Heli-tours, icy lakes and bears: why Canada rules for touring
Alberta may be a well-trodden Canadian touring destination but there’s still plenty to learn, as we discover on a fam trip with Travelsphere and Just You
As our chopper banks for another close encounter with the Canadian Rockies’ craggy, snow-capped crests there’s just time between snapping and gawping to ponder how moments like this keep us in travel. So breathtaking is the spectacle, capping a day that’s already seen us explore the Columbia Icefield and enjoy some first-rate bear spotting, it reduces one of our band to tears.
So much, so Canada. Yet as optional activities go our Mt Assiniboine & Glaciers excursion with Canmore-based Alpine Helicopters (CAN $380; alpinehelicopter.com) is a world away from those run-of-the-mill tour activities of yore, perfectly illustrating the message our Just You and Travelsphere hosts strive to hammer home – the model’s moved on.
Centred on Alberta’s Banff and Jasper National Parks, our six-night, late-May fam trip delivers further proof when we test out a new activity Just You is considering for next year – e-bike excursions. Making short order of the local trails and inclines around Banff we effortlessly tick off scenic stops such as “Surprise Corner” on our 11km spin, proving a big hit with the agents.
There’s still space for classics such as the Columbia Icefield excursion. As the rugged Ice Explorers whisk us onto the ice to view the (sadly fast retreating) Athabasca Glacier our driver greets every big bump and descent with loud “yahoos” between quickfire facts and well-worn lines such as “Does anyone know how these controls work? It’s my first time driving this thing…”
SUITS YOU
Our first taste of the Just You and Travelsphere “red-carpet treatment” comes with our private chauffeur services whisking us to Heathrow for our Air Canada flight. Complimentary for journeys up 100 miles, clients can switch them for free airport parking or a £100 holiday discount if preferred – a nice touch.
Trip host Sarah Weetman, sales director at G Touring, Just You and Travelsphere’s parent company, readily highlights the products’ inherent flexibility. For clients this includes the ability to do as much, time willing, or little as they like on stops. This we experience on scenic stops such as Maligne Canyon where we’re free to explore the circular trails at leisure. Following the gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain, some linger by the main reception area to enjoy the views, while others tramp the boardwalk to Swanson Peak, the 360-degree mountain views moving a young girl beside me to proclaim: “I’m on top of Alberta!”
For agents, this flexibility includes the ability to book via email, freephone or online and the broad product spread, including some guaranteed departures, with the two brands appealing to different clients. Just You, featuring three Canada tours, only visits Alberta in summer and is aimed primarily at solos. Its products also take a slower pace than the eight Canadian tours offered by Travelsphere, covering most of the year.
As we are solos enjoying our own rooms, our fam carries a Just You vibe yet itinerary-wise it closely resembles Travelsphere’s Winter Rockies Wonderland, down to the time spent exploring Calgary. Best known for July’s Calgary Stampede, Alberta’s compact capital invites further attention from Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, and Calgary Tower to Stephen Street’s shopping and hospitality.
EYE CANDY
Our comfy bus provides front-row seats to the epic scrolling panoramas – turquoise-green glacial lakes and shingle-flanked rivers carve through the clustered pine trees and granite-grey boulders as layers of mountains retreat into the distance.
“It’s been described as the quintessential Canadian scene,” asserts tour manager Lezli as we approach Lake Louise, still mostly frozen. More than a pretty face, the area is an active playground, from summer canoe trips to skating and dog sledding in winter when Travelsphere ups the ante with mulled wine and s’mores around a campfire.
Our coach journeys afford the supremely knowledgeable Lezli time to cover Alberta’s selling points, from the Rockies and snow sports to popular rail products such as the Rocky Mountaineer we encounter at Jasper’s station. “It’s expensive but worth it,” she concludes. A stop at Lake Minnewanka showcases summer kayaking and boat cruise options, while equally relaxing are the local resort towns, not least little, laid-back Jasper. “For me, working there is like a day off!” chuckles affable coach driver Dave.
WILD, WILD LIFE
Most importantly late May proves ideal for spotting wildlife, any sense of onboard decorum evaporating with the first roadside sightings as we swap Banff for less-developed Jasper National Park.
“Bear! Bear!” we shout as a dutiful Dave applies the brakes before reversing to reveal a black bear demolishing a dandelion breakfast. “Moose, moose!” cries Sarah Tonks of Fred Olsen Travel not 10 minutes down the road, leading to more reversing and window crowding as we strain to glimpse the notoriously shy animal.
With more bear sightings, from grizzly and black to brown – even some cubs – the atmosphere turns electric. “Oh, God, I just feel so happy!” exclaims Sue from the Manchester branch of Hays Travel.
As we take all this in, Lezli seizes the moment to replay a track by Canadian comedy musical trio Arrogant Worms listing the country’s main attractions. “We’ve got rocks and trees and trees and rocks and rocks and trees and trees and rocks and… waterrrrrrr” comes its looping refrain, a clear case of under-egging the pudding if ever there was one.
Book it: Travelsphere’s 10-day Rockies Winter Wonderland tour, with departures in January and February 2023, costs from £1,949pp, including return flights from Heathrow to Calgary with Air Canada and all breakfasts. travelsphere.co.uk; justyou.co.uk
Agent feedback
Michelle Goulding, Travel Counsellor, Berkshire: “The e-biking was much better than sitting on a coach all day and I will also recommend the unforgettable helicopter ride over the Rockies, as the views were out of this world. The best thing about coach trips is that, unlike on a self-drive tour, you can keep an eye on your surroundings and there was room to spread out.”
Sue Cranston, assistant manager, Hays Travel, Newcastle: “I loved the fact the excursions pushed me to the limits of my comfort zone, and [tour manager] Lezli’s knowledge was amazing. I would now confidently sell SilverLeaf Service on the Rocky Mountaineer over GoldLeaf. It’s important to make sure the customer knows what season to travel. If they want to see the blue of the lakes, for example, they’d need to go more in the summer as they were still frozen in late May.”
Bridget Wilkinson, assistant manager, Co-operative Travel, Halesowen: “Canada is not just for winter sports, as I imagined – a visit any time of the year would be just as spectacular, with a wide variety of things to see and do. The whole journey from start to finish was effortless, knowing that you’re being taken care of throughout. This, teamed with hotels in brilliant locations, makes the whole experience the holiday of a lifetime.”
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