The Canadian Rockies & Alaska Cruise

Tour Itinerary

• Day 1: Vancouver

  Welcome to Vancouver! Your Tour Director is on hand from 3pm-6pm to answer any questions.

• Day 2: Vancouver

  This morning, an included city tour highlights Stanley Park, Chinatown, the harbour, beaches, and more. The rest of the day is at leisure; your Tour Director can suggest ways to further explore the city.

• Day 3: Vancouver-Kelowna

  First stop this morning is awe-inspiring Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then, let the province’s story unfold as you head for the city of Derry before returning to the Republic to visit Donegal, the ancient town founded by Danish Vikings and home of the O’Donnell Clan. Drive along Donegal Bay with its small fishing ports and hidden beaches before arriving in Sligo.

• Day 4: Kelowna-Banff National Park

  Motor north through the Okanagan Valley, famous for its peaches and vineyards. Climb up 4,379-foot-high Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. Take a break at the pass, perfect for photos of the rugged mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls. Enter Yoho National Park and ascend Kicking Horse Pass at 5,332 feet.

• Day 5: Banff National Park

  Enjoy the day exploring Banff, one of Canada’s favorite year-round resorts, and home to 53 species of mammals. The most commonly seen are deer, elk, and big horn sheep. Hike, golf, horseback ride, shop in the townsite, or relax at the hot springs.

• Day 6: Banff National Park-Lake Louise-Columbia Icefield-Jasper National Park

  First, to Lake Louise, its turquoise waters a perfect natural mirror that reflects the surrounding mountains and glaciers. Precipitous gorges, snowcapped summits, and lakes of exquisite blues and greens come into view as the motorcoach continues northward into Jasper National Park.

• Day 7: Jasper National Park

  Today is free to enjoy everything Jasper has to offer—from quaint shops to meandering wildlife. Find serenity of the glacial blue waters of Maligne Lake and Spirit Island* with an optional narrated cruise revealing the history, geology, flora, and fauna of the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies.

• Day 8: Jasper National Park-Mount Robson-Sun Peaks

  Leave Jasper and follow the Fraser River to the base of Mount Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, peaking at 12,972 feet. Continue following the Yellowhead Highway south along the North Thompson River—a route pioneered by fur trappers. Overnight in the mountain resort village of Sun Peaks.

• Day 9: Sun Peaks-Lillooet-Whistler

  Head south, following the once treacherous Cariboo Wagon Trail. Via Lillooet, “Mile 0 of the Gold Rush Route,” your motorcoach will follow the shores of Seton and Duffey Lakes with a late-afternoon arrival in Whistler.

• Day 10: Whistler

  Spend the day in the alpine resort of Whistler, nestled at the base of breathtaking Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains. Enjoy free time to explore many sites of the 2010 Winter Olympics held here.

• Day 11: Whistler-Ferry Crossing-Victoria

  Set sail across the Strait of Georgia, known for its Mediterranean-type climate. Afternoon sightseeing includes world-famous Butchart Gardens, and then a tour of the beautiful city of Victoria featuring Bastion Square, Thunderbird Park with its unusual collection of totem poles, and the inner harbour.

• Day 12: Victoria

  A day at leisure gives you the chance to discover this splendid city, including the Royal British Columbia Museum, shopping on Government Street, or a leisurely stroll around the harbor. Or get back to nature on an optional Wildlife and Whale-Watching Expedition while cruising the pristine waters of the San Juan and Gulf Islands, seeking whales, porpoises, seals, and eagles.

• Day 13: Victoria-Ferry Crossing-Vancouver (Embarkation)

  A scenic ferry crossing to the mainland. Upon arrival, say goodbye to your Tour Director and transfer to Canada Place to board Holland America’s MS Koningsdam or MS Zaandam for an unforgettable Inside Passage cruise. Your package price includes Holland America’s ‘Have It All Premium Cruise Package.'

• Day 14: Scenic Cruising: Inside Passage

  Spend the day cruising one of the world’s most spectacular waterways. Located along the coast of British Columbia, the Inside Passage is the longest sheltered inland waterway in the world. Watch the water for orcas and humpback whales.

• Day 15: Juneau

  Located at the foot of grand mountain peaks on Gastineau Channel, Alaska’s capital city of Juneau has massive Mendenhall Glacier and the Juneau Icefield at its back door. Visit the rustic shops in town—or get out and kayak, raft, hike, whale watch, flightsee, or fish. There’s no end to the adventure because of the long daylight hours.

• Day 16: Skagway

  In winter, the sidewalks are all but rolled up in Skagway, so you can imagine the frightful conditions endured by gold prospectors who passed through en route to the Yukon. Take your time and poke your head into every little shop, from the Trail Bench to Lynch & Kennedy’s Dry Goods.

• Day 17: Scenic Cruising: Glacier Bay

  Glacier Bay has more actively calving tidewater glaciers than anyplace else in the world. How does it feel when a colossal chunk of ice splits off a glacier and crashes into the sea? The sound is like thunder. The impact shoots water hundreds of meters into the air. You hold your breath as you capture the moment on camera, then you wait for it all to happen again.

• Day 18: Ketchikan

  Alaska’s “First City” of Ketchikan is so named because it is 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 19: Scenic Cruising: Inside Passage

  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 20: Vancouver (Disembarkation)

  Your vacation ends this morning. Please schedule homebound flights after noon.