illininutt

In the planning stages. Have free miles with Southwest so I will be flying into Seattle...rent a car...and drive to the Canada Rockies. Any tips would be great. I'll have about 10 days. Not into much hiking.

NorthwestMale

Your post is way too vague to draw the ideal responses that are specific as to routes and things.

You would do best to research paths here on Fodors and gain a clearer sense for just which routes you generally want to take, and then ask others to optimize what you've decided on your own.

I took such a path in 2017 and randomly heeded the advice of someone who suggested the towns of Nelson, BC and Fernie, BC as spots I shouldn't miss.

They are each splendid little places, BUT they just might not work for somebody dead set on taking a more northerly path toward Alberta.

I took a northerly route on the way back so those two spots fit my interests at the time.

melproffit

illininutt-check out my response on the Washington forum. if you are planning for this year, i would seriously reconsider.

kgsneds

Agreed. It's VERY late to making any plans for 2018. Accommodation fills up very fast in the Rockies, and can be very expensive. So you need to look ASAP to see if there is any accommodation within your budget -- and don't use third party websites. www.banfflakelouise.com for Banff and Lake Louise and www.jasper.travel and www.stayinjasper.com for Jasper.

Also be aware that it's extremely unlikely that you would be allowed to rent a car in Seattle and return it anywhere other than Vancouver. Cross border rentals are usually a no-go, and even one way rentals within a single country can often have significant one way fees. A better option might be to take the train or ferry from Seattle to Vancouver, then rent a car from Vancouver. But check the one way fee first.

arjaykay

Please note - there is NO ferry between Seattle & Vancouver. But there is one from Seattle, as well as from Port Angeles & Anacortes

arjaykay

I forgot to mention that those all go to Victoria