I've put together a great Canadian Rockies roadtrip. I did an almost identical trip to this, and some of the accommodation choices are personal recommendations. I'd never driven on the wrong side of the road, so to speak, and it was eventful but amazing!
May is a great time to go, we were in 'shoulder season' so there was snow in places, the bears were coming awake and we were skiing in the last week of the season, as well as having bright skies too and dry weather. I've based it on two weeks, which I think is a great amount of time, it allows you plenty of time to do the hikes and enjoy the driving, rather than being under pressure to get to places.
15th May 2016
Arrive in Calgary and drive 1 hour to Canmore. A lovely place to visit, even though technically you aren’t inside ‘the Rockies’, it’s well worth overnighting here and there are some nice shops and restaurants. The first Canadian hike we did was Grassi Lakes and it is beautiful. Overnight at the Drake Hotel
16th -20th May 2016
Drive to Banff, spend 4 nights in Banff at Blue Mountain Lodge. From here you can look at skiing (if you can catch the last weekend at Sunshine Village) or visit Lake Louise.
20th – 24th May 2016
Drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, stay in Jasper for 4 nights. My own personal recommendation is a gorgeous basement apartment called Elkview, and the couple who own it live above. The guy Joe, runs wildlife tours of Jasper and is No1 rated, and has 160 5* ratings. You must go on one of their tours. The accommodation is clean and is a bargain at around £35 a night, book direct with them on the link below. The wildlife tour is http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g154918-d2688901-Reviews-Jasper_Tour_Company-Jasper_Jasper_National_Park_Alberta.html#REVIEWS
24th – 26th May 2016
Return to Banff for 2 nights in Banff (or you could spend it in Lake Louise which is more expensive). Plenty of places to drive from Banff. Accommodation is Bow Lodge.
26th -29th May 2016
Drive to Calgary and spend 3 nights in Calgary at the Econolodge.
Car Hire British Airways - £272 (2:02% TCB) I always get good prices with BA competitive through Avis and if you sign up as a member of the Executive Club (which is free) you automatically get free additional driver, as well as bonus Avios. I used them myself and had a brand new Fiat 500 which served the two of us very well (with luggage) over the two week period. http://www.britishairways.com
1 Night in Canmore Drake Hotel - £38.86 (8% TCB) at Hotels.com http://www.hotels.com
If all your cashback tracks, I'd say you could easily get another £40-£50 off this booking. There may also be discount codes working, but I haven't had time to check, but Expedia and Hotels.com frequently have 10% off codes. Enjoy!
This is my deal and itinerary and not to be copied by any thieving pirates looking to replicate similar deals... you had your chance and lost me!
Top comments
arthurplank
19 Oct 1531#20
I love travelling and I know how much effort goes into the planning and research of a trip like this.
I think it's really sweet that you decided to share your efforts with the rest of us.
Thanks and have some heat.
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 1525#2
Yes, this was one I took!
degudodger
19 Oct 154#15
I miss Banff dearly :disappointed:
Taken from the top of Sulphur mountain
All comments (75)
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 151#1
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 1525#2
Yes, this was one I took!
archer1204 to rachelandgromit
19 Oct 151#3
Great pic what do you think hes thinking
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 151#4
'dinner' or 'not more bl**dy tourists'
archer1204 to rachelandgromit
19 Oct 151#5
I thought it might be i wonder how fast you can run
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 15#6
Haha, yeah. Remember if you are hiking, borrow bear spray or make alot of noise, sing, clap, etc. whilst hiking especially if it is quiet. We had a couple of bear encounters and courtesy of me I'm sure there are some medical students studying the rare tic that decided to bury in my neck that I had to have removed!
archer1204
19 Oct 15#7
Really never heard of bear spray before
rachelandgromit
19 Oct 151#8
Yep, Joe (the guy in Jasper that did the tours) lent us some along with a great hiking book. They can be a bit grouchy when they've just woke up and are hunting for food. We saw many looking for spilt grain from the grain trains in Jasper.
stewie
19 Oct 15#9
Did a similar trip to this last year but started at Vancouver, working across to Calgary via Jasper and Banff. A bit of driving but amazing scenery and holiday.
rachelandgromit to stewie
19 Oct 15#10
Yes, we flew UK to Victoria, ferry to Vancouver, cruised Alaska then flew up to Calgary as we didn't fancy the drive from Vancouver up. You are right the scenery is fantastic, epic holiday.
