Hi
I am pregnant and expecting a baby in October 2006. My husband and I are planning a 6 day trip to Banff+Jasper+Yoho for June 3rd week. I would be about 5 months pregnant at that time. I will be flying from Philadelphia to Calgary via Denver(7-8 hour total flight time including stop).

The plan is to reach Calgary in the evening, rent a car and stay in Calgary for the night.
2nd day morning we drive to Banff and in the evening stay in Canmore.
3rd day morning we again spend time exploring Banff, yoho and in the evening stay in Canmore.
4th day we drive towards Jasper, enjoy some time in Jasper and spend the night in Jasper.
5th day we explore Jasper a bit more drive back from Jasper towards Calgary. Spend the night in Calgary.
6th day fly back to Philadelphia.

Is this a practical plan, during pregnancy?
What are the other things to worry about during pregnancy travel?
Specific to Canadian rockies sight seeing, would it be challenging for me?
We are not interested in hiking at all. We would typically go to important & interesting points, take a few snaps and thats it.
Any feedback would help us. We are still not decided about this plan. Feedback from you all is what is going to help us make our decision. Doctors have told me that travel is ok.
Thanks.

Well it's a rushed trip, but it can be done.

If you take the suggested 5-day Calgary - Rockies - Calgary itinerary from my website, and add an initial night in Calgary at the front end of the trip, you would have quite a practical plan, I believe.

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...ips/5days.msnw

People who live at sea level tend to feel the altitude when they hike in the Rockies. Since you're pregnant, you may feel that a bit more than other people. However, since you don't intend to hike, I don't imagine it'll affect you much.

If you're anything like I was when I was pregnant, you will not want to pass up an opportunity to use a bathroom when you find one. There aren't bathrooms every hundred yards, like there are in a city. However, there are bathrooms at the major scenic lookout points. Sometimes they don't have any place for you to wash your hands. I always travel with some wet wipes and a small bottle of that anti-bacterial stuff for washing your hands when no water is available.

Hope that helps.

At month five you should be feeling perfectly fine though fatigue may still be a problem so take care not to overdo the sightseeing. Otherwise try to elevate your feet whenever possible, get up and walk around on the flights (bathroom visits will likely ensure that!) and you should be fine.

Your itinerary will mean a fair bit of time in the car but you already know you aren't planning anything too ambitious for hiking. Wear comfortable, sure grip shoes as some areas with waterfalls and snow can be a little slippery.

Otherwise just enjoy your time before the baby is born. This trip will be much easier without a stroller!

Thanks for your responses. It is really helpful. So we will plan a 7 day trip in June 4th week. I have a few more questions. Please forgive me if some of the questions sound stupid.

1. After staying a day in Calgary, should we first go to banff or Jasper?
That is, what should our direction for sightseeing be? Bottom Up or Top - Down?

2. Also, In our visits to several National parks in US, I have felt that my timing was bad. The reason is, when we used to visit a point of attraction, we were facing the scenery and the sun.
So the scenery in shadow neither looks beautiful nor do the photos turn out good. My question is, keeping that in mind, is there a resource where I can find the time of the day to visit each attraction, be it lake loiuse or lake peyto or others? I would hate to visit a place twice just because we didnot time it right.

3. I would like to monitor my heart rate and blood pressure with a meter that I have. Are the electricity sockets/power same in Canadian hotels as US?

4. Is there anything tricky about car rentals in Canada, compared to that in US? My husband's insurance would most probably be ok.

5. Can someone suggest decent budget-motels in Jasper/Canmore? If possible we dont want to be spending over 100US$ per night for room where we are only going to sleep. We dont mind staying in Hinton.

6. What are the exact sights that we can see and enjoy. Are there any rides on glacier? Can I take them without hiking, during pregnancy? What are the set of points or must see sights we can definitely enjoy considering that we are spending 2 days in Banff and 2 days in Jasper, without hiking too much.

