Vancouver to Jasper round trip in 5 days by car
Mar 22nd, 2010, 11:53 AM
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Vancouver to Jasper round trip in 5 days by car
Our family of 6 , 2 adults and 4 children plan to drive from Vancouver to Jasper early July 2010. Planning to sleep over in Valemount first night , and then on to Lake Louise area for 2 nights - hoping to fit in Lake Maligne cruise and Jasper in that 2 days.
Then back with stop at Kelowna and back to Vancouver.
We will appreciate any input - should we drive thru to Banff aswell, what should we not miss en route. This is our first visit. Would love to take a coach,but the budget is tight.
Any suggestions?
Then back with stop at Kelowna and back to Vancouver.
We will appreciate any input - should we drive thru to Banff aswell, what should we not miss en route. This is our first visit. Would love to take a coach,but the budget is tight.
Any suggestions?
Mar 23rd, 2010, 09:07 AM
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Hi
Last summer we (family of four two kids ages 10 and 12)did a trip from Vancouver to Banff ,one night in Kamloops along the way (hotel had water slide the kids liked), it is a long beautiful ride, we stoped at Hell's Gate, ended up to Jasper (5 nights) with two additional nights staying at Emerald Lake. This whole trip for us took about 12 days. WOW only 5. We spent three days in Banff, great area, went horse back riding and went to Lake Moraine, went up the Gondola and did a nature hike that was cut short due to a grizzly.
Emerald lake was beautiful as well as Lake Louise, you can see these without staying over, but we had a wonderful time staying at Emerald Lake Lodge and going on hikes.
Jasper was wonderful too.. the ice field parkway drive took longer than I thought and you might need additional time to stop at the Columbia Ice-field Glacier. I am just trying to figure out how you can do this in 5 days round trip from Vancouver and not be in a car the whole time. We did day trips like horseback riding, a dip in the hot springs, nature rides, hiking to the Angel Glacier at Mount Edith Cavell took time and was so worth seeing. I don't know, I am so sorry to be negative, but 5 days seems so short and there is so much to see and do. (the twelve days we had was short and we didn't have to return to Vancouver)..
just keep in mind you will be in a car a lot. ( might be hard depending on the kids ages~ mine needed to get out and run off energy form time to time..) if you need any specifics please let me know....
take care
Viv
Last summer we (family of four two kids ages 10 and 12)did a trip from Vancouver to Banff ,one night in Kamloops along the way (hotel had water slide the kids liked), it is a long beautiful ride, we stoped at Hell's Gate, ended up to Jasper (5 nights) with two additional nights staying at Emerald Lake. This whole trip for us took about 12 days. WOW only 5. We spent three days in Banff, great area, went horse back riding and went to Lake Moraine, went up the Gondola and did a nature hike that was cut short due to a grizzly.
Emerald lake was beautiful as well as Lake Louise, you can see these without staying over, but we had a wonderful time staying at Emerald Lake Lodge and going on hikes.
Jasper was wonderful too.. the ice field parkway drive took longer than I thought and you might need additional time to stop at the Columbia Ice-field Glacier. I am just trying to figure out how you can do this in 5 days round trip from Vancouver and not be in a car the whole time. We did day trips like horseback riding, a dip in the hot springs, nature rides, hiking to the Angel Glacier at Mount Edith Cavell took time and was so worth seeing. I don't know, I am so sorry to be negative, but 5 days seems so short and there is so much to see and do. (the twelve days we had was short and we didn't have to return to Vancouver)..
just keep in mind you will be in a car a lot. ( might be hard depending on the kids ages~ mine needed to get out and run off energy form time to time..) if you need any specifics please let me know....
take care
Viv
Mar 23rd, 2010, 10:28 AM
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Hi Viv, thanks for your input - we know that 5 days are way to short to do it! - 5 weeks would be better ! We are from South Africa and we are coming actually to see the giant redwoods- we are doing the California coast and redwoods also by car, then we go on a cruise to Alaska from Seattle ( round trip ) and after that we have that 5 days to do something - and that is how it came that we decided that while we came all the way from Africa,to fit in the Rockies aswell.
