A Canadian Adventure in Winter

Fly from London Heathrow to Toronto. On arrival, you'll be transferred to your hotel for two nights, the 4-Star Chelsea Toronto, then the rest of your evening is free. On Day 2, you'll be picked up from your hotel for a guided tour of Niagara Falls. A highlight of any holiday to Canada, these famous falls are all the more dramatic in winter, when thick snow covers the ground and the water freezes into giant icicles.

After a free morning, we'll pick you up for the transfer to Union Station, embarkation point for the Canadian, to begin your cross-country journey through the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver. Enjoy dinner on board tonight before settling down in your comfortable berth.

Day 4 is spent traversing the Canadian Shield, a wild land of frozen lakes, snow-covered trees and isolated communities. Sit back and relax as the incredible scenery of Canada passes by your window, keeping a watchful eye for a possible glimpse of the local wildlife, which includes bear, moose, eagles and elk.

• Free Day

The Canadian arrives in Winnipeg this morning, giving you the opportunity to explore this railway city, known as the 'Gateway to the West'. Winnipeg's Union Station was built in 1911 by the same architects who designed New York's famous Grand Central Station. Built with local limestone and studded with prehistoric fossils from ancient seabeds that once covered the tundra, the station is Beau-Arts in style. Re-joining the train after time to look around, continue west, crossing the prairies on your way towards the province of Saskatchewan.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

There's some free time in Jaspar this morning, a quaint mountain town at the edge of the wilderness that is the Rocky Mountains. As you wander through the streets, past pretty houses and small shops, it isn't unusual to see a family of elk crossing the road or hear the call of distant wolf packs. Re-embarking The Canadian this afternoon, climb into the foothills of the Rockies, passing glaciers, lakes, plunging canyons, frozen waterfalls and snow-covered peaks. The very edge of the Western Cordillera, this mountain range is a complex array of plateaus and folded rock layers that stretch all the way to the Pacific Coast. 

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Leave The Canadian for the final time after breakfast this morning, and transfer to your hotel for the next three nights, the 4-Star Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel. Afterwards, enjoy a private sightseeing tour of the city that takes your firstly to Gastown, named after 'Gassy' Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman who settled here in 1867. Today, Gastown is a popular downtown area, full of cafés, contemporary fashion shops, galleries and more. Continue to Chinatown, one of the largest of its kind in North America. Finally, visit Stanley Park, Vancouver's largest park, at 400 hectares, famous for its totem poles that give a hint to the region's rich Native American history.

Day 8 is free for you to explore Vancouver further. You might like to visit some of its excellent museums, art galleries and shops. If you travel a little way out of the city, you'll find Grouse Mountain, where you can enjoy a number of seasonal activities including sleigh rides or a snow limo (payable locally). 

• Day 8 - Breakfast, Day 9 - Dinner

After a relaxed day, this afternoon you'll be collected from your hotel and transferred to the airport. Here, board you overnight flight to London Heathrow.