It’s not everyday Travel Agents are invited to tick off a top bucket list destination – Canada – AND experience one of the world’s great rail journeys – Rocky Mountaineer.
Yet a group of five lucky consultants over at TravelManagers were recently given the opportunity to do just that after winning a Tourism Vancouver sales incentive.
The group began their Canadian journey with a full day to explore the highlights of Vancouver, starting with a virtual flyover experience that gave them a bird’s eye view of some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes.
The experience with Flyover Canada with its state of the art technology was a highlight for many in the group, including Kerstin Rheinlander, who said it was the best place to learn more about Canada.
Participants spent the rest of the day enjoying a sightseeing tour that took in the historic districts of Gastown, Yaletown and Chinatown, tranquil Stanley Park and the foodie heaven of Granville Island, before departing from Vancouver on the first leg of the Rocky Mountaineer journey the following morning.
For Nicole Edgar, representative for Narre Warren South, VIC, one of the main benefits of taking part in the famil was the chance to experience both SilverLeaf and GoldLeaf service onboard the Rocky Mountaineer train, which she said has made it much easier to explain the differences to her clients.
Edgar added that the train was given an impressive fanfare and farewell when it left Vancouver featuring a pianist playing a grand piano in the railway station, a bag-piper to provide a formal send-off, a farewell toast aboard the train.
After spending the first night of the journey in Kamloops, the rail journey continued through the spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery to its final destination: Banff. From here, participants had to choose between visiting either the Columbia Icefield or the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, or they were free to spend the day exploring the town of Banff.
Those who opted to explore Banff describe taking a gondola to the top of Sulfur Mountain, despite beginning the ride in fog.
The final leg of the famil’s itinerary saw them travel from Banff to Calgary by coach, with time to visit the famous Calgary Stampede Area, the city’s Chinatown district and enjoy a little shopping in its popular shopping area: Eau Claire Market.
The seven-day, six-night famil concluded with a farewell dinner at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, a historic landmark hotel in downtown Calgary, which the PTMs agreed was a fitting place to mark the end of a grand journey.
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