In 2016 we plan to go to Canada, which of the Inside Passage cruises are best? Then doing the Rocky Mountaineer but it seems expensive. Are we better off doing a bus tour or even hiring a car? When is the best time for seeing the scenery?
M. Taylor, Kirrawee
The major operators on the Inside Passage cruise route are Holland America hollandamerica.com and princess.com. Both operate big vessels in this region, which means their prices are highly competitive and they do a decent job of it. On these vessels you'll be travelling with more than a thousand cruise buddies and that's not to everyone's liking. Smaller expeditionary vessels from operators such as Ponant (ponant.com) Lindblad Expeditions (expeditions.com) and Un-Cruise Adventures (un-cruise.com) offer a more intimate and impressive experience – stand up paddle boarding among glaciers if you please – but far fewer passengers mean much higher costs. Whichever cruise you choose, make sure your itinerary includes Glacier Bay, the scenery is astonishing, it feels like you're living in a postcard. Check the reviews on Cruise Critic (cruisecritic.com.au) and you should get a good idea of which cruise is right for you.
The journey aboard the Rocky Mountaineer (rockymountaineer.com) is fabulous but far from cheap. For the Journey Through the Clouds, a two-day ride between Jasper and Vancouver via Kamloops, I'm getting a price of $1898 in May 2016. Another alternative is the VIA Rail Canada (viarail.ca) train that makes the same journey at a starting price of CAD$128.10 for that date. Note however that the VIA rail trip is essentially point-to-point. It traverses wondrous scenery along this route but it slows down only briefly, and does not offer the same glass-roofed observation car as the Rocky Mountaineer, nor anywhere near the same level of comfort.
If you want to savour the majestic scenery of the Canadian Rockies, my choice would be to drive yourselves. Pick up your vehicle at Calvary, drive to Banff and spend a night or two then drive the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. This is not a long drive but it won't take you less than a full day, there's jaw-dropping scenery all the way, and you might have to stop for bears. You could leave your hire car at Jasper and take the VIA Rail train to Vancouver.
Prime time for this adventure is between June and September.
