Western Canada tour ideas

[MartinQ]

I'm thinking of planning a touring holiday of western Canada. I've decided that Banff and Jasper parks (and the Icefields Parkway) are a must, but where to start and finish and other places to visit are undecided.

I can't decide between Calgary to Vancouver (or vice versa) or a circular route starting and finishing at either city. Or maybe even Edmonton.

I'd be grateful of any ideas or past experiences to help me decide.

[sawman]

Personally I wouldn't waste much time in calgary, even less in edmonton - Just another north american city - it's fine if you like glass skyscrapers but theres not much else to recommend, unless you go to the stampede of course.

Although if you like ghost towns and dinosaurs you should go to Drumheller 2 hours east of calgary

[h0b0]

I would do Whistler and Vancouver as part of a Western Canada tour. From there you can drop into the US and stop off at Seattle.

[V8TVR1978]

sawman said:

Personally I wouldn't waste much time in calgary, even less in edmonton - Just another north american city - it's fine if you like glass skyscrapers but theres not much else to recommend, unless you go to the stampede of course.

Although if you like ghost towns and dinosaurs you should go to Drumheller 2 hours east of calgary

Simon: You sure forget all that training that you recieved here in Canada and then took back to the UK (not making many mistakes at work I bet)....... There are over 100 "EX" Brits working in our Emergency and Police Services here in Calgary. ( I find them when I take any of our TVRs out for a spirited drive.) There is also a family here that trys to give UK tourists a "TVR fix" while they are on vacation in Canada if pre arranged. Yes Calgary does have alot of glass but there are many things to visit and enjoy within short distances also. And the drive between Calgary and Van is beautiful if you use the new highway and out of this world if you use the older routes. I personally would spend extra time to explore Van./Victoria or any of the main towns/cities between Calgary and Van than spend extra time right in downtown Calgary. Like any vacation, do your homework and ask questions like the OP did and always remember "GOOGLE" is also your friend.......


Yes Seattle and area is also a good visit but make sure your rental agreement allows you to cross the border into the United States. Also that mountain road from Calgary to Van can recieve snow at any time between mid Oct. and as late as the end of April.

Edited by V8TVR1978 on Sunday 19th June 07:45

[anonymous-user]

Could do calgary, Banff, lake Louise (recommend moraine lake lodge for accommodation), jasper (I preferred Banff to jasper) then on to whistler ( worth it if you like the activities you can do there) via wells Gray provincial park, which is pretty isolated but spectacular. Then head down to Vancouver from whistler, scenery for that drive is ace.

[MartinQ]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I think I'll do something based on this route: http://tinyurl.com/3nttqxg

I was thinking of 2 nights each in Calgary, Banff and Vancouver and 1 in each of the others. Does that seem reasonable?

Also, does anyone know of a car hire company that doesn't charge (or charges the least) for one way hires? Some I've found charge up to $500!

[anonymous-user]

I didn't go as far north when I did it, and didn't stay in calgary so I don't know what there is to see either up north or in calgary.

personally I regretted not spending more time in jasper/lake louise. I might be tempted to give vancouver another day/night too.

finally the high point of the holiday for me was staying at moraine lake, I sort of wish we had driven vancouver to calgary because it was a bit of a shame to have the best bit first

i think most people drive calgary to vancouver so it may be cheaper to go the other way with the one-way fee.

[anonymous-user]

one more thing: I really, really recommend staying here:

http://www.morainelake.com/

we also had a good hiking guide do a brillant hike with us based around lake louise, if you are interested in that kind of thing, I can give you a link. lots of great info about the history and wildlife of the area, and good scenery too

[Vytalis]

Just came back from a month in Canada - the western half was:
9th-12th: calgary
12-18: jasper
19: kamloops
20-22: whistler
23-28: Vancouver (with an overnight in Victoria)

Thoughts: hertz do one way rentals, book well in advance though if you want half reasonable prices.
Don't miss Victoria, the ferry trip is impressive and the town is great.
Jasper is quieter than Banff by both are lovely. Couple of days sightseeing is plenty (more if you want to ski, quad bike, MTB).
Icefields isn't as impressive as the drive from lillouett to whistler tbh (scenic highway 99 iirc)
Calgary is nice city but not a lot to do.
Stanley park in Vancouver is worth a stroll.
Get up early for wildlife spotting

[coach]

V8TVR1978 said:

Simon: You sure forget all that training that you recieved here in Canada and then took back to the UK (not making many mistakes at work I bet)....... There are over 100 "EX" Brits working in our Emergency and Police Services here in Calgary. ( I find them when I take any of our TVRs out for a spirited drive.) There is also a family here that trys to give UK tourists a "TVR fix" while they are on vacation in Canada if pre arranged. Yes Calgary does have alot of glass but there are many things to visit and enjoy within short distances also. And the drive between Calgary and Van is beautiful if you use the new highway and out of this world if you use the older routes. I personally would spend extra time to explore Van./Victoria or any of the main towns/cities between Calgary and Van than spend extra time right in downtown Calgary. Like any vacation, do your homework and ask questions like the OP did and always remember "GOOGLE" is also your friend.......


