Vancouver to Whitehorse via the Inside Passage - CanaDream

Eighteen nights and 2,825 kilometres from Vancouver to Whitehorse in a motorhome, with two ferry crossings and three nights at Telegraph Cove.

Nanaimo, Qualicum Beach and Campbell River come first up Vancouver Island, then Telegraph Cove, a former cannery village built on boardwalks over the water, which gets three nights: Johnstone Strait beyond it is a summer feeding ground for resident orca and the whale watching there is as good as anywhere on the coast.

Port Hardy is where the Inside Passage sailing begins, a full day north to Prince Rupert through channels with no road access. Meziadin Junction and Hyder follow inland, the last a tiny Alaskan town reached through Stewart, where bears fish the salmon run at Fish Creek from a viewing platform. Dease Lake and Teslin Lake carry the route north, then the ferry from Skagway to Haines, Haines Junction beside the Kluane icefields, and Whitehorse.

The motorhome and the day-by-day plan come from CanaDream, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with insurance options priced at booking. Nineteen days is a fair schedule for a route with two sailings in it, and both need booking well ahead for a motorhome. The season is short, roughly June to early September, and the bear viewing at Fish Creek depends on the salmon run, usually late July into September. Gravel sections are normal on the northern highways, which is worth checking against the hire terms. This is a one-way hire into the Yukon, so a relocation fee is worth confirming at booking.