PhilAB
19 Oct 15#11
Would love this deal, but as a teacher cannot get time off. As a result in school holidays price triples in price. Heat.
DocRobotnik to PhilAB
20 Oct 151#48
Ah well, I guess you'll have to console yourself with the 10 weeks+ you get as holiday each year :wink:
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
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Opening post
May is a great time to go, we were in 'shoulder season' so there was snow in places, the bears were coming awake and we were skiing in the last week of the season, as well as having bright skies too and dry weather. I've based it on two weeks, which I think is a great amount of time, it allows you plenty of time to do the hikes and enjoy the driving, rather than being under pressure to get to places.
15th May 2016
Arrive in Calgary and drive 1 hour to Canmore. A lovely place to visit, even though technically you aren’t inside ‘the Rockies’, it’s well worth overnighting here and there are some nice shops and restaurants. The first Canadian hike we did was Grassi Lakes and it is beautiful. Overnight at the Drake Hotel
16th -20th May 2016
Drive to Banff, spend 4 nights in Banff at Blue Mountain Lodge. From here you can look at skiing (if you can catch the last weekend at Sunshine Village) or visit Lake Louise.
20th – 24th May 2016
Drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, stay in Jasper for 4 nights. My own personal recommendation is a gorgeous basement apartment called Elkview, and the couple who own it live above. The guy Joe, runs wildlife tours of Jasper and is No1 rated, and has 160 5* ratings. You must go on one of their tours. The accommodation is clean and is a bargain at around £35 a night, book direct with them on the link below. The wildlife tour is http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g154918-d2688901-Reviews-Jasper_Tour_Company-Jasper_Jasper_National_Park_Alberta.html#REVIEWS
24th – 26th May 2016
Return to Banff for 2 nights in Banff (or you could spend it in Lake Louise which is more expensive). Plenty of places to drive from Banff. Accommodation is Bow Lodge.
26th -29th May 2016
Drive to Calgary and spend 3 nights in Calgary at the Econolodge.
*Breakdown*
Flights: £829/£414.50pp at Opodo (1:31% TCB) http://www.opodo.com
Car Hire British Airways - £272 (2:02% TCB) I always get good prices with BA competitive through Avis and if you sign up as a member of the Executive Club (which is free) you automatically get free additional driver, as well as bonus Avios. I used them myself and had a brand new Fiat 500 which served the two of us very well (with luggage) over the two week period. http://www.britishairways.com
1 Night in Canmore Drake Hotel - £38.86 (8% TCB) at Hotels.com http://www.hotels.com
4 Nights in Banff - £183 (4% TCB) at booking.com http://www.booking.com
4 Nights in Jasper - £140 http://elkviewjasper.com/Elkview/Rates_Directions.html
2 Nights in Banff - £102.08 (8.08% TCB) http://www.expedia.co.uk
3 Nights in Calgary - £129.90 (12% TCB) http://www.venere.com
Total £1694.84/£848.42
If all your cashback tracks, I'd say you could easily get another £40-£50 off this booking. There may also be discount codes working, but I haven't had time to check, but Expedia and Hotels.com frequently have 10% off codes. Enjoy!
This is my deal and itinerary and not to be copied by any thieving pirates looking to replicate similar deals... you had your chance and lost me!
Top comments
I think it's really sweet that you decided to share your efforts with the rest of us.
Thanks and have some heat.
Yes, this was one I took!
I miss Banff dearly :disappointed:
Taken from the top of Sulphur mountain
All comments (75)
Yes, this was one I took!