The Canadian at Christmas
Enjoy a Christmas in the snowy Rockies
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Celebrate the festive season with a fabulous holiday on this famous cross-continental train. We spend two unforgettable nights in fantastic Toronto, visit the incredible Niagara Falls, and stay two nights in cosmopolitan Vancouver. Here we enjoy a wonderfully festive sleigh ride on the snow-capped Grouse Mountain.
We depart from London Heathrow for Toronto, where on arrival you have some time at leisure.
Our morning guided sightseeing tour is the ideal introduction to this friendly, multicultural city. Your afternoon is free to discover Toronto at your leisure. Perhaps take in Chinatown or Kensington Market, browse the hundreds of shops in the grand covered malls or visit the excellent Art Gallery of Ontario, with its wonderful collection by Canadian artists.
A visit to the magnificent Niagara Falls is one of the highlights of any holiday to Canada. We enjoy lunch in the Falls View Restaurant of the Sheraton Hotel whilst admiring the views over the Falls. Niagara Falls are all the more dramatic in winter, when thick snow covers the ground and the water freezes into giant icicles. We then return to Toronto to board The Canadian and begin our unforgettable journey in Sleeper Plus Class through the majestic Rockies to Vancouver.
Today it is Christmas Eve, and we spend it on board the Canadian, watching the stunning panorama of the Canadian Shield pass effortlessly by our window. This wild land, full of frozen lakes, it breathtaking to behold.
We arrive in Winnipeg on Christmas Day, where the train stops for the morning, giving us the opportunity to explore this railway city and there is time for a festive stroll, known as the 'Gateway to the West'. Union Station was built in 1911 by the same architects as the famous Grand Central Station. The walls are faced with local limestone and studded with prehistoric fossils from the ancient seabeds that once covered the prairies. We continue westwards from Winnipeg where Christmas Dinner is served onboard the train, crossing the prairies and arrive in the province of Saskatchewan this evening.
Relax and enjoy the journey today, as we pass glaciers, lakes, plunging canyons, frozen waterfalls and soaring snow-covered peaks. The Rockies are not just a line of mountains, but the edge of the Western Cordillera, a complex array of plateaus and folded rock layers that stretch to the Pacific Coast. We make a short stop in Jasper, a quaint mountain town at the edge of the wilderness in the heart of the Rockies. The town is surrounded by tree covered mountains, blanketed in snow to create a fabulous setting. As you wander through the streets, past pretty houses and shops, it wouldn't be unusual to see a family of elk crossing the road.
The Canadian arrives into Vancouver this morning. We leave the train after breakfast and travel by coach to Grouse Mountain for an exciting excursion to the peak, with a cable car trip and delightful sleigh ride included.
Vancouver enjoys a fabulous natural setting, with beautiful snow-covered mountains and deep fjords providing a dramatic backdrop to the urban landscape of modern skyscrapers. Today, we enjoy a guided tour of the city before dinner together at the 'Top of Vancouver', a revolving restaurant in a fabulous rooftop location with superb views of the city.
Today you are free to enjoy this fabulous city. On Day 10, you are free until the early evening when we transfer to Vancouver airport for our overnight flight to London Heathrow, arriving early in the morning of Day 11.
Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.
An escorted experience and all travel arrangements
Comfortable accommodation in your destination
Delicious meals included
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Enhancing your tour
This tour may be suitable for reduced mobility passengers, please call for further information.
The centrepiece of this holiday was our four-night trip on The Canadian - the wonderful train that travels across Canada.
We boarded in Toronto at night. Although the bunks were in place, we had space for an airline-type suitcase, a holdall and two rucksacks - not merely an overnight bag, as indicated in the holiday itinerary. We awoke early and went straight to breakfast in the superb restaurant car.
What a feed! And we returned to find our bunks replaced by two comfortable armchairs - with plenty of room. Later, we went to enjoy the view of the snow-covered countryside from the tail observation car, which characterises this train.
Our main stop was at Winnipeg on Christmas morning, but there were many other shorter stops to stretch our legs. The highlight was seeing The Canadian snaking its way through the Rockies on its way to Vancouver.
A joy and an adventure.
We just wanted to thank you for a truly memorable "trip of a lifetime" for my mother and myself.
The whole trip from start to finish was wonderful and something
my mother will never forget.
Thanks again for such a lovely experience.
Enjoy a Christmas in the snowy Rockies
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Toronto and Vancouver are very cosmopolitan cities and a comprehensive half-day tour of each gave a flavour and ideas of where to explore further during the free time.
The Canadian train was a lovely experience. The single cabin was compact, self-contained and had sufficient storage. It was difficult to sleep at times while travelling but imagine being able to open the blind and look at the stars from the comfort of your bed and see the scenery passing by. An unexpected pleasure.
Food on the train was prepared to a high standard with plenty of variety. Observation of scenery from the dome was good. Short stops along the way provided an opportunity to get a glimpse of Jasper and Winnipeg.
This tour had been on my wish list for a while and I was not disappointed, in fact it exceeded my expectations. A pretty country where good service standards appear to be high on the agenda.
I cannot praise the holiday enough.