Very good tour to see a lot of places in one trip. We took the Rockies Trail 10 day tour JULY 2023. We are 68 and 71 but we like to take in lots of sights and activities. The first day was arrive in Calgary with no tours planed. We took an extra day early and saw the Calgary Zoo and Heritage Park- a old car museum place . It was very nice. The scenery in Alberta and BC is a given so I will report on the tour itself. It covered the main attractions in Banff . We did the gondola ride-optional- but no views because of the smoke. We visited Cascade Gardens &,Banff Park museum on our own. I Wished we could have known the return times so we could have booked our own excisions ahead as most have to be prebooked. An extra optional tour here would have been an evening wildlife tour but we could not do it because we didn't book ahead. I understand the unknown time as it depends on what stops the bus did all day. Some of the extra stops for views and lookouts was a bonus and appreciated though so I do understand. Jasper was just a night to sleep. No time for activities. Next day we did the Spirit Island Cruise-optional very nice. Then a 5 hr drive to Kamloops with a few look out stops . A beautiful drive. Arrive Kamloops just to eat and sleep. Kamloops to Whistler another 5 hrs with stops. Arrive in Whistler we got there so late everything was closed- the peak to peak cuts off at 4 , the museum closes at 5. Nothing else available . Just lots of shops and restaurants. A bit disappointing. Whistler to Nanaimo to catch the ferry to Victoria. Did the capilano suspension bridge -included . Really good. Definitely do the treetop walk as well. Ferry is 1 1/2 hrs. Arrive in Victoria just in time for dinner and walks to the Warf. Next day to Bushart Gardens- included - a 2 hr time here . Then did the whale watch tour-optional . Strolled the city at night. Eat at The old spagetti house and see the totum poles across the street. The city tour was just so so. Next day ferry back to Vancouver. Our tour guide let us out early from the city tour so we could visit Grouse Mountain - on our own. But it took an hr to get there and 2 hrs to get back. There is just one gondola to bring everyone back at the end of the day. We could only get 2 hrs in there. But it was a lovely place with 2 shows we took in.( if you visit gives yourselves a full day) Then rushed back for our complimentary group dinner at 6. It should have been at 7 so we had more time in Vancouver. Overall the tour was good for seeing a little bit of a number of things. The tour guide Carol was great with lots of local facts and info about each area. Bus driver Kevin was great too. Stops for breaks and lunch were enough. Hotels were all very good, and fairly close to main areas. Optional tours were a good variety but there could have been some evening ones in the places where they were available - like Banff and Jasper. More include tours would have given the trip more value. The city tours were just drives around the streets- nothing special for us. I'm not sure I would do Victoria again on a bus tour. The ferry ride there and back took up a lot of time. I would do Victoria sometime again on a separate trip. The trip gave us a small taste of each area, should we return on our own to do more of each area.
WHALES & BEARS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A fantastic holiday which gives you numerous opportunities to enjoy the local wildlife while also allowing time to visit Vancouver, Victoria and some of the other towns. This was my first wildlife focussed holiday which meant there were lot's of things i had never seen before including black bears, grizzly bears, orca whales, otters, seals etc. I do think you need to be aware however that you are trying to spot wild animals so you need to accept that anything you see is a bonus, there is the possibility that you might not see certain things depending on the weather, conditions and just how lucky you are. Having said that the people involved in the trips know what they are doing and will always swap things around and will do their best to get you the best possible experience. We were not disappointed and saw so much throughout the holiday.
Our First Exodus Expedition (And Not Our Last!)This This was our 'Trip Of A Lifetime' and thanks to Exodus it exceeded all our expectations. We had always wanted to see the Rockies and our outstanding tour guide Isabel certainly ensured that we did!
