Banff vs. Jasper
 

Hello , am visiting both banff and jasper this May but due to time constraint was wondering where we should spent more time. Initial plan was 2 nites each for both, plus lake louise of course.

It's been a while since I was in Jasper, but generally, Banff, the town, is busier, has more stores, a wider selection of restaurants, a good museum, more hotels to choose from, etc., than Jasper.<BR><BR>Jasper, the last time I was there -- ten years ago -- had poor shops, made-in-the-orient souvenirs, etc., and I was generally disappointed in the place.<BR><BR>Once you get out of either town, the scenery is beautiful, etc., and once you get into your hotel room, well, a room is a room, and how nice depends on the hotel more than the town. Don't forget to leave time to visit the icefields as you go from town to town, too.<BR><BR>Banff is close enough to Lake Louise that you can stay in one and visit both; it's a long drive to Jasper.<BR><BR>One factor might be where you are going after Jasper. If, for instance, you were driving to Edmonton, perhaps you'd spend three nights in Banff and spend some of this period in Lake Louise, leave Banff early in the morning after the third night, drivbe past LL (cuz you've already seen it) and go to jasper that day, arriving mid-afternoon. Spend the night there, spend most of the next day, and then in the late afternoon drive toward Dedmonton, into the evening, because this is a boring drive with nothing to see anyway.<BR><BR>But if you are driving back to Banff and Calgary from Jasper, you might want to arrive in Jasper on the third evening, after two nights in Banff, and s[pend two nights in Jasper before leaving early in the morning to come back down to Banff and then to Calgary, or perhaps just come down through the mountains part way, and then turn east toward Red Deer, and then down to Calgary.<BR><BR>BAK

Banff has more shops and restaurants, but Jasper is much more laid back, full of nature and has more outdoor things to do....Jasper is my preference, however, 2 nites at each should be fine....The Banff/Jasper Highway is incredible and you will have a great time.

two nights in each

I would echo tracy's comments. Just remember to allot plenty of time for your drive between the towns. Hopefully you'll get as beautiful an afternoon as we did. We actually got to do it twice since we flew into Calgary, drove up to Jasper and then down to Banff. I believe the name of one of the places along the ride that we really liked was Peyto Lake. You hike up a blacktop trail for about 10-15 minutes and then are welcomed with this spectacular view overlooking the lake where the water has a pastel color like nothing I've ever seen. Now I just realized that you've already been there.....oh well....hope it was fun.

Thanks for all the advise, just arrived end of May, both were nice place to visit, but I think Banff is my cup of coffee, much bigger town. Though I would say the drive along Icefield Parkway was spectacular. Jasper is cute small town though.