Escorted & Package Tours

Packages for the Independent Traveler

Package tours are simply a way to buy the airfare, accommodations, and other elements of your trip (such as car rentals, airport transfers, and sometimes even activities) at the same time and often at discounted prices.

One good source of package deals is the airlines themselves, including Air Canada, which offers an array of package deals specially tailored to trim the costs of your vacation. Collectively, these packages come under the title "Air Canada Vacations." This term covers a whole series of travel bargains ranging from city packages to fly/drive tours, escorted tours, motor-home travel, and ski holidays. For details, pick up the brochure from an Air Canada office, or follow the links at www.aircanadavacations.com.

Other airlines offer Canadian package holidays, including American Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/321-2121; www.aavacations.com), Delta Vacations (tel. 800/221-6666; http://deltares.deltavacations.com), Continental Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/301-3800; www.covacations.com), and United Vacations (tel. 888/854-3899; www.unitedvacations.com).

Several big online travel agencies -- Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Lastminute.com -- also do a brisk business in packages. Travel packages are also listed in the travel section of your local Sunday newspaper. Or check ads in national travel magazines such as Budget Travel Magazine, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, and Condé Nast Traveler.

Escorted General-Interest Tours

Escorted tours are structured group tours, with a group leader. The price usually includes everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, admission costs, and local transportation.

Collette Tours, 62 Middle St., Pawtucket, RI 02860 (tel. 800/340-5158; www.collettevacations.com), offers a wide variety of escorted trips by bus and train, including several in the Atlantic provinces, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rockies. A 10-day tour of Newfoundland includes the seldom-visited northern peninsula and the Viking site at L'Anse aux Meadows, as well as a visit to Labrador. Shorter trips explore the Toronto/Niagara area, and some combine Atlantic Canada with New England or Western Canada with Alaska. An escorted train tour goes from Vancouver to Banff aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. Order any of Collette's tour brochures by phone or on their website.

Brewster Transportation and Tours, P.O. Box 1140, Banff, AB T0L 0C0 (tel. 877/791-5500; www.brewster.ca) offers a wide variety of tours throughout Canada, both escorted and independent. Their offerings include motorcoach and train excursions, ski and other winter vacations, city and resort combination packages, chartered day tours by bus, and independent driving tours. Highlights include a visit to the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, Alberta, and one to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to view the aurora borealis. Many packages in the Rockies include stays at guest ranches.

Travel by train lets you see the Rockies as you never would in a bus or behind the wheel of a car. The Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, 1150 Station St., 1st Floor, Vancouver, BC V6A 2X7 (tel. 877/460-3200; www.rockymountaineer.com), bills its Rocky Mountaineer as "The Most Spectacular Train Trip in the World." During daylight hours between mid-April and mid-October, this sleek blue-and-white train winds past foaming waterfalls, ancient glaciers, towering snowcapped peaks, and roaring mountain streams. The Rocky Mountaineer gives you the options of traveling east from Vancouver; traveling west from Jasper, Calgary, or Banff; or taking round-trips. A new rail service offers travel to/from Vancouver and Jasper via Whistler and Prince George. There's also a tour offering a VIA Rail connection from Toronto, or packages that include links to the Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Victoria. Tours range from 2 to 12 days, with stays in both the mountains and cities.

John Steel Railtours (tel. 800/988-5778 or fax 604/886-2100; www.johnsteel.com) offers both escorted and independent tour packages, many through the Rockies and the west and a few in other regions, which combine train and other forms of travel. VIA Rail and BC Rail operate the train portions of John Steel tours. Packages run from 5 to 12 days, at all times of year, depending on the route, and combine stays in major cities and national parks.

Despite the fact that escorted tours require big deposits and predetermine hotels, restaurants, and itineraries, many people derive security and peace of mind from the structure they offer. Escorted tours -- whether they're navigated by bus, motorcoach, train, or boat -- let travelers sit back and enjoy the trip without having to drive or worry about details. They take you to the maximum number of sights in the minimum amount of time with the least amount of hassle. They're particularly convenient for people with limited mobility and they can be a great way to make new friends.

On the downside, you'll have little opportunity for serendipitous interactions with locals. The tours can be jam-packed with activities, leaving little room for individual sightseeing, whim, or adventure -- plus they often focus on the heavily touristed sites, so you miss out on many a lesser known gem.