If you want to change it up, drive from Vancouver to Tofino on Vancouver island for a couple days. It's insanely beautiful, but remote. 2.5 hr (very scenic) ferry from Vancouve to Nanaimo (north of Victoria), then a 4 hr drive to Tofino, but there are a couple cool stops along the way to stretch your legs.

Jasper and Banff are a long ass drive for such a short trip. If you want to stay on the mainland, try Vancouver - Whistler - Okanagan valley. The Okanagan is a great place to relax for a few days. Lots of good food and wine (tons of great vineyards to check out), nice lake, hot dry climate. Naramata is eerily similar to Tuscany (rolling hills of vineyards cascading down to a big beautiful lake).

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Long Chile was a silly place.

A day of skiing at Whistler?

At least if you are on the Island stop at an awesome pet store in Sidney and buy something ;)

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Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)

Ditto above west coast Vancouver island but I prefer the southern end, Uclulet (well the one time I was there)

If you had more time, Vancouver north to whistler and then on to Kumsheen, do some power rafting stay a couple nights in the tents, back thru Vancouver then to Uclulet. Don’t miss the goats on the roof on the way to the coast :)

if you plan on a ferry in summer you may need to book in advance otherwise you may have a long wait in line

Haha coombs! We always stop at the store with the goats on the roof on our way to Tofino. It's actually got a half decent restaurant in there and the deli counter is really good for loading up on snacks for the drive. Tons of smoked salmon.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

I still need to make it up to your pet store. I never find myself in Sidney these days.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

We bought some smoked salmon, bread, cheese and blackberry jam from the store and ate on the shore of that lake that’s got the firefighting plane. Vancouver island is awesome.

Tacofino if it’s still around is a great taco truck too

Not sure which lake you're referring to... Sprout lake maybe? That's a great summer spot.

Tacofino is still around and great. They opened a storefront in Victoria a few years ago. Kuma in Tofino has the best ramen I have ever had, just mind bogglingly good. For a small town there are a lot of good places to eat there.

Wife and I are up there once a year in the fall. I can't get enough of it. We haven't made it to uculet but really should check it out one day.

The island really does have a lot to offer. I've been here a long time and every year I discover some place new and amazing close to home.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Well don’t come for the next few weeks. I am only there a couple hours per day while recovering from an appendectomy.

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Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)

How old are your kids & in-laws? Do you just want to drive and look at scenery or is there some attraction type stuff you might like. I'm a huge fan of the Athabasca Glacier trek on the way from Jasper to Banff just because I have never had another opportunity to walk on a glacier.

Ben

Yeah Sproat Lake (had to look it up). Guess it’s the home base for the flying tankers.

I agree that it would otherwise involve a lot of driving, with up to 7 people in a car. The basis was wanting my kids to see a lot and experience things they couldn't normally do. My wife and I have been separated since Sept '13 and it's only really now that we have started the process of reconciliation. A consequence of that is that the kids missed out on trips. This is a rare experience for them. Our youngest has never seen snow and middle one was probably too young to remember. Likewise the in-laws have never been to the west coast and might not otherwise go there. This is quite feasibly a one off chance to have such a holiday all together.

I don't doubt that the Tofino experience would be pleasurable, but with the limited time feels like it could be putting all the eggs in one basket. On the flip side what I was thinking could be clichéd to those in the area and probably flooded with tourists that time of year. But does appear to offer variety. The wine region could be boring for three young kids (4/8/11)?

I'd really like them to see Vancouver as to me that's a really pretty city. Maybe hire some bikes and ride around the park/bay area, visit Grouse etc. Victoria and the island could again suck up too much time, which would be a shame. The icefields and Rockies is likewise something that would blow them away, so I'm not sure I can avoid a heap of driving. 5 days (7 max) is probably all we have time/budget for. Toyed with the idea of a motor home also but that could possibly become a PITA for parking / waste / in-laws snoring. Spent two weeks last time I was there (2 nights per destination) which worked out well.

I was very slow in comprehending that. Truth be told probably would not have clicked had someone else not brought it to my attention further down. I'm thinking 'Why would someone suggest buying pet items on a trip?'

The in-laws (assuming the do come) are too old for anything too adventurous and can't see the MIL (in particular) warming to the idea of tenting! lol Probably a dumb tourist thing to say but I'd be paranoid about bears camping outside in BC. Probably like someone from Canada saying they wouldn't swim here in West Oz cause they would get eaten by a shark.

I do remember the ferry queue, having missed our pre-booked appointment south of Vancouver back in 2010 and sitting around waiting for the next one.

It's more like glamping. Probably bears in the area I guess, but you'd probably see more in Whistler than there. It's a cool place for families so save for the future. Power rafting is awesome, the guides are good at crashing into the best waves for soaking :) and you can do fun sections of the river several times

http://kumsheen.com/

Kids 4/8/11 and in-laws are 67 and 65. Probably restricted in the types of activities we could contemplate. We are from West Oz so snow/mountains etc is totally foreign. The in-laws are from Toronto and never been to the west coast so again the scenery is something they could appreciate. There's opportunity to do some activities with the kids and let the in-laws waltz about 'town' I suppose.

Concur with your icefields comments. As much as it involves much driving I'm really swaying on including that part of BC/Alberta. Just such a shame it's so far away. The west coast and rockies are stunning.

If your goal is to expose your kids to things they have never seen - you can't skip the Rockies (Banff/Jasper). Drive the icefields parkway. Is there any way you could fly from Vancouver to Calgary? It would save a ton of driving and you could do a lot more beyond sitting in a car.

I thought your place was sort of in between Sidney & Victoria. No?

It’s possible but that would involve doubling back (Calgary-Jasper-Calgary) wouldn’t it?

I suppose there isn’t ‘that much’ to see between Vancouver and say Kamloops? The traditional route via Whistler and Lillooet appears to be almost 2hrs more driving time. I’m thinking of powering through to Kamloops to get more time in Jasper etc.

June you say? Come to Ontario and be carried away by black flies and mosquitoes.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

oh don’t worry the bulk of the time will be in the 6. But coming from Oz we are pretty used to all sorts of bugs.

Give me a shout if in Kamloops.

You might need an in law break and we do 8-10 team/group work outs per week.

250-574-1835

Cheers,
Maurice