We saw that there are coach tours that do more or less the same(5 days ) - but way over our budget.
Your trip sounds wonderful, we are nature lovers and would love to hike etc. and hoped that if we arrived at Lake Louise early enough the second day, we would have 2 days seeing what we can before the day that we have to drive back.
Being summer, and high season, did you experience alot of traffic on the roads making it slower..or is it stops along the way at beautiful spots taking up the time ?
Any suggestions on accomodation in Banff/Jasper/Emerald Lake?
Thanks for your input - really appreciated.
We saw that there are coach tours that do more or less the same(5 days ) - but way over our budget.
Your trip sounds wonderful, we are nature lovers and would love to hike etc. and hoped that if we arrived at Lake Louise early enough the second day, we would have 2 days seeing what we can before the day that we have to drive back.
Being summer, and high season, did you experience alot of traffic on the roads making it slower..or is it stops along the way at beautiful spots taking up the time ?
Any suggestions on accomodation in Banff/Jasper/Emerald Lake?
Thanks for your input - really appreciated.
Mar 23rd, 2010, 11:55 AM
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Hi!
We also took an Alaskan Cruise before leaving Vancouver.. one word=wonderful!!! (we only stayed one night in Vancouver and we really wish we had more time.)
South Africa is on my dream list of places to visit.. One day I have to see Victoria falls with my own eyes. A friend of mine's husband is from South Africa and the pictures he has shown me are amazing. This summer we are looking at Spain... or believe it or not the Red Woods!
But back to topic...
We were in the Canadian Rockies in August and I really think it was the beauty of it all that had us driving slow and not traffic. It is really hard not to stop to take pictures.
we stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge at Emerald Lake.. I didn't think is was as expensive as the Fairmont at Lake Louise. We enjoyed it. (the room and were able to make a fire in the fire place at night) Restaurant was overpriced. The Fairmont was nice and we spent a few hours there and had lunch. Very grand old hotel, we liked it as well.
in Banff we stayed at Brewster Mountain Lodge right in downtown. It was ok. I would stay there again since we enjoyed being able to walk about town, it had parking, rooms were clean, I just found it noisy at night but with all the exercise we were able to sleep like babies anyway. The Fairmont in Banff was beautiful also, we went there for horseback riding and then had an afternoon drink and snack, gorgeous hotel and view.
in Jasper we stayed at Becker's Roaring River Chalets and had a two bedroom cabin and full kitchen..we really liked it there. Waking up to Elk around the cabins and having coffee out by the river--it was wonderful.
This was our first time there as well and the natural beauty everywhere was breathtaking.
have a great time!! I hope this information helps.
(ps One thing we did when we were short on time traveling (in Paris and London) before was to look online for tour itineraries and try to copy what they were doing on our own~ to keep on a time schedule...maybe that coach tour you saw has it posted and you can try to follow that...)
are you flying out of Vancouver? could you fly out of an airport closer to that area to save time? Either up by Jasper (forgot the town's name) or fly out of Calgary like we did. We were able to turn in the SUV we rented in Vancouver at the Calgary airport.
bye again.
We also took an Alaskan Cruise before leaving Vancouver.. one word=wonderful!!! (we only stayed one night in Vancouver and we really wish we had more time.)
South Africa is on my dream list of places to visit.. One day I have to see Victoria falls with my own eyes. A friend of mine's husband is from South Africa and the pictures he has shown me are amazing. This summer we are looking at Spain... or believe it or not the Red Woods!
But back to topic...
