On the summit of the Chief near Squamish.

Last year I went on vacation to Western Canada. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Before this I had never travelled west of my home province Ontario. I had such a good time on that trip that I promised myself I would visit Western Canada again “one day.” So, when the opportunity presented itself to go on a tour for my book in Northern B.C. this spring, I answered with an emphatic yes. Since I was only speaking in 2 cities in Northern B.C., this could have easily been a short trip, but I decided to extend this into a weeklong excursion of Western Canada. I booked 5 flights in 9 days.

A personal goal of mine is to see all the provinces in Canada. The only provinces I hadn’t seen up to this point were Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, but after this trip I can cross Manitoba off my bucket list. I’d start my trip in Vancouver, before heading to Northern B.C. After that I‘d return to Vancouver before spending 3 days in Winnipeg. It was going to be a fun and busy time!

Planning My Trip

I booked my flights through PC Travel again. I mostly booked Air Canada flights, but booked a couple WestJet flights, which I’d come to regret (more on this below). I stayed with a friend in Vancouver and booked Airbnb in Winnipeg (I prefer Airbnb over hostels since I like to work on my laptop when I’m travelling.)

Day 1: Saturday, April 14

The magnificent view from Granville Street Bridge.

I woke up at 6AM ET to catch my 9AM ET flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport. I was about to leave home when I checked my email and found out my flight had been cancelled. Not a good way to begin my trip! There was an ice storm coming to Toronto, but it hadn’t arrived yet. The weather was still fine. It was raining outside. We wouldn’t get freezing rain for a few more hours.

I frantically called WestJet to find out what was going on. WestJet mentioned that passenger safety was its top priority. As such, my original flight had been cancelled and I had been rebooked on a flight at 6PM ET. I’m no pilot, but this didn’t make any sense. The weather would be a lot worse at 6PM ET. I mentioned that this was unacceptable and I wanted to be booked on an earlier flight. What was even more aggravating was that none of Air Canada’s flights were cancelled. They were only delayed by 30 minutes or so.

After an hour and a half on the phone, I was booked on a flight with Air Canada with a departure time an hour later from my original flight at no extra charge. This situation taught me an important lesson. If you’re going to an event and you have to be on time, you’re taking a real chance by booking with a low-cost carrier like WestJet. (Have you read WestJet’s customer reviews? They’re horrible!) You might be on time, but you might not be. I’ll never fly WestJet again after this experience. At least with Air Canada it has flight practically every hour from Toronto to Vancouver, but with WestJet I had to wait 9 hours since my original flight had been cancelled. Not cool.

When I eventually arrived at the Vancouver International Airport, I grabbed lunch before heading downtown. The SkyTrain station is conveniently located in the airport, however, you have to pay an extra $5 on top of your regular fare when travelling from the airport (this is to help pay for the LRT expansion). I didn’t know this last time and thought, “no wonder the cost of living in Vancouver is so high if a single transit ride costs $10!” I heard there was a transit day pass you could buy to avoid the $5 fee, so I headed to the 7-Eleven in the airport. Unfortunately, I discovered that this “savings hack” ended a couple years ago, so I was forced to pay the $5 surcharge. I didn’t mind since it’s a lot better than taking a cab downtown. Plus, it’s super-fast. The SkyTrain takes less than 30 minutes to arrive downtown.

It was a long and stressful day –and raining in Vancouver – when I arrived, so I didn’t do much my first day. I walked over the Granville Street Bridge and explored the downtown a bit before calling it a day (the 3 hour time difference between Toronto and Vancouver didn’t help).

Day 2: Sunday, April 15

On the Chief with Jay Seabrook of Dragon’s Den fame.

I woke up at the crack of dawn to hike Stawamus Chief Mountain (aka the Chief) near Squamish. I went hiking with my bud Jay Seabrook of EnRICHed Academy. Jay was nice enough to let me stay with him during my time in Vancouver. Jay is quite successful in his own right. Not only did he co-found Dominion Lending Centres, he appeared on Dragon’s Den and scored a deal with Bruce Croxon and Jim Treliving.

Hiking the Chief was a lot of fun. I’ve hiked mountains in Banff, but nothing quite like the Chief. It took about an hour to make it to the summit with plenty of great lookouts along the way. The view from the summit was simply breathtaking. It gave me an amazing view of Squamish and the surrounding areas. I’m not going to lie, the hike was a little challenging. It rained the day before, so it was quite slippery. Getting down the mountain was actually tougher than getting up. Despite this, I highly recommend that you hike the Chief next time you’re in Vancouver. It’s well worth the drive up from Vancouver (the drive along the coastline is pretty scenic, too).

