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PTG Tours · Escorted rail tour (operated in partnership with Trains and Travels International)

The Great Canada Rail Adventure

VIA Rail's classic Budd trains from Vancouver to Prince Rupert and Vancouver Island

Illustration of The Great Canada Rail Adventure

The Great Canada Rail Adventure, operated by PTG Tours in partnership with Trains and Travels International, is a 13-day fully escorted journey from Seattle or Vancouver through the Canadian Rockies, the British Columbia interior, and Vancouver Island. The centerpiece is travel aboard VIA Rail's classic 1950s Budd-built streamliner trains, the Canadian and the Skeena. You will sleep in first-class sleeper cabins aboard the Canadian as it climbs through the Rockies, then ride the Skeena across three major river crossings toward Prince Rupert. Between rail legs, the tour includes an 18-hour BC Ferry cruise through the Inside Passage and coach journeys on the Icefields Parkway and across Vancouver Island. Along the way, you visit four railroad museums, the Columbia Icefields, Butchart Gardens, and Jasper National Park. The pace is relaxed, with two or three nights in most locations. This tour is suited to rail enthusiasts aware that VIA Rail's classic Budd fleet is nearing retirement, and to history-lovers and photographers drawn to heritage railways and mountain scenery.

What to know before you look closer

  • The tour price from GBP 4,765 covers the package and lodging only; UK flights to/from Seattle or Vancouver are either booked separately or added at a higher tier price.
  • Only one departure is scheduled: May 2026.
  • Hotels are listed as 3 and 4-star properties; most are 3-star, with the Lonsdale Quay Hotel in North Vancouver being the only 4-star accommodation.
  • Jasper's Crossing Resort overnight is only one night; the pace quickens through Days 6-13 with single or two-night stops.

Day by day

  1. Day 0overnight: Seattle (optional)

    Optional pre-tour night in Seattle

    Flights from the UK to Seattle for an optional pre-tour night, staying at the Embassy Suites by Hilton at King Street Amtrak station. Alternatively, fly into Vancouver the next day instead.

  2. Day 1railovernight: North Vancouver

    Seattle to Vancouver

    Amtrak's Cascade train (business class) from Seattle to Vancouver (dep 8:30am, arr 12:30pm), then a Vancouver downtown visit and the old Canadian Pacific Railroad Station, with an optional West Coast Express train ride to Mission City. Check in at the 4-star Lonsdale Quay Hotel, North Vancouver. Guests can instead join the tour here in Vancouver.

  3. Day 2railovernight: North Vancouver

    Squamish railway museum and Britannia Mine

    Coach north to Squamish to visit the Railway Museum of British Columbia (home to the Royal Hudson steam locomotive), with a ride on a former BC Railway RDC Budd rail car. Stop at Shannon Falls and the Britannia Mine Museum for an underground mine tour. Evening Welcome to Canada dinner cruise through Vancouver's harbour and Burrard Inlet.

  4. Day 3railovernight: North Vancouver

    Fraser Valley and Burnaby heritage railways

    SeaBus across Vancouver Bay, connecting to the SkyTrain Expo Line to Surrey, for a visit to the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway (Interurban barn tour, a ride on a restored BC Electric Interurban Car and a maintenance Speeder). On to the Burnaby Central Railway, a 1/8 scale miniature ride-on railway. Return via the Millennium Line and SeaBus.

  5. Day 4railovernight: Aboard The Canadian (sleeper train)

    Vancouver sightseeing; board The Canadian

    Charter motorcoach over the Lions Gate Bridge for a circle tour of Stanley Park, the Roundhouse Community Arts Centre (Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive No. 374), lunch at Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory. Board VIA Rail's transcontinental 'Canadian' at Vancouver's Central Station (dep 3:00pm) in first-class sleeper cabins, with dinner in the dining car and drinks in the dome car heading east through the Fraser and Thompson River Canyons.

  6. Day 5overnight: Saskatchewan River Crossing

    Through the Rockies to Jasper

    Sunrise near Blue River with spectacular Canadian Rockies views from the dome car; breakfast in the dining car. Arrive Jasper, Alberta around 11:00am, transferring to a charter motorcoach south on the Icefields Parkway with photo stops including the Columbia Icefields. Check in at the 3-star Crossing Resort, Saskatchewan River Crossing.

  7. Day 6railovernight: Prince George

    Back to Jasper; board the Skeena

    Return north on the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, then board VIA Rail's 'Skeena' train (dep 10:45am) heading west in the Park Dome Car, following the Fraser River for 184 miles across three large bridges to Prince George (arr 5:08pm). Visit the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum. Check in at the 3-star Courtyard Hotel; the train overnights at the station.

  8. Day 7overnight: Prince Rupert

    Skeena to Prince Rupert

    Reboard the westbound Skeena (dep 8:00am), following the Nechako River, then Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Decker Lake, Rose Lake and the Bulkley River (crossed 12 times) to Hazelton, then the Skeena River all the way to Prince Rupert, arriving 8:25pm. Check in at the 3-star Pacific Inn Hotel.

