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January 14, 2008 | Tips from Travellers > Vancouver, Multi-Adventure Excursions

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Good morning:

I am planning a summer vacation in Canada with my three boys, ages 5,8, and 24. My thoughts are to fly from San Jose, CA to Vancouver and see this beautiful city I hear so much about, then rent a Tahoe and drive to Calgary, fishing along the way at streams and lakes and just sight see. I appears that Route 1 is the best avenue to travel and you go thru Banff as well. We like to hike, fish, camp, and sight see. Perhaps you can recommend some camp areas along the way that have small cabins we can stay in. Our time frame is July 10-17. We will fly out of Calgary back to San Jose. If you have any ideas on other things to do please let us know.

 

Posted by danno427, Campbell at 10:35 AM

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i completely agree with the first person's comment. i live in alberta halfway between edmonton and jasper and i travel alot.. i have travelled all the routes this person mentioned and they are wonderful!! The kicking horse pass on hwy 1 through Golden BC en route to Banff is absolutely amazing to see. you can get there from Kelowna and you will also see the Roger's Pass which is beautiful. You can go river rafting on the Kicking Horse. From Golden you could go down the hwy to Radium Hot Springs (highly reccomended) and hit the hotsprings then head to Banff through the Kootenays. It is a bit longer and little out of the way but well worth the drive.. of course all in my opinion. In Calgary I highly reccomend going to the Zoo.. fun for all ages and also to the Calgary Tower downtown. If you had the chance a trip to nearby Drumheller (about 1.5 hour away) to the Royal Tyrell (Dinosaur) museum is well worth the extra day trip!! ENJOY!!! please feel free to email me at peterbilt3575@msn.com if you would like any other information :)

Posted by JodieG at 17:34 on 2008-02-29

I would suggest taking hwy 5 to merritt, then 97c to kelowna. kelowna is a beautiful place! Okanagan Lake is great for swimming and has campsites and other accomidations. It gets busy in the summer so probably better to have something reserved before hand. I personally would recommend taking hwy 3 to Calgary instead. It will take more time, but Hwy 1 is usually very busy and I dont think there is many lakes that are convenient for fishing and camping. Hwy 3 has alot of small communities along the way that would be cheaper to stay in and alot more camping and fishing opportunities. Also, probably sees less tourists coming through. Christina Lake would be awesome for swimming and fishing as well as camping! I would recommend a backroads mapbook if you are looking to get off the beaten path. You have the option to head north after cranbrook to then connect with hwy 3 to banff and calgary. in between cranbrook and radium hotsprings (a wonderful place to soak!!) there are several beautiful provincial park campground to fish and swim. If you want to email me at ludrob@shaw.ca, i can send you some links to help. I guess im an overly proud bc'er and have done some good travelling in my own province. it is possible to reserve some campgrounds before your trip to ensure there is a spot available for you when you arrive. Albertans also love our province and tend to eat up the campspots closer to their home making it a little harder for tourists. hope some of this helped!!!

Posted by stacy at 22:13 on 2008-01-30

Couple things to keep in mind-
Because you have only 1 week you may find that going to Vancouver Island after Vancouver would be really enjoyable and a better use of limited time. Amazing salmon fishing, great activities for the boys, beautiful sights to see. It would be easy to spend a week just on the Island and still not experience everything that you've heard about!

Driving to Calgary is approximately 12 hours and once there you may have challenges with accomodations because the Calgary Stampede runs July 4-13th. I live in Calgary and often take my son to Vancouver and the Vancouver Island. We salmon fish out of Port Alberni, you would have to hire a charter which might get a little pricey. There are a few lakes on the Island but we haven't fished them. (sorry- no help there!)

Some other ideas that the kids may like from Vancouver are- taking a day trip to Bowen Island, visiting the awesome Vancouver Aquarium, Granville Island, plus many more!

There are many camp grounds and cabins available throughout the area and I agree that picking up the approved accomodations guide is a best bet.

Hope the info helps! Have a fantastic trip!

Posted by Jodi O at 15:17 on 2008-01-28

No matter where you go in BC you will find amazing sights to see. As far as fishing goes, the area around Kamloops offers some of the most famous trout fishing in the world. Check out Roche Lake on the web for a good place to camp and fish (and you are only 30 minutes away from a city).
I recommend picking up an "Approved Accomodation Guide" from Tourism BC - keep it in the glove box and hit the road. There are always places to stay and explore, no matter where you may find yourself.
some key websites I'd recommend: drivebc.ca, http://www.berrysbait.com/ (for fishing gear and family-style advice)

Posted by Dave at 17:26 on 2008-01-16