Traveling Canada by Train

Traveling with multiple generations within your family can certainly enhance everyone’s lives — that time spent with one another is special, and you will surely create memories that will last a lifetime. Now, imagine if you really slowed down your travel and made your time together even more meaningful. That’s just what you can do when you choose to travel through Canada by train.

Rocky Mountaineer

When you climb aboard Rocky Mountaineer, your Western Canadian adventure begins. Whichever service level your family chooses — SilverLeaf or GoldLeaf — you’ll be treated like royalty. Settle into your comfy lounge chair and look out and up the windows that provide panoramic views of the scenery all around you. During your journey, you’ll enjoy complimentary snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike) to enjoy as the onboard hosts tell you all about the region through which you’re traveling. When your train arrives into its final destination for the day, you’ll be whisked to a nearby hotel to settle in for the night with time to explore before boarding the train the next morning to continue onward.

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Rocky Mountaineer routes include the Coastal Passage (Seattle–Vancouver–Canadian Rockies), Rainforest to Gold Rush (Vancouver–Whistler–Quesnel–Jasper), Journey Through the Clouds (Vancouver–Kamploops–Jasper) and First Passage to the West (Vancouver–Kamploops–Lake Louise–Banff). Of course, you can always add on pre- and post-stays to make even more of your family time in Canada.

Via Rail

Another option for traveling by train through Canada is via, well, VIA Rail Canada. If you’re looking for more flexibility in building your own itinerary and how much time to spend in each destination, VIA Rail is a terrific option. What’s more, VIA Rail’s routes span the entire country, from Vancouver to Halifax, broken into regions for ease of planning.

When it comes time to plan a trip with VIA Rail, you can either piece everything together yourself as far as hotels or opt to try one of the all-inclusive train packages that include hotel stays. Whether traveling for four days or less or five days or more, VIA Rail has destination packages that may just fit the bill and may even include an overnight in the train’s sleeper car.