Bears, Whales & Glaciers

Day 1 - Fly UK to Vancouver

Arrive Vancouver and transfer to your downtown hotel (included).

Day 2 - Explore Vancouver

This flexible city tour offers up the highlights of downtown Vancouver, including major attractions, and scenic points of interest with live commentary. Choose to Hop-Off at any of the 20 plus stops, and Hop-On again to continue the tour.

Today, make use of your 1-day City Hop on / Hop off tour

Highlights of the route include English Bay, Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown, Chinatown, Robson Street, and the Entertainment District.

Full commentary over headphones in English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin.

Below is a list of the key attractions you get to experience when riding Hop-On, Hop-Off Sightseeing.

False Creek Ferries Departs from Aquatic Centre and David Lam Park Goes to Granville Island

Your pass on Hop-on, Hop-Off Sightseeing is good for a one way trip with False Creek Ferries to Granville Island

Granville Island with one way ferry The amazing public market Galleries and great boutique shops Improv theatre Restaurants and food stands Kayak rentals Stanley Park 1000 acres (400 hectares) of Coastal Rainforest dominated Park Totem poles Vancouver Aquarium Stunning Seawall Walk

Day 3 - Vancouver to Victoria

This morning you will will pick up the coach which will take you on to the ferry for the crossing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. The ferry journey will take approx. 95 minutes it is incredibly scenic so you will want to go up on deck for a walk and take in the sights, keep your camera handy as you migh be lucky to spot some wildlife. The coach will then take you from the ferry to the bus depot in downtown Victoria. Make your way to your hotel and have the afternoon at your leisure exploring Victoria. We recommend a visit to Beacon Hill Park and the picturesque Inner Harbour.

Day 4 - Victoria Whale Watching Excursion

This coastal excursion is an exhilarating round trip of 50 to 80 kilometres in search of Orcas, minke whales, grey whales, porpoises, harbour seals and other marine wildlife. You will ride aboard a comfortable covered vessel or a custom-built zodiac boat that offers high speed with extraordinary stability giving you an exhilarating, safe and intimate whale watching experience. Comments by a certified marine biologist and naturalist are provided. Duration 3 hours. Various departure times available please ask for details.

Day 5 - Victoria to Tofino

Coach transfer from Victoria to Tofino - transfer included.

Day 6 - Coastal Bear Viewing Excursion

This tour features black bears and explores the fjord inlets of Clayoquot Sound. During the winter, local black bears are in semi-hibernation. Come May, they leave their dens and head for the closest food source - the ocean! While the bears forage in the intertidal zone, you can unobtrusively observe and photograph their behaviour. You will experience the tour aboard an open-air, rescue-style, 24’ rigid-hulled Zodiac suitable for this calm water program. The vessel’s shallow draft is especially good for manoeuvring in the small sheltered bays while you are watching for bears and learning about this unique environment. Remote Passages provides Mustang Floater Suit, toque and gloves and complimentary hot drinks on return. Participants should dress warmly, bring a camera, binoculars, sun glasses and sun screen

Day 7 - Tofino to Vancouver

Morning at leisure in Tofino before your 1pm floatplane transfer from Tofino's harbour to Vancouver Coal Harbour. This 1 hour floatplane experience will be one of many highlights of your trip. Spend the afternoon at leisure in Vancouver.

Day 8 - Board Holland America Line (Volendam or Koningsdam)

Transfer (included) from your Vancouver hotel to Canada Place and join Holland America Line (Volendam or Koningsdam) for your awe-inspiring 7-night Alaska Cruise

Day 9 - Cruise the Inside Passage

Today cruise one of the most scenic sea-lanes in the world - the Inside Passage - where ships can sail close to steep mountain walls, giving magnificent views of the unbelievable scenery from forests to evocative towns.

Day 10 - Tracy Arm / Juneau

he narrow Tracy Arm Fjord twists its way through the Tongass National Forest, surrounded by 300 foot high granite walls! The melting snowcaps create waterfalls which dot the shoreline, along with trees growing at odd angles from the rocky outcroppings. Catch a glimpse of the varied wildlife that make their home in and around the fjord’s icy waters, including black & brown bears, wolves, deer, moose, seals and whales At the end of the Fjord, view the dramatic Sawyer glaciers which are framed by the mountains.

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, has an air of mystique – a town you cannot reach by road, you need to fly or come by sea! Juneau delights with an abundance of water, forests and mountains.Situated between the Coast Mountains and the Gastineau Channel, Juneau offers a lot of variety, with the immense Mendenhall Glacier and the Juneau Icefields at its back door and the Tongass National Forest stretching out to the northeast. Juneau offers a variety of activities from shopping downtown to dog sledging, hiking, whale-watching and so much more.

Day 11 - Skagway

Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike gold rush in 1898 and the glory days still resound through the town. Stroll through Skagway and browse the restored buildings and wooden boardwalks at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park or take a ride on the White Pass & Yukon narrow-gauge railway and finish up in the Red Onion Saloon!

Day 12 - Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that protects a unique ecosystem of plants and animals living in concert with an ever-changing glacial landscape. It has more actively calving tidewater glaciers than any place else in the world. Watch as monumental chunks of ice split off a glacier and thunder into the sea - the impact sending water hundreds of feet into the air. Hold your breath, catch the moment on film. Then wait for it all to happen again. As it always does…

Day 13 - Ketchikan

With shops and houses built out over the water, Ketchikan clings to the shoreline of the Tongass Narrows. The stairways are weathered and the vibe is cheerful in the town that calls itself the Salmon Capital of the World. Besides the main attractions – Creek Street, the Tongass Historical Museum, Totem Bight State Park and Saxman Village – try a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. These deepwater fjords were gouged out by retreating glaciers, leaving granite cliffs towering thousands of feet above the sea and countless waterfalls plunging into placid waters

Day 14 - Cruise the Inside Passage

Cruise back along the Inside Passage and take in the breath-taking wilderness coastline, with snow-capped mountain peaks, glaciers, and rain forests. You may see whales, eagles, sea lions, sea otters, and mountain sheep

Day 15 - Arrive Vancouver, fly to UK

Upon disembarking the ship, transfer to Vancouver Airport for your return flight to the UK

Transfer from port to airport included