EDMONTON, Dec. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada and Santa Get on Track for the Kids - Eight Special Trains Operate Between Jasper and Northern BC. Now in its 10th year VIA’s Santa Trains have been helping bring holiday cheer to children in the communities of Jasper, Prince George and Prince Rupert. So popular is this annual event that tickets sell out within a few days with proceeds benefiting local charities as well as the Kids Cancer Society. Read the full story

Civilized and unhurried travelling, slow cooking and refined dining, listening to re-mastered stereo albums of The Beatles on vinyl, film noir from the ’50s, nostalgia fashion and re-discovering weekend getaways without going far away are lifestyle trends that are coming back in style in Canada.

This means that the concept of leisured journeys like it used to be is currently being enjoyed by today’s generation of Canadian baby boomers and their elders who are enjoying their golden years.

Both groups have the time, the money and the ability to enjoy life to the fullest. They have countless opportunities to reshape contemporary lifestyle because of their demographic power. Slowing down does not mean slacking down on worldly activities.

Because of the economic downturn, more and more Canadians are staying at home and enjoying weekend getaways close to where they live.

One mode of transportation that is now enjoying a healthy comeback is travelling on VIA RAIL CANADA to enjoy once again Canada’s legendary and classic train journeys. It’s a travel experience unlike any other. It’s comfortable, luxurious and romantic. You travel in classic stainless steel and art deco-style cars, just like in the movies.

You don’t suffer the indignities of waiting at crowded airports, taking your shoes off when your luggage is checked, cramped airline seats at coach, bad or no food, suffer the noise of wailing children or being treated like a cow by a harassed attendant or fear that the customs officer may think that you have liquid explosive in your bottled water.

One can book a three-day and two-night journey on VIA RAIL from Vancouver to Jasper and back. The train travels 1,160 km between the Rockies and the north Pacific coast through breathtaking and varied landscapes. It is a voyage of discovery and the realization that Canada is truly a vast country and it has kept the beauty of rich forests, natural landscapes and its wilderness.

The Vancouver to Jasper run is short and long enough to experience trail travel. The train leaves Vancouver at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday, arrives Jasper Saturday afternoon. A night at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and dinner at the world-renowned Edith Cavell restaurant are highly recommended.

Return to Vancouver is on Sunday afternoon, to arrive Vancouver Monday morning around 9 a.m., fully refreshed. It is best to check the schedule that fits your travel plans.

I have vivid memories of sipping champagne in the observation dome car while Vancouver slowly faded from my eye level, drinking coffee while working at the game room with large picture windows, taking long naps in a functional private compartment and a long shower before breakfast. There were memorable breakfast, lunch, dinner, all freshly prepared by the on-board chef. The chefs prepare seasonal cuisine to fully showcase the best of Canadian ingredients, vegetables, meats and fruits.

Jasper was a revelation. Besides the National Park which is a wildlife sanctuary, there are unforgettable mountain lakes and views. It is no wonder that over two million visitors travel to Jasper and is among the country’s most-photographed places. It has a laidback mountain lifestyle but offers first-class accommodations and gourmet dining in several renowned restaurants.

By Mel Tobias, Philstar.com, >>> continue reading
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Canada By Train: The Complete VIA Rail Travel Guide

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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

Source Link: e-Travel Blackboard

This holiday season, wrap up a Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ rail adventure and put it under the tree for your family or someone special! More than ever before people are giving the gift of a unique rail journey onboard either the acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train.  A gift that never gets re-used, re-gifted or recycled, a Rocky Mountaineer rail vacation will simply become a lifetime of wonderful memories.

Travellers who book their vacation from now until January 15, 2009, can take advantage of Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ Early Booking Bonus, making the gift even more affordable and pleasurable. When a minimum six-night Rocky Mountaineer vacation package in GoldLeaf Service is booked, guests also receive a free upgrade to a Fairmont Room at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in applicable destinations.

The perfect Christmas gift is the Canadian Rockies Escape package, a seven night, eight day journey onboard two spectacular rail routes through the Canadian Rockies. Departing from the coastal city of Vancouver, British Columbia, guests take pleasure in enjoying the legendary two-day, all daylight journey of the Rocky Mountaineer train on the Yellowhead Route to Jasper, with an overnight stop in Kamloops, British Columbia. Also offering a motorcoach tour of Jasper and nearby Maligne Canyon, Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, the Canadian Rockies Escape adds an Ice Explorer ride to the excitement together with a full day motorcoach excursion of the Icefields Parkway – a scenic mountain highway that snakes and climbs through the high mountain passes from Jasper to Lake Louise. After enjoying leisurely time and a guided lakeside stroll at Lake Louise, guests then take delight in viewing Yoho National Park - which cradles Emerald Lake and Lake O’Hara’s turquoise waters, thundering Takakkaw Falls and the wild and fast-flowing Kicking Horse River – before embarking on a half-day tour of the mountain resort town of Banff and a complimentary gondola ride to the summit of Sulphur Mountain, which offers sweeping views of the town and surrounding scenery.

Returning to Vancouver along the Kicking Horse Route onboard the Rocky Mountaineer train, guests once again enjoy the thrill of viewing the ever-changing panoramas of glacier fed lakes, lush valleys, dense emerald forests and the snow-capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies on another superb two day, all daylight journey, with an overnight stay in Kamloops.

Guests also enjoy superb bi-regional cuisine prepared fresh by talented onboard chefs as the picture-perfect scenery rolls on by. The best view is in the luxury of Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service, complete with bi-level glass dome coaches, panoramic views, delicious cuisine and onboard commentary of the region.

