THE CANADIAN ROCKIES AND ALASKA
Ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Combine Canada’s stunning wild west with a cruise along Alaska’s fabled Inside Passage
An irresistible showcase of mountains, glaciers, lakes and forests awaits on this spectacular journey across western Canada. After arriving in Calgary via a flight from the UK, you will travel to Banff in the heart of the Rockies before following the Icefields Parkway – a remarkable stretch of scenic highway. The road runs beside saw-toothed peaks and glaciers, along a valley studded with emerald lakes. You’ll stop in Lake Louise, where a mountain cradles a glacier, and at the 1,200ft-thick Athabasca Glacier for a ride across the ice. Next up is Victoria on Vancouver Island, the charming provincial capital with a rather British feel. After a short ferry ride across the Strait of Georgia, you’ll arrive in the lively waterfront city of Vancouver, standing with its feet in the Pacific and its head in the mountains.
From Vancouver, you’ll step aboard one of Holland America’s fleet of 14 mid-sized ships – either the MS Volendam or MS Nieuw Amsterdam – which will take you on one of the planet’s most scenic journeys in sumptuous five-star comfort.
Often considered America’s last frontier, a cruise along the coast of Alaska, weaving among the islands of the fabled Inside Passage, is an unbeatable way of seeing the amazing natural wonders that this part of the world has to offer. Much of what you’ll see has barely changed since the beginning of time.
The scenic highlight is Glacier Bay, a 70-mile deep fjord with 15 glaciers, which often ‘calve’ close to the ship’s beam. Be on the lookout, too, for eagles, seals, whales, mountain goats, moose and bears in their natural habitat.
Sailing Alaska’s Inside Passage gives you something to look at on both sides of the ship – a bear loping along a beach or a whale breaking the surface of the water Be on the lookout for eagles, seals, whales, mountain goats, moose and bears in their natural habitat