Two adults going on Alaska Cruise then plan to travel across the Canadian Rockies. Have 9 days for Rockies portion. Is best way-train/renting an RV/renting a car?
Will be going from Vancouver to Calgary. Hope to see Banff and Lake Louise. We are from Florida so not use to mountains-thanks for any help or suggestions. How many days of driving and sightseeing would it take to get between these two cities?

Check out earlier postings on this subject. Judy gave some great advise. I would rent a car and drive. It gives you the most flexibility. In Sept. you can get snow at the higher altitudes but the roads should be no problem. Camping might be cold at this time though

Drive. You need to see the sights along the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper.

Also, don't forget that Banff itself is a huge park. It is not just the town of Banff which lies within this huge area.

Adjacent to Banff Park and Jasper National Park (also huge), there are the smaller national parks of Yoho and Kootenay. South of Banff, but still the same mountains is the neat provincial park of Peter Lougheed.

The roads are fine. Kicking Horse Pass is a mite steep on the Big Hill side, but the road is well engineered. I have crossed it many times with no problems at all.

There is a lot to see out there, so study up on all of the parks.

in the above search box - type in "rockies" - you'll get plenty of info

Drive by all means. The drive from Vancouver to Lake Louise is absolutely magnificent. Some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. It can be in a LONG day if you want (we did that in September last year), but if you have that much time I suggest you break it up into two days of driving. The only tricky part of the drive was the stretch from Golden into Lake Louis, as it is still narrow twisty road over the mountains and under construction. It may be better by the time you do it. No big deal though only a few kilometers of tricky stuff. The rest is easy driving and the only thing the driver has to be aware of is not to be distracted by the awesome views. Have fun.

Thank you all for your time. You have really helped us.

Do you know far it would be from Seattle? we are flying into Seattle in Aug for a cruise and would like to come in a week earlier and visit Banif, Jasper, and Lake Louise. How much extra time would it take to drive from Seattle to Vancouver and then on up? Does this whole idea of mine sound silly?

>>>>>>Do you know far it would be from Seattle?<<<<<<

Seattle to Banff is 600 miles.

I think a week's round trip, starting and ending in Seattle, is too rushed. Just my opinion.

The sample itineraries on my website will give you some idea of the logistics:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot. Having done some more research myself, i had already come to tht conclusion as well. Think we'll just plan that for next summer when we can spend more time and also fly into Calgary instead of Seattle. But I really do appreciate your info.