The Canadian Rockies must surely rank amongst the very finest scenic and wildlife holidays on earth! The magnificent Rocky Mountains are Canada’s crowning glory: home to bears, majestic elk, moose and beaver with vast forests that seem to go on forever. Opaque lakes, of stunning emerald green and turquoise glassy waters, reflect the magnificent scenery like no other place on earth as they sparkle in the sunlight. Carpets of wild flowers bedeck the green meadows spread beneath the towering glaciers - huge expanses of brilliant white ice and snow, contrasting with the muted greys and pinks of the jagged peaks.

We stay in Banff, the very heart of the mountains then travel along the monument to man’s engineering prowess, the ‘road of steel’ that is the great Trans-Canadian railway, on the incredible Rocky Mountaineer train. Crossing high passes, deep ravines and innumerable spectacular bridges, places that can only be seen by rail, the Rocky Mountaineer is acknowledged as the ultimate way to travel through the beautifully rugged terrain of Alberta and British Columbia.

Finally, we arrive in Vancouver, nestling beside the immense majesty of the Pacific Ocean, which ranks alongside Sydney, Cape Town and San Francisco as one of the world’s most naturally beautiful panoramas. With its gleaming glass skyscrapers reflected in the azure-blue ocean, Canada’s third-largest city is a fascinating and cosmopolitan metropolis encircled by water and mountains. Our seven-night cruise with Holland America Line to Alaska is available as an extension to the tour on almost all departures, see our separate tour itinerary under our Worldwide destinations listing.