Canada & Alaska

Vancouver is the city that has it all – bright lights, shopping, parks, wildlife, skiing, sports and beautiful beaches, all set against a backdrop of dramatic mountains! There are unlimited options to what you can do, in and around this city, but too numerous to mention so here are my highlights:

Grouse Mountain – Here you can take the sky ride to the top, which is 1242 metres above sea level. With views over the city you can also enjoy the hiking, the glacier, see the animals in the endangered wildlife area and then enjoy a Lumberjack show. If you choose, you can walk back down the mountain on the trail path.

Stanley Park – you can easily spend a day ambling around the park where there is something for all the family; a miniature train, an aquarium, totem poles and amazing picnic areas where you can enjoy the sunshine and take in the views.

Capilano suspension bridge – The highest and longest bridge in the world, you need a head for heights, would you be brave enough to walk across?

Also in Vancouver I indulged in some shopping and dining! All kinds of cuisine are on offer and if you have a car, we found it was worth heading slightly out of the city to find some great restaurants with fewer tourists and more favourable pricing, particularly for Sushi. Once you’ve done all of that, you can also head to the beach for a well-earned rest.

After 4 days in Vancouver, we picked up a cruise to Alaska. This was our first cruising experience and we certainly did it in style, what a location and what a cruise operator! I went on the Celebrity Ship – Mercury, which was a fabulous introduction to cruising and without a doubt, an all-round five star experience.

Our itinerary included a visit to Juneau (the capital), Ketchikan and Sitka; only a few stops but it was a good balance because there is so much to do on board. We spent two days cruising the inside passage for which I had my camera in my hand at all times! There are many itineraries in Alaska and they don’t all have to return to Vancouver, but we did a seven day option returning to the city at the end. The sail away alone is a great experience as you sail under Lionsgate Bridge with spectacular views of Vancouver from the bay.

We did find that the areas around the port were very much reliant on the tourism that the cruise ships bring, but it didn’t ruin our stay in any way. Once you head inland from the port you can really begin to explore the true nature of Alaska, the fabulous people showcasing their native skills and soak up the simple, laid back way of everyday life that we sometimes forget to appreciate in the hustle and bustle of our hectic routines.

We went in August and had only one day of rain (in Sitka) – we were told it rains over 300 days of the year in Alaska, even if just a short downpour, so we were lucky as the rest of the time we were treated to lovely sunshine.

There are countless options for excursions; sea plane flights, visits to glaciers with hiking opportunities, helicopter rides, whale watching, to name a few! We bought a fishing licence for less than US$20 and this allowed us to fish locally with ease, which was great fun. We could have had our catch boxed up and taken back to the ship too. If we had we caught anything of significance this would have been perfect!

It’s not an inexpensive trip, but given that there are only short days in dock for the destinations I visited, it was easy to return to the ship for lunch, your only other expenses on shore are excursions, which can be budgeted for and booked in advance of your trip and any souvenirs or light refreshments you may want. As great as Vancouver is, I did not want to disembark at the end of my trip! I could have happily stowed away and done the same trip over and over again!