Yes Seattle and area is also a good visit but make sure your rental agreement allows you to cross the border into the United States. Also that mountain road from Calgary to Van can recieve snow at any time between mid Oct. and as late as the end of April.

Edited by V8TVR1978 on Sunday 19th June 07:45

The man speaketh much truth (hope you and yours are well sir?) and I indeed had my TVR fix here in Canada ( in a delightful town called Canmore, where I will live one fine day!).

I went:

Vancouver (city, park and Capilano) SANDMAN SUITES
Vancouver island (Victoria and Uclulet) TERRACE BEACH CABINS - MAGICAL (bear n Whale trips a must)
Vancouver (Grouse Mountain)
Whistler - TIMESHARE
Sun Peaks - DELTA HOTEL - 1 night stopver
Jasper - BECKERS CHALETS
Ice Fields
Canmore - FIRE MOUNTAIN RESORT/MYSTIC MOUNTAIN
Radium Springs - TIMESHARE - KOOTENAY DRIVE
Calgary

HTH

Took three weeks and was the most magical holiday I have ever had. I am homesick for Canada now!

Edited by coach on Sunday 19th June 23:01

[anonymous-user]

Vytalis said:

Icefields isn't as impressive as the drive from lillouett to whistler tbh (scenic highway 99 iirc)

I really enjoyed that drive. had a bad bad case of brake fade in a chevrolet impala on the way down from one of the summits.

icefields is great but very hard to appreciate the scale of things until you stop and get away from the road.

[V8TVR1978]

JEREMY:

Nice to see that you are trolling PH and taking notes (I hope) on what the rest of us are saying and doing. Hope you and Christine are doing well and you 2 CAN'T move to Alberta until after I make it to the UK for at least 1 visit as I need a local to point me in the right directions for what I would like to do over there. Chelsea has a rough copy of a story about TVR owership for you but with her being in Uni taking a condensed nursing degree she hasn't had a lot of free time to correct the rough copy and get it sent. (We may both be old men before she gets it finished and sent) Her money draft for her TVRCC membership is sitting here waiting for the story to be finished and we were scared that it might go stale dated but bank money drafts don't go stale we have been told. A friend in "TorontA" should have the Cerb that he bought in the UK on Canadian soil now and it was being rebuilt to Red Rose specs when he bought it. Can't wait for my next visit down there. We put all 3 TVRs in the World of Wheels car show and we took 1st,2nd and 3rd and were the "PORK" owners upset because (as they say) a "kit car" won. Grins all around that weekend.

TVR rides/fixes available in the Colonies.

Edited by V8TVR1978 on Wednesday 22 June 21:33

[Steve Evil]

Use Psychology said:

one more thing: I really, really recommend staying here:

http://www.morainelake.com/

we also had a good hiking guide do a brillant hike with us based around lake louise, if you are interested in that kind of thing, I can give you a link. lots of great info about the history and wildlife of the area, and good scenery too

Tried booking with them for our honeymoon, but for the 3 days we'll be in the area, they've got no availability

OP - For our 2 week honeymoon in August/September we're flying into Calgary, heading straight to Banff for 4 nights, doing white water rafting whilst we're there, checking out the lakes in the area (emerald, moraine and louise). Then up to Jasper for 2 nights, Harley booked for one day there. Then making our way over to Vancouver Island via Kamloops or similar (planning on going via Whistler and down the coastal road), bear watching tour on VI is booked, then finishing the stay in Vancouver itself.

[jr502]

When you drive between banff and lake lousie I recommend taking highway 1a. It runs alongside the new highway, but it loaded with wildlife. If you want an intense animal spotting section, its one of the best.

[Steve Evil]

jr502 said:

When you drive between banff and lake lousie I recommend taking highway 1a. It runs alongside the new highway, but it loaded with wildlife. If you want an intense animal spotting section, its one of the best.

Is that the Bow Valley Parkway I can see on Google Maps?

[jr502]

yeah thats the one. Last trip through there got me 4 elk, 3 deer, 1 black bear and a grizzly. The funny thing is with that road, is the only reason people go doen there is to wildlife watch, so everyone drives slow, and if someone stops, everyone else stops. Kinda like jurassic park but less raptors.