AB, BC, or BOTH?
 

My husband and I have 7 or 8 days to spend in mid-June. We are wondering whether we could do BOTH the Vancouver/Victoria area AND Banff/Lake Louise in that time or if that would be too rushed. We would rent a car in Calgary and return it in Vancouver. We would drive through Kamloops (and spend 1 night there). So, we would spend about 3-4 days in each area.<BR><BR>Our alternatives would be to spend the whole time in one place or the other. So, we could spend 7-8 days in Vancouver or that time around Banff/Lake Louise. <BR><BR>We've never been in Canada and would like to see a lot while we are there, but we don't want to feel rushed. We enjoy sight seeing, won't mind driving, but also want to relax some. How long would it take to drive the 500 miles between Banff and Vancouver? <BR><BR>We would appreciate any suggestions you can offer.

Hi, in my opinion, that is a bit much for 7 or 8 days...It can be done, but you might be a little rushed..I am from Alberta, and last summer, my husband and I flew from Edmonton to Victoria and spent 1 weeks and that was not near enough time on Vancouver Island..If you decide not to go to Vancouver...this is what I recommend:<BR><BR>Drive from Calgary to Banff...Stay at least 1 or 2 nights in Banff...The next day drive to Lake Louise, spend a few hours and then continue on to Emerald Lake Lodge (it is in BC)..It is absolutely beautiful..You might even want to stay a night there...From there, you have to back track just a little, but take the Banff/Jasper Highway and spend 2 or 3 nights in Jasper...It is an absolutely scenic drive...Jasper is a beautiful town with tons of things to do...There are some great bungalows to stay in...Pine Bungalows is my favorite...From there, you could drive to Vancouver and spend a night or 2 or you could drive back to Calgary...That is my suggestion anyhow....Alberta is beautiful...<BR><BR>However so is BC...You could also drive to Banff for the day, drive back to Calgary and fly to Vancouver or Victoria...I think Vancouver Island deserves at least 1 week to even begin to appreciate it, so I don't recommend trying to fit all this in at once...Hope this helps and hope i did not confuse you!!

I think it would be very rushed, not relaxing. I know how that feels when I try to see as much as humanly possible on a trip and then wanting to take a vacation from my vacation. <BR><BR>My vote would be to spend time in Banff/Lake Louise and also drive down to Jasper, Columbia Icefields (amazing). I'm not an expert in Tourism Rockies but suffice to stay you won't notice 7 days go by. In addition, you can stay in calgary for a few days (if ur tired of the mountains- yeah right!) and take in the sights there. <BR><BR>On the other hand, if you want a vacation in the big city, go for Vancouver trip. Vancouver has tons of attractions and Victoria would make for nice small getaway (2 days).

I'd pick one or the other, but add a day or two in Calgary to the Baff alternative.<BR><BR>For lack of a better criteria, do you loke mountains more than ocean, or the other way around?<BR><BR>In Vancouver, you get great ocean, wonderful rivers, and pretty good mountains. And two very interesting cities, worth three or four days in Van and one or two in Vic, plus some surrounding territory, too.From Vancouver you can easily drive to Whister, and see gret mountains.<BR><BR>In Banff you get great mountains, and good little rivers, plus a medium-great city worth two days.<BR><BR>BAK

Another vote to stay in one place. There's too much to do in either. If you go to Banff, check out the Michelin Green Guide to Canada. It has a lot of wonderful spots to visit mentioned in it that you might miss otherwise.

again, one or the other. however, unless you are a fan of cities, if you choose the banff/jasper area, i'd consider a night in kananaskis provincial park other then spending time in calgary. the park is between banff &amp; calgary. different terrain then the mountains but really nice. peter lougheed provincial park is suppose to be nice too.

Just did the Vancouver trip...in 6 nights. We thought it was one of our best trips ever (including our 15yr.old)
Flew into Vanc. toured around remainder of the day stayed night. Early next morn.caught ferry with car to Nanaimo-Vanc Island and drove(absolutely fabulous scenery) to west Vancouver Island/ Tofino. Sights: temperate rain forest, mountains,waterfalls, seashore. Spent night in Tofino at Long Beach Lodge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Spent evening walking the beach, exploring the tidal pools and sea life. Next day took whale trip-yes we saw the grey whales, seals, bald eagles. Drove back to Nainamo and the ferry back to Vancouver-spent night at Pan Pacific overlooking the harbour- sea planes landing, eagles flying by the window, ferries-with the mountains in the distance-what a view. Drove to Whistler next day-more incredible sights. Stayed at Chateau Whistler-wonderful resort.Great hiking, skiing, fishing,etc. We never felt rushed the entire trip and cant wait to go back.
I am having the same problem. Return to Vancouver as the &quot;hub base&quot; and do Victoria, etc. or go to Banff/Lake Louise area. Will be traveling June 1-6

It is an all day drive from Vancouver to Banff. You speak of the Calgary-Banff area. It is 80 miles between the two.
There is not much to see until you reach Canmore.
Also, you may not want to pay the drop fee for leaving the car in Vancouver.
I have considered this in the past and decided against it and planned loop trips instead.

You could start in Calgary and drive to Banff. From there the main attractions easily available center around Lake Louise. In addition to that famous pond, there is Moraine Lake a few miles down the road. About 16 miles from Lake Louise Village, on the other side of Kicking Horse Pass there is Yoho Park with Takkakaw Falls and Emerald Lake.
Also adjoining Banff Park is Kootney National Park. A nice loop drive is to leave the Trans Canada at Castle Junction and drive through Kootney to Radium Hot Springs. There turn north to Golden, BC. From Golden drive west on the TC to Roger's Pass which is in Glacier National Park. The peaks of Glacier are spectacular because of their jagged angularity. You can retrace your steps to Golden, no other route, and
ascend out of the Rocky Mountain trench to Emerald Lake, Takkakaw Falls, and Kicking Horse Pass back to Lake Louise.

You could easily spend a full day driving the Icefields Parkway, more if you take a few short hikes and ride the Glacier Buggy at the Icefields Center.
Around Jasper there are some definite attractions including Mount Edit Cavell and the Angel Glacier, the Whistler gondola ride, and Maligne Lake.
Also a drive over to BC and a view of the highest point in the Rockies, Mount Robson, is worth the time on a clear day.
To return to Calgary, you could drive south on the Icefields Parkway. Yes, it is recovering the same ground, but you will get a different view of the scenery, of which I never tire, and perhaps see a few attractions you did not have time for coming north.

If you did not want to return to Lake Louise, you could turn east at The Crossing and return to Calgary via Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer.

Of the whole area, you will see the most from a car along the Icefields Parkway.
There are enough short walks and view points that a trip up could easily take the entire day if not more.

As my son said the first time he say (age 28), &quot;If I start taking pictures, I will never know when to quit.&quot;

oops/
&quot;he said&quot; - bad grammar and good grief

Another vote to pick one or the other. Both areas have more than enough to fill a 7-8 day vacation--We've been to on 10-11 day trips to just the Vancouver/Victoria area and just the Banff/Lake Louise area multiple times and never run out of things to do. Much better to feel relaxed at the end of your trip than to feel that you've just been running around the whole time. Both areas deserve to be savored and enjoyed.