jent103

I've gotten some great help for other trips on the US and Europe boards, so I've come back in hopes of some Canada wisdom! I have a work conference in Vancouver, and will be there August 1 through Aug. 4 or 5. My brother is planning to join me for all or part of the trip, which will also include at least Victoria (we're looking at Tofino as well) and a few days in Banff National Park after my conference, likely flying home from Calgary. This is a completely new area to me; we have some rough ideas of what we want to do, but could really use your advice and suggestions on this very rough itinerary! My apologies for the long post, but I know more information usually results in better suggestions.

A little about us/the trip: We both like to hike, but stick to easy/moderate day hikes. Camping is not my idea of a vacation. We're also both amateur photographers. We're not on a hostel budget, but would like to keep costs as low as we can while still enjoying ourselves. Outside Vancouver, I'm hoping to stick to a max of $150/night for lodging on average. In Vancouver, work will pay for somewhat more, but I need something in walking distance to the convention centre. Anything clean with two beds, a decent shower, and enough space to not run into each other is okay with me. We're not foodies, though I would love any suggestions for good, inexpensive restaurants (under $20 for entree for sure, outside Vancouver - while I'm in Vancouver, my budget can be a little more than that, according to my work per diem).

<b>August 1 - 5: Vancouver</b>
I will probably have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings free and hope to visit places like Stanley Park on those evenings. I would also love to see Indian Arm fjord - is a boat cruise the favorite way to do this? If so, is there a particular company anyone recommends?

<b>August 6: Victoria Island</b> - This is the part I'm least sure about. The biggest questions are first, whether we will be satisfied doing Victoria only as a day trip (it looks like the last ferry leaves at 9pm, so it could be a long day). This is attractive, since we wouldn't have to move hotels, and it seems on preliminary searches like lodging in Victoria is more expensive. Is this accurate? Butchart Gardens and maybe whale-watching are on my to-do list here, as well as just walking around the town center. I would love to add in Tofino, but I'm not sure either of us can take that much time off work.

<b>August 7 - 12 (?): Banff</b> - My main two questions are which towns to stay in, and what the best way to get there would be (driving, or flying to Calgary + drive). If Google Maps times are more or less correct, it would take us 9-10 hours to get to either Banff or Jasper from Vancouver. Is that fairly accurate? Is this a reasonable drive to do in a day, if you're motivated? We both went to school about nine hours from home, so that length of a drive isn't too big a deal, and I'd rather not spend an extra day on the road. But I don't want to be getting lost in the mountains in the dark, either.

My current plan is:
Day 1: Drive from Vancouver to Jasper (early morning start to pick up rental car - best place?)
Day 2: Sightsee around Jasper
Day 3: Drive Icefields Parkway, including snowcoach tour; end in either Lake Louise or Banff (preferences?)
Days 4/5: Sightsee around Lake Louise/Banff area - hiking, maybe lake cruise, other ideas? Is four full days in the national park enough to see a good bit?
Day 6: Fly home from Calgary. Or would it be better to stay in Calgary the night before? We haven't booked flights yet.

Thanks so much for your help. This was a somewhat unexpected trip, so I'm kind of flying blind!

NWWanderer

I can give some input on the Vancouver/Victoria portion.

Victoria is on Vancouver Island. And unless you can add at least 3 days to your trip, you don't have enough time to go to Tofino.

I haven't noticed Victoria hotels being more expensive than Vancouver. It's a long-ish day trip from Vancouver, unless you take a float plane, which would of course be more expensive.

The Blue Horizon Hotel on Robson in Vancouver is a good choice on a moderate budget. Pretty much any hotel in the downtown core is going to just be a short walk from the convention center.

jent103

Oh, oops - of course it's on Vancouver Island. Completely a brain fritz, but thank you for pointing it out. That's pretty much what I figured about Tofino. It would be really nice to go, but unless someone points out something that we just have to experience, I think we just don't have time. I do think the float planes would be too much for us.

Thank you for the hotel recommendation - that does look like a good possibility!

Cruiseryyc

To answer your question about staying Calgary the night before your return flight, we need to know where you're flying to. If you're flying within Canada and have a mid to late afternoon flight, then you can stay in Banff the night before. If you have a morning flight to the US, then you should stay in Calgary overnight.

