Take in a top end tour of Vancouver

WINE AND FLY Take your adventuring to new heights with BC Adventure Company’s Backcountry Helicopter and Fraser Valley Wine and Culinary Adventure. After boarding your private helicopter, you’ll soar over snow capped peaks, backcountry waterfalls and shimmering lakes, before landing in a remote locale. Upon landing, snap photos of the panoramic vistas, or enjoy a glass of champagne beside a glacier-fed river. But you’re just getting started: next, hop into a luxury vehicle for a leisurely drive through the Fraser Valley’s agricultural paradise, where two incredible wineries await. Here, you’ll settle under the sun for an alfresco wine and culinary experience, whose farm-fresh ingredients shine a spotlight on the region’s flavourful bounty.

ALPINE ADVENTURE Hanging glaciers, knife-edge peaks, crystal alpine lakes are a few of many sights you’ll see on Harbour Air’s Alpine Lakes and Glaciers aerial adventure. The year-round tour lifts off from the downtown harbour and glides over the skyline into the mountains, touching down to skim the waters of a hidden alpine lake. If you desire (and trust us, you do), you can add a gourmet picnic, which you’ll enjoy at a lakeside beach before lifting back into the clouds.

THE SUITE LIFE While Vancouver is filled with adventures, some of the most luxurious take place high in the sky. Treat yourself to a night (a week?) at one of the city’s most dazzling suites. With rainforest showers, private plunge pools and meditation ponds, we’ll understand if you never leave your room.

• Live the celebrity life – even for a night – with a stay in Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Chairman’s Suite. Aptly nicknamed the “Rock Star Suite”, the 2,650-square-foot space is sprawled over two storeys – accessible by private elevator – and canopied by a Swarovski crystal chandelier. Two living rooms offer plenty of space for hosting, complete with kitchen and butler’s pantry, while the master bedroom connects to a marble bathroom with hand-carved soaker tub. The second level leads to a private rooftop patio overlooking the downtown harbour, which you can view from your gazebo. There’s also a meditation pond and fire pit for moments of reflection.
  
• Movie stars have stayed in the Shangri-La Hotel’s Orchid Suite – why shouldn’t you? The 1,395-square-foot mansion-in-the-sky has floor-to-ceiling-windows, a discreet service entrance to the kitchen, and steam showers and TVs in the bathrooms (because why should nature’s call take you away from The Weather Network?).
  
• Forget the huge soaker tub, rainforest shower or soft-as-a-cloud king bed. The real draw of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s 1,492-square-foot Georgia Suite lies outside its doors, where a private garden terrace and plunge pool will quickly become your favourite place to sunbathe and swim. In the evening, cozy up beside the outdoor fireplace and dream about tomorrow’s suite adventures.
  
• The DOUGLAS, an Autograph Collection Hotel – part of Parq, downtown Vancouver’s sprawling entertainment complex – is home to several suites fit for royalty, and The Den is the most decadent of them all. Made for socializing, the 2,200-square-foot penthouse is warmed by a halo light fixture, while a wet bar, pool table and oversized round couch invite lingering conversation. Climb the floating staircase to the second level – whose two bedrooms overlook the city’s glass towers – and relax into your Japanese soaking tub. This bliss is worth every penny.

WILL TRAVEL FOR FOOD Your tastebuds will need a separate passport when travelling to Vancouver, where feasting is its own sport. Tried-and-true restaurants like Botanist and St. Lawrence elevate the Pacific Northwest’s bounty with delicious flavour combinations and beautiful platings – complete with terroir-driven wine programs and show-stopping cocktails – but there’s always a new eatery staking claims to the Culinary Throne. Here are the newest restaurants to tickle our palates:

• Acquafarina I Seat yourself under the sky-high ceilings and prepare to loosen your waistband as you work through a seven-course tasting menu that incorporates flavours from Sicily. Leave your cell phone at home: the restaurant has a no-phones-at-the-table policy.
  
• Luigi & Sons I Steak lovers, this one’s for you: a new butchery and provisions spot opening in Yaletown in 2021. The space is owned by the same culinary minds behind acclaimed steakhouse Elisa, whose tartare/charcuterie bar, wood-fired cuts and extensive whisky collection lure hedonists from all corners of the city.
  
• Saola I The exquisite flavours, traditions and techniques of Southeast Asia play a starring role in this new destination restaurant, owned by four friends (two chefs and two actors). Centred around storytelling (one of the actors is also a writer), the eatery – opening in summer 2021 – will lead guests through an interpretation of modern Asian cuisine inspired by the group’s travels.

SIP AND SOAR Sure, you can swill craft beer at a brewery, but why not break with routine? SKY Helicopter’s West Coast Craft Beer Flight tour takes beer to new heights, leading guests on a picturesque flight through the Coast Mountains before landing in the forested backcountry. Deep in the woods, you’ll sample local craft beers before catching your ‘copter back to the city. Oenophiles can try the newly launched Ultimate Fraser Valley Estate Winery Experience, a seasonal affair (July to October) involving a helicopter journey over the Cascade Mountains, Gulf Islands and Strait of George to a private wine tasting and vineyard tour at Glass House Estate Winery. Afterward, settle in for a private picnic complete with charcuterie and share plates, plus a bottle of wine for good measure.

ROLL INTO THE ROCKIES Journey through the vast Canadian Rockies on Rocky Mountaineer’s 10-day Canadian Rockies Circle package. You’ll start with an overnight in Vancouver, before boarding the luxury train and travelling further into BC, then crossing the border into Alberta. During the day, you’ll see mountain peaks, winding river canyons, vast forests and glaciers from the glass-domed coaches and outdoor viewing area; at night, a sumptuous bed in a luxury hotel awaits (no sleeper cars here!).

YES, WE SAID YACHT Sure, you can kayak and stand-up paddleboard in Vancouver’s scenic waters, but sometimes, you just need a yacht. Pacific Yacht Charters treats guests to a magical cruise along the city’s waterways and harbours, where playful seals, floatplanes and zodiacs jostle elbows with big ships and the occasional whale in a dance best seen from the middle of the action. Onboard, you’ll sip champagne or a cold beer, dine on Pacific Northwest food, and wave to landlubbers while inhaling the salty sea breeze. The yacht can be chartered for private parties, weddings, corporate gatherings and other special occasions (tip: every day is a special occasion).

 Fiji Airways flies direct from Nadi to Vancouver with connections from all other Pacific ports. www.fijiairways.com For more information visit: www.destinationvancouver.com