Scenic train trip for 50th Anniversary
 

My sister and I were just discussing the logistics of sending our parents on a scenic train trip through Canada to Banff for their 50th anniversary this June. (Banff is what I've heard my father talk about, but we're open to suggestions.) My parents haven't flown in many years, so I don't think they'd go for that. They're not particularly athletic or light travelers, so if difficult connections would be an issue, we'd want to know about that.<BR>Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas? Any ballpark on the cost? They would be travelling from NY. Any advice would be appreciated.<BR>

Hi Carol,<BR>Just looked up prices yesterday. I can't remember exactly, but Vancouver - to Banff was $600+ Canadian for regular service and more for their &quot;gold leaf&quot; service per person. They also offer a variety of other trips including train with auto rental. Search for &quot;Rocky Mountain Mountaineer&quot; on your computer for more info. <BR><BR>Plane tickets from the east coast are running in the five hundred dollar range, but, as you know, that's a real rough estimate - ticket prices are fickle.<BR><BR>Your parents are lucky - should be a wonderful journey!

I think I hear you saying that your parents don't want to fly at all. In that case Amtrak to Toronto and Via Rail to Banff and on to Vancouver would be the best westbound. The return could be either through the states via Seattle or San Francisco or the Northern route, (i.e. Via Jasper &amp; Edmonton) back to Toronto. You sdhould check the Amtrack and Via Rail web sites for costs - also with your travel agent. Train travel is more expensive than air of course so don't expect any real cheap fares unless your parents want to sit up all the way - which I'm sure they don't

Thank you for your replies. I'm forwarding the information to my sister and now we have a starting point to see how the logistics would work. Yes, it does sound beautiful...something I'd like to do someday as well!<BR>If we proceed with the plans, I'm sure you'll hear from me on this forum again. Thanks again.

Earlier replies are helpful, but you should know, depite gary's otherwise cogent advice) that VIA rail (Canada's Amtrak) does not travel through Banff. It rather runs to Jasper (150 miles north). Once you do get to Banff, however, the Rocky Mountaineer is available to take you west through the mountains to Vancouver (or west-east). You might consider a trip that sends them from Toronto west on VIA's &quot;Canadian&quot; to Vancouver--the Jasper route is quite scenic in itself and Banff is a tourist trap (street and store signs in Japanese--tell you anything?); Vancouver itself is a lovely city. They could then fly home from there, or do a ferry trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island, and another ferry trip to Seattle, flying from there or taking Amtrak's &quot;Empire Builder&quot; to Chicago (for my money the best train in the US). The latter may be a bit much for everybody concerned, though. Unless your Dad has some really special reason for seeing Banff (and admittedly, the scenery is magnificent), I wouldn;'t let it be the focal point of the trip. I'm very familiar with all of the routes I've mentioned (a train freak, I'm afraid), and if there are more questions, I'd be pleased to try and help you out.

David-Thanks for the additional information. It is very helpful to hear what the routes and towns are really like. I'll need to toss this out to my family now, but I'm glad to have such terrific resources if we do go forward with this. (There's nothing like getting advice from someone who's &quot;been there&quot;!) It really sounds like a beautiful trip (maybe I'll do it myself someday!)