Agree with previous poster you don't have time for Tofino unless you cut out the Banff/Calgary part of your trip. I would really suggest you spend one night in Victoria in order to do it justice.

jent103

Thanks, Cruiseryyc. It would be a flight back to the US (me to Nashville and my brother probably to Huntsville, AL, so there would be a connection somewhere). We're both better-safe-than-sorry travelers, so I knew staying in Calgary the night before would be a strong possibility. I admit I haven't done much research on that city - is there enough in the way of attractions to warrant a full day there at the end of a busy trip, or would it be enough to just drive in from Banff, return the car and stay in an airport hotel or similar overnight, in order to maximize our time in the park?

Re: Victoria - duly noted. I'll do some more research and see what I can find in the way of hotels.

Do you know if the drive from Vancouver to the Banff area is reasonable to do in one day?

Cruiseryyc

You can drive from Vancouver to Banff in one day but you won't be able to stop and see the sights. This is one of the great vistas in the world and you don't want to speed past it all. Plan to stay overnight in Kelowna or Kamloops and take you time, stop and look at the sites.

Calgary is a major city with over 1 million citizens, there are lots of attractions but too many for one day. If you drove here from Banff right after lunch, you would have time to see some of the city, have dinner in one of our great restaurants and then check into an airport hotel for the night.

jent103

I thought, by your screen name, that you might live in Calgary! I will check it out, then. I didn't mean to imply that it might have nothing to offer, but it's not somewhere I've heard much about. I'll do some more research!

I've been rethinking the one-day drive this afternoon, actually. I'm hoping to do a cruise of Indian Arm on Aug. 5, but after that's done I think we could still get several hours out of Vancouver that afternoon/evening. Thank you for the ideas of where to stop!

Claudia_Neves

Hello, I am a brazilian going with my husband to Vancouver/Victoria and rocky mountains next July.
My plans are very similar yours.
3 days in Vancouver
1 day-tour in Victoria
1 day tour Whistler
flight to Vancouver-> Calgary and rent a car there ( do not have courage to drive so many time from Vancouver to Calgary. After having thinking a lot about it we prefer to flight and drive and make the most of our staying in Banff instead of spend time in road. Am I correct ?? )
4 nights in Banff
2 nights in Jasper

If you want we can exchange information about the trip. I made a lot of research and have very good sites to grab information, but I still have some questions about what to do , how many time to stay etc ...
just send me an email ...

Bye !!

lgnutah

On one vacation, we drove from Vancouver to Jasper, then down the Icefields parkway to Lake Louise. There were many beautiful sights and animal sightings en route. But if you are pressed for time, you may not want to devote a whole day of your trip to driving.
On another trip, we flew into Calgary then drove to Lake Louise and spent a week. Afterwards, we drove from Lake Louise to Calgary to catch an afternoon flight and it was a very easy drive-I think maybe 2 1/2 hrs (but check). However, if you want to stay in Calgary, there are many, many very inexpensive hotels around the airport.

jent103

Claudia, our trips do sound similar. I hope we both have a great time! Ignutah - thanks for the information. I'll have to see how our flight times work out, but right now I think staying in Calgary the night before we leave sounds like a better option for us, especially if our flights are before lunchtime. If it weren't for the Icefields Parkway, I think we would think seriously about flying from Vancouver to Calgary and driving from there, but it seems like a long enough drive from Calgary to Jasper that flying really wouldn't save us much time (and would cost us an extra $200 each). Plans are definitely still in flux, though!

sludick

Have you checked the cost to drop your car in Calgary? The additional charge will likely equalize the flight option. On the drive time, be sure to add a few hours to that estimate for essential stops even if you don't make time for the amazing vistas; also allow for delays due to slower trucks and cars, etc. Also, add an extra hour for the time zone change as you travel.

jent103

sludick - thanks so much for those great points! I admit that I hadn't thought about an additional charge for a one-way rental; I thought since we weren't changing countries it wouldn't be too bad, but I'll definitely look into that more thoroughly before making a decision. Right now I'm finding rates under $50/day with Alamo on Kayak, which doesn't seem bad, but that's just a preliminary search. It's a little more than a Calgary-Calgary rental, but not enough to balance out the flight prices I've found so far. However, there is definitely the time factor to consider.

Thanks for the heads up on the time change as well - it's so easy to forget about those things when you're not familiar with the area!

jent103

By the way - Google Maps says it's about 4 hours and 40 minutes from Calgary (downtown, I suppose) to Jasper. It has 2:40 from Jasper to Lake Louise and another two hours from Lake Louise to Calgary. Are those times fairly accurate (without adding time for stops), from those who have driven them?