DAY 1 – CALGARY
Arrive in Calgary and spend time exploring this cosmopolitan city on your own. That could be going to the top of the Calgary Tower, exploring Prince’s Island Park or much more. Overnight in Calgary.
Accommodation: Delta Calgary Downtown
DAY 2 – CALGARY TO BANFF
Depart Calgary this morning for a full-day transfer concluding in Banff. Journey to Banff, where you will enjoy a spectacular boat cruise on Lake Minnewanka. Highlights include Bow Falls, Surprise Corner and the Hoodoos. Admission to the Banff Gondola included. Your transfer ends on arrival in Banff late this afternoon. Overnight in Banff.
Accommodation: Banff Ptarmigan Inn
Suggested activities:
Banff Gondola
Climb Sulphur Mountain in a record-breaking eight minutes and get a bird’s-eye view of six mountain ranges. Sorry, did we say ‘climb’? We mean ‘ascend in style’ in your fully enclosed four-passenger gondola cabin!
Banff Minnewanka Lake Cruise
This magnificent interpretive lake cruise of Minnewanka and the scenic Canadian Rockies is just over one hour and provides unique photo opportunities unavailable elsewhere. Experienced crew will guide you through this rugged paradise richly steeped in history, native folklore and geology. Lake Minnewanka is just a 15-minute drive from the town site of Banff along the Minnewanka Loop Drive, in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.
DAY 3 – BANFF
Enjoy the day with free time to relax or book your own activities at your leisure. Banff has activities for all, from relaxing in the Banff hot springs, and exploring the bustling town, to outdoor wildlife adventures. Overnight in Banff.
Rocky Mountaineer
DAY 4 – ROCKY MOUNTAINEER RAIL – BANFF TO KAMLOOPS
Departing early in the morning, travel onboard the Rocky Mountaineer from the mountain resort town of Banff to Kamloops, in the heart of the British Columbia Interior. Your journey takes you through ever-changing scenery as you travel between the iconic glacier and snow-capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies over mountain passes and through remarkable tunnels, along rocky lakeshores and across the ranchlands of the Interior. Today’s highlights include the Continental Divide, the Spiral Tunnels, Kicking Horse Canyon, Rogers Pass and Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven. You will arrive in Kamloops in the evening. Overnight in Kamloops.
DAY 5 – ROCKY MOUNTAINEER RAIL – KAMLOOPS TO VANCOUVER
Early in the morning, your journey continues west towards the Pacific Ocean and the coastal city of Vancouver. On today’s journey, you will again see dramatic changes in scenery, from the desert-like environment of the B.C. Interior, through winding river canyons and pristine forests, to the Cascade and Coast Mountains and the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley. Highlights include the steep slopes and rock sheds along the Thompson River and the rushing waters of Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon. Your rail journey ends on arrival in Vancouver this evening. Overnight in Vancouver.
Accommodation: Sutton Place Hotel
DAY 6 – VANCOUVER
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 Stanely Park Seawall. No matter what you choose to do, the Coast Mountains and the Pacific Ocean surround you. Overnight in Vancouver.
Vancouver
DAY 7 – VANCOUVER
The perfect combination of urban meets nature, Vancouver is a hub for lovers of the great outdoors. Enjoy picturesque views of the mountains while exploring the city’s local hot spots like Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown and more. Don’t forget to sample the best of the local culinary and cocktail scene for something truly unique. Join your Holland America Inside Passage cruise. Departs 3.00pm.
DAY 8 – CRUISE THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a renowned cruising route through a protected network of waterways, featuring glacier-cut fjords, lush rainforests, and diverse wildlife. Stops along the route showcase Alaska’s rich history, including Native Alaskan culture in Ketchikan and Skagway’s Gold Rush era legacy.
Inside Passage
DAY 9 – TRACY ARM INLET
Steep cliffs and glacier-covered mountains flank this fjord, fringed by the largest intact coastal temperate rain forest in the United States. Old-growth trees colonized Tracy Arm’s mouth long ago as the Ice Age retreated. But further up the sinuous 48-kilometre waterway, its icy grip lingers a little. There, the twin Sawyer Glaciers flow from the peaks down to the sea, sloughing off stories-high chunks of water frozen decades or even centuries before. Even more glorious than nearby Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm is part of the 5.7 million acres (or around 23,000 square kilometers) of pure wilderness sheltered by the Tongass National Forest (America’s biggest).
Visitors often see bears, whales and mountain goats roaming across various corners of this pristine area—not to mention chubby baby seals resting on the ice floes. Summer temperatures average 0 to 16 degrees Celsius, so pack warm clothing. And don’t forget waterproof gear, even when traveling by cruise ship, more than a metre and a half of rain falls here each year!