We were in the Canadian Rockies in August and I really think it was the beauty of it all that had us driving slow and not traffic. It is really hard not to stop to take pictures.
we stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge at Emerald Lake.. I didn't think is was as expensive as the Fairmont at Lake Louise. We enjoyed it. (the room and were able to make a fire in the fire place at night) Restaurant was overpriced. The Fairmont was nice and we spent a few hours there and had lunch. Very grand old hotel, we liked it as well.
in Banff we stayed at Brewster Mountain Lodge right in downtown. It was ok. I would stay there again since we enjoyed being able to walk about town, it had parking, rooms were clean, I just found it noisy at night but with all the exercise we were able to sleep like babies anyway. The Fairmont in Banff was beautiful also, we went there for horseback riding and then had an afternoon drink and snack, gorgeous hotel and view.
in Jasper we stayed at Becker's Roaring River Chalets and had a two bedroom cabin and full kitchen..we really liked it there. Waking up to Elk around the cabins and having coffee out by the river--it was wonderful.
This was our first time there as well and the natural beauty everywhere was breathtaking.
have a great time!! I hope this information helps.
(ps One thing we did when we were short on time traveling (in Paris and London) before was to look online for tour itineraries and try to copy what they were doing on our own~ to keep on a time schedule...maybe that coach tour you saw has it posted and you can try to follow that...)
are you flying out of Vancouver? could you fly out of an airport closer to that area to save time? Either up by Jasper (forgot the town's name) or fly out of Calgary like we did. We were able to turn in the SUV we rented in Vancouver at the Calgary airport.
bye again.
Mar 23rd, 2010, 09:11 PM
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That's quite the ambitious plan - you can do it in 5 days, but most of your time will be spent driving.
On your first day (Vancouver to Valemount), you will find it slow going from Vancouver till you are nearly in Hope (traffic). Once on the Coquihalla highway to Kamloops, the drive will be fast. The Yellowhead highway north of Kamloops becomes a two lane undivided highway, and can be slow if you get stuck behind a RV or someone hauling a trailer (common in July). It'll take you about 9 hours to drive Vancouver to Valemount, not counting any stops.
Valemount to Jasper is a scenic drive through the Rocky Mountains; you'll be driving right past the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies - Mount Robson. There are several viewpoints as you approach the mountain from the west - if the sky is good (meaning no clouds covering Robson), it'll make for a good photo or two.
If you want to cruise Maligne Lake, stay in Jasper (town) on the second night. It takes too much time to do the cruise and also drive the Icefield Parkway in one day (Maligne Lake is about a 40 minute drive from Jasper townsite; the cruise will take 90 minutes and leaves on the hour every hour in July). That's 3 hours just for a quick Maligne Lake visit (not allowing time to stop for lunch or browsing in the gift shop).
While in Jasper, you may also want to consider taking the gondola to the top of The Whistler's (not to be confused with Whister's near Vancouver) for a panoramic view of the Athabasca River valley, the mountains and Jasper townsite. The Edith Cavell-Angel Glacier trail is also recommended - if you hike all the way to the meadows, you'll see an abundance of mountain flowers in bloom.
The third day can be completely taken up with driving the Icefield Parkway (Jasper to Lake Louise) - it's approximately 230 km on high mountain road (winding, steep in places), the views are incredible, and there are many points of interest and scenic viewpoints, so you'll be stopping often. The drive could take the better part of 6 hours, especially if you stop at the Columbia Icefields and take a snocoach tour to the "top" of the glacier (bring warm clothes!! - even in July it'll be wintery on the glacier). Other attractions along the route include Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, and Peyto Lake.
Are you spending the 4th or 5th night in Kelowna? The drive from Lake Louise to Kelowna takes about 5 hours, and if you've planned that for day 4, you won't have much time for Lake Louise or the Banff area before you have to start the drive westward. The good news is that in July the days are very long (sun sets past 9 p.m. local time), and you will be gaining an hour as you cross the time zone from Alberta to B.C. (meaning if you leave Lake Louise at 4 p.m. MDT you should be in Kelowna at 8 p.m. PDT), and that would give you the morning and part of the afternoon still in the Rockies.
