Canada Honeymoon in July
 

We are beginning to plan our honeymoon for mid July and have narrowed it down to either Victoria or the Canadian Rockies. We would appreciate any recommendations for unique hotels, inns, or B&Bs that would be lovely and romantic. Also, if you can suggest and "must sees" or "must dos", we would be grateful

Bradamante, with due respect, you've asked the Victoria versus Rockies question before.

I know I have asked before, but I was asking for a preference. We are now making plans and reservations and I am looking for recommendations for suggestions on places to stay and things to do, which I did not ask in my previous post.

Okay, I'll give you my two cents' worth regarding the mountains. As I'm less experienced when it comes to the Island, I won't attempt to address the Victoria part of your question. In a previous post you said you had 14 days and, if I remember correctly, your budget would permit you to stay in quite nice places. So here goes.

1 Land in Calgary. Drive to Drumheller. Overnight in Heartwood Inn.

2 Royal Tyrrell Museum and outdoor explorations in dinosaur country. Overnight in Drumheller.

3 Drive to Canmore, stopping in Cochrane en route for ice cream at Mackays. Recommend Lady Macdonald House in Canmore. If you want the company of other people, e.g., in pubs, Banff would give you that more than Canmore would. But then Banff is only a 20 minute drive from Canmore. Georgetown Inn, across the street from Lady Macdonald House, has smaller rooms. It's still more charming than a chain hotel, though, and is more reasonably priced than Lady Macdonald.

4 Explore Kananaskis Provincial Park. Overnight in Canmore.

5 Explore Banff (Lake Minnewanka, Sulphur Mountain Gondola, etc.). Overnight in Canmore.

6 Drive to Lake Louise via the Bow Valley Parkway (Route 1A). Stop half way between Banff and Lake Louise, at Johnston Canyon, and walk to the falls. Overnight in Lake Louise, either in one of the Tower Rooms at Deer Lodge or at the more upscale Post Hotel. Lake Louise Inn is a more reasonably priced option, if you'd prefer that.

7 Hike to Lake Agnes Tea House and see Moraine Lake. Overnight in Lake Louise.

8 Explore Yoho National Park (Takakkaw Falls, Emerald Lake, etc.). If you are fit, you may want to hike the Whaleback Trail or do the hike to the Burgess Shale outside of Field. Overnight in LL.

9 Drive Icefields Parkway from LL to Jasper. Stop en route to see Peyto Lake, ride in a Snocoach on the Athbasca Glacier, and see Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls. Overnight in Jasper.

10 Morning: drive to Maligne Lake and take the boat ride to Spirit Island. Afternoon: walk through Maligne Canyon. Overnight in Jasper.

11 Gondola ride up Whistler Mountain and then drive to Mt. Edith Cavell to see Angel Glacier. Overnight in Jasper.

12 Drive to Calgary along Icefields Parkway. Mountains look different when they're seen from the opposite direction. Overnight in Calgary.

13 Sightseeing in Calgary. Overnight in Calgary.

14 Fly home.

Since this already is a long post, I'll provide accommodation, restaurant and sightseeing details for Calgary in a separate message.

Previous post continued.

Day 12 - Overnight at Kensington Riverside Inn in Calgary. Kensington is just across the Bow River from, and within walking distance of, downtown Calgary.

If you want a more reasonably priced property, consider Best Western Village Park Inn, located in "Motel Village." The Village Park Inn is just off 16th Avenue North (as the TransCanada Highway is known when it passes through Calgary). The VPI provides free parking and is a stone's throw from a station where you can catch a train that gets you downtown in 5 minutes. That's better, in my opinion, than figuring out downtown Calgary's one-way streets and wondering where you can park.

The neighbourhood of Kensington has several good, reasonably priced restaurants. There's a good seafood one and a good East Indian one, just for example. One of my favourites is La Luna Rosa, which serves Italian cuisine. Just walk around the neighbourhood and walk into whichever restaurant appeals to you.

Osteria de Medici in Kensington is highly regarded (Pavaroti ate there when he came to Calgary), but I personally consider it to be too expensive. Yes, I had an excellent meal at Osteria, but I had an excellent meal at La Luna Rosa too, and the latter was more reasonably priced.

Day 13 - Walk along Calgary's Stephen Avenue Mall. Have a look at some of the western outfitting stores. It's a cultural experience to see so many cowboy boots under one roof if you haven't had that pleasure before. Visit the Devonian Gardens in Toronto Dominion Square. Try to imagine what it means to us Calgarians to be able to go to those indoor gardens during our lunch hours on - 25 deg C winter days. Go to The Bay. It looks like an ordinary department store now, but it's the oldest corporation in the world. The Hudsons Bay Company received its charter from King Charles II in 1670, and it originally was created to operate the fur trade. Today its Canadiana section, housed in the basement, offers decent quality souvenirs for decent prices. It provides way better value for money than what I regard as the "tourist trap" stores in Banff.

A dinner at the River Cafe on Prince's Island will end your trip on a high note. Don't be misled by the casual sounding name. It's an excellent restaurant. Overnight in Calgary.

Day 14 - That's it folks. :)

I see you have plenty of good suggestions from Judy so I will only add two to your list to consider
http://www.creekhouse.com/ This is a gorgeous luxury home which we rented for ourselves in Canmore. It would make a good first or last night as it is only about an hour from the Calgary airport.

Lake O'Hara Lodge. To get a private accomodation suitable for a honeymoon you have to rent a cabin. Pricey, but this is an unforgettable place.
check the website www.lakeohara.com Unforgettable!

PS Check out the Post Hotel in Lake Louise. It is much more appealing than the CP property which draws the crowds. Go up there, have a drink, then retire to real luxury at the Post.