Premium Wonders of Canada and the Rocky Mountaineer

We meet at London Heathrow for our flight to Vancouver, and check into the city's exceptional Fairmont Hotel for two nights.

We enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of this wonderful, multicultural city. We visit historic Gastown, an area of coffee shops, galleries and native art stores which is one of Vancouver's best-loved neighbourhoods. We also experience Stanley Park. Larger than Central Park, with over half a million trees, the park may be best-known for its fantastic collection of totem poles, displaying the impressive designs of North America's indigenous people. We continue to China-town, soaking up enticing scents and sights.

Today we embark on a daylight journey towards the Rockies on the iconic Rocky Mountaineer, travelling to Kamloops along one of the most dramatic stretches of the line. We pass through lush green forests and dramatic valleys, home to an abundance of Canadian wildlife, along the dramatic Thompson and Fraser Canyons before entering the desert-like environs of Canada's interior. Look out for Rainbow Canyon, where a myriad colours are reflected in the rocks. Other features to spot are 'hoodoos' - tall skinny spires of rock which protrude from the arid Thompson Plateau. Local mythology describes these as giants, turned to stone by the Great Spirit. We disembark in the town of Kamloops where we spend the night.

Re-boarding the Rocky Mountaineer, we enter the towering landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, following the 'First Passage to the West'. Along the route, we experience the legendary spiral tunnels - a feat of engineering, built to overcome the steep gradients of the Rockies - and cross the Continental Divide. We enjoy spectacular views before arriving in Banff, where we spend two nights in the luxurious Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Immersing ourselves in the natural beauty of Banff National Park, we see the Spiral Tunnels from a different vantage point, and visit Emerald Lake, renowned for its vivid colours. We continue to the idyllic Lake Louise, a picture-book landscape of soaring peaks and pine forests, framing the pristine lake. Afterwards, we meet a retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known locally as a 'Mountie', who gives a talk and answers our questions about their time in service.

We depart by coach along the world-famous Icefields Parkway, a 144-mile road that links Banff with Jasper. Travelling along a lake-lined valley, past many of the highest and most rugged peaks in the Rockies, we stop at the Icefields Centre, set at the foot of the vast Columbia Icefields. Here, we marvel at the breathtaking Athabasca Glacier, an offshoot of the vast Columbia Icefield. Arriving in Jasper, we check into the outstanding, luxurious Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for two nights, surrounded by stunning World Heritage mountain scenery.

Today you are free to explore independently. You could head into Jasper National Park. Full of sublime natural attractions, including canyons, lakes and hot springs, you might visit Maligne Canyon, a deep limestone gorge, and Maligne Lake - the largest glacier-fed body of water in the region. There's plenty of wildlife to watch out for, such as grey wolves, hoary marmot, caribou and moose. Elk can also be found in the town of Jasper and out on the mountains, and there's a variety of birdlife. This evening there is an included optional excursion to Jasper Planetarium for a telescope tour. Here in the Canadian Rockies stargazing is a delight, as the dark night sky is unpolluted by city lights.

We begin our epic journey aboard The Canadian, travelling to Toronto over the next three days and nights. We settle into our berths for the journey through the foothills of the Rockies, passing pine forests, glaciers, plunging canyons and soaring peaks.

Today is our first full day on board, and we travel through the province of Saskatchewan, crossing the prairie lands on our way to Winnipeg, a fascinating city home to over 50 different ethnic communities.

Today is spent crossing the Canadian Shield from the comfort of the glass-roofed panoramic observation car. Sit back and watch the world go by as we skirt the scenic lakelands of northern Ontario ahead of our arrival into Toronto.

Stepping off the train, we make our way to our hotel for two nights. Arriving in the evening you may like to start exploring Toronto, a multicultural melting-pot with an inviting, laid-back atmosphere. You could walk past the finest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America, and spend time in Toronto's unique Distillery District. Home to art galleries, restaurants, bars and live music venues, the brick-paved streets of this neighbourhood have been designated a National Heritage Site.

Our day takes us to the incredible Niagara Falls, which straddles the US-Canadian border. Our tour includes a Hornblower boat ride into the spray and mist at the base of the powerful falls. Split into three separate sections, we see American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls as well the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, which date back about 12,000 years, when melting glaciers created a pas-sage of water from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Horseshoe Falls are the second largest in the world, after Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, and are also the easiest to access and view.

Enjoy a free morning in Toronto, maybe to do some last-minute sightseeing. We then transfer to the airport for our overnight flight to London Heathrow.

We arrive back in London today, where your tour comes to an end.