If you want to take a vacation to the Canadian Rockies, here is some useful information that will point you in the right direction. Edmonton and Calgary are the two major cities closest to the Canadian Rockies.
From Edmonton, you are 362 km (224 mi.). From Calgary, you are 115 km (71 mi.) from Banff. Both Edmonton and Calgary have international airports.
You can start your Canadian Rockies Vacation from Edmonton by hopping aboard the ViaRail train that travels to Jasper each Monday, Thursday or Saturday at 8:55 AM arriving in Jasper at 2:05 PM.
From Jasper to Edmonton, The ViaRail train departs each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 12:20 PM and arrives in Jasper at 5:30 PM. The trip is beautiful, especially as you get into the Canadian Rockies a couple of hours before you reach Jasper.
From Calgary airport, there is a Banff shuttle available every hour. It's best to make reservations so you get the shuttle you want, but if you don't, you can probably get a seat at the time you want to leave. The trip takes about 2.5 hours.
For the best possible Canadian Rockies vacation that misses nothing, we suggest beginning or ending your trip in Vancouver. We may be prejudice, but we think Vancouver is the most beautiful city in Canada, and, if it isn't, then Victoria is. Victoria is a stone's throw from Vancouver, only 35 minutes to downtown by float plane.
You can fly between Vancouver and Calgary in one hour 25 minutes, or for the perfect introduction to your Canadian Rockies vacation, take the Rocky Mountaineer two-day train trip from Vancouver to Jasper National Park, Banff National Park or to Calgary. Banff and Jasper are in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, and both are spectacularly beautiful.
Once you reach the Canadian Rockies, you have no end of opportunities to explore by foot, rental car, RV or motor coach. SunDog Tours offers great tours from both Jasper and Banff and a number of car companies offer car rentals.
Hertz has the most liberal pick up and drop off options, so you can, for example, pick up a car in Banff, explore the Rockies and then drop off the car in Jasper. The reverse option is also available. And you can pick up a rental car in Calgary and drop it off in Banff or drop it back in Calgary at the end of your Canadian Rockies vacation. |