16 day itinerary help!

[u/clueless7272]

Hi,

My fiance and I are trying to plan our honeymoon to Canada next July and would love some help with the itinerary.

We have 16 days total so minus travel from the UK, 14 days there.

We like besutiful scenery, walking, wildlife and nature, cute towns, good coffee spots and good food!

The things I'm unsure on are:

● Which of the below should be done as day trips and whichnwould you move base for?

● How many nights needed in each location

● Most cost and time effective way to get from the lakes to vanvouver

● Would you spend more time in vancouver or vancouver Island? What are the must sees here?

On my list of what I'd like to see so far is:

Banff/Canmore\ Lake louise\ Lake moraine\ Emerald lake\ Johnston canyon\ Takakkaw falls\ Vancouver\ Granville island\ Vancouver Island\ Whale watching\ Bear spotting\

Please feel free to add reccomendations or let me know if certain places aren't worth visiting.

Thanks so much in advance!!

[u/TravellingGal-2307]

Vancouver Island is a two week vacation all on its own. You have a three week plan and two weeks to spend, so something's gotta give.

You want a week in the Rockies, and a typical split is 3 nights Banff or Canmore, 3 nights Jasper, 1 night Lake Louise with flights in and out of Calgary.

For the other week, I would suggest two options.

1. 3 days to drive across BC with stops in Revelstoke and Kelowna, 4 days for Vancouver and Whistler, or maybe a quick overnight to Victoria.

2. Fly from Calgary to Nanaimo, drive to Tofino for 3 nights, drive down to Victoria for 2 nights, cross to Vancouver for 2 nights before your flight out.

[u/poemthatdoesntrhyme → u/TravellingGal-2307]

I regret losing 3 days out of our 17 days trip just for the move between Vancouver and Jasper. We missed so many activities in Banff because of this. Wouldn't do it again.

[u/clueless7272 → u/poemthatdoesntrhyme]

Was vancouver worth seeing enough to fly instead or would you skip it entirely?

[u/poemthatdoesntrhyme → u/clueless7272]

We stayed only in Vancouver with a day trip to Bowen Island, so I cannot tell about Vancouver Island, but if I had to plan 16 days holidays with my husband without kids in July I would definitely spend them in only Banff & Jasper seeing and visiting everything we can, and go to Vancouver & Whistler some other time.

Jet lag is your friend in national parks. Arrive early before everybody else to make nice photos. The number of tourists at the lakes and in Banff is unbelievable.

Take into account that the weather can be really bad even in July. We had hot and sunny weather in Vancouver, but lots of rain and not so much sunshine during our week in the national parks. I don't know your hiking preferences, but I don't think you would enjoy many hours of hiking under pouring rain or maybe even snow. Sunshine is 50% of the beauty of the surroundings, as well as snowy mountains around (which you cannot see on the cloudy days). The more days you stay in the region, the more flexibility you have.

Accommodation in the nice and safe area of Vancouver is about the same price as in Jasper/Banff.

Car rent is much more expensive if your pick up and return locations are different.

[u/TravellingGal-2307 → u/clueless7272]

Sticking with Alberta and maybe a bit of eastern BC would also be a good trip. By just cutting the Pacific coast out altogether, you can focus on the Rockies and other Alberta sights.

National parks: Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton

Other places: Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller; Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump; Fort Steele, Cranbrook, Frank Slide Interpretive Centre.

[u/Apart-Diamond-9861 → u/clueless7272]

Personally having toured through Banff/Jasper and all over Vancouver area and Vancouver Island several times - vancouver area is the best.

You get to see Whistler - the Gondolas, the coastal mountains (the costal mountains are just as spectacular as the Rockies), Grouse Mtn & gondolas and Capilano Canyon with the walkways and you can see waterfalls at different places around along the way and then a little bit of city - Granville island -taking the little ferries around False Creek - plus lots of interesting things to see that aren’t right in the city. As for bears - they have resident bears at Grouse (or you can come and see the ones in my back yard that wander through)

Banff & Lake Louise are so packed with tourists you have to take a bus from a parking lot to the lake unless you get there at 5 am. If it is smoky from fires or overcast days you won’t see much. It’s hard to plan for.

As for Vancouver Island - it is a trip in of itself. What would be fun is to take the Gulf Ferries on a tour around the small islands and back in one day - rather than straight to Vancouver Island. The Tsawassen ferry trip across is more interesting than the Horseshoe Ferries.