The truth is, a single visit to BC is seldom sufficient. With just two to three weeks set aside for a summer vacation, most European holidaymakers find that Greater Vancouver can easily account for at least a week of the total – three or four days to unwind at the beginning, perhaps, with three or four more at the end before heading home.

In between, the touring choices are varied and plentiful. Over a two or three-week stay, most visitors quickly learn that either the southwestern or southeastern regions of the province are about as much as can be squeezed into a two or three-week holiday.

In the southwest, after a Vancouver stay, a circular road/ferry tour will cover the province’s spectacular Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. To the southeast, it’s an easy, scenic drive to the semi-arid wine-growing and recreational areas of the province’s beautiful Okanagan Valley. But to explore the rest of this huge playground – the BC Rockies and Cariboo regions, for example - almost certainly call for a return visit, as will Whistler-Blackcomb, regarded as one of North America's premier ski destinations which, and along with Vancouver, will host the 2010 Winter Olympics.