Along with four spectacular days onboard the Rocky Mountaineer on two different routes as well as scenic excursions along the Icefields Parkway and Jasper to Lake Louise, the Canadian Rockies Escape  package  includes seven nights accommodations, rail station transfers in Vancouver, Kamloops, Jasper and Banff, complimentary luggage handling and a National Parks Pass, four sumptuous breakfasts and lunches onboard the Rocky Mountaineer, and an Exclusive Attractions Pass, which includes complimentary admission to Vancouver Lookout, a Vancouver ‘Hop-On, Hop-Off’ attractions loop tour, the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, the Whyte Museum and Upper Hot Springs in Banff, the Jasper Tramway (including transportation to/from the gondola and Calgary Tower - with its observation deck that offers dramatic views of the distant Canadian Rockies and the stark plains of the Canadian Prairies.

Commencing May 2, 2009, eastbound from Vancouver to Jasper and Banff, until October 10, 2009, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ Canadian Rockies Escape package is priced from AUD $2.794.00 in RedLeaf  Service and AUD $5,182.00 in GoldLeaf Service, based on double occupancy. Prices are also subject to 3% Canadian GST.

The Early Booking Bonus is applicable from now until January 16, 2009. Other spectacular vacation package options are also available however the offer is not available in conjunction with any other promotion. For additional information or to book a Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ package, contact your travel professional or visit the website at www.rockymountaineer.com
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations offers unique Canadian vacation packages and four spectacular rail routes through British Columbia and Alberta. Best known for the world-acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train, a two-day, all daylight rail journey through Canada’s West and the Canadian Rockies, the company also offers trips onboard the Whistler Mountaineer train, a daily three-hour experience between North Vancouver and Whistler, BC. Since its inception in 1990, the company has grown to be the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and welcomed its one millionth guest in 2008. In 2007, RMV was honoured with the World Travel Award as “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” for the third consecutive year and named by National Geographic as one of the World’s Greatest Trips.

VIA Rail Canada is pleased to announce that its popular Snow Train to Jasper is returning for a third exciting season. This year’s operation begins just in time to get you through the January/February blues. Featuring VIA’s renowned Panorama (fully domed) viewing cars, the Snow Train to Jasper will operate from February 6th, 2009 to April 12th, 2009. New this year, customers travelling from Edmonton to Jasper have a chance to win a prize on board courtesy of Salomon and Kombi.

Offering Friday afternoon departures to Jasper and a return departure for Edmonton late on Sunday afternoon, VIA’s Snow Train to Jasper is the ultimate in comfort and convenience. For the outdoor enthusiast wanting to explore the quaint town of Jasper, a VIA on-board attendant provides information on what to see and do once you arrive. Snow board and ski enthusiasts will want to
consult the on-board Marmot Ambassador to arrange for the purchase of lift tickets, lessons and rental equipment. It’s one-stop shopping that allows travellers to make the most of their time in Jasper.
“When you’re travelling to one of the most pristine ski destinations, right here in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, VIA’s Snow Train to Jasper lets you relax and forget about our famously volatile winters playing havoc with your plans.” said Steve Del Bosco, VIA’s chief customer officer. “It’s
about sharing some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet with Canadians as well as visitors to Canada and making it all easier, safer and more fun”.

Located in magnificent Jasper National Park, Marmot Basin offers 1675 acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain and 84 trails for skiers of all levels. Marmot Basin is enjoying their earliest season opening ever. For those still searching for the perfect holiday gift this season, why not consider a
weekend getaway to Jasper. There’s no better way to relax and enjoy an incredible journey through the Canadian Rockies than with VIA Rail.

There’s no shortage of things to do in Jasper in the winter including the elegant Centennial Snow Ball, and family-oriented Winter Carnival, held in February. Looking to begin or extend your stay in Jasper? Why not consider adding this seasonal departure to VIA’s current Canadian schedule and avoid
“the weekend rush”.

The one-way fare for VIA’s Snow Train to Jasper is $109.00 (CDN) for adults, with discounts for seniors (60+), students (12-17 or 18+ with ISIC), youth (18-25 with photo i.d.) and children (2-11), excluding taxes. Hot and cold beverages, light meals and snacks will also be available for sale on
board. Snow Train to Jasper passengers enjoy complimentary wi-fi service in Edmonton and Jasper stations as well as free shuttle bus service from the Jasper train station to their hotel. Vacation packages that include VIA’s Snow Train to Jasper can be found at viarail.ca/snowtrain and select “All-inclusive packages”.

Customers can visit VIA’s secure Web site at viarail.ca/snowtrain to book a trip on the Snow Train to Jasper. Train tickets are also available at VIA stations across Canada. Passengers can also book their tickets for the Snow Train or a trip anywhere in the VIA system by calling 888 VIA-RAIL (888
842-7245) or through their travel agent.

As Canada’s national passenger rail service, VIA Rail connects the entire world to the West’s vibrant tourism industry. With more than 700 employees in Western Canada, VIA is dedicated to improving the quality of passenger service. From Northern Manitoba, across Saskatchewan and Alberta, to British
Columbia’s Pacific Rim, VIA serves more than 100 communities. VIA continues to develop, market and deliver services to meet the needs of Western Canadians, in partnership with the people, communities and businesses served by passenger rail.

For further information: VIA Media Contacts: Catherine Kaloutsky, Corporate Communications, (416) 956-7613; Darrell Schuurman, Sales, (416) 956-7628