John & Heather
Little America guests John and Heather, and their friends Roy and Deborah, spent three weeks exploring British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies. This is what they had to say about their experience:
A Canadian road trip with Little America
We had made two previous trips to Australia and New Zealand with TravelEssence. The holidays were fantastic, and everything went very smoothly. When we decided that we wanted to travel to Canada, we looked to see whether TravelEssence had a North America section that could help us.
We were told that Little America was part of TravelEssence and used the same back office. That gave us a lot of confidence that everything would be handled professionally, so we went ahead with the planning process with Luke. Our experience with TravelEssence meant that we did not look at any other companies to help us with this trip.
The initial contact and booking process were excellent. We had a good idea of what we wanted to do and see, as well as how long we wanted to stay in Canada. We explained that to Luke, and he started the planning process by sketching out a route for us. We went through a couple of versions of the route before finalising it together.
Our route through western Canada
We flew into Vancouver and spent a couple of days in the city getting over our jet lag. From Vancouver, we picked up a car and travelled to Vancouver Island, spending three nights near Campbell River before continuing to Victoria for two nights.
From Victoria, we travelled to Whistler and then on to Clearwater. A lot of people travel directly from Clearwater to Jasper, but Luke suggested that we continue to Golden and then travel north to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway.
He then recommended that we travel south along the Icefields Parkway to Canmore before flying back to the UK from Calgary. There is a lot to see along the route, and Luke wanted us to travel in both directions in case we experienced bad weather on one of the journeys.
This turned out to be a masterstroke. We left Golden in shorts and T-shirts, but halfway along the Icefields Parkway we found ourselves travelling through a blizzard.
When we later travelled south, the weather was glorious. We managed to see everything we had missed on the journey north and also enjoyed the Athabasca Glacier and Glacier Skywalk experience.
Unique places to stay
All of the accommodation was excellent and very varied.
One of the highlights was a beachfront house on Vancouver Island, with first-class facilities including a barbecue and firepit. We even photographed bald eagles from the nearby beach.
Our lakeside stay near Clearwater was another standout. The hosts were incredibly friendly, there were great boating options, and we could enjoy the view with a gin and tonic at the end of the day.
Near Golden, Luke suggested a relaxed and welcoming place at Kicking Horse rather than staying in the town itself. The location was perfect, and we much preferred it.
Canmore was probably our favourite place. It was well located for several activities without the more commercial feel of Banff, and our hosts made us feel very welcome.
Standout experiences
Little America arranged several memorable experiences for us during the trip.
The wildlife and waterways adventure was excellent. We saw two families of orcas and a black bear while we were out.
We also took a seaplane flight while on Vancouver Island. This was one of the standout experiences of the holiday and something we probably would not have considered without Luke’s input.
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our white-water rafting experience because one member of our party developed a problem with her back. However, the Little America back office managed to secure a full refund for the activity. It was wonderful service.
Little America also arranged horse riding near Banff, which was great fun.
We visited Moraine Lake and Lake Louise during our stay in Canmore. Little America advised us when to book the shuttle before our holiday, and everything worked perfectly.
Excellent service from start to finish
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. The scenery was breathtaking on every drive. We stayed in some great accommodation that we would never have found ourselves, and the holiday was also very good value for money. This is one of the attractions of working with Little America.
We felt completely supported before and during our holiday. We are always confident that everything will go smoothly because of the professionalism of the back office.
What would we say to someone thinking about booking with Little America?
Do it. You will not regret it. Trust their experience, which will be tailored to what you say you want from a holiday.
