seattle-vancouver-banff in 7 days?
 

Do you think there is enough time in 7 full days to do 1-2 days seattle, 1-2 days vancouver, 3-5 days canadian rockies national park(s)? Starting and ending in Seattle. I'm targeting last week of September.

This is what you could do, although I do not recommend it.

Day 1 - Seattle.

Day 2 - Drive to Vancouver in the morning. See Stanley Park in the afternoon. Overnight in Vancouver.

Day 3 - Drive to Clearwater, BC. Drive is 6 hours, not counting stops. Add onto that a couple of hours for visiting Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Day 4 - Drive to Jasper in the morning. Stop in Mount Robson Provincial Park en route. Walk in Maligne Canyon in the afternoon. Overnight in Jasper.

Day 5 - Drive to Lake Louise. Stop at Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Columbia Icefields (with optional Snocoach ride onto Athabasca Glacier), and Peyto Lake. When you get to Lake Louise, visit Moraine Lake and then the lake of Lake Louise (3 miles from the village of Lake Louise).

Day 6 - Drive to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley. On the way through Yoho National Park just to the west of Lake Louise, stop to see Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake.

Day 7 - Drive to Seattle.

Use Map Quest ( www.mapquest.com ) to look up driving times and distances.

Keep in mind sunset will be about 7.00 p.m. in Seattle and Vancouver and 7.30 p.m. or so in Jasper and Lake Louise.

It will be a heck of a lot of driving in a short time. If I were you, I would rather do a circuit of Seattle - Victoria - Vancouver.

My website has info:

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

Thanks, Judy, This is very helpful. It sounds doable. I actually have 8 days if I count the day of arrival in Seattle, so I split your day 5 into day 5 and 6 , with 2 nights in Lake Louise , doing Moraine Lake and the lake of Lake Louise on day 6. Still , Day 5 sounds like it might be to much to accomplish in a day. If I had to narrow the itinerary on that day down , how would you prioritize: Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Columbia Icefields (with optional Snocoach ride onto Athabasca Glacier), and Peyto Lake.

Also, if I drive to Vancouver on the morning of day 2, do you think I can only see Stanley Park. I was thinking I can follow the fodors vancouver destination for 1 day.

Do I have to take a ferry to get to Vancouver?

By the way , is there fall foliage to be seen last week of Sept., or is it all over by then?

Also , can you recommend any accommodations for under $100/nt along the way.

Thanks again.

There's no ferry between Seattle and Vancouver - they're both on the mainland. You might be mistaking the ferry from Seattle to the city of Victoria. Victoria's located on Vancouver Island. No need for a ferry on your route.

>>>>>>By the way , is there fall foliage to be seen last week of Sept., or is it all over by then?<<<<<<

Don't know if you mean Seattle / Vancouver or the Canadian Rockies. The larch trees around Lake Louise should be at their golden best during the last week of September.

>>>>>>Also , can you recommend any accommodations for under $100/nt along the way.<<<<<<

In Seattle and Vancouver you should be able to get a 3 or 4 star hotel for around $70 - $90 if you bid through Priceline (a topic in its own right).

In Jasper townsite, you should be able to find nice "home accommodations" in the C$80 range. Home accommodation is like a B&B but without breakfast. Many home accommodations come with kitchens, however, so you can prepare your own breakfast. One home accommodator that consistently gets great reviews on the travel discussion forums is Crayston's. To find others, do a Google search for HOME ACCOMMODATION + JASPER.

Lake Louise is an expensive places to stay -- lots of people chasing a limited stock of accommodation in a small village located in a beautiful place. The most affordable bet there is the hostel. It is supposed to be very good. I have a group of senior citizen friends who go there every September for what I jokingly refer to as their annual hiking pilgrimmage. I understand you can get a private room, but have to share a bathroom. There are communal kitchen facilities, so you can prepare picnic lunches and the like. The hostel has a reputation for having a party atmosphere in July and August, when many young people stay there. However, it quietens right down in September.

Hope that helps.

Postscript.

I've just noticed your comment about having an extra day in Lake Louise. If you have an extra day in that area you can afford the time to stay in Banff townsite (45 minutes southeast of Lake Louise) or Canmore (12 - 15 minutes east of Banff townsite). While Banff and Canmore are not quite so centrally located with respect to prime hiking territory, etc., they are larger towns, each with a much larger stock of accommodation than Lake Louise.

Banff and Canmore also have excellent hostels.

One of the more affordable properties in Banff (well affordable by the standards of the area) is Homestead Inn. We stayed there in June 2006. Nothing fancy, but clean, friendly staff, etc. (But note, there is no elevator, and the property is 3 storeys high. We were on the 2nd floor.)

In Canmore there are places like Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge, Bow Valley Motel, Drake Inn.

Hope that helps.

Another postscript. When you do a Google search for Jasper accommodation, the results will include accommodations in Jasper East and Hinton. These places are too far out of the way to serve as a base for someone who will be in the area for as short a time as you will be.

When you do a Google search for Lake Louise accommodation, the results include the Crossing Resort. It is 55 minutes from Lake Louise and has a single, only just adequate restaurant, with nowhere else to eat for miles around.

Google's definitions of "Jasper" and "Lake Louise" are elastic, to say the least.

The same thing happens when you Google Banff and get links to properties in Canmore. However, since Canmore is only 12 - 15 minutes from Banff townsite, that's not such an egregious misrepresentation.