sagi

My husband and 4 children (age 17,15,10 and 5)are planning a vacation to the canadian Rockies from Sept. 3-18.We arrive to Vancouver and then fly home on Sept. 19 from Calgary. It is our first time in this area. We will arrive to Vancouver on Sept.3, stay there Sept.4-5 (maybe one more night?)and on Sept.6 take the ferry to Victoria and stay there 2 nights. Then we plan to rent a car from Vancouver to Jasper (stay for the night in Kamloops).Arriving to Jasper on Sept. 9 or 10, staying there a few days and then driving to Lake Louise and Banff area until the 18 (our flight leaves Calgary on the 19). How many days in each place? Any recommendations where to stay with 4 children?.In Beckers chalets they only have available Sept. 12-13- 14. We are coming from faraway and would appreciate all your recommendations in relation to itinerary, acommodations, etc.

Vorkuta

I'm sure other posters will pitch in with all sorts of useful ideas, but in the mean time you can do a search on this forum. Just type in "Rockies" and you'll get all kinds of helpful and useful threads. Posts by Judy-in-Calgary are particularly helpful.

BAK

If you rent your car in Vancouver before going to Vancouver Island and Victoria, you can also drive to Long Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and the village of Tofino.

This is one of the most beautiful, rugged, parts of Canada, and well worth the drive.

Otherwise, I think one night on Vancouver Island would probably be enough, if you left Vancouver early one morning, stayed in Victoria that night, and returned to Vancouver late the next afternoon or early evening. The provincial museum in Victoira will fascinte the children, and the adults will enjoy it, too.

BAK

ltt

while in banff, i'd recommend you look at the douglas fir resort. they have a chalet that has a private bedroom and then a loft with 4 single beds. perfrect for your family. also has a full kitchen which i'd sure you'd like with that many people. there is also a public bus right in front so if you didn't want to drive the kids could go to town and back on their own.
as much as i love tofio, i don't think you'd have time for that unless you cut out victoria and head straight there. (in my opinion most kids find victoria rather dull. there is a good museum there though if they like that.) in tofino we rented a nice condo right on the beach at chesterman.
16 nights, i'd consider:
vancouver 4 nights
tofino 3 nights
one night somewhere between
jasper 3 nights
banff 5 nights (or spend the last night in calgary and take the children to the olympic park for a couple of hours).
i assume you know there will be a significant drop off fee on the rental car.

Judy_in_Calgary

I agree with Ltt's suggested itinerary, almost to the letter.

But something you may want to consider doing on the last day before your flight is visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta. The dinosaur skeletons are awesome, and I think everyone in your family -- from the oldest to the youngest -- would find them fascinating.

sagi

Thank you all for the recommendations. If we find a nicer acommodation in Canmore instead of Banff, will we be able to visit all the Lake Louise area and Yoho Park during our 5 day stay, will it be too far? What can we do in Vancouver in the 4 days you recommended?

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello Sagi,

Canmore probably has the biggest selection of accommodation, especially if you're looking for a self-catering apartment that can accommodate a family of six.

Banff has the next largest selection. Ltt has recommended Douglas Fir Resort, a property that has received quite a few favourable reviews here at Fodors.

Lake Louise has the smallest selection, and tends to be the most expensive.

Ironically, convenience with respect to optimum sight seeing is exactly the other way round, in my opinion.

For that purpose, Lake Louise is best, Banff is next best, and Canmore is last.

But there is not THAT much difference amongst the locations of the three towns. Canmore is about 15 minutes' drive from Banff which, in turn, is about 50 minutes' drive from Lake Louise.

So, if you get a reasonable deal on accommodation, which is more likely in Canmore or Banff than it is in Lake Louise, it probably would be worth your while to stay in Canmore or Banff.

As to Vancouver, the Destinations section of the Fodors website gives a good 4 day itinerary of Vancouver that you can adapt to your own tastes. I would place Grouse Mountain much higher on the list of priorities than Fodors does, however. Also, you can do a word search for Vancouver here at Fodors Talk, and numerous previous threads will come up. Anyway, here's Fodors' suggested itinerary for Vancouver.

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30002

sagi

Hello Judy
Since I noticed you are very familiar with the area, do you mind if I E-mail you if I have another question regarding our trip?

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello Sagi,

Please feel free to e-mail me.

duke1517

I took my boys to Victoria when they were 14 and 16 and it wasn't their favorite but the best thing we did was rent bikes and rode around on the edge of the island for several hours. Ride is fairly easy (a few tough hills but one can walk those). Fairly safe as you are driving through homes but seeing the ocean the entire way. One of the best days of the trip! Vancouver was crowded and we liked biking in Stanley Park. The ferry ride was great and boys really enjoyed it. We got a great package deal and stayed at the Empress and it included our ferry fees.
We are off to Banff and Jasper on Monday.
Try for a condo in the Canmore area as they are fairly reasonable. Contact www.tourismcanmore.com.
In Jasper I have found the Park Place Inn which has a room that will sleep six.
Have fun!
Gail

ltt

a night or two in drumheller is an excellant suggestion. you could spend the day in the banff area (so you don't loose time there) then driving in the evening to drumheller (it won't get dark till around 9:00). one full day in drumheller to visit the museum, climb the hoodoos, go to the swinging bridge...