Preparations are underway - including booking thriller(s)

The idea of driving from Vancouver via Vancouver Island and the Inside Passage up to the Yukon and Alaska was already in my head after our 3rd RV tour in 2014. Now - 10 years later - it's coming true! After RV tours through the USA, Canada and Australia, our 6th RV adventure will take us to the north of Canada and the USA, namely to Alaska and the Yukon!

The planning started 2 years in advance, I booked the motorhome (brand Fraserway, booked through CU Camper) in mid-June 2023 - over a year in advance - and our dream motorhome was already fully booked at that time 😯😵‍

By the way, the "early bird price" applied here 💸💸💸 We almost fainted at the price. I think we bought the vehicle in part....🙈🥴😵

The plan to fly with Condor (the only airline that flies directly from Frankfurt to Whitehorse) falls apart when the Condor summer flight schedule appears: there are no flights to Whitehorse in 2024! What????

Such a crap!

Internet research shows that the runway at Whitehorse airport is being renovated and only small planes can take off and land. And now???

We booked flights with Air Canada in September 2023. A direct flight to Vancouver, but then from Whitehorse with a stopover via Vancouver. Shouldn't be a problem, we had the same stopover in 2022 from Hawaii via Vancouver on the way home 😅

I worked on the route until November, and at the beginning of December I booked the first campground, a private CG in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Incidentally, it was the last spot available on the two days we had planned to spend there. Crazy!!!

In December I keep checking the BC Ferries website because I have to book the ferry for the Inside Passage.😅 In the Christmas rush I lost track of the ferry. When I entered my details in the search on December 30th, it happened:

"Reservations sold out"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Hot flash, heart palpitations, crisis!

We want to take the day ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, which only runs every 2 days. I look for 2 days later - "Reservations sold out". 4 days later "Reservations sold out". A later date doesn't work because of the route, so maybe 2 days earlier? We'll then lose 2 days on Vancouver Island. My heart jumps - "Available".

Zack - booked!!!

Phew, now we have to re-plan the route accordingly. I decide to skip one night at Juan de Fuca PP and shorten the stay in Tofino. It's just like that... But we now have 2 days that we can plan in the north 🤩

The campground booking marathon starts in January 2024. The Pacific Rim will be the first to open its booking gates. I'll be sitting at my laptop at 4 p.m. sharp on the day of the booking window and clicking for my preferred site on my preferred days.

The page loads... nothing happens for an infinitely long time... then:

"You are now in line for Parks Canada Reservation Service" .... "Number of users in line ahead of you: 9561 . Your estimates wait time is: 20 minutes"

Really?????? CRIIIIIIIISE!!!! I've mentally checked off my desired site and now I'm hoping to get a site at all AND my two desired days! An endless 20 minutes later, the system confirms my travel date and I've even got a site in the front row. Yay!!!!!!!

The same story a few days later for Kluane NP, but it is much more relaxed here and in contrast to the Pacific Rim, which is fully booked at the end of the day for the entire booking period from May to October, you can still get a site in the Yukon a few weeks later.

Booking my planned provincial parks is becoming a similar thriller. We sit at 3 laptops and manage to get at least one site in each park. Often there are only a handful of sites available on my dates. So crazy!!! Spontaneous travel with a campground is completely out of the question. I checked my campgrounds in June - they were all fully booked!

OK, 4 weeks before departure I managed to get a site at the last campground, but the remaining days in Yukon and BC unfortunately remained open. It's "first come, first served" here. Hopefully we'll be lucky...

All excursions are also booked (day trips, whale watching, train rides, etc.), as are the ferries. We have to take the ferry three times on this trip. I'm already sending prayers to heaven that everything will work out. We had one or two bad experiences with ferries during our 2016 tour of Canada in the east....

(If you are curious, click here for the travel report)

7.7.2024

It starts in 6 days! I haven't packed or prepared anything yet, so this evening I'm going to sit down at the laptop and sort out all my bookings and documents.

After about an hour I have everything in order and sorted in front of me. I have sorted everything by date and quickly go through the days to check. Suddenly I get a hot flush, my heart is racing:

I have the ferry booking from Sagway to Haines in front of me. On August 5th, 2024. OK, something bothers me at first glance about August 5th, 2024. But what!? A quick look at my travel plans - bang - I booked the ferry on the wrong day!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

I had already booked the ferry in mid-January, for fear of not being able to get one. And now? 6 days before departure, almost 4 weeks before the wrongly booked date - what do I do now???

A quick search on the website. I open my booking and get the option to "change" my booking. Hm... OK. I click on the "right" day and get the message that the ferry is also available a day earlier. Phew! With a few clicks I manage to change the booking. In the end the ferry costs me an extra $20 (rebooking fee). No matter! Phew, I have the right day now!!!

Since we have a program on August 5th, it would have been a disaster if the rebooking of the ferry hadn't worked out.

Wow, I'm sweating! What a thriller. I hope I haven't made any other mistakes (prayers to heaven!)

Phew... this could be fun...

The pick-up by Fraserway at the hotel on Sunday has now been arranged - we're leaving at 8am! Perfect!!!

12.7.2024

In a few hours we leave for Canada...

Or?????

11:57 p.m. - on the way to bed I hear a "ping" on my cell phone. Moment of shock... SMS... the same "ping" came in March shortly before the scheduled departure to Finland. We were already sitting on packed suitcases and waiting for the taxi when the ominous "ping" announced the flight cancellation!!!

"Ping".... I rush to my cell phone and my fears that something might go wrong with our flight are confirmed:

"Your flight to Vancouver is delayed"

OK - just "delayed"???? After the initial shock, I looked at the times. Due to a technical problem, the plane took off later and will take off 15 minutes later tomorrow. Phew... that's still acceptable!

I found the plane on Flightradar - it's on the way now - with a 1 hour delay. Let's see if it stays at 15 minutes tomorrow morning.

Exciting....

And now I'm supposed to go to bed feeling relaxed???? 😵‍💫🙈🙈🙈