Canadian Rockies

[mickeymouseears]

Hi

We are planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies in Sep 2023 - 2 adults.
I always do a lot of research but the dibbers always have some good ideas / tips.

What are the things you wished you did / knew before you went?
What were the things you liked the most / were overrated?
What were the unexpected pleasant surprises?

Thanks for your suggestions

[AlexE]

Sorry I cant help but I just mentioned Canadian Rockies to TractorBoy and he said its on the list! His retirement list is getting longer by the day

We did investigate the Rockies Mountaineer train tour but the reviews were very mixed.

Sorry I cant be of help but this is definately a thread Im interested in

[marlouwrig]

Originally Posted by AlexE

Sorry I cant help but I just mentioned Canadian Rockies to TractorBoy and he said its on the list! His retirement list is getting longer by the day

We did investigate the Rockies Mountaineer train tour but the reviews were very mixed.

Sorry I cant be of help but this is definately a thread Im interested in

See more...

We did the Rockie Mountaineer from Banff to Vancouver in 2015. Really enjoyed it. Wonderful service, wonderful food, wonderful scenery and two days was just about perfect.

[shysarah]

We’ve just been on the Rocky Mountaineer (gold leaf), Vancouver to Banff, truly wonderful experience

[shack69]

We have done the rocky Mountaineer previously. As it was just the 2 of us we actually did a coach tour which included the train. We found this a great way to see lots without the hassle of driving. We did hire a car for a day when we stayed for a couple of nights in one place.

Before you book check out the time of year and how that impacts the scenery and possible driving issues. Banff and Lake louise are both nice places. In some of the towns they have a tourist centre which offers guided tours (some free) and they offer an insight your would not get on your own. In Banf we did one and learned that under the road they built tunnels for animals to cross.

[Wordsworth]

We did the golf leaf on the Rocky Mountaineer with my folks in 2009 and didn’t love it, to be honest. We had driven from Calgary to Vancouver and got the train back - we preferred the drive as you could stop off as you wanted and thought you saw better scenery. (We were also in a carriage with a loud group that staff kept serving alcohol despite complaints.)

When we went back in 2019, we drove the route again for that reason. I’m glad we stayed overnight at Lake Louise and did Lake Moraine early and also the canyon (Johnston?) on that trip - on our first we only stopped briefly at the former on the way from Banff to Jasper.

[mickeymouseears]

The Rocky Mountaineer works out £3100 for both of us for 2 days so it's too expensive for us. Looks great looking at the website, but if you pay that kind of money our expectations would be very high. I think we are the kind of people that like to drive somewhere and stop as long as we like.

[marlouwrig]

Originally Posted by mickeymouseears

The Rocky Mountaineer works out £3100 for both of us for 2 days so it's too expensive for us. Looks great looking at the website, but if you pay that kind of money our expectations would be very high. I think we are the kind of people that like to drive somewhere and stop as long as we like.

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I've just out our confirmation from Canadian Affair from 2015. £3427 for two of us. This was a 5 night Rocky Mountaineer tour which as well as the two day Gold Leaf from Banff to Vancouver included a sightseeing coach tour with hotels in Calgary, Banff, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Kamloops and Vancouver. Also included was a Summit Helicopter Flightseeing tour over the Rockies.

[jocat]

We did a Canadian Rockies trip 4 years ago and had a fabulous time. Would love to go back.

I found the planning a little daunting at times, but Dibbers were so helpful with answering any questions. I read a lot of very informative trip reports, then wrote my own, and there were others that went at the same time as me who wrote brilliant trip reports too - have a look for trippies by Gunna and Parisdisneyfan.

My highs and lows are here if you want to have a read:

Would highly recommend purchasing the GyPSy apps for the Rockies. Think we paid about £15 for the bundle of 4, but they were definitely worth the cost.

With hindsight, we wouldn’t stop overnight in Kamloops again - it broke up the journey but felt like a waste of time. And although we enjoyed our time in Calgary at the end of the trip, there were other stops we could have spent more time in.

Not sure how long you are going for, but we had to sacrifice Vancouver Island, which I’m still sad about. However we had to accept that we couldn’t do it justice on this trip, and will just have to go back.

Please ask away if you have any questions.

[mickeymouseears]

Originally Posted by marlouwrig

I've just out our confirmation from Canadian Affair from 2015. £3427 for two of us. This was a 5 night Rocky Mountaineer tour which as well as the two day Gold Leaf from Banff to Vancouver included a sightseeing coach tour with hotels in Calgary, Banff, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Kamloops and Vancouver. Also included was a Summit Helicopter Flightseeing tour over the Rockies.

See more...

Wow - that would have been good value! For that kind of money now looks like you can have a look at the train and have a coffee at the train station!