Up bright and early on the 30th September and off to the Vancouver Airport to catch our 8:50am flight to Prince Rupert Air Canada AC8278. It was a good flight, I think I slept most of the way but we did fly over some beautiful but rugged country.

Getting to Prince Rupert

 

The Prince Rupert airport is on another island so once we landed everyone piled onto the shuttle bus for the ride into town. It took about an hour to get to the drop off point in town. We decided we could manage to walk to our hotel and it wasn’t too bad but probably having some second thoughts halfway there. Check-in was uneventful and after a bit of a rest we set of in search of food, which happened to back near our drop off point but the walk was much easier without bags to drag us down. After food, we wandered for awhile around town, not a lot to see but we did visit the museum before heading back to the room for rest and reorganise bags ready for the train tomorrow.
Booked the corner table in the hotel restaurant for a lovely dinner, a wine and view of the harbour and cruise shipping leaving port. It was an early night as our cab was booked for 6am to make sure we were at the train in plenty of time, we were first there but it is good to know you aren’t running late.

 

 

The next morning was the beginning of an amazing two-day cross-country train ride. The was only a few people on the train which meant although we just had regular seats we had one row each and as much access to the dome car as we wanted. We had xxx looking after us for all food beverages and pointing out the places of interest or making sure we were in the dome car as the most beautiful sights were coming up. He had been doing this job for over 40 years and knew every no and cranny of the train and every single farmhouse or place of interest along the way. He made the trip so informative and interesting.

 

Not having to stop and wait too many times in the siding for the goods trains to pass(they have right of way and were often more than 200 cars long) Nearly always carrying timber, I have never seen so much timber either standing as trees or milled into dressed timber in my whole life.

After some 12 hours onboard we finally came to a stop at our overnight in Prince George (halfway) Arrived in the dark and leaving early am so no time to look around. As the next few days of the trip were on this train and then transferring to the 5 star Rocky Mountaineer complete with its heated seat and 5 star dining the rest of this post will be a photo pictorial of the sights and sounds of our journey.  The next and final post for this trip will cover out two nights in Whistler and our few days on Victoria Island and Butchart Gardens.

 

Some details of our train journey

Our Stopover hotel
RAMADA HOTEL DOWNTOWN
444 George Street Prince George BC V2L 1R6 CANADA
PRINCE GEORGE (YXS)
STANDARD ROOM

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER HIGHLIGHTS
3 DAY RAIL JASPER TO VANCOUVER

RAINFOREST TO GOLDRUSH WESTBOUND JASPER TO VANCOUVER
SERVICE LEVEL GoldLeaf
Day 1: Jasper to Quesnel Oct 3
Travel onboard the Rocky Mountaineer to Quesnel. Highlights include the Rocky Mountain Trench, Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Yellowhead Pass, Moose Lake and the Fraser River. Overnight in Quesnel.

Day 2: Quesnel to Whistler Oct 4
Your journey continues south to Whistler. Highlights include sweeping views of the Fraser Canyon, the crossing of Deep Creek Bridge, one of the highest railway bridges in the world, and the shorelines of glacial‐fed Seton Lake and Anderson Lake. Overnight in Whistler.

HOTEL
Whistler Accommodation, Hotel Room
Day 3: Whistler to Vancouver Oct 5

This afternoon returned to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer. Highlights include the Cheakamus Canyon, Mount Garibaldi, Howe Sound and the Coast Mountains. An afternoon snack will be served onboard. On arrival, you will be transferred to your accommodation in downtown Vancouver.

Our Hotel on arriving in Vancouver for our first 2 days and 1 night after returning to Vancouver on the rocky mountaineer – Would recommend this hotel for its location and service, the harbour views were spectacular room our room
PAN PACIFIC VANCOUVER HOTEL
300‐999 Canada Place Vancouver BC V6C3B5 Canada
VANCOUVER (YVR)
DELUXE HARBOUR ROOM

Slideshow of just some of the highlights from our train journeys

 

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