Jasper / Banff / The Rockies summer 2018

[LovingKent]

In the early stages of planning at trip to Canada next year. Current plan is to spend a week in Vancouver then travel to the Rockies (probably by flying to Calgary then hiring a car and driving). I have been there but it was a very very long time ago so have no idea about distances between places, what to see or where to stay. Likely to stay a week in the area then fly back from Calgary . Some recommendations would be great. Its myself, DH and 1 DC aged 7. Thanks

I haven't been for ages (16 years), but you can easily drive from Calgary to Jasper in a day, so I wouldn't worry about distances.

I think most people would visit Banff and Lake Louise (staying in one or the other or both) then spend a day travelling down the Icefields parkway to Jasper. With various activities that could fill a week.

From Jasper, if you like shopping and tack, you could stay in Fantasyland in Edmonton (4 hours from Jasper) and loop round to Calgary that way. Otherwise you'll need to backtrack down the Icefields parkway which is no bad thing.

If you have lots of money staying in the Fairmont hotels is without comparison, but very costly in the summer.

I'd crack on, we have friends going and they were all booked months ago. There can be limited spaces at some locations

I'd definitely recommend flying from Vancouver to Calgary. It's a long drive - we've done it twice, once flying and once driving, and definitely felt that flying was better - there's so much amazing scenery to see so it's a shame to have to spend time driving through less exciting stuff.

We're not great city visitors so we spent minimum time in Vancouver then got the ferry over to Vancouver Island where we spent a magical time at Tofino ( Crystal Cove if you have family have great lodges with hot tubs) and also a few nights at Whistler.
In Vancouver we stayed at the Sylvia Hotel in a family room. It's slightly old-fashioned, but reasonably priced and loads of room in the family room and the hotel is in a great location right beside the beach.

For the Rockies I would avoid staying at Lake Louise - it's ridiculously crowded in the summer and the accommodation is very pricey. Definitely worth a visit though. Arrive very early to get parking and do the canoe trip for half an hour and hike up to the tea house.
Banff has lots of accommodation including quite a few aparthotel places which would be good with DCs.

If you go to Jasper, then avoid eating at the Ice House parkway stop like the plague. It's disgusting. I also wasn't hugely overwhelmed by the glacier bus trip - if you want to do it book in advance. Also avoid the skywalk - overpriced and unnecessary, with beautiful view points a couple of miles down the road for free.

We loved Canada. To be honest with only two weeks and young DCs I'd probably cut down a bit on the trip to reduce travelling. Our DS was 10 when we went but he really loved Tofino and Whistler, but was a bit less excited about the Rockies - guess DCs aren't as into scenery.

I'd maybe skip Jasper for this trip- it is a scenic drive, but it is a 4 hr drive each way without stops. I say this trip as once you've been to Canada you'll be hooked.

I booked our accommodation around this time for a trip in July and was able to find what we needed, but the absolute prime spots tend to go quickly.

Thanks for all the tips. I had thought about taking the Rocky Mountaineer or VIA rail train from Vancouver to the Rockies but prices are really high (when I was 5 it was really cheap!) so will look into flying.

Thanks for the tip about driving between Banff and Jasper rookiemere. That's really useful. Hadn't realised they were so far apart.

We went for three weeks to Canada in summer 2017.
Flew to Calgary, drove to Banff, then onto Jasper, then Whistler (long drive!), then Vancouver Island and finally Vancouver.
We had an amazing time.
Stayed in an air bnb plaice in Jasper, Whistler, Vancouver island and Vancouver. Stayed in a bed and breakfast in Banff which was fab.
We’d already booked our accommodation by this time last year though, so it might be advisable to book soon.

I would say a week is too long in Vancouver.

Thanks blametheparents. We'll only have 2 weeks so won't get as much in as you sadly!

Where did you stay in Vancouver?

Vancouver is a great city, and Victoria on Vancouver island is well worth a visit. You can go whale watching from either destination.

We used Airbnb for Vancouver. There’s loads of places in Vancouver advertised on there.
We had an amazing holiday. Hope you do too.

Hey OP we did Rocky Mountaineer. It's wonderful but would your DS enjoy it? It's a long time to sit - the kids who were on the train when we did it (it was pre-kids for us) were pretty restless.

Would also agree on visiting but not staying in Lake Louise, we did 10 yrs ago when we just had 13m old ds but wished wed stayed longer in Banff instead, much more to see/do.
We're going back in April this time with 3 dcs! My sister lives in Fernie and I can thoroughly recommend the Crowsnest Pass but this is south from Calgary so maybe too far for you. It takes in Frank Slide (Google the story, it's remarkable), Head-smashed-in-buffalo-jump, and up through Fairmont Hot Springs and Radium Hot Springs. We stayed at FHS last time and will take the children this time.
We also visited the Athabasca Glacier and will again, it's a fun trip.
Enjoy!

Don’t ignore Canmore. It’s a great little town. It’s an hour’s drive from Calgary Airport. It’s a further 20 minutes up the highway to Banff.

JaimesGoldenHand I think DC would love the Rocky Mountaineer for about an hour or 2 then the novelty would wear off and it would be endless "Are we there yet?" . As we only have 2 weeks will have to skip it.

Thanks bramblina and Moose for your tips. Shall check them out.

Currently torn between 1 week in the Rockies or a 1 week on Vancouver Island. Hard to choose. Have been to both in the past and loved them.

We've booked a fortnight this summer and pretty much doing the same route 'blametheparents' did. First child free holiday in 21 years for our silver wedding :)

I second the vote for Canmore. A lovely place to stay as an alternative to Banff. We stayed at the Stella Alpina B&B - would highly recommend it for its delicious breakfasts and lovely hosts.

We spent a few days in Vancouver (agree a week is too long), flew to Calgary, stayed a couple of days in Canmore, a couple in Lake Louise (visiting Emerald Lake at the same time) and then drove back to Vancouver (stopping either once or twice on the way - perhaps in Kamloops?), then a few days on Vancouver Island. 15 days all together. It was in 2003 and was one of the best holidays we've ever had - the Rockies are awesome (in the true sense of the word).