The fabulous Canadian sun had set on our 3 weeks of sisterly love it was time to return to the real world and for our teary seaplane treat.
I had thought that there was a shuttle to the international airport on arrival in Vancouver itself– but this is only if you book the plane to Vancouver airport. Not the one I’d booked to the harbour, apparently.
Bit of a moment on arrival, with emotional children and a flight to England leaving in a couple of hours, to have to navigate our way carrying 6 weeks’ worth of luggage for 3 (2 of whom unable to lift their own bags) from the seaplane docking area to the airport many, many miles away. After pacing up and down the marina manically, someone told me there was a bus I could catch from a nearby multi-storey car park to down town Vancouver. I waited, not very patiently, at the dark concrete-y entrance as plane departure time tick tocked ever closer.
Alighting from the bus, we shot across 3 lanes of traffic with 6 bags, to a train station, only to be faced with a machine displaying an array of ticket choices but with no clue as to where I was or where I was supposed to be going. I blindly relied on the advice of the lady behind me in the queue.
Flights of train station stairs negotiated, thumping bags down one step at a time, we managed to board a train to what I hoped was the right airport. On disembarking, the exit barriers said no to our tickets, requiring us to tailgate (in the manner of 3 incompetent massive-bag-toting-spies) some correct-fare paying strangers to get out.
To complete the hat trick or incompetence, I had decided to pack some souvenir forks in my hand luggage, which these days is not a great idea. To the general dismay of the whole party, I had to go and check another bag at 11th hour and rejoin the massive security queue. Tick tock. Gin was required on the 15 hour plane journey home.
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That is an epic amount of territory you covered! I love British Columbia as I consider it part of my beloved Pacific NW, we adore the San Juan Islands and Victoria region, but I’d love to get to Nanaimo and explore more of the west side of Vancouver Island. It’s a bit disappointing to see the level of kitsch that has cropped up near Niagara Falls, it has been 30+ years since I’ve been there. Banff is definitely on my wish list and Bow Lake looked like the perfect spot outside crowded Lake Louise and Moraine. Thanks for the honest insider tips and for sharing with #FarawayFiles. Cheers from Copenhagen!
What I love is the variety of the scenery from lunar baked rock surfaces to chunky glacier snows to apocalyptic wildfire hazes. Incredible trip!
Another utterly epic road trip that’s fired my wanderlust all over again, especially with children. I did a month in Whistler and Vancouver before kids and this is a fantastic itinerary with kids. Bookmarked! #FarawayFiles
A month in Whistler would be amazing! We are lucky to have relatives on Vancouver Island to explore and hang out with on a semi-regular basis. Looking forward to discovering some more of it soon!
Wow, what a detailed guide! This brought back some fond memories – I did the trans-canada railway from Toronto to Vancouver many moons ago. Absolutely loved Canada and would love to return… #FarawayFiles
Would love to do the journey by train! It did feel a bit cheaty to fly over a big chunk in the middle!
What an amazing road trip! Canada is such a massive and beautiful country and I feel like this trip helps you experience some of it. Also reminds me of a trip I took to Niagra Falls with my dad back in the day. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment. Was amazing, if also a bit stressful at times. Niagara takes your breath away doesn’t it?
You have some lovely pictures here. Thank you for sharing it.
What an epic, detailed post! Pinning to reference later.
Wow what an amazing trip! There’s so many beautiful places that you saw!
Heading to Banff and a few other places later this year so this post is perfect!!! Thanks for all the tips and beautiful photos!!!
Thanks. The snow top mountains are gorgeous! Enjoy!
What an awesome and detailed itinerary. I LOVE road trips and this was is saved as I dream to do a road trip in Canada. Thanks for sharing a great guide.
Thanks – road trips really allow you to see behind the scenes of a country – although it’s always hard to get the balance the inside/outside car ratio.
I can’t believe I’ve lived in Canada for over a year and haven’t seen any of these places! It is still so high on my bucket list, really hope to do a road trip next year, so will definitely have to bookmark this because these places just look stunning!
Thanks for your comments. I was expecting the mountains to be ind=credible but was blown away by the lakes! Enjoy exploring!
This trip looks and sounds incredible, the scenery is stunning. Your children must have loved the whole big adventure.
Thanks for sharing and your post is full of really useful information. #farawayfiles
Thank you. I think they do love the snowballs in July and glaciers and at the same time hate big fly bites and long car journeys – but you can’t have one without the other. All part of the adventure.
Aw, you’ve brought back very happy memories of my honeymoon, where we spent a week in Vancouver, then 9 nights touring through the Rockies and ending with 2 nights in Calgary. I think we had much better luck than you however. We managed to just avoid a land slip on the Kamloops to Jasper route which apparently got closed near Mnt Robson about an hour and a half after we passed through. Was so glad as it would have been one hell of a detour and we wouldn’t have made it to Jasper that eve that’s for sure. Next time we go back to this area, the idea is to spend at least a week on Vancouver Island as we didn’t get to do that then. Would also love to do an Alaska cruise from Vancouver too! Maybe at our 10 year anniversary… fingers crossed! #farawayfiles
Yes, detours are certainly lengthy in this neck of the woods. You were lucky to miss that land slide! Alaska is on my bucket list too – hope your cruising dreams come true!
Wow that’s such a detailed post ,Canada is a beautiful comments ntry and I would love to visit it someday ..Niagara fall from Canada is much more better I guess
We have so much left to explore in Canada. It’s so vast! Can’t wait to get back out there and have our own road trip. Great post!
The road trip has undoubtedly seen a revival during the pandemic, and it s the perfect way to explore the countryside for rich autumnal scenery.
That looks amazing! So stunning! #Culturedkids