Canada and Alaska Grand Tour

First Day Arrival in Vancouver
Upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport you will be greeted by one of our representatives who will accompany you to your hotel.You will have a small introductory tour of the city along the way to the hotel.Getting off at your hotel, Westin Bayshore, Fairmont Waterfront, or whatever of your choice. Here you will stay for the next 2 nights to acclimatise. Checking-in a double room with breakfast. Dinner according to the roadbook which you will receive upon arrival.

Second Day Vancouver’s Beauty!!
(Guided Tour on request)
Van tour – visit of the main tourist areas and Vancouver Downtown. Guided tour and visit to the Suspension Bridge and Capilano Hatchery (Salmon Hatchery). Visit to West Vancouver and Dundrave Park with picnic on the sea;  Stanley Park Aquarium. If there is time and desire – a guided tour to M.O.A., Museum of Antoplogy, the U.B.C., University of British Columbia. Dinner according to our road book (R.B.). Overnight stay at your hotel.

Third Day Departure to Vancouver Island and Pacific Rim
Car pick up and escort  to the village of Horseshoe Bay where you will embark on the ferry to Nanaimo.
Then take the highway to Port Alberni and along this, you will stop at Cathedral Grove, the most important redwood park of the region. Additional pleasant stop at Combs. Arrival in Tofino in the afternoon and accommodation in a double room at the Ocean Village Resort. A walk with dinner included in Tofino Harbour village. Distance from Nanaimo to Tofino: 208 km

Fourth Day The Pacific Rim and its fauna, excursions with various options
Today is your day of oceanic excursions in the Pacific Rim. Large cetaceans, killer whales and great sea lions, are the residents and the real stars of this Pacific area. You will go on excursion on the board of a super fast rubber boat to approach these fascinating animals, arriving finally in a bay to enjoy the full feeling of toning relaxation in suggestive hot springs. In the afternoon, if you wish (on request), you can have a kayak trip along the beautiful Bay of Tofino between thousands of green atolls or stroll along the beautiful West Coast Trail during the sunset. Returning to your lodge, dinner and overnight stay.

Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Days the Great Bear Rain Forest:
2 options
After this first stage in the West, returning back to the East coast of the island for your great eco-adventure. You will arrive at Campbell River to check in your hotel for the night, before embarking  on the seaplane the 6th day’s morning – to reach your lodge in Knight Inlet. In Campbell River you can visit the museum or take a trip along the river Campbell marked in your r.b.

Option 1:
Knight Inlet Lodge, full board

Option 2:
April Point or Painter’s Lodge

If you choose option 1, you will be transferred from Campbell River to the lodge which is deep in the Great Bear Rainforest, where you will spend 3 splendid days. Every day you will make expeditions, accompanied by experienced naturalists of Knight Inlet Lodge, into the Park, where will see bears and other animals in their existence.Sometimes expeditions will be made even by boats and rubber dinghies to reach some observation sites. The tours also include whale watching and trekking in the forest All the meals served at the lodge represent the great west coast cuisine based on healthy seafood.

Option 2 includes various excursions starting in the morning from April Point or ainter’s Lodge, with its splendid accommodations, although not eco-lodges like the Knight Inlet Lodge.

Distance from Tofino to Campbell River: 170 miles

  Eighth Day   the killer whales of Johnston Strait
Today you will be transfered to the North reaching the seaside village of Telegraph Cove, where late in the morning you will take a hike to the observe the most beautiful orcas in the world: truly the most spectacular ones of this kind. We will head to the north, visiting another beautiful fishing village, Port McNeill. If you have time and desire, we will visit Cape Scot – the last ridge park of Vancouver Island. The environment and landscapes are truly unique here, together with an incredibly white beach so far in the North. At night you will stay in Port hardy in a good hotel or lodge in cabin.
Here you leave your car.

  Ninth Day   Inside Passage
Very early in the morning you will board on ferry, two hours before departure scheduled for 7:30, for the spectacular Inside Passage. During this journey, you will never be tired or bored thanks to 1000 opportunities of observation from the deck of a ship. Fjords and giant canyons, killer whales and dolphins will accompany you in this first great day of sailing. Arrival at Prince Rupert 23.30. Overnight stay at Crest or Coast Hotel with breakfast.

Tenth Day The grizzly bears of Khutzeymateen Sanctuary (upon request) 
only until August 10 (if you get to Prince Rupert over this date you can still request the excursion to see grizzlies in Telegraph Cove area)

From the port of Prince Rupert, departure for one of the most interesting and exciting excursions that you have done in your life. You will be in close contact …visually, with the most powerful and large creatures among the carnivores, the grizzly bears of Khutzeymateen, in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, the jewel of Canada, award-winning and marked by UNESCO and WWF as the most beautiful and preserved Rainforest Park in the world. Upon return, a visit to Prince Rupert Museum, with dinner included, overnight stay at the Hotel

From Canada to Alaska

  Eleventh Day    Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Juneau
Today in Prince Rupert you will be embark for another adventure on the sea that follows the route of the Inside Passage of Alaska and takes you to Juneau with Alaskan Marine Highways ferry.You will stay in a comfortable and spacious room with exterior views. You will cross the spectacular passage accompanied by rich marine life… You will stay on board for about one day and a half: a real cruise on one of the most spectacular stretches of sea in the world, on a very comfortable and modern boat, equipped with restaurants like a cruise ship. Departure and arrival times as well as the duration of journey will vary depending on the day of departure.