How old are your children? Depending on their ages, this might be too much driving - too tiring (all that sitting in the car).
Happy trails!!!
On your first day (Vancouver to Valemount), you will find it slow going from Vancouver till you are nearly in Hope (traffic). Once on the Coquihalla highway to Kamloops, the drive will be fast. The Yellowhead highway north of Kamloops becomes a two lane undivided highway, and can be slow if you get stuck behind a RV or someone hauling a trailer (common in July). It'll take you about 9 hours to drive Vancouver to Valemount, not counting any stops.
Valemount to Jasper is a scenic drive through the Rocky Mountains; you'll be driving right past the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies - Mount Robson. There are several viewpoints as you approach the mountain from the west - if the sky is good (meaning no clouds covering Robson), it'll make for a good photo or two.
If you want to cruise Maligne Lake, stay in Jasper (town) on the second night. It takes too much time to do the cruise and also drive the Icefield Parkway in one day (Maligne Lake is about a 40 minute drive from Jasper townsite; the cruise will take 90 minutes and leaves on the hour every hour in July). That's 3 hours just for a quick Maligne Lake visit (not allowing time to stop for lunch or browsing in the gift shop).
While in Jasper, you may also want to consider taking the gondola to the top of The Whistler's (not to be confused with Whister's near Vancouver) for a panoramic view of the Athabasca River valley, the mountains and Jasper townsite. The Edith Cavell-Angel Glacier trail is also recommended - if you hike all the way to the meadows, you'll see an abundance of mountain flowers in bloom.
The third day can be completely taken up with driving the Icefield Parkway (Jasper to Lake Louise) - it's approximately 230 km on high mountain road (winding, steep in places), the views are incredible, and there are many points of interest and scenic viewpoints, so you'll be stopping often. The drive could take the better part of 6 hours, especially if you stop at the Columbia Icefields and take a snocoach tour to the "top" of the glacier (bring warm clothes!! - even in July it'll be wintery on the glacier). Other attractions along the route include Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, and Peyto Lake.
Are you spending the 4th or 5th night in Kelowna? The drive from Lake Louise to Kelowna takes about 5 hours, and if you've planned that for day 4, you won't have much time for Lake Louise or the Banff area before you have to start the drive westward. The good news is that in July the days are very long (sun sets past 9 p.m. local time), and you will be gaining an hour as you cross the time zone from Alberta to B.C. (meaning if you leave Lake Louise at 4 p.m. MDT you should be in Kelowna at 8 p.m. PDT), and that would give you the morning and part of the afternoon still in the Rockies.
How old are your children? Depending on their ages, this might be too much driving - too tiring (all that sitting in the car).
Happy trails!!!
Mar 23rd, 2010, 11:17 PM
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Wow- thanks for all the info really appreciate it !
The children are aged 14,13,11 and 9.
We will consider all your points and perhaps rather pick either Jasper or Banff and at least spend 2 nights on one spot.The driving will take up alot of time....
Thanks again for all your help !
The children are aged 14,13,11 and 9.
We will consider all your points and perhaps rather pick either Jasper or Banff and at least spend 2 nights on one spot.The driving will take up alot of time....
Thanks again for all your help !
Mar 24th, 2010, 08:29 AM
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My vote would be for Jasper, for what it's worth. Also be aware that the speed limits will be lower than you might expect, reflecting the very real possibility of wildlife wandering onto the road or the nature of the road itself (not really what I'd consider "freeways" except maybe for the Coquihalla, in a modest form).
Mar 24th, 2010, 10:50 AM
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I was thinking that we should consider taking a flight
from Seattle to Calgary , hire a car and then do the route via Banff ( 2 nights ) , Jasper ( 2 nights ) Kamloops as halfway stop ( 1 night ) and then drive on to Vancouver.
