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British Columbia is a natural paradise

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Travel to British Columbia

Flying to British Columbia

Air Canada (AC) (www.aircanada.com) serves British Columbia, and many other airlines from worldwide destinations also serve the province.

Travel by rail

VIA Rail (tel: 1 888 842 7245; www.viarail.ca) train routes to and within British Columbia are: The Skeena service from Prince Rupert to Jasper (Alberta) with connections to Edmonton (requires at least one overnight off-train stay en route); The Malahat service between Victoria and Courtenay; and Vancouver to Edmonton via Kamloops and Jasper, and on to Toronto three times a week (The Canadian).

The seasonal Rocky Mountaineer train (Tel: 1 877 460 3200 (North America) or 00 800 0606 7372 (UK) www.rockymountaineer.com) is a two-day, all-daylight tour between Vancouver and Banff and Calgary or Jasper and between Whistler and Jasper, operating between mid April and mid October.

Getting to British Columbia by boat

Vancouver (www.portmetrovancouver.com) is an international passenger port, with regular sailings to the Far East and ports on the USA's northwestern coast as well as up to Alaska.

Ferry operators:

There are ferry services to and from all coastal ports in British Columbia. Ferry services link two points on Vancouver Island with Vancouver city's north (Horseshoe Bay) and south (Tsawwassen) terminals on the mainland. Foot passengers can take coaches from Vancouver city centre to Victoria city centre.

BC Ferries (tel: 1 888 223 3779/BC FERRY; www.bcferries.com) operates numerous routes along coastal British Columbia, including a scenic, 15-hour, one-way, daylight voyage from Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, a crossing from Prince Rupert to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the Discovery Coast Passage, a summer route between Port Hardy and Bella Coola on the mid-coast mainland.

There is also a high-speed catamaran from Victoria to Seattle (USA), the Victoria Clipper (tel: 1 800 888 2535; www.clippervacations.com). For further information on ferries, contact BC Ferries or consult The Ferry Traveller (tel: 1 800 686 0446; www.ferrytravel.com), a website with general ferry information.

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