Thanks

>>>>>>1. After staying a day in Calgary, should we first go to banff or Jasper?
That is, what should our direction for sightseeing be? Bottom Up or Top - Down?<<<<<<

If you spend the first night in Calgary, it doesn't matter too much which way you do it. I slightly favour going to Jasper first and then working your way backwards. I think it gives you more options for handling the end of your trip.

>>>>>>2. ...... My question is, keeping that in mind, is there a resource where I can find the time of the day to visit each attraction, be it lake loiuse or lake peyto or others? ...... <<<<<<

There is a page on my website that addresses this question:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...otography.msnw

>>>>>> 3. ...... Are the electricity sockets/power same in Canadian hotels as US? <<<<<<

My website also addresses that question:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...ectricity.msnw

But the short answer is that Canada uses the same power supply and sockets as the USA.

>>>>>>4. Is there anything tricky about car rentals in Canada, compared to that in US? <<<<<<<

Not that I am aware of.

>>>>>>My husband's insurance would most probably be ok.<<<<<<

Perhaps so. But of course you'd need to check.

>>>>>>5. Can someone suggest decent budget-motels in Jasper/Canmore? If possible we dont want to be spending over 100US$ per night for room where we are only going to sleep. We dont mind staying in Hinton.<<<<<<

In Canmore you could check out Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge, Georgetown Inn and Drake Inn.

With a budget of US$100/night you don't need to resort to Hinton. You can find all kinds of "home accommodation." Just do a Google search for HOME ACCOMMODATION + JASPER. Home accommodations are like B&Bs, but they don't serve breakfast. On the other hand, many of them include kitchens. A property that has received good reviews on this forum is Crayston's.

If you want a conventional hotel in Jasper townsite, your budget will get you a standard double room at Jasper Inn (if you claim a refund for the 7% GST). To find out how to claim a GST refund, go to this page of my website:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...gstrefund.msnw

>>>>>>6. What are the exact sights that we can see and enjoy. Are there any rides on glacier? Can I take them without hiking, during pregnancy? What are the set of points or must see sights we can definitely enjoy considering that we are spending 2 days in Banff and 2 days in Jasper, without hiking too much.<<<<<<

I refer you again to the 5-day itinerary that I have described on my website. (In your case it would be a 6-day itinerary because you would add the overnight stay in Calgary at the beginning of your trip.) My itinerary lists the scenic lookout points that I believe a person could reasonably fit into a trip of that length. And, yes, you can ride the Snocoach onto the Athabasca Glacier. That's on the Icefields Parkway (Hwy #93), more or less half way between Lake Louise and Jasper. It does not involve hiking. It too is listed in that itinerary that I mentioned.

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...ips/5days.msnw

Hope that helps.

Thanks Judy.
I made my reservations.

My insurance adjustor son says most likely your liability insurance will be ok, but collision insurance will not be.
That is standard on rental cars anyhow.

I know of no differences between the US and Canada on rental cars, except that if you want to drive into the States with a Canadian car, you need to have written permission. Otherwise you may have to argue at the border crossing.

Rental car rates out of the airport locations were high last year. I finally found a much more favorable rate with Enterprise. The rental was quick and easy. The office is off airport, but the shuttle van was right there for us both coming and going.

I think we were on our way more quickly with Enterprise than we were with Hertz 2 years ago because we had to wait so long in line. The route to Banff takes us right by the Enterprise office as it is, so driving distance was the same.
The wait in line was the difference.

My nurse wife says you need to be careful and let your body tell you what is pushing the limits.

If you visit Yoho from Canmore, you will be doing a lot of driving. The same is true of visiting Jasper from Hinton.
The roads are good, however.

Per your suggestions we made reservations in Rocky mountain Ski lodge. Since Hinton is not close enough, I talked to Craystons@Jasper.

Crayston said that they have 1-bedroom basement suite complete with private
bathroom, kitchen and private access.

Has anybody stayed in a basement@craystons? How good are these for a pregnant person? Would there be good air circulation in the basement?
I hope there are no smells(paint/smoke/pets) and there are some tiny windows.

Are all these home accomodations typically in the basement? Should I try some others? Can someone suggest some other place where they have had good experience.
Thanks