Spedprof

Two young senior couples thinking of train from Seattle/or Vancouver to Jasper and then driving to Calgary to stop and see the Rockies and the usual sights (Banff, Lake Louise, etc.) all of it over about 8-9 days. Would prefer not to sleep on the train so plan to hotel in Kamloops. Does this sound reasonable? Is the driving from Jasper to Calgary easy or should we take a bus tour? Thoughts, please! and Thanks.

kgsneds

Unfortunately, staying the night in Kamloops is not an option going from Vancouver to Jasper via train unless you take the super expensive Rocky Mountaineer. The regular ViaRail train departs Vancouver in the evening, and arrives in Kamloops early in the morning.

Driving in the Rockies is just fine - they are wide, well maintained highways. Self drive is much better than a tour bus -- that way you can choose when & where to stop, rather than be limited to the places where the bus tour can & does stop.

If you don't want to sleep on the train, the your choices would be either to take two days and drive, or just fly. Either would likely be cheaper than the ViaRail train and far cheaper than the Rocky Mountaineer. A lot more flexibility too, since the train only runs 3x per week.

When are you planning this trip? Be aware that accommodation for this summer is going to be extremely hard to find at this point. Many places, especially in Jasper, are apparently sold out for the summer season (through September).

Spedprof

Thanks for the alert... I did check the Mountaineer package and it is a bot costly and not available when we hoped to go, which was early/mid September

How's the driving from Vancouver to Jasper if we have to do it ourselves? Haven't yet looked for accommodations and you may be correct, but we were hoping that September was a bit easier than the summer.

Much to still discover. Thanks!

kgsneds

Early to mid-September is still likely to be tricky for accommodation -- kids here go back to school after Labour Day, but the month remains very busy with tourists. People have reporting difficulty on weekends/holiday in September. You need to book accommodation ASAP - suggest you start with Jasper which is usually the most limited availability.

The drive from Vancouver to the Rockies is lovely & not an issue. Allow at least one night along the way. I think we'd actually suggest going from Vancouver to Banff/Lake Lousie/Canmore, as that's the more scenic drive. Stop in Revelstoke, Salmon Arm or even for a night or two in the Okanagan. That way you drive through Glacier and Revelstoke NPs - amazing mountain passes. And so you can drive the Icefields Parkway twice. So something like this

Day 1 - leave Vancouver, night in Revy
Day 2 - Revy to Lake Louise, night in Lake
Day 3 - Lake Louise, night in Lake Louise
Day 4 - to Jasper
Day 5 - Jasper, stay in Jasper
Day 6 - Jasper, stay in Jasper
Day 7 - to Banff
Day 8 - Banff area, Banff
Day 9 - Banff area, Banff
Day 10 - to Calgary, fly home

Spedprof

Thanks so much.... It is so hard to try to figure out an itinerary if we are to drive ourselves so this is really helpful... may have to reduce it by a day or so but it seems like a way to start planning. Second to being there is the planning of a trip. Thanks.

Spedprof

The Vancouver to Revelstoke drive is fairly long. Is that preferred to stopping in Kamloops? We might even leave from Seattle and bypass Vancouver. Any thoughts on that?

But so far, we are using your itinerary as our working model.

Thanks

sludick

Consider stopping in Salmon Arm or Sicamous for the night.

Then, enroute to Revelstoke, stop at Craigellachie. You can stretch your legs, good for about 15 minutes.

http://www.touristattractionsrevelst.../craigellachie

You could leave from Seattle, there are several different routings you could take, which would perhaps alter where you stop overnight mid-way.

kgsneds

To answer your question about Kamloops...

You can stop in Kamloops, but it doesn't "get much love" as a place to stop because it's not particularly scenic or interesting in it's own right. People end up stopping there because it's a halfway point, and a lot of bus tours/travel agents use the chain hotels there.

But if you have a choice, the other places mentioned above provide a more scenic place to break up the drive.

thursdaysd

Any special reason you don't want to sleep on the train? I have done it, on that route, and enjoyed it.

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ils-to-jasper/