Oh Canada!
Back in September of last year my friends and I were facing the reality of only having a final few months of studying left before we were due to finish uni and head straight out into the real world of full time employment! With the fear upon us we told ourselves we couldn't let our time at university come to an end without one last BIG adventure together.
I'll admit I'd already had a brilliant summer of fun with trips away to California, Paris and Slovenia but back on home ground and sat in our first lecture back, I was desperate to jet off again and get the next trip booked.
It wasn't long before the girls and I made the decision to look into trips to Canada and with very little hesitation we signed ourselves up to join a TrekAmerica tour at the end of May - 'Glaciers and Grizzlies'. The tour took us on a journey through the Canadian Rockies, British Columbia and around Alberta. We stopped at Revelstoke, Banff, Jasper, Whistler and Kamloops and I can honestly say I had the absolute time of my LIFE!
On our tour we were so lucky to be able to see and do so much in such a short space of time. With the trip being only 11 days in duration we spent a lot of time on the road, whizzing through the Canadian provinces stopping at every photo opportunity possible and cramming our days in each destination full with activities and adventures.
Highlights included: A Snow Coach Tour and Walk across the Athabasca Glacier, A visit to picture perfect Lake Louise, Canoeing in Banff National Park, Zip-lining in Whistler, Mountain Biking in Jasper - we really got to do it all!
Now being an Events student my crazy organisation side can sometimes step up a notch when it comes to holiday planning and packing. As soon as our final exam was out the way I was on it with my holiday research, triple checking the weather daily but when you're joining a tour with everything pre-planned I actually found it much harder to know what to pack, what to expect and generally how it would all work?!
As soon as we booked we received our 'Trek Trips' which gave us a little insight to optional activities, locations and what seemed to us as a bit of a general packing list. The rest was then left to our surprise on arrival!
So for anyone thinking about booking a TrekAmerica tour or adventuring off to Canada on your own here's a few of my top tips of what to pack, what to expect and what to get up to!
1. SOLO TIME
It sort of goes without saying when you join a TrekAmerica tour you're going to be spending pretty much every hour of every day with your Trek Group and many of those hours crammed up together in your tour bus. BUT don't let that freak you out! Meeting new people is one of the BEST things about travelling and although I went with 3 of my friends from university we were joined on our trip by solo travellers from all around England and Australia, two father's from Sweden and a married couple having their last big trip before starting a family! We all got on so unbelievably well and I can't even explain how weird and sad it was to say goodbye at the end of the trip - even though we'd only known each other for 11 days!
But back on track... when joining a tour you have a whole week or more with your group and the majority of activities planned out for you so be sure to fly out to your destination early and make time to explore on your own and do the things the trip doesn't cover but you still need to get ticked off that bucket list.
Chatting about what you've got up to beforehand also makes for a great icebreaker in the initial group meeting.
Our tour started on a Saturday evening out in Richmond, Vancouver so we flew out on the Thursday beforehand to spend time downtown in the city itself. Our first day was well spent hiring electric bikes and cycling around Stanley Park, followed by a trip to Granville Island and out for dinner in Gastown. The next day we were up early and off out to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park before meeting our tour in the evening.
2. DRIVE TIME - It's a road trip for a reason!
When we joined our tour we only had a vague idea of where we'd be staying but no clue on actual drive times or how these would be broken up so imagine the shock when we were told we had a full days driving ahead of us - a nice full on 8 hours...
But honestly it wasn't as bad as it seemed, our tour leader was great at making stops hourly, pointing out everything not to be missed and it wasn't long before we got to know everyone and the hours flew by.
One thing I will say is - CREATE A KILLER SPOTIFY PLAYLIST. Your turn will come to ride the responsibility of Bus DJ and it's well worth having some absolute classics downloaded for a bit of back seat karaoke. You might find yourself surprised as to what everyone knows and loves and what everyone really DOES NOT...
3. PREPARE FOR ALL WEATHER OCCASIONS
I mentioned the general packing list before and I'll admit I was slightly unamused by the generic 'hat, scarf, suncream, gloves' list. I had thought there was no way we would actually NEED a hat, let alone gloves in May or June?! I mean it's Canada... OH how I was SO VERY WRONG.
