing out on deck, gazing east, I strained for my first sight of the Rockies. On the horizon is what looks like a sweep of steepling peaks but as you approach, these turn out to be modest foothills. Beyond lurk the real mountains. So, even on these first tentative steps towards the country’s heart, you begin to grasp that this is a place created on a vast scale. It’s the world’s second biggest country, roughly 36 times the size of Britain, but is home to 33million people - half the UK’s population.

I had arrived in Canada via the ‘back door’ after taking another ferry, the high-speed service from Seattle to Victoria. One minute I was in fast-paced America - Seattle is home to Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft - the next, I was in Victoria, taking the five-minute walk from the sedate ferry terminal to the even more sedate Empress Hotel.

It’s a journey of just a couple of hours up from the US, but Canada is light years apart from the States in most respects. Victoria, the state capital of British Columbia, feels more like Torquay. Actually, given the ever-present Scottish heritage that surrounds you in Canada, you are reminded more of, say, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.

In America, you never feel able to drop your guard but in Canada I felt instantly as if I had never left home.

At the excellent Empress Hotel, for example, they serve a regular lunchtime curry buffet as fine as anything you can find on a British high street. And at any time of day you can always be sure of a real cup of tea.

The Empress Hotel, by the way, provides a worthy introduction to the chain of magnificent ‘railway hotels’ - now under the Fairmont banner - that stretches right across Canada. Like the country itself, these hotels are built on a grand scale in a style described as ‘chateau-esque’.
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By Frank Barrett, Mail Online, >>> continue reading

Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

A perky brunette’s quest to find the sweetheart of her dreams on an American reality television show could translate into a multimillion dollar windfall for Alberta’s struggling tourism industry.

On tonight’s episode of The Bachelorette, Vancouver interior designer Jillian Harris rides the rails aboard the Rocky Mountaineer to Lake Louise and Banff, where the iconic scenery will share prime-time exposure with a bevy of hunky contestants.

Fans can expect to see Harris nosh on fondue in Lake Louise and frolic on the region’s famed alpine slope before heading to Banff, where one of her suitors will be handed a rose and eliminated from the game in the Cascade Ballroom of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

It’s the sort of exposure money can’t buy, say local tourism officials, who hope the show will bring awareness to Alberta at a time when bookings are down during the normally busy peak summer season.

“That kind of endorsement is critical in our economy today,” said Lori Bayne, a spokeswoman for Banff-Lake Louise Tourism.

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By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald, >>> continue reading

CALGARY — A perky brunette’s quest to find the sweetheart of her dreams on an American reality television show could translate into a multimillion dollar windfall for Alberta’s struggling tourism industry.

On Monday’s episode of The Bachelorette, Vancouver interior designer Jillian Harris catches the Bachelorette passenger train to Lake Louise and Banff, where iconic scenery will share prime-time exposure with a bevy of hunky contestants.

Fans can expect to see Harris nosh on fondue in Lake Louise before heading to Banff where one of her suitors will be handed a rose and eliminated from the game in the Cascade Ballroom of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

It’s the sort of exposure money can’t buy, say local tourism officials, who hope the show will bring awareness to Alberta at a time when bookings are down during the normally busy peak summer season.

“That kind of endorsement is critical in our economy today,” said Lori Bayne, a spokeswoman for Banff-Lake Louise Tourism.

The slumping economy is starting to take its toll: Banff National Park, for example, saw visitors decline by almost 15 per cent in March compared to the same period in 2008. The situation is even worse in Jasper, where park traffic fell by more than 21 per cent.

Industry officials hope The Bachelorette will do for Alberta what it did for British Columbia, the location of the two previous episodes.

Vancouver’s tourism website saw a 25 per cent bump in traffic after viewers took in shots of Granville Island, Grouse Mountain and the Vancouver harbour. There were nearly a dozen references to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics during the back-to-back shows, with fans clamouring to buy an Olympics-themed hoodie Harris wore at a local curling club.

Five years ago, Calgary and Banff were in the spotlight when the Emmy-award winning reality TV show The Amazing Race shot 30 hours of footage in the area.

The experience also proved a boon for Sunshine Village, which was featured prominently in the episode. The ski hill said web traffic and telephone inquiries spiked by about 25 per cent immediately after the show aired.

“We really enjoyed the impact for the rest of the ski season. People saw the segment and said ‘Sunshine Village is in Banff, I have to go there,” said spokesman Doug Firby.

“You just don’t believe the power a program like that can have until you see the interest that comes right after it is broadcast.”

