Rocky Mountaineer · Rail vacation package

Rainforest to Gold Rush Discovery Banff

Rainforest to Gold Rush Discovery Banff, a rail journey with Rocky Mountaineer

Begin or end your journey in Vancouver or Calgary. Rocky Mountaineer will take you through extreme and diverse landscapes of the Northern Rockies. From temperate rainforests to desert canyons, experience all that Western Canada has to offer. Enjoy stays in the stunning mountain towns of Jasper and Banff.

Day by day

  1. Day 1overnight: Vancouver

    Vancouver at leisure

    Arrive in Vancouver and spend time exploring this scenic coastal city on your own. That could be discovering Stanley Park, taking a small ferry to Granville Island, or much more.

  2. Day 2overnight: Vancouver

    Vancouver at leisure

    Enjoy the day with free time to relax or book your own activities at your leisure. Vancouver has activities for all interests, including visiting historic Gastown, dining in lively Yaletown, or enjoying a walk on the Stanley Park Seawall. No matter what you choose to do, the Coast Mountains and the Pacific Ocean surround you.

  3. Day 3railovernight: Whistler

    Rail: Vancouver to Whistler

    Departing early in the morning, you'll be taken on a breathtaking rail journey through the stunning scenery of the Sea to Sky Corridor. Travel onboard Rocky Mountaineer from the coastal city of Vancouver to the resort town of Whistler, renowned for outstanding skiing and mountain biking, an array of culinary delights and year-round outdoor activities. Highlights include spectacular views of Howe Sound, the Coast Mountains, Brandywine Falls, Mount Garibaldi and the impressive Cheakamus Canyon. You'll arrive in the early afternoon and the remainder of the day is at your own leisure. Activities: Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre (admission included).

  4. Day 4railovernight: Quesnel

    Rail: Whistler to Quesnel

    A pre-arranged motorcoach will pick you up from your hotel in the morning and take you to the Pemberton train station (approximately a 35-minute drive), where you will board the Rocky Mountaineer train and travel to the charming rural town of Quesnel, the gateway to the North Cariboo. Enjoy breathtaking and varied scenery, from the river canyons and lush farmland of the Pemberton Valley, through the desert-like conditions of the Fraser Canyon, to rolling hills and vast ranchlands of the Cariboo Plateau. Highlights include the shorelines of Anderson Lake and glacier-fed Seton Lake, sweeping views of the Fraser Canyon, and the crossing of Deep Creek Bridge, one of the highest railway bridges in the world. Your day concludes as the train follows the banks of the Fraser River into Quesnel.

  5. Day 5railovernight: Jasper

    Rail: Quesnel to Jasper

    Early in the morning, your journey continues eastward to the majestic Canadian Rockies and Jasper National Park. From Quesnel, you will follow the Fraser River north to the town of Prince George, then travel east through the forests of northern British Columbia, home to plentiful wildlife, including a large population of moose, caribou and bears. Upon entering the Rocky Mountain Trench, you are surrounded by the steeply rising Rocky Mountains to the north and the Cariboo Mountains to the south. You'll continue climbing past Mount Robson, at 3,954 metres (12,972 feet), the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, through Yellowhead Pass into the province of Alberta. Your rail journey ends on arrival in Jasper in the evening.

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