One thing you need to know about Canada is that the weather changes by the hour! We experienced it all - from arriving to a sunny Vancouver, loving the warm 16-17 degrees to then sticking to our seats in the heat on our first day in the bus with the temperature jumping to 26-27. To our surprise it then dropped overnight as if by magic to a pretty chilling 8 degrees, only getting colder on the rainier days. THEN there was the trip to the Athabasca GLACIER...
We had some beautiful weather in most places but the rain sure caught us out in Banff and it wasn't long before we ended up buying wooly hats and wearing every single layer in our suitcase. So be sure to pack a variety - shorts, hoodies, layers, thermals (oh yes I'm not joking, 1 pair won't weigh your suitcase down too much and trust me, you'll thank me later!) a trusty raincoat, sun hat, wooly hat and a pair of gloves definitely won't go a miss, especially if you're canoeing in the rain!
4. MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY
My last piece of advice is to really just make the most of your trip. It could be a once in a lifetime thing so go all out, don't feel guilty - splurge a little for the big activities and be brave.
With TrekAmerica our tour guide had so much planned for us but of course there was free time to go off and make the most of the optional activities and see each stop for yourself and the guides are there to point you in the right direction of things to do and the best places for everything too.
We signed ourselves up for a helicopter ride in Banff but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the overcast weather, we were gutted to say the least. But we made up for it in Whistler when we spent a half day zip-lining down the mountains - it was slightly more on the expensive side, working out about $165 but it was one hell of an experience and I absolutely LOVED every second. I threw myself down those lines, swung upside down and just let my hands go flying crazily below me! I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I highly recommend going on a TrekAmerica tour whatever your situation, whether you come straight out of college, while at university, newly graduated, in your 30's, married with your spouse - the TrekAmerica tours welcome everyone ages 18-38.
But most importantly, if you can visit anywhere in the next year make it Canada! And be sure to make it your best trip yet - Don't come home wishing you should've done something, come home wishing you could do it all over again.
Thanks for reading,
Izzie x
I'll admit I'd already had a brilliant summer of fun with trips away to California, Paris and Slovenia but back on home ground and sat in our first lecture back, I was desperate to jet off again and get the next trip booked.
And that's when the travel planning/procrastination begun...
It wasn't long before the girls and I made the decision to look into trips to Canada and with very little hesitation we signed ourselves up to join a TrekAmerica tour at the end of May - 'Glaciers and Grizzlies'. The tour took us on a journey through the Canadian Rockies, British Columbia and around Alberta. We stopped at Revelstoke, Banff, Jasper, Whistler and Kamloops and I can honestly say I had the absolute time of my LIFE!
On our tour we were so lucky to be able to see and do so much in such a short space of time. With the trip being only 11 days in duration we spent a lot of time on the road, whizzing through the Canadian provinces stopping at every photo opportunity possible and cramming our days in each destination full with activities and adventures.Highlights included: A Snow Coach Tour and Walk across the Athabasca Glacier, A visit to picture perfect Lake Louise, Canoeing in Banff National Park, Zip-lining in Whistler, Mountain Biking in Jasper - we really got to do it all!
Now being an Events student my crazy organisation side can sometimes step up a notch when it comes to holiday planning and packing. As soon as our final exam was out the way I was on it with my holiday research, triple checking the weather daily but when you're joining a tour with everything pre-planned I actually found it much harder to know what to pack, what to expect and generally how it would all work?!
As soon as we booked we received our 'Trek Trips' which gave us a little insight to optional activities, locations and what seemed to us as a bit of a general packing list. The rest was then left to our surprise on arrival!
So for anyone thinking about booking a TrekAmerica tour or adventuring off to Canada on your own here's a few of my top tips of what to pack, what to expect and what to get up to!
