Canadian Rockies and Pacific Coast

Good trip. Consistent in itinerary, accommodation, group leader with other trips.

I cannot fault this holiday at all. The itinerary allowed for enough time to be able to have some time to yourself as well as following the routes provided by the guide. The guide was fantastic, she pulled the whole group together and nothing was too much trouble for her. thank you

The only negative issues with this tour are related to the itinerary. At times the tour leader was trying to accommodate many different option choices which required her to drive various people in different directions and pick them up again on the same day, as other transport options were limited. This must've been very tiring for her, as she was managing a tightly scheduled tour and doing all the driving- often whole days of driving- at the same time. She seemed to have a different list of visits to the published itinerary at times, and was concerned her agency might penalise her for not visiting everything on it, so perhaps more liaison with the agency is needed here. Whilst she was generous enough to offer to cut out a walk on one day so we could spend more time in Victoria, this meant out voting another member of the group who wanted the walk. I would recommend changing to this on the itinerary anyway, so that a whole afternoon is spent in Victoria, which is a really charming place. There also seemed to be a very long diversion just to see bears and whales which could've been seen elsewhere on the trip. The element that really made the trip was our tour leader Manon, who constantly went above and beyond to ensure we had the best experience possible. She was always enthusiastic and energetic, and worked hard from the start to bond us, so we were a very happy and integrated group during the trip. She organised a WhatsApp system of voting for choices of restaurants or trip options, and made some great recommendations, and she helped by buying picnic food for a small group of us to share for some of the lunches, and also took us to supermarkets so we could buy our own lunches. Accommodation and food was generally of a high standard, and whilst I believe several people would request the inclusion of hotel breakfasts, I would've found the extra cost off putting, as this has been the most expensive tour for food and optional trips I've ever been on. This is an amazing holiday, seeing a variety of stunning landscapes from beaches to waterfalls, snow topped mountains and glaciers. Whistler was a high point, as was Lake Louise, and I would really recommend the peak to peak gondola, the zodiac bear watching trips, Fisherman's Wharf in Victoria and the harbour cruise in Vancouver.

Parts of the itinerary did not work too well as lots of travelling and limited time at destination e.g. Vancouver Island would have been better to stay near Toffino or Victoria rather than where we did stay further north to limit travel. Also may have been better to stay longer in Banff rather than Canmore.

I have a few comments so I will email these separately direct to Explore

The tour is rated as moderate but felt full on! Early starts, long days and lots packed in.

We enjoyed this tour very much. We had a great group of people in our group and we all got along very well. The landscape was fantastic and we also saw an abundance of wildlife. The only thing that didn’t really apply to me was the size of the hotels. They were to big. We were lucky with our knowledgeable tour leader Marie Eve who was also a good driver.

The tour was amazing! Rainforests, lakes, glaciers, plus varied landscapes, history, and wonderful people. We were fortunate to see black and grizzly bears (and their cubs), elk, bald eagles, seals, sea otters, as well as marvelled at the rock flour coloured lakes. Our tour guide - Marie-Eve - made sure the tour was a truly great experience. Always happy to offer suggestions on hikes, highlight optional activities outside the itinerary, and check-in with everyone.

An amazing journey through a beautiful country. A brilliant tour leader, good accommodation and a varied itinerary.

The itinerary was good, I would have preferred 1 night in Clearwater ( we could have visited the waterfalls along the way). I think that 2 nights should have been spent in Victoria, the visit was far too rushed. Some people wished to visit the gardens, others didn't. A lot of time was wasted facilitating everyone. The tour leader Marie Eve did a marvellous job, it is very demanding to both drive and ensure that the tour runs smoothly.