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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- North America
- Canada
- British Columbia
British Columbia
Canada's most westerly province, British Columbia is sandwiched
between the Rocky Mountains on the east and the mighty Pacific
Ocean on the west, bordered to the south by the USA and to the
north by the Northwest and Yukon territories. Its location on the
Pacific Rim ensures that British Columbia has a rich blend of
cultures, with large numbers of Asian communities living among the
descendants of the English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh pioneers.
Together with the area's own rich indigenous heritage, this makes
for interesting towns and cities with a cosmopolitan ambience.
The combination of sea and mountains, together with the broken
coastline sporting hundreds of islands and inlets, gives the
province a diverse set of natural attractions and recreational
opportunities, from world-class winter sports to sailing or hiking
in tall forests. It is especially attractive to travellers who
enjoy the great outdoors, particularly because a good transport
infrastructure of ferries, charter boats, trains and
well-maintained roads makes it possible to access all the best
wilderness spots in British Columbia with ease and comfort.
The provincial capital of British Columbia is the city of
Victoria, situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, but its
largest and most populated city is Vancouver, known as Canada's
'emerald jewel' because of its green-blue vistas of mountains and
sea.
British Columbia is home to four national parks, seven
provincial heritage sites, and hundreds other nature reserves. The
Okanagan area is one of Canada's three wine-growing regions, known
for its extreme terrain with the highest point in the Canadian
Rockies, the highest waterfall in Canada, and the country's only
desert region.
The scenic Cariboo Chilcotin Coast is a maze of forests winding
through mountains and plains with hidden lakes dotting the
landscape. The coast has a number of beautiful fjords, and is a
popular destination for canoeing. The volcanic mountains of
Tweedsmuir Provincial Park provide trekking opportunities, and the
Kootenay Rockies have some of the best skiing and snowboarding in
Canada.
Information & Facts
Climate
BC's climate is very varied due to its diverse topography. The
coastal region has a very mild winter climate with lots of
rainfall. November and February tend to be the wettest months,
while May and September are probably the best times to visit the
coast. Vancouver enjoys a maritime climate, with mild winters and
warm summers. Although winters can be notoriously rainy, there are
often long periods of continuous sunshine in the summertime, when
visitors come to explore the region's natural beauty. Snowfall is
rare in the city, but is more than adequate for the ski slopes on
the Coast Mountains to the north. The interior to the east of the
Coast Mountains has a much drier climate with warm summers and cool
winters. The Rockies enjoy a warm to hot summer from May to
September, with heavy snowfalls during winter. The northern part of
the province has generally much colder winters and cooler summers
than the rest of BC.
Language
The official languages are English and French
(predominantly in Quebec).
Money
The currency used is the Canadian Dollar (CAD), which is divided
into 100 cents. One-dollar coins are also known as loonies (due to
the picture of a loon, a type of bird, on the coin), and two-dollar
coins as toonies. Banks and bureaux de change will change money and
travellers cheques, as will some hotels, but the rate will not be
as good. Major credit cards are widely accepted and ATMs are
plentiful. US Dollars are largely accepted, though due to fraud,
larger notes might not be and change is usually given in Canadian
dollars.
Time
GMT -8 (Some areas near the Alberta border are GMT -7).
Daylight saving is observed between the second Sunday in March to
the first Sunday in November.