Harris — Canada’s first Bachelorette and a native of Peace River, Alta, — has already helped promote the province’s single biggest attraction.

Last month, she confessed on the ABC television series that she is a country girl at heart who “does the Calgary Stampede” every year, much to the delight of event organizers who revelled in the unexpected — and free — promotion.

Thought to be the only train in the world with a lift, the Rocky Mountaineer is best known for its two-day all-daylight journeys through the Canadian Rockies.

For the first time, beginning this month, the Rocky Mountaineer is offering five escorted rail tours of six to 11 days. Aimed at those who want to travel in a group with a tour guide, guests will have exclusive access on board to two coaches.

And while the escorted tours are all-daylight affairs to best take in the surrounding scenery, guests decamp to hotels at destinations including Banff, Lake Louise, Calgary and Whistler overnight. Travel is in the top-flight Gold Leaf carriages and includes food, welcome dinners, tour guide, excursions and the opportunity to participate in on-board programs.

The Rocky Mountaineer runs for six months on four different scenic routes from mid-April to mid-October.

Prices for the shortest tour, the Escorted Rockies Highlights, a six-day package departing April 25 until October 5, one from $C2539 ($2948), twin share.

The 11-day Escorted Rockies Circle program costs $C5249, twin share.

See rockymountaineer.com.

by Kay O’Sullivan, WAToday.com.au

ADVENTURE World has just released a “Spring Bonus Offer” from Rocky Mountaineer, where you receive a $265 credit per adult when you book a five nights or more “Goldleaf Service” package.

The credit can be used on a range of product from Rocky Mountaineer including pre and post package accommodation, sight seeing tours, car rental, meal plans and Whistler Mountaineer day trips.

An example of a tour that qualifies from the offer is the six day “Canadian Rockies Highlights” from $2999 per person twin share. This tour begins in Vancouver and travels through Kamloops, Banff, Lake Louise with the journey finishing in Calgary.

The package includes two days aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, five nights hotel accommodation, some meals, sightseeing such as glacier helicopter tour, ranch tours, national parks pass, fuel surcharge and luggage handling fees.

The offer is valid for new bookings made before March 16, for travel from April 15 to 25 and conditions apply.

Source Link: Travel Blackboard

Q: For some time, we’ve wanted to visit the Canadian Rockies by rail. Probably in June or July we’d fly to Vancouver, then tour by train. But there are so many itineraries and options that it’s hard to choose. Can you give some guidance about which railroad and what not to miss?

A: The Canadian Rockies offer some of the most jaw-dropping scenery in the world, and traveling by rail is a smart way to see it up close. Three train companies serve the area; choose depending on your budget, your time frame and how much pampering you require. Prices below are in American dollars and include lodging.

• Taking it from the top, Royal Canadian Pacific is the luxury offering, with restored vintage train cars and lots of cosseting. The six-day Royal Canadian Rockies Experience starts and ends in Calgary, Alberta, stopping at Banff and Lake Louise, Kicking Horse Pass, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and other marvels. Lodging is on board, in private staterooms. You pay one (whopping) price, but everything is included: airport transfers, all food and beverages, and some pretty spectacular side trips. Two trips are scheduled this year, leaving July 31 and Sept. 14. Cost is $6,563 per person double. Details: 877-665-3044; royalcanadianpacific.com.

• The Rocky Mountaineer train has three routes through the Canadian West, including Vancouver to Calgary, via Banff. Its six-day Canadian Rockies Highlights trip includes some meals, guides, a glacier helicopter tour and a ranch lunch. Lodging is at hotels along the way. Three levels of service and accommodations are available; costs this summer are $1,886, $2,911 and $3,198 per person double, plus a 5 percent fuel surcharge. Shorter trips are available. 877-460-3200; rockymountaineer.com.

• VIA Rail, Canada’s national railroad, travels the same routes as the sightseeing trains; you can create your own itinerary and stop off at Jasper or Banff for as long as you like, or buy a package tour. The eight-day Rockies Circle West trip, for example, travels from Vancouver to Jasper, then switches to a motor coach to explore the mountains before returning to Vancouver. Two levels of service and accommodations are offered this summer, at $2,593 and $3,364. 888-842-7245; viarail.ca.

Still confused? Lori Grant, of Canada’s Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, recommends mixing and matching; for example, taking VIA Rail from Vancouver to Jasper, renting a car and driving to Banff, then taking the Rocky Mountaineer back to Vancouver. Driving some of the route, she said, is the best way to have “a true, authentic experience of the Rocky Mountains.” Whichever company you choose, don’t miss the glacier-studded Icefield Parkway, she said.

Source Link: Washington Post