Last July my husband & I enjoyed a glorious week of absolutely perfect weather in British Columbia.
This was an independent tour sponsored by Tourism Vancouver and arranged by Brewster Vacations Canada. What a treat to spend some leisurely time in these 2 scenic and beautiful ci
ties, which are usually just a quick layover pre- or post-cruise.
There is much to see, and even though we allowed a week, there is still a lot that we did not do.
We started off by flying on WestJet, from Los Angeles to Vancouver. They are a growing Canadian based airline, with good efficient service. I had not flown with WestJet, and was very pleased with our 3 hour flight, going to Vancouver and returning to Los Angeles.
We spent our first four nights in Vancouver at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, located right in the heart of downtown. This was a great place to be for the convenience of walking many places. Great shopping, and many restaurants so close by.
Our touring in Vancouver included a city tour, which covered all the highlights.
Other excursions we did were to Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge, and a sunset dinner cruise.
We enjoyed everything, in particular the dinner cruise, as we viewed the city from the water cruising through English Bay & False Creek with the evening lights, passing Granville Island. They served a lovely buffet dinner and had musical entertainment onboard. We had a fun time!
We travelled to Victoria by Ferry, which was a new experience, I had always wanted to do this. We boarded the tour bus at our hotel and ultimately the bus drove right onboard the ferry. It was a long enough crossing to be out on deck to enjoy the ocean breeze, and have a quick lunch in their cafeteria.
Our hotel in Victoria was the historic Fairmont Empress located on the scenic Inner Harbor of Victoria's downtown district, most famous for their afternoon tea service. What we loved most here was their elaborate continental breakfast buffet served in the Empress Room. This was a wonderful way to start our days in Victoria.
Our sightseeing in Victoria consisted of a city tour of Victoria, driving along Government Street, Chinatown and just enjoying this very "British" city. We then spent the afternoon at Butchart Gardens. We had visited the gardens before, but this is some place you don't mind visiting again. There are so many colorful flowers, amid 55 acres of meticulously manicured grounds. Something you need to see to believe.
After 2 relaxing days in Victoria, we returned to Vancouver again by Ferry and spent our last evening at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
We could not get over the spectacular weather we had each & every day of our trip, clear blue skies without any clouds, this truly complemented all of the wonderful scenery of these 2 famous cities. I will now always encourage my clients to spend more time, not just a night or 2 before sailing away. Or better yet, just make this your destination to enjoy as we did.
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