Dave and Sandra's "Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Ferries" Tour of British Columbia, 2010

Finally I've managed to find some time to start planning this holiday. For the Alberta tour I'd booked the flights by August. This year, November. Madness.

The gist of the holiday is a trip around British Columbia similar to our mammoth tour of Alberta. Again we want to try and take in some destinations not on the usual tourist trail, but this time we really don't want to do as much driving.

So it goes like this: fly into Vancouver and spend a few days there, hiring a car for day trips out to places like Whistler. Then catch the ferry over to Vancouver Island, visiting Victoria and hopefully doing some whale-watching on our way up the island to Port Hardy. At Port Hardy we ditch the car and catch a ferry which travels up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert is about 140 miles further south than Peace River in Alberta, so we're not quite as far up as last time. Still, it's quite funny that we're visiting a northern town with the same initials.

From Prince Rupert we catch the train to Jasper, with an overnight stay in Prince George. We aim to spend longer in Jasper than we did last time (and Sandra wants to go on one of the crazy cable car rides this time - I did promise her we would if we ever came back). Then we pick up a car again, and drive down the Icefield Parkway in the opposite direction to what we did 2008. This time we're hoping to visit the Athabasca glacier without snow, and this time hopefully we'll get to see Peyto Lake; it can't snow on us two holidays running, can it?

As we drive down the Icefield Parkway, we'll hang a right and head back into British Columbia, following the same route we followed last time (only this time it won't be by mistake). This is a part of the holiday I've not finished planning yet, but this drive will involve stops at two or more of Golden, Salmon Arm and Kamloops. I think I'm going to have to stop in Salmon Arm, it sounds bonkers.

Finally we'll complete the loop and drive into Vancouver again, ready to fly home the following day. Three weeks and, I estimate, at least 2000 miles.

Am I tempted to fit in a drive to Edmonton to see if Mr. Gonk is where I left him? No. Am I tempted to fit in a trip to Peace River, seeing as how I drank from the waters of that mighty river in 2008? No.

Not this time, anyway.