Twelfth Day    Arrival in Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier
Juneau will be your port of departure for many excursions. Today, a helicopter tour “trek on the ice” will await you: you’ll fly over the Mendenhall glacier, making a trip of 4 hours including 2 hours of hiking on the glacier. This is a truly spectacular experience: you will pass along the glacier canyon, you will cross whirling rivers beneath your studded boots, all with the help of a professional guide. At the end of the trip, you will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Thirteenth  Day Gustavus and UNESCO Glacier Bay
A flight to Gustavus, the gate of Glacier Bay, the most important Alaskan glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Then embark a small cruising boat, a fast yacht, which will allow you to get up to under the ice front and observe spectacular wildlife: beautiful orcas, dolphins and sea lions, but especially the great blue whales which at this time came from the southern seas to begin the mating period and breastfeeding of newborns. After that, checking in Glacier Bay Lodge for the overnight stay.

Fourteenth Day  Kayakingin Glacier Bay
Your second day at Glacier Bay, will be dedicated to outdoors activities. Departure in a double kayak with a very good guide to discover the coves of the area. Open your eyes because the same creatures that you observed during yesterday’s hike might appear to meet you. The magnificent silence is broken only by double or triple whistles of bald eagles, the beautiful collared eagles. You’ll be approached by lots of seals and very nice sea otters in search of food. At the end of your marine experience, get ready for you return flight to Juneau. Night at the same or a similar hotel with breakfast

Fifteenth Day    Admiralty Island (upon request)
In the morning you will leave for the “flying” trip dedicated to the bears of Admiralty Island, the “fortress of the bears”, the area with the highest concentration of bears in the world: more than 1600 bears living on this island. From the docks of Juneau climb aboard the float-plane and after one-hour flight, thanks to the pilot’s knowledge of the area, you can choose between several optimal observation points in order to increase the probability of sighting. Once you have located the Plantigrade, the pilot will descend on the area of sighting and spend the required time to resume the spectacular scenes from National Geographic!
At the end of the tour, in 3 and a half hours, return to Juneau, transfer to the airport and flight to Anchorage. Arrival in the evening, dinner and overnight stay in the hotel.
Alternative option: excursion to grizzlies of Katmai

 Sixth Day  Towards Denali Park
Today you will spend a few hours visiting this city in the cold North, and in the morning, you will be transfered to the bus for departure to Talkeetna, towards the spectacular Denali Park. You will travel by coach bus, this is a convenient and spectacular way to reach Denali. You can relax and enjoy the amazing views from the comfortable seats of the bus. Arrival in Talkeetna and accommodation in a double room (breakfast included) at Alaskan Lodge.
Free time for dinner and overnight stay.

Seventeenth Day   Glacier flight (on request)
Today (on request) you can have an exciting and interesting excursion flying over the top of a glacier.
Just taken off from Talkeetna, immediately you will have awesome and spectacular scenery  in front of you, with the icy ridges, memorable bizarre nature, beautiful and mysterious at the same time. You are in the heart of Denali National Park, one of the wonders of Alaska and certainly the most admired and protected one. The pilot will tell you about the history and beauty of these glaciers. Landing on the glacier where you will make a small walk. At the end of the tour, transfer to Denali Park by motor coach. Departure from Talkateena Alaskan Lodge at 6 p.m. to get to Denali Princess Lodge. Checking in and overnight stay
A rafting trip is an option.

Eighteenth Day    Visit to Denali Park
To-day the visit to Denali National Park. There are 39 species of mammals including black and grizzly bears, moose, big horns, white wolves and wolverines, then 167 species of birds, 10 species of fish as well as countless species of plants, flowers, mosses lichens, fungi and algae. The Kantishna Wilderness Trails bus will depart very early from your lodge and will cross the Park at almost all its extension. During the excursion you will be offered a snack and the lunch, included, will be served at Kantishna Roadhouse, where you’ll also get a chance to see a demonstration of sled dogs. Back at the lodge you can choose whether to use the same bus or take a scenic flight and fly over the beautiful and huge Muldrov glacier and Alaska Range, the huge massif of the central mountains of Alaska.
In just 55 minutes you will be back to your lodge, ready for a relaxing afternoon. Free dinner time at the lodge and overnight stay

Ninteenth Day   Denali – Anchorage by Goldstar Dome
Today, in early afternoon, you will be transfered to Denali Depot to start your spectacular journey on Gold Star Dome Train. At 12.25 you will get on on a seemingly normal train which, however, has special carriages with floor-to-ceiling windows. These will allow you to make a real “safari in motion” of the marvellous nature of Alaska, staying comfortably seated in your armchairs.
We will reach the city of Anchorage at 8 pm. Accommodation in a hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Twentieth Day    Return flight
After breakfast, free time  for shopping, then the last transfer to the airport and return flight.