After grabbing lunch, I headed out for an afternoon of fun and exploration. I was in Vancouver 6 months ago, but I didn’t get the chance to see everything, so I wanted to make the most of my limited time there. I spent the afternoon walking along the coastline. I walked over the Burrard Bridge and went to Kitsilano Beach. The views from Kits Beach were amazing. I spent the rest of the day walking along the seawall.

Day 3: Monday, April 16

The first book event in Terrace, B.C.

Monday morning I headed to YVR to catch my flight to Terrace for my first book event at Northern Savings Credit Union. Terrace, located in Northern B.C., is the northernmost point in Canada I’ve ever been to. Terrace may be a city, but has a small town feel. It’s located inland, but it’s surrounded by mountains.

I briefly explored the city and went for dinner before heading to the venue. The event took place at the NWCC Longhouse (there were even totem poles out front). Despite it being a sunny day, the turnout was great. The credit union members seemed to enjoy my “Burn Your Mortgage” presentation and had some great questions afterwards. All in all it was a pretty good first day in Northern B.C.!

Day 4: Tuesday, April 17

On Tuesday morning we hit the road for the journey from Terrace to Prince Rupert. The drive reminded me a lot of driving to Banff since we were surrounded by mountains.

The breathtaking view from my hotel in Prince Rupert, B.C.

In case you’re not familiar, Prince Rupert is a port city located on the Kaien Island off the coast of Northern B.C. It’s just south of the Alaskan panhandle. Similar to Terrace, it’s surrounded by mountains. However, since it’s on the coast, it offers some spectacular views. The view from my hotel room was hands down the best view at a hotel I’ve ever. Prince Rupert is a rainy city. In fact, it’s Canada’s wettest city, so be sure to bring your umbrella!

We arrived in Prince Rupert at lunch time, so I had a few hours to before my book event. I went to the Museum of Northern B.C. If you’re in Prince Rupert, I’d highly recommend going. It was a great way to learn about the history of Northern B.C. and the important role of Aboriginal peoples. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and exploring Prince Rupert.

The turnout for the second book event was even better! It was a rainy day (big surprise), so even more people showed up. Overall, it was such a fun experience to speak in front of the people of Northern B.C. I hope to do it again one day!

Day 5: Wednesday, April 18

Enjoying the sunset in Stanley Park.

In the morning I made my way to the airport. The journey there was quite unique. I took a shuttle bus, which boarded a ferry and took us to an island where the airport was located. I made it back to Vancouver in the early afternoon. I still had plenty of things I wanted to see, so I headed to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park. I enjoyed the Vancouver Aquarium just as much as the aquarium in San Francisco. My favourite part was the sea otters. It was so cute how they would hold hands as they swam through the water together.

After the aquarium I went for a walk alongside the seawall in Stanley Park. Last time I biked the seawall, so walking offered a different perspective. I could take in all the sights and sounds (and take some fantastic photos, too). I’m still amazed that such a magnificent park is located just steps from downtown Vancouver (fun fact: Stanley Park is 10% larger than New York City’s Central Park).

Since I’m a such big fan of towers (they’re a great way to see the city), I finished the day off by visiting the Vancouver Lookout. I enjoyed the Vancouver Lookout as much as the Calgary Tower – maybe even more! The glass elevator ride up reminded me a lot of the CN Tower. Once I got to the top, I was treated to a panoramic 360° view of the city at the observation desk.

Day 6: Thursday, April 19

You’ll find unique places like a “Pet Treatery” on Granville Island.

Time was flying by! I couldn’t believe it was my last full day in Vancouver. I wanted to make the most of it, so I crammed in as much sightseeing as I could. Something I like to do when I’m travelling is see the sports arenas in different cities. I started the day off with a tour of the Rogers Arena where the Vancouver Canuck of the NHL play (and the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA used to play). It was a nice, modern arena. It was interesting to learn about the history of the Canucks and share the same locker room as music sensations like Lady Gaga.

In the afternoon I visited Vancouver’s science centre, Science World. Last time I was there I remember seeing it on the SkyTrain, so I just had to visit it! I won’t lie, Science World is mostly geared towards kids, but it did have some interesting exhibits for adults like the “The Science of Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” exhibit.

No trip to Vancouver would be complete without a trip to Granville Island. After Science World, I made my way along the seawall there. Granville Island was just how I imagined it. It reminded me of St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. It had a wide variety of shops to visit and delicious food to eat.

After Granville Island, I headed back to pack up for my next travel adventure in Winnipeg!

Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.