Oneway tour from Halifax to Vancouver travelling through dynamic landscapes from coast to coast

TRANS CANADA RAIL TOURS HIGHLIGHTS:
HALIFAX | QUEBEC CITY | MONTREAL | TORONTO | NIAGARA FALLS | JASPER | LAKE LOUISE | BANFF | VANCOUVER
17 DAYS/16 NIGHTS

DAY 1    ARRIVE HALIFAX 
On arrival into Halifax transfer (own cost) to your hotel and spend the rest of the day exploring on your own.

DAY 2    HALIFAX TO MONTREAL (VIA Rail) 
This morning depart onboard VIA Rail bound for Montreal. Enjoy the landscapes of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as you travel overnight to Montreal, Quebec. Overnight on VIA Rail. (lunch and dinner are included today)

DAY 3    ARRIVE MONTREAL
Arrive in Montreal this morning and spend the rest of the day sightseeing at your leisure. (breakfast is included today)

DAY 4    QUEBEC SIGHTSEEING TOUR
Quebec City is the heart of French Canada. Nowhere else in North America is the appearance and atmosphere of an old-world city so complete. Quebec City looks and feels very European; perhaps that is why the entire old section of the town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Today qualified guides will help you discover the enchanting sights which are part of Quebec City’s history.

DAY 5    MONTREAL TO TORONTO
Today you will travel on VIA Rail in Business class from Montreal to Toronto. (lunch is included today)

DAY 6    TORONTO CITY TOUR
Experience the sights of Canada’s largest and most diverse city. Tour highlights include: the Eaton Centre, Chinatown, CN Tower, and Old and New City Halls with opportunity for pictures along the way. Optional drop off at the Harbour Tour and the CN Tower.

DAY 7    NIAGARA FALLS DAY TOUR
Travel by air-conditioned motorcoach for a breathtaking, full-day tour through the orchard-laden Niagara Peninsula to Niagara Falls, one of the great wonders of the world. Tour includes: Hornblower Niagara Falls Cruise or Journey Behind the Falls, a meal overlooking Niagara Falls, free time in Niagara on the Lake and a winery tour including a wine tasting.

DAY 8    TORONTO TO JASPER (Rail) 
This evening, check in at Toronto’s Union Station and board VIA Rail’s ‘Canadian’ for the famous train journey across the prairies to the Canadian Rockies. Step back in time to the days of classic rail travel, riding in the original stainless steel ‘streamliner’ railcars made famous by the ‘Canadian’ in the 1950s. Each has been restored with air conditioning, a café car, lounge car, and access to the dome car.

Exclusive to Sleeper Plus Class: At night, attendants will transform your quarters into cozy bunks or a bedroom. Visit the Dome Car to watch panoramic views sweep by, then retire to your Sleeping Car where your comfortable bed awaits. In Sleeper Plus Class, some amenities include towels, pillows, cozy down duvets and a shower kit.

DAY 10    ON BOARD VIA RAIL
Continue west through the breadbasket of Canada: Manitoba and Saskatchewan each have golden wheat fields stretching as far as the eye can see. (breakfast, lunch & dinner included today)

DAY 11    ARRIVE JASPER (Rail) 
This morning, awake to arrive in Edmonton, Alberta. After a brief stop, continue on for the final leg of your rail journey to Jasper, a small alpine community located in the majestic Canadian Rockies. (breakfast & lunch included today)

DAY 12    EVENING WILDLIFE TOUR
Today is free to explore Jasper before departing this evening to experience the environs of Jasper, and for some amazing close-up photo opportunities of wildlife.

DAY 13    JASPER TO LAKE LOUISE (Coach) 
Travel by coach today via one of the most scenic highways in North America - the Icefields Parkway. Visit the Columbia Icefield that covers an area of nearly 125 sq mi (325 sq km) and reaches a depth of 1050 ft (320 m). Time allows for an Ice Explorer ride (included) on the Athabasca Glacier, then a stop at the award-winning Glacier Skywalk (included) to experience a glass-floored observation platform 918 ft (280 m) over spectacular glacier-formed valleys and rushing waterfalls. After, continue along the Icefield Parkway where stops will be made at Bow & Peyto Lakes, the Crowfoot Glacier and the Athabasca Falls. This highway is renowned for sightings of bears, elk, moose & mountain sheep, so keep your camera handy. Please note: mountain lakes in this region will be frozen through to mid-June. (picnic lunch included today)

DAY 14    LAKE LOISE TO BANFF (Coach) 
Depart Lake Louise mid-morning for a short drive via the scenic Bow Valley to Banff, arriving midday.

DAY 15    MORNING SIGHTSEEING TOUR OF BANFF (with Gondola)
This morning, tour the town of Banff and its environs. Among the highlights are visits to the Hoodoos (shaped by centuries of wind) & Bow Valley Viewpoint, Surprise Corner, Bow Falls, Lake Minnewanka and Bankhead: an abandoned mining town and relic of Banff’s industrial past. At the end of the tour you will be taken to the Banff Gondola for a breathtaking ascent to the pinnacle of Sulphur Mountain for an awe-inspiring 360-degree panorama of sheer mountain majesty. Return to downtown Banff at your leisure. (transfer not included)

DAY 16    BANFF TO KAMLOOPS (Rail) 
All aboard Rocky Mountaineer for the scenic rail journey to Kamloops in the interior of British Columbia. As the train crosses over the continental divide you pass through the spiral tunnels in Yoho National Park, a remarkable engineering achievement. Continue on through the Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park with endless views of snow capped mountains and stunning glaciers. Pass by Craigellachie, where the last spike was driven completing the Canadian Pacific Railway Trans Canada link in 1885. (breakfast & lunch is included today)

DAY 17    KAMLOOPS TO VANCOUVER (Rail) 
Re-board the train and follow the Thompson River through Ashcroft - one of Canada’s driest towns (with an average rainfall of just 18 centimetres). Pass through Rainbow Canyon with its cliffs striped with pinks, greens and greys creating a stunning effect. The last leg of the journey takes you through the lush farming region of the Fraser Valley to arrive in the Pacific port of Vancouver late afternoon. (breakfast & lunch is included today)