British Columbia & The Canadian Rockies

Even people with no eye for a picture can make photo art in Tofino. The spectacular amalgamation of tempestuous ocean, brawny sea stacks, weather-gnarled rainforest and velvety mountains is a sight to behold, especially when seen through the prism of one of those slow-burning West Coast sunsets. Add in a diminutive surf town that melds remarkably gently with its natural surroundings and you've got the makings of something very, very special. Wander deserted beaches, rent a longboard and go looking for whales or storms in the not-so-passive Pacific. Wonderful adventures await.

No one should leave this mortal coil without first setting eyes on the robin-egg-blue waters of Lake Louise nestled bellow the icy hue of the Victoria Glacier and ringed by an impressive amphitheater of mountains. True, selfie sticks can often outnumber walking poles on the crowded lakeside promenade, but take a less obvious path to an alpine teahouse or through a valley of larch trees and you'll find that Homo sapiens soon get replaced by wilder company (bears if you're lucky). Welcome to Banff National Park's undisputed highlight.

Combining two mountains with a purpose-built but strikingly attractive alpine village that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler is the blueprint for all ski resorts. Want action? Snowboard over car-sized bumps on Whistler Bowl before hitting a boisterous pub at the gondola base. Want quiet? Go cross-country skiing in Callaghan Country and then sink into a giant Jacuzzi in a deluxe Creekside resort. Want cheap? Strap on snowshoes, fill up on cakes from Canada's best bakery and crash out in the nation's first capsule hotel. It's all here!

It sometimes takes awestruck visitors to remind Vancouverites they have Canada's finest urban park on their doorstep. But when you grow up alongside a 404-hectare temperate rainforest that's lined with multitudinous hiking and cycling trails, it's easy to think everyone is just as lucky. Stroll the park's 8.8km wave-licked, forest-backed seawall and you’ll soon deplete your camera battery. But save some juice for the beady-eyed birdlife (especially the blue herons) around Lost Lagoon and a panoramic pyrotechnic sunset at Third Beach.

Elk nose their way around the town’s edge, nervous deer dart between the trees and seemingly giant bald eagles swoop high overhead. The dramatic mountain setting of Jasper National Park is enough to keep most camera-wielding visitors content, but the surfeit of wandering wildlife makes you feel like you’re part of a 3D nature documentary. If you’re lucky you might even spot the show’s stars: grizzly bears snuffling for berries alongside the highway or, across the other side of a river, wolves silently tracking their next fresh-catch ungulate.

You’re bouncing around for hours on some rickety old bus on the Klondike Hwy in the height of summer, not knowing whether it’s three o’clock in the morning or afternoon, and suddenly you arrive in Dawson City. Women in frilled skirts, straight out of a gambling hall, chat on wooden sidewalks, and a buzz of stories about gold can be heard everywhere. It’s like stumbling into another world. Dawson City is small and remote, but also gloriously authentic, an ageing relic from a bygone era rather than a packaged theme park from the modern age.

There are amazing road trips, then there's the Icefields Parkway, a 230km-long ribbon of asphalt that parallels the Continental Dive between Lake Louise and Jasper, passing through some of Canada's most elemental landscapes en route. Giant mountains, mammoth moose, craning trees and gargantuan glaciers brood moodily from the sidelines. Most drive it, but it also makes for a challenging multiday bike ride giving you more time to contemplate stop offs at cerulean Peyto Lake, powerful Athabasca Falls and the hikeable Athabasca Glacier, a frozen tributary of the colossal Columbia Icefield.

Relive the days of craggy-faced gold prospectors by canoeing (or kayaking) from Whitehorse to Dawson City. Not for the faint-hearted and certainly not for the uninitiated, the 16-day Yukon River paddle will glide you past rough-and-tumble rocky landscapes lined with critter-packed forests. Keep your eyes on the water: you might feel like panning for gold if you spot something glittery. For a less intense taster, take a trip from Dawson City to Eagle City, Alaska: it’s just three days.

