We begin with VIP Home Departure Service to London Heathrow Airport and your scheduled Air Canada flight direct or indirect to Calgary. On arrival in Calgary our coach transports you to Banff, the largest town in the parks, set in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and our hotel for the next three nights - the Delta Banff Royal Canadian Lodge.

This morning we board our coach for a tour through the surrounding area. We visit the most famous of Canada’s many lakes, Lake Louise, a stunning lake sitting in a small glacial valley, surrounded by trees and snow-capped mountains. Here, from the Chateau gardens at the lakeside, we have a picture-postcard view of the magical Victoria Glacier. The Chateau itself is now a hotel with well proportioned rooms housing cafés and bars. We return to Banff by a different route and have free time to explore.

Today is free to explore Banff, claimed by many to be the loveliest small town in North America. It is surrounded by the soaring peaks of the mountains and lush green parkland offering a wide choice of wonderful walks. As the area has been protected, it is not unusual to find wild elk wandering through the town to graze the lush grass on the town common. You can take a gondola ride to Sulphur Mountain, the ‘top of the world’ at 7,500ft, and provides spectacular views over the surrounding mountains, Bow River and Banff Town, visit the hot springs or just stroll around and take it easy in the many cafés.

We board our coach for the journey through scenic countryside as we travel westward to Sun Peaks, in the heart of British Columbia. Our hotel is the Coast Sundance Lodge, centrally located in the village close to the numerous restaurants and lounges.

After breakfast our journey takes us southwards, along the Coquihalla Highway, allowing you to enjoy the ever-changing natural scenery. We cros the border into Washington State and travel on to eattle and the Roosevelt Hotel. This evening you are free to enjoy Seattle, and perhaps stroll its waterfront on Puget Sound.

This morning there is an orientation tour of Seattle before transferring to the pier for the Alaska cruise onboard the Norwegian Star. There will be time to make yourself comfortable in your cabin before sailing this afternoon. With spacious, light and airy public rooms, the Norwegian Star offers excellent observation areas from which to view the scenery. Facilities on board include a spa and fitness centre, library, theatre, shops, swimming pools and you have a choice of dining rooms for breakfast, lunch and dinner, allowing you to choose where and when you wish to dine. Onboard entertainment includes spectacular shows.

Our 1,000 mile journey to Alaska takes us through the beautiful cruising waters of the Inside Passage. During the Ice-Age, virtually all of the Inside Passage was buried under a smothering blanket of ice. This accounts for the scenery you will see along the way – U-shaped valleys that were smoothed by the moving ice, waterfalls, fjords with sheer sided walls, and glaciers that are still shaping the landscape. Calm and sheltered, this scenic “marine highway” meanders through countless islands that hug the coastline of this majestic, untamed wilderness. Wildlife is abundant, featuring bald eagles, deer and bears as well as whales, sea lions and sea otters and many varieties of birds.

This morning we arrive at Ketchikan, stretching like a ribbon along a narrow shelf of shoreline beneath the slopes of Deer Mountain. Surrounded by wilderness, without highway or rail connection to the rest of the world, the only way to reach Ketchikan is by sea or air. Echoes of pioneer days still haunt Creek Street, which is built on pilings along Ketchikan Creek.

Early this morning, we arrive in Juneau sailing through scenery reminiscent of the Norwegian fjords. Alaskas state capital is full of contrasts, a sophisticated cosmopolitan city in the heart of the Tongass National Forest and nestled at the base of towering mountains overlooking the Gastineau Channel. This afternoon, we explore the classic 30 mile Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glacier onboard the Norwegian Star. You are almost guaranteed to see harbour seals resting on ice floes and there is a strong possibility of spotting humpback whales, bears, eagles and mountain goats. Perched at the head of Tracy Arm is the awe inspiring Sawyer Glacier, beautifully framed by snow-capped mountain peaks and arguably the bluest and most beautiful of glaciers in a land renowned for them. As your ship confronts the slow moving rivers of ice that carve icebergs into the blue-green water with unearthly creaks and booms, you will take in so many breathtaking sights to be remembered and some of the outstanding highlights of your holiday.

Early this morning, we arrive in Skagway, the starting point for the famed Chilkoot Trail, a long, slow, arduous and often deadly haul for thousands of gold seekers stampeding towards the goldfields of the Klondike during the late 1890s. The compact town still remains rich in gold rush history and character with its boardwalks, pebble streets and many original buildings. Here you will have the opportunity to follow the original White Pass "Trail of 98" by coach into Canada’s Yukon Territory or to take the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, that became the supply line for the gold fields.

We cruise southwards back through the Inside Passage before arriving in Prince Rupert, renowned as the ‘City of Rainbows’ on account of the mild, moist climate, which often creates spectacular double or triple rainbows. We have a short stay here before continuing our cruise back to Seattle.

An early morning arrival in Seattle where we disembark and join our coach for the transfer to Vancouver and our hotel for the next three nights, the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle. This evening sample one of the many restaurants along Robson Street or enjoy the attractions of Gastown.

You are free to explore on your own and there is plenty to do, including an optional excursion to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge. Chinatown is well worth a visit to experience the bustle of the city. Or walk by the harbour and watch the ship, boat and float plane activity.

A day to enjoy Vancouver - perhaps visit the 1,000 acre Stanley Park, the largest urban park in North America. It is Vancouver’s ‘green heart’, a wilderness area of forest, marshland and beaches surrounded by ocean on three sides. Maybe take the optional excursion to Vancouver Island. Visit Butchart Gardens with its magnificent roses and shrubs, and Victoria, capital of British Columbia, noted for its very British feel.

Time this morning for last minute shopping, before we transfer to Vancouver Airport for our flight direct to London Heathrow. Or extend your stay - call for details

Arrival at London Heathrow where our staff will greet and transfer you home to your front door.