This will help to eaze the driving load alot ! Any suggestions ? Will first check the budget !!
from Seattle to Calgary , hire a car and then do the route via Banff ( 2 nights ) , Jasper ( 2 nights ) Kamloops as halfway stop ( 1 night ) and then drive on to Vancouver.
This will help to eaze the driving load alot ! Any suggestions ? Will first check the budget !!
Mar 24th, 2010, 01:36 PM
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Hi... I like the sound of that. We really enjoyed Banff, Jasper (you might be able to do one night Banff and add the extra night to Jasper). Depends on what you want to see/do. (we spent the most time up in the Jasper area) Kamloops worked for us as a great stop when we did the Vancouver to Banff drive. The hotel had a pool and water slide that was open to 11pm. (kids loved that, having fun before bed.) We were able to rent an SUV from Vancouver and drop it off in Calgary no problem (the reverse for you)
I hope it works out for you, it would cut down on the driving. Have fun planning (I find planning is almost as fun as the trip..ha-ha)
I hope it works out for you, it would cut down on the driving. Have fun planning (I find planning is almost as fun as the trip..ha-ha)
Mar 24th, 2010, 07:34 PM
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hannes - your children are at the perfect age for mountain adventures!! With so little time, you'll have to make some tough choices on what to see. I would receommend having a Plan A, B, and C ("A" is for sunny and warm days, "B" if it is cloudy/overcast/raining, and "C" for other unexpected events that may slow you down, for example road closures or delays due to construction).
For all it's worth, if you are coming all the way from South Africa, if there is just one thing that you should visit, plan on seeing the Columbia Icefields, and do drive the entire Icefield's Parkway, one of the most spectacular drives in all of Canada (IMHO).
For more info, check out these websites:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jas...t/visit32.aspx
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jas...t/visit14.aspx
By the way, flying in to Calgary to save time is a great idea, but the one way car hire may be expensive, so check that out first.
For all it's worth, if you are coming all the way from South Africa, if there is just one thing that you should visit, plan on seeing the Columbia Icefields, and do drive the entire Icefield's Parkway, one of the most spectacular drives in all of Canada (IMHO).
For more info, check out these websites:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jas...t/visit32.aspx
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jas...t/visit14.aspx
By the way, flying in to Calgary to save time is a great idea, but the one way car hire may be expensive, so check that out first.
Mar 25th, 2010, 11:22 AM
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Borealis - thank you so much for all your advise - I am so
glad that someone with your knowlegde came to the rescue of
this family - I really appreciate it !
Will follow you genius idea of plan A,B,C and will pray for
a glorios day when we do the gondola to Sulphur Mountain for instance!!
If you can think of anything else what we should not miss, please let me know !
Best regards
glad that someone with your knowlegde came to the rescue of
this family - I really appreciate it !
Will follow you genius idea of plan A,B,C and will pray for
a glorios day when we do the gondola to Sulphur Mountain for instance!!
If you can think of anything else what we should not miss, please let me know !
Best regards
Mar 26th, 2010, 02:12 PM
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Hi yes the name of the hotel is Hampton Inn Kamloops. The rooms were clean and we liked it. There was a pool, hot tub and a water slide.. the slide was fun but did not dump into the pool ~it kind of ended into a huge puddle (sorry I am not explaining it right, but it was fun..I even went down...) it was a nice distraction for the kids after a long ride. http://www.hamptoninnkamloops.com/
hope this helps...
our car rental (small suv~ was not that bad for expense. and we were able to drop it off without penalty. We booked through AAA and it was National Car rental.) We paid a lot more for the rental in Yellowstone. We did book early, almost 10 months in advance.. not sure if that affected the price.
hope this helps...
our car rental (small suv~ was not that bad for expense. and we were able to drop it off without penalty. We booked through AAA and it was National Car rental.) We paid a lot more for the rental in Yellowstone. We did book early, almost 10 months in advance.. not sure if that affected the price.
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