Relax in the golden sunlight on the outer deck of a BC Ferries’ day-long sailing to Prince Rupert, an unusually gentle nautical odyssey guaranteed to slow heart rates to hibernation levels. With a soft breeze on your face, you can let the Inside Passage diorama roll past: sharp crags, tree-blanketed islands, red-capped lighthouses and tiny shoreline settlements with odd-sounding names such as Namu and Dryad Point. Only the captain can stir you from the hypnotic relaxation with the announcement that a pod of breaching orcas is approaching on the starboard side.

While a fancy dinner in Vancouver once meant rubbery steaks and foil-wrapped baked potatoes, this taste-tripping metropolis has in recent years become one of Canada's food capitals. Start by trawling Granville Island Public Market for inspiration, grab lunch at one of the city's 100-plus food carts, then enjoy dinner at your pick of numerous top-notch restaurants. From shimmering seafood to authentic taquerias, Canada's best Asian cuisine and fresh-picked farm-to-table joints, the choice is only limited by your straining belt buckle.

Taking the ferry from Prince Rupert to this dagger-shaped archipelago is like traveling to another country: perfect preparation for experiencing a place that is like no other in Canada. Visit the Haida Heritage Centre and immerse yourself in the rich artistic culture of the people who have called this area home for thousands of years. You’ll find intricately carved artworks, and current practitioners illustrate the energetic resurgence of Haida culture. The magical Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve offers mystical reminders of ancient communities.

Enjoying a winding trip around the bucolic, vine-striped hills of the Okanagan Valley region is the best way for any tipple-loving visitor to spend their time in Western Canada. There are dozens of wineries to tempt you, from legendary favorites such as Mission Hill Family Estate and Quails' Gate Winery to Summerhill Pyramid Winery, which ages its wine in a scaled-down replica of Egypt's Great Pyramid. One thing is certain: you won't go thirsty. Nominate a designated driver, and don't forget to dine: many winery tasting rooms are adjoined by excellent restaurants.

The islands off BC’s southern mainland wink invitingly whenever you get close to the coastline. But it’s only when you take a short-hop ferry trip that you realize how different life is here. Your body clock will readjust to island time and you’ll feel deeply, and perhaps unexpectedly, tranquil. If you have time, visit more than one of these islands; each has a unique feel. Start with the Saturday Market on Salt Spring Island, then consider a delightful kayak excursion around Mayne or a cycling weave on Galiano.

From the Alaska Hwy you get just a glimpse of the awesome beauty within the vast 22,015-sq-km Kluane National Park and Reserve, one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the world. Hike for a day to the interior – or hop aboard a helicopter – and you’ll witness an almost overwhelming, otherworldly landscape that has, not surprisingly, garnered Unesco World Heritage recognition. Huge icebergs break off glaciers, and the water at the shoreline freezes; this is nature in all its grand, terrifying beauty.

For kids (and adults) who are in that wide-eyed dinosaur phase, there’s no better place on the planet than this desert-fringed Alberta town. You’ll find Canada's best dino museum here, which will indulge your child's insatiable need for facts, plus there's a chance to do a fossil dig and for photo ops with the world’s biggest T rex – a 26m fiberglass fella who looms over the town like Godzilla. Here, you’re also in the heart of the Badlands, an eerie, evocative landscape where it's frighteningly easy to imagine giant roaming reptiles.

While BC's compact capital city is lined with landmark historic buildings and has an excellent dining scene, you don't have to be a landlubber to have a great time here. Befitting its waterfront location, Victoria is a great spot to hop in a boat for a guided, ocean-sprayed visit with the region's orca population – if you're really lucky, you might even see a new calf or two. Either way, it's an unforgettable experience that will easily become a brag-worthy highlight of your trip to the West Coast.

When you arrive at North America’s best rodeo, you’ll be greeted by belt buckles the size of saucers and Stetson cowboy hats that could house small animals. But you’ll soon be won over by this immersive introduction to cowboy culture; don your own hat and dive right in. Don’t miss the zinging midway fairground, the rootin’-tootin’ live country music and the heart-stopping chuck-wagon races. When it comes to food, start with the barbecued steaks and then, if you’re feeling adventurous, nibble on a prairie oyster or two.