Tracy Arm Inlet
DAY 10 – JUNEAU
Cruise to Juneau, Alaska and visit the most remote, most beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountain sights, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau indoors and outdoors can hike a glacier, eat fresh-caught fish on a seaside patio and tour a grand capitol building all in one day.
Juneau is known for its outdoor recreation, fresh seafood and fine dining. The city itself is pleasant, but the real highlight of a visit to Juneau is tracking down some wildlife. You can hike up Mount Roberts to chance upon wild deer and bald eagles. Most sightseeing and whale-watching tours head north to Auke Bay—bring a good pair of binoculars to get the best view of these majestic and surprisingly graceful creatures. If you prefer land mammals, catch a floatplane to a nearby wildlife reserve such as Chichagof or Admiralty Island to spy some bears lolling around on Alaska cruise excursion.
The sleepy, misty city of around 32,000—mostly fishermen and small-business owners—has a frontier town vibe, but welcomes more than a million visitors each summer to its natural attractions, cementing Juneau as Alaska’s number-one tourist destination. Experience this breathtaking city on an Alaska cruise.
Juneau
DAY 11 – SKAGWAY
At the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, the port town of Skagway served as the primary gateway to the legendary gold fields, and quickly grew into Alaska’s largest settlement. It was then a raucous frontier hub packed with trading posts, saloons and guesthouses. As the gold rush faded into the 1900s, so did Skagway—but today it has been reinvigorated as a gateway for a new kind of visitor: those looking to explore Alaska’s colorful history, pristine wildlife and unrivaled natural beauty.
At every turn, you’ll find yourself immersed in gold rush lore, from the infamous Red Onion Saloon that still keeps a pistol that Wyatt Earp left behind en route to the Klondike, to the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, a classic narrow-gauge railway that traverses rugged mountains and passes cascading waterfalls and towering glaciers as it connects Skagway to Whitehorse deep in the Yukon.
Known as the “Garden City of Alaska,” Skagway is filled with beauty and nature. Explore the town on a Skagway excursion. Much of the town has been preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where rangers offer free walking tours around the historic district.
Skagway
DAY 12 – ENDICOTT ARM / DAWES GLACIER
Endicott Arm is a 30-mile fjord that snakes through the Tracy Arm-Fords Wilderness Area. At the head is the majestic Dawes Glacier. Find a good spot on our spacious decks or get cozy on your verandah and take in the views. Glide past waterfalls that spool like silver ribbons from soaring mountain peaks. As you go deeper into the narrow fjord, the water changes color from gray to jade, the temperatures dip and the bergy bits (ice chunks) become larger and more plentiful.
The 600-foot-tall, mile-wide Dawes Glacier takes center stage just around a bend. The ship will sidle up to this brilliant blue giant for a chance to witness calving, when ice breaks off and plunges into the sea. Dawes Glacier regularly rumbles with white thunder, so keep your camera ready!
Wildlife sightings are common, so bring your binoculars. Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier are the breeding grounds of harbor seals, one of Alaska’s cutest critters. In spring, you can see chubby pups chilling with mom on floating ice. You might also spot mountain goats balancing on cliffs or humpback whales swimming with their pods. Scan the valleys for brown and black bears.
Glacier Bay
DAY 13 – KETCHIKAN
Take an adventure and cruise to Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska’s “First City” of Ketchikan is so named because it’s the first major landfall for most cruisers as they enter the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage, where the town clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.
Ketchikan has long been an important hub of the salmon-fishing and -packing industries. Visitors can try their luck on a sportfishing or simply savor the fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants on a cruise to Ketchikan excursion. Ketchikanis also one of the best spots along the Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of Native Alaskan nations like the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. You can see intricately carved totem poles at the Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight State Park, while the attractions of Saxman Village just outside of Ketchikan offers the chance to see Tlingit culture in action, with working carvers and a dance show in the clan house.
On an Alaska cruise to Ketchikan don’t forget to leave time to explore the sights in the town itself, including historic Creek Street, a boardwalk built over the Ketchikan Creek, where you can shop for souvenirs, smoked salmon and local art, while exploring gold rush–era tourist attractions like Dolly’s House Museum.
Ketchikan
DAY 14 – CRUISE THE INSIDE PASSAGE
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a renowned cruising route through a protected network of waterways, featuring glacier-cut fjords, lush rainforests, and diverse wildlife. Stops along the route showcase Alaska’s rich history, including Native Alaskan culture in Ketchikan and Skagway’s Gold Rush era legacy.
DAY 15 – VANCOUVER
The perfect combination of urban meets nature, Vancouver is a hub for lovers of the great outdoors. Enjoy picturesque views of the mountains while exploring the city’s local hot spots like Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown and more. Don’t forget to sample the best of the local culinary and cocktail scene for something truly unique. Arrive 7.00am.