  9. Day 8overnight: Port Hardy

    BC Ferry through the Inside Passage

    Early transfer to the BC Ferry Terminal (dep 7:30am) aboard the M.V. Northern Expedition for a scenic 326-mile cruise through the Inside Passage, past glacial fjords with whales, seals and eagles, arriving Port Hardy around 11:50pm. Check in at the 3-star Hotel Kwa'lilas.

  10. Day 9railovernight: Parksville

    Northern Vancouver Island to Parksville

    Charter motorcoach south through Northern Vancouver Island, via Beaver Cove (site of the former Englewood logging railway) and Woss Camp (the last logging railroad in North America, closed November 2017), with a picnic lunch, then a stop at Coombs Country Market before checking in at the 3-star Bayside Oceanfront Resort, Parksville.

  11. Day 10railovernight: Parksville

    Port Alberni Railway

    Through Cathedral Grove to Port Alberni, passing former Canadian Pacific Railway wooden trestles. Visit the Alberni Pacific Railway along the waterfront and a tour of the roundhouse and rail yards, including steam locomotive No. 7 (a Baldwin 2-8-2T), No. 2 (a Lima Shay) and an Alco diesel. Free time in downtown Port Alberni.

  12. Day 11railovernight: Victoria

    Ladysmith, Chemainus, Duncan; on to Victoria

    South to Ladysmith (the old Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Depot), Chemainus (53 outdoor murals), and Duncan for the BC Forest Discovery Centre with its Lima Shay, Climax, Vulcan and Plymouth locomotive collection. Stop at Lake Cowichan's Kaatza Station Museum (a former 1913 CPR station) before continuing to Victoria. Check in at the 3-star Best Western Plus Inner Harbour Hotel.

  13. Day 12railovernight: Victoria

    Butchart Gardens and Victoria

    Visit Heritage Acres museum for a ride on the outdoor live-steam Victoria & Sidney Railway, then the internationally known Butchart Gardens (open since 1904) and the BC Aviation Museum (home to the Hawaii Mars bomber). Free afternoon exploring downtown Victoria, followed by the Farewell to Canada Dinner.

  14. Day 13overnight: Seattle

    Victoria Clipper to Seattle

    Free morning to explore Victoria before checking out. Board the Victoria Clipper terminal for the 5:30pm sailing to Seattle, arriving 8:15pm, with an overnight at a Seattle airport hotel before flying home the next day. Guests on the Vancouver option are instead escorted back to Vancouver via BC Ferry, with highway transfers included.

The moments this trip is built around

  • Day 4Board VIA Rail's Canadian at Vancouver Central Station at 3:00 pm in First Class sleeper cabins, with dinner in the dining car and drinks in the dome car heading east.
  • Day 5Watch sunrise near Blue River with Canadian Rockies views from the dome car before arriving in Jasper around 11:00 am, then journey south on the Icefields Parkway past the Columbia Icefields.
  • Day 7Reboard the westbound Skeena and travel along the Skeena River and its 12 crossings of the Bulkley River, arriving Prince Rupert at 8:25 pm.
  • Day 8Cruise the M.V. Northern Expedition through the 326-mile Inside Passage with glacial fjords and wildlife including whales, seals and eagles.

Included

  • 15 meals
  • Fully escorted from Seattle or Vancouver
  • BC Ferry tickets
  • Butchart Gardens
  • 4 railroad museums
  • Jasper National Park
  • City tour of Victoria
  • Tour of Vancouver Island
  • City tour of Vancouver
  • Vancouver Dinner Cruise
  • BC Forest Discovery Center
  • Cruise down the Inside Passage
  • Victoria Clipper Cruise to Seattle
  • Icefields Parkway in the Rockies
  • Sleeper Plus Class on the Canadian
  • 11 nights lodging in 3 and 4 star hotels
  • Access to Via Rail's First Class lounge
  • Business Class on Amtrak's Cascade train

Not included

  • Visas
  • Travel Insurance
  • Anything which is not mentioned in the program

Questions travellers ask

Is train travel included?
Yes. The tour includes Amtrak's Cascade from Seattle to Vancouver, VIA Rail's Canadian from Vancouver to Jasper in Sleeper Plus first-class cabins, VIA Rail's Skeena from Jasper to Prince Rupert, plus access to the Via Rail First Class lounge. Rail museums and heritage railway rides are also included.
Is this an escorted tour?
Yes. It is fully escorted from Seattle or Vancouver; PTG Tours operates it in partnership with Trains and Travels International, and travels as part of their tour group.
Are meals included?
Yes. Fifteen meals are included, with dining in the Canadian's dining car and drinks in the dome car. Welcome and Farewell dinners in Canada are also provided.
What is not included?
Visas, travel insurance, UK flights (unless a higher-tier option is chosen), and anything else not mentioned in the program.
When does the tour run?
One departure is scheduled for May 2026. Starting prices are GBP 4,765 (from Vancouver, own flights) to GBP 5,695 (from Seattle, including return UK flights).
Can I sleep on the trains?
Yes. You sleep in Sleeper Plus first-class cabins aboard VIA Rail's Canadian for one night (Day 4 to Day 5), and Sleeper Plus cabins aboard the Skeena for two nights (Days 6 to 7). The third night of train travel (Day 7 to Day 8) involves a ferry, not an overnight train.

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