VANCOUVER --
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations expanded its product line with
Spectacular Canada, a series of 25 year-round, eastern and western
Canadian vacations in which a rail tour is only an option.
For Rocky
Mountaineer Vacations, which changed its name from Rocky Mountain
Railtours in October, Spectacular Canada is its first escorted tour
product and a variation of its independent package, Western
Explorer.
Spectacular
Canadas luxury four- or five-day vacations are as varied as their
destinations -- from lodge and ranch stays to city and resort
experiences to self-drive tours.
The four-day
Discover packages or five-day Experience packages can be booked
without transportation or in conjunction with the two-day, all
daylight Rocky Mountaineer rail journey.
The 11 Discover
package options are Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Vancouver,
Victoria, Calgary, special packages available during the Calgary
Stampede, Whistler, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.
The Quebec City
Discover package, for example, runs April 1 to Oct. 31. It includes
three nights accommodations, a choice of one tour activity,
afternoon tea at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac and a GST Quebec
City Passport for discounted dining and attractions.
Visitors have a
choice of staying in three levels of hotels, based on price. Prices
range from $239, double, to $699, double, depending on choice of
hotel and season. A meal plan is available on request.
Transportation to and from Quebec City is not included in the
standard tour product.
The 14 Experience
options include stays in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
Among the
Experience vacations is Niagara-on-the-Lake, minutes from Niagara
Falls in Ontarios wine-growing country. The tour includes four
nights at the Prince of Wales Hotel & Spa, breakfast and dinner
daily, a half-day winery tour, a 55-minute spa massage, afternoon
tea and daily bicycle rental.
Prices are
$2,039, double, from May 1 to Oct. 31, and $1,539 from Nov. 1 to
Dec. 31.
The Rocky
Mountaineer rail tour, which can be combined with the Discover
Canada and Experience Canada vacations, operates from mid-April to
mid-October (with select December departures) between Vancouver and
Jasper, Banff and Calgary, Alberta.
Prices vary with
the level of service. The two-day RedLeaf service ranges from $579
to $939, depending on the hotel, and GoldLeaf service ranges from
$1,099 to $1,569. Rates are based on double occupancy.
Beginning in
2006, Rocky Mountaineer will operate two new tourist trains in
western Canada, the Whistler Mountaineer and the Fraser Discovery
Route.
The Whistler
Mountaineer will be a three-hour excursion between North Vancouver
and Whistler, and the Fraser Discovery Route will run between
Whistler and Jasper.
Also, Rocky
Mountaineers 98-room Thompson Hotel, purchased in 2004, will
undergo a $1 million renovation beginning in October. The hotel,
located in Kamloops, British Columbia, is the companys
first.
For reservations,
call (877) 460-3200, e-mail reservations @rockymountaineer.com or
visit www.rockymountaineer.com.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to [email protected].