Hello everyone!
Planning a family reunion trip to Vancouver - Banff & Jasper area following Alaskan cruise for a week in June. We are family of 4, with 2 girls, 9 & 10, MIL, FIL, and my mom. We like touristy stuff, sightseeing, maybe some hiking, canoe/kayak and shopping.

The cruise ends Sat, 06/19 from Seattle. Basically try to plan Seattle - Banff- Seattle in 9 days total. I understand that we will be doing a lot of driving, but hopefully still possible & enjoyable.
I'm thinking this itinerary, please let me know your thoughts & suggestions.

06/19 Pick up rental car, drive straight to Kelowna area. Drive/sightseeing around town, dinner.
06/20 Lake Okanagan, drive & stay 3 nights in Canmore
06/21, 06/22 Would like to visit these if possible: Banff NP, banff gondola, lake louise, lake moraine, icefield pkwy
06/23 Drive back to Kelowna, stay 1 night
06/24, 06/25, 06/26 Drive to Vancouver, stay in Richmond/Yaletown area for 3 nights. Downtown, Stanley Park, maybe sun yat sen garden, chinatown..not sure what else.
06/26 Late evening drive back to Seattle
06/27 Fly back home.

I'm thinking to rent all accomodation from VRBO/HomeAway, except the last night in seattle. Not sure if that's possible with our short stays.

Thank you in advance!
- J

I wouldn't stay in Canmore. Banff is more scenic and centrally located. I also wouldn't waste a night in Kelowna on the way back. You can drive from Banff to Vancouver in a day.

I'd also reconsider driving from Seattle. You could easily fly round trip from Seattle to Calgary to avoid killing 2 days of your vacation with the drive to/from Banff. While it's a pleasant drive, the scenery pales in comparison to what you'll see in the Rockies. Then you'd have some time to see Jasper, too.

My recollection is that it's a long days drive -- in a packed car -- from Banff to Vancouver, but if you start early enough...

I see Jasper is inyourheadline, but ont the schedule. That's OK. Once you get as far north as the Columbia Icefields, turn around and come back south.

When in Canmore (or, as suggested, even better, Banff) check whether there's any small town rodeo within 75 miles. That would be worth going to.

The girls would probably enjoy the Calgary Zoo and Heritage Park.

BAK

Hi christy1 & BAK,
Thanks for your reply.
The reason i pick canmore is actually b/c a lot of VRBO rental seems to be in that area and not in Banff. I'll have to look into Banff area.
The cruise ended in Seattle, so we have to drive from Seattle. Fly out from Calgary is just too costly after the cruise .

Would this be better itinerary?

06/19 Pick up rental car, drive straight to Kelowna area. Drive/sightseeing around town, dinner.
06/20 Lake Okanagan, drive & stay 4 nights in Banff
06/21, 06/22, 06/23 Banff NP, banff gondola, lake louise, lake moraine, icefield pkwy, Columbia Icefield
06/24, 06/25, 06/26 Drive to Vancouver, stay in Richmond/Yaletown area for 3 nights. Downtown, Stanley Park, maybe sun yat sen garden, chinatown..not sure what else.
06/26 Late evening drive back to Seattle
06/27 Fly back home.

Should I stay overnight in Jasper on 06/23, and drive to Vancouver through Kamloops? Seems like about and hour shorter than from Banff.

Thanks much!!!

I think your original itinerary is better than this second one. It will be about 10 hours straight driving from Banff to Vancouver. I would not want to drive that in a vehicle (or 2 vehicles?) full of 7 people, including two children.

I am not sure that Kelowna is the best place to stop, but i wouldn't call it a w "waste". Maybe someone can suggest something or some place a little more fun along the way to break up your drive each way - Peachland?.

Jasper is, I think, too far north for you to reach comfortably with only 3 days for Alberta. Jasper is 3.5 hours northwest of Banff. Sure its it takes maybe 45 minutes less to get to Vancouver, but Banff - Jasper - Vancouver would be almost 13 hours of driving in 2 days and you would have to pack up everyone and move for a one stopover night.

Unless you are dying to stand on a small glacier, I wouldn't go as far as the Colombia Icefield. Moraine Lake (hike to the back) Lake Louise, Takakkaw Falls (gem), Sulphur Mountain Gondola, etc. are enough to occupy you for your 2.5 days.

Canmore is a nice place to stay and it is only 15 minutes from downtown Banff so don't bail out on it if it meets your needs for space and price.

Agree with Aramis.

I would drive the extra hour east past Kelowna to Vernon, as it is more charming and the Kelowna area is very busy in the summer. Lake Kalamalka driving in to Vernon is just an amazing color. Or another 45 minutes further east to Sicamous, stay in the town, let the kids dip into Shuswap Lake at the great public beach park in town. The drive the next day to Banff/Canmore is 5-6 hours. There are lots of great condos in the area and you can do day trips easily. Tons of hiking in Kananaskis, Lake Louise, Banff , Canmore areas.

I think that it is too much driving to go to the Icefields...a lot of dirty snow and you will have just been to Alaska, right?

I would keep the trip focussed on the amazing beauty of the Rockies and enjoy some picnics along the Bow River, even in the town of Banff near Bow Falls especially if you are trying to keep costs down. You already have a handle on the most interesting places .

The reason why you are having difficulty finding vacation rentals in Banff is that they are illegal. Because it's in a national park, with limited land available for development, there are occupancy restrictions on residential properties. There are some hotels with condo-style units available; they are listed at www.banfflakelouise.com

Richmond and Yaletown are nowhere near one another.
Yaletown's a trendy area on the edge of downtown Vancouver with lots of bars, boutiques and restaurants.
Richmond is a suburb of Vancouver. Some parts are nice enough, but there isn't much in the way of attractions.

I live in Prince George, BC. Just as a hint, you might want to check out hotels for the way to Alberta before you get to the town. There aren't many options, and sometimes the nice ones are gone. We paid $70 for a hotel in Cache Creek that had a yucky shower and 2 flat sheets instead of a set. Plus no breakfast. I'm from Texas and just as a warning BC fast food isn't the best and is expensive. Lake Louise is one of my favorite spots. If you see a group of cars on the side of the road pull over-there's probably an animal they're looking at. And beware! I know from experience that Canada police love to pull over US vehicles!