1. SOLO TIME
It sort of goes without saying when you join a TrekAmerica tour you're going to be spending pretty much every hour of every day with your Trek Group and many of those hours crammed up together in your tour bus. BUT don't let that freak you out! Meeting new people is one of the BEST things about travelling and although I went with 3 of my friends from university we were joined on our trip by solo travellers from all around England and Australia, two father's from Sweden and a married couple having their last big trip before starting a family! We all got on so unbelievably well and I can't even explain how weird and sad it was to say goodbye at the end of the trip - even though we'd only known each other for 11 days!
But back on track... when joining a tour you have a whole week or more with your group and the majority of activities planned out for you so be sure to fly out to your destination early and make time to explore on your own and do the things the trip doesn't cover but you still need to get ticked off that bucket list.
Chatting about what you've got up to beforehand also makes for a great icebreaker in the initial group meeting.
Our tour started on a Saturday evening out in Richmond, Vancouver so we flew out on the Thursday beforehand to spend time downtown in the city itself. Our first day was well spent hiring electric bikes and cycling around Stanley Park, followed by a trip to Granville Island and out for dinner in Gastown. The next day we were up early and off out to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park before meeting our tour in the evening. 2. DRIVE TIME - It's a road trip for a reason!
 |
| Just a little taster of our Trek playlist... |
But honestly it wasn't as bad as it seemed, our tour leader was great at making stops hourly, pointing out everything not to be missed and it wasn't long before we got to know everyone and the hours flew by.
One thing I will say is - CREATE A KILLER SPOTIFY PLAYLIST. Your turn will come to ride the responsibility of Bus DJ and it's well worth having some absolute classics downloaded for a bit of back seat karaoke. You might find yourself surprised as to what everyone knows and loves and what everyone really DOES NOT...
3. PREPARE FOR ALL WEATHER OCCASIONS
I mentioned the general packing list before and I'll admit I was slightly unamused by the generic 'hat, scarf, suncream, gloves' list. I had thought there was no way we would actually NEED a hat, let alone gloves in May or June?! I mean it's Canada... OH how I was SO VERY WRONG.
One thing you need to know about Canada is that the weather changes by the hour! We experienced it all - from arriving to a sunny Vancouver, loving the warm 16-17 degrees to then sticking to our seats in the heat on our first day in the bus with the temperature jumping to 26-27. To our surprise it then dropped overnight as if by magic to a pretty chilling 8 degrees, only getting colder on the rainier days. THEN there was the trip to the Athabasca GLACIER...
 |
| May 31st - Athabasca Glacier |
We had some beautiful weather in most places but the rain sure caught us out in Banff and it wasn't long before we ended up buying wooly hats and wearing every single layer in our suitcase. So be sure to pack a variety - shorts, hoodies, layers, thermals (oh yes I'm not joking, 1 pair won't weigh your suitcase down too much and trust me, you'll thank me later!) a trusty raincoat, sun hat, wooly hat and a pair of gloves definitely won't go a miss, especially if you're canoeing in the rain!
4. MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY
My last piece of advice is to really just make the most of your trip. It could be a once in a lifetime thing so go all out, don't feel guilty - splurge a little for the big activities and be brave.
With TrekAmerica our tour guide had so much planned for us but of course there was free time to go off and make the most of the optional activities and see each stop for yourself and the guides are there to point you in the right direction of things to do and the best places for everything too.
We signed ourselves up for a helicopter ride in Banff but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the overcast weather, we were gutted to say the least. But we made up for it in Whistler when we spent a half day zip-lining down the mountains - it was slightly more on the expensive side, working out about $165 but it was one hell of an experience and I absolutely LOVED every second. I threw myself down those lines, swung upside down and just let my hands go flying crazily below me! I would do it again in a heartbeat. 
I highly recommend going on a TrekAmerica tour whatever your situation, whether you come straight out of college, while at university, newly graduated, in your 30's, married with your spouse - the TrekAmerica tours welcome everyone ages 18-38.
But most importantly, if you can visit anywhere in the next year make it Canada! And be sure to make it your best trip yet - Don't come home wishing you should've done something, come home wishing you could do it all over again.
Thanks for reading,
Izzie x
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