4 DAYS EXPLORING THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
We can not think of a better way to end our 3 months abroad here in Canada then a trip to explore the Canadian Rockies.
We were booked in for the 4 day Rocky Mountains Ultimate Tour with Discover Canada Tours, ready to finally see these incredible mountains and turquoise lakes for ourselves. Our tour consisted of a bus filled with young travellers from around the world brought together for one purpose - to experience the Rocky Mountains. To say we were excited would be an understatement.
Rocky Mountains Ultimate Summer Tour
Day 1: The Adventure Begins
We woke up at the crack of dawn and scrambled onto the Skytrain to head into Vancouver to start our adventure. For travellers on a Discover Canada Tour, we highly recommend staying at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel the night before your departure - it's right next door to the departure point.
The tour departed at about 8.00am, with 30 guests in total. Our tour guide, Chris, was quick to make us all feel welcome with his easy-going, friendly personality. He truly was the perfect travel companion and guide to lead our group.
After leaving Vancouver we travelled inland towards Summerhill Winery for a wine tour. This winery is known for its organic and biodynamic wines and after having many taste testers, we can confidently say the wine was delicious.
wine
Jumping back on the bus we drove for a few more hours until we reached our stopover for the night at the Revelstoke Mountain Hotel with the most incredible mountain views. Our group met up at the hotels restaurant for a much needed meal before calling it a night.
Day 2: Exploring Banff
At 8.00am we grabbed our breakfast and jumped on the bus. Today was the day we would finally get to explore Banff National Park. We have seen so many photographs from this park and it has been at the top of our bucket list since arriving in Canada.
Before reaching Banff, we had a stop at Natural Bridge. This was our first time seeing glacier fed blue waters, and it was just a taste of what was to come. Our eyes were glued to the window as we entered the Rockies, it seriously has the most stunning landscape we have ever seen!
After a few hours of driving we entered Banff National Park and grabbed lunch at Lake Louise Village before spending the afternoon hiking around famous Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Instead of describing these incredible lakes - just look...
Lake Louise
Moraine Lake
Driving through the national park we made our way to the town of Banff were we would be spending the night. Before checking into the Banff International Hotel we headed to the Banff Gondola to take in the fews from atop Sulphur Mountain - incredible.
banff gondola
banff gondola
To end the night we were all given green wrist bands which gave us access to two popular Banff nightclubs for the party animals on the tour.
Day 3: The Icefields Parkway
Day 3 started at 8.30 with breakfast on the bus on our way to the Icefield Parkway, known as one of the most scenic drives in the world - and we totally agree! We drove passed snowcapped peaks, passing black bears, moose and eagles on our way to our first stop of the day, Johnston Canyon.
After hiking the trail to the falls we entered a little cave, allowing us to view the blue falls up close. We also visited Bow Lake and Peyto Lake to hike and take in the scenery. Again, pictures speak louder than words ...
Bow Lake
Peyto Lake
As we drove along the Icefields Parkway making our way to Jasper we began to see a glacier in the distance, the very glacier we would be standing on top of within the hour. There are 3 additional activities available on this tour, and if we had to choose just one to recommend it would have to be the Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience. Who can say they have had a snow ball fight on top of a glacier?
EXPLORING THE ATHABASCA GLACIER
EXPLORING THE ATHABASCA GLACIER
Our last stop of the day was to view Mount Robson, the highest point of the Canadian Rockies. Unfortunately it was a cloudy afternoon making the peak not visible aka no photographs were taken. After only a short stop we headed to Blue River were we would be staying the night.
We arrived at our giant log cabins and had a memorable last night. The group came together for a barbecue dinner before heading down to the lake for a night under the stars with a campfire and smores'. While helping Chris set up the camp fire we ran into a mother black bear with her two cubs roaming along the train tracks - the Canadian wilderness is truly amazing!
Day 4: Bear Safari
Our last day began at 8.00am for a quick 5 minute drive to a bear safari boat tour. We had pancakes for breakfast before jumping in our jet boat for a morning spent searching for bears. It didn't take long until we spotted a black bear. He was only 2 years old walking along the river bank.
Blue River Safari
As we headed our way back to Vancouver we stopped off at Spahat Falls, had lunch at Clearwater and cooled off in Clearwater lake. We highly recommend you take that dip in the lake as from there it is a 6 hour drive back to Vancouver.
This Canadian Rockies tour has been the most incredible experience we have had during our time in Canada. If you ever find yourself in Vancouver and you want to see the highlights of the Rocky Mountains we highly recommend you take this 4 day tour. This will be one of our favourite memories from our year of adventures.
Price: Starts from $470 per person for the 4 Day Rocky Mountains Ultimate Tour (Summer). Extra activities are optional at a discounted price. We have been filming our travels daily and uploading them onto our YouTube channel. If you want to see what we got up to daily during our 4 day Canadian Rockies adventure check out the playlist below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSLo8UUbpzg&list=PLYLi7gA3tKMQAzbE73el54K_7JlV543Pb&index=1
Flying the Nest was a guest of Discover Canada Tours, however our opinion is as always, our own.
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