Discover West Canada and Alaska’s most luxurious accommodation, dining, train journeys and cruising.

From storied chateau stays to legendary rail odysseys, this is a voyage shaped by wilderness and elevated by APT. In Western Canada and Alaska, every moment is drawn with poetic precision. 

Turquoise lakes framed by glacier-draped peaks. Dense pine forests giving way to open skies. Mist-draped fjords conjuring whispered secrets. This is Western Canada and Alaska — vast, untamed and sculpted by nature’s most dramatic hand. From cosmopolitan Vancouver and Alaska’s pristine Inside Passage, to the icefields and soaring summits of the Rockies, monumental landscapes pay homage to the majesty of North America’s supreme wildernesses. 

Glide in GoldLeaf Service aboard the Rocky Mountaineer through mountain passes and canyons. Stay in storied Fairmont hotels at Banff National Park, Lake Louise, and Jasper National Park. Then, embark on your Holland America Line cruise through Alaska’s Inside Passage, a realm of calving glaciers, breaching whales and frontier towns. 

To travel through this part of the world is to follow the jagged skyline of an interior where mountains reign supreme, and to trace a coastline carved by ancient ice. With APT, the path is finely drawn — from the sweeping domes of a glass-topped train to a breakfast table tucked within a world-renowned garden as it stirs to life. Days unfold with quiet precision, where every detail is polished, and the pace remains unhurried. Throughout this journey by land and sea, each experience is designed not simply to show you the incredible landscape, but to place you deeply within it. 

At the close of the 19th century, as the Canadian Pacific Railway stitched a young nation together with steel, its visionaries sought not only to carry travellers west, but to inspire them to explore it. And so, the Chalet at Lake Louise was born — a rustic retreat for affluent adventurers that transformed a pristine glacial lake into a stage for grandeur. Today, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise rises like a fairytale castle from the water’s edge, its silhouette etched against a canvas of mountains, ice and sky. From your Lakeview Room, gaze upon one of nature’s greatest masterpieces. Within, Edwardianinspired interiors evoke a bygone era, where warm timber accents, polished brass and soft leather speak of alpine comfort and timeless elegance. 

Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer in GoldLeaf Service, glide through soaring mountain passes and deep canyon valleys in bi-level glass-dome carriages that blur 

the line between inside and out. Spend your journey on the upper level, where sweeping glass domes frame the Rockies’ fortresses of stone and sky, and stories of the land are brought to life by your hosts. Downstairs, linen-dressed tables are set for dining, where dishes such as crisp-skinned Lois Lake steelhead and lemon honey buttermilk pancakes reveal local flavours told with flair. Between carriages, an open-air viewing platform sharpens every vista and stirs the senses. 

Before the gates open to the public, APT guests are welcomed into The Butchart Gardens and the original Butchart family home for an exclusive breakfast amid the vibrant floral displays. In the soft morning light, this garden oasis hums with motion, a delicate choreography of gardeners pruning flowers, raking fallen leaves, and tending to a tapestry of five themed gardens. The Sunken Garden, hewn from a limestone quarry, spills with layers of texture, while nearby, the Rose Garden bursts with 2,500 blooms in resplendent colour. It’s a rare window into the living heart of this National Historic Site before the crowds arrive, and a tribute to Jennie Butchart’s enduring vision. Cruise Alaska’s Inside Passage unfurls like a slow, living poem. Vast waters thread between ice-capped peaks, while glaciers whisper ancient stories as whales trace unseen currents beneath glassy waters. During your seven-night Holland America Line cruise, sail into Glacier Bay National Park, where marine life is abundant, and glaciers calve into the sea. Between moments on deck, surrender to restorative spa rituals, be drawn into the pulse of live music or thought-provoking lectures, or simply bask in the panorama of the labyrinth of fjords stretching beyond your private balcony. 

Alaska’s Inside Passage unfurls like a slow, living poem. Vast waters thread between ice-capped peaks, while glaciers whisper ancient stories as whales trace unseen currents beneath glassy waters. During your seven-night Holland America Line cruise, sail into Glacier Bay National Park, where marine life is abundant, and glaciers calve into the sea. Between moments on deck, surrender to restorative spa rituals, be drawn into the pulse of live music or thought-provoking lectures, or simply bask in the panorama of the labyrinth of fjords stretching beyond your private balcony. 

Words by Danielle Cowen