Anyone been to Vancouver/Jasper/Banff? Rocky Mountaineer? Info please.

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It's my wife's 60th next year and we're going to do an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver in May. I figure we might as well do the Rocky Mountaineer train trip while we're there as we're unlikely to go back again. Can't afford the circular train trip but a three day one-way journey would drop us in either Jasper or Banff. Anyone done it? Which is the better destination? What's there to do? Best way to get back to Vancouver?

Also I'd appreciate any advice on Vancouver itself. Hotels, stuff to do, places to eat etc.

Thanks!
 
My MiL lives in just outside Vancouver. Therefore I avoid the place like the plague. Which is a big loss cause otherwise I'd love to go. Not helpful with Vancouver but I am rather jealous. I would suggest with either Banff or Jasper, Calgary is closer and easier to get to if you were doing it at the end of your trip and has direct flights to the UK. Else an internal flight to Vancouver from either is easiest way back
 
Banff is a much more interesting destination than Jasper. We were there a couple of years back (flew to Vancouver, drove to Revelstoke, Banff and Jasper over 6 days, then on to friends at Wetaskiwin). We saw some black bear cubs in the woods just outside Banff, there's interesting walking trails (that you could do aged 60) close to the town and more places to get a meal. We walked the Sundance trail in the morning, then drove up to Lake Minnew4nka in the afternoon during our stopover, but there were plenty of other things we could have done.

Vancouver is good - I'd be happy to live there. We booked through Canadian affair, stayed not far from the stadium, about 12-15min walk from Gastown. We generally ate in Gastown (and had breakfast there too) visited Granville Island (good) Capilano suspension bridge (don't bother) Stanley Park (good, some nice beaches too) China Town (not so exciting) and mooched around Canada Place a couple of evenings. We'd go back.

If I went again, I'd definitely drive and spend more time at Banff and Revelstoke, plus some of the other places on the way. We didn't visit Calgary other than the airport, but Edmonton was very hot and very very crowded.
 
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We flew to Calgary with Canadian affair about 5 years ago , for the stampede, then hired a car to drive up to Banff and onto jasper, which is nice size town with plenty of eating places, and drive upto maligne lake if you get chance..was July and it was cold snowy weather,,if you drive you do see bears ,moose etc along the roads,,then we got the via rail train direct to Vancouver ,cheaper than the rocky mountaineer but you still get the endless stunning scenery from the train.
In Vancouver go upto grouse mountain and take the ski lift to the top for fabulous views looking over the top..it's really worth it on a clear day. Also would recommend taking a float plane scenic flight from the harbour in Vancouver as well.stanley park has some totem poles and again grand views back to the city..as mentioned Canada place see the cruise ships come in,the steam clock in gastown is nice to see as well.plus there's .lots of coffee shops ,restaurants etc in gastown area,, it really is a lovely city..have been twice and would go back again.!!
 
IF you hire a car, a good round trip is....

drive to Horseshoe Bay - ferry to Naniamo - coast route south to capital Victoria - ferry back to Tsawwassen
 
I looked at the Rocky mountaineer train a number of years ago, The route I intended to take was flying into Calgary as a starting point, a bonus if your there for the rodeo otherwise nothing there. We were going to take a coach tour up through Banff National Park stopping at various places ie over two or three days, Lake Louise (spelling ??) and glaciers etc ending up in Jasper. There we would board the Rocky Mountaneer train which winds down through the Rockies again I think it was two days I can't quite remember ending up in Kamloops if I remember correct. From there take a normal train to Vancouver. Unfortunately finances prevented us from that tour so we did Toronto 5 days then 10 days in Vancouver instead. There is lots to see while in Vancouver, Grouse Mountain is stunning a great day out if Cable cars don't bother you, only advice there while your at the bottom if you can't see the top for mist or cloud then leave it for a clear day. We took a seaplane down to Victoria on Vancouver Island for the day and went whale watching, a great day out and wish we had more time there. Hire a car and spread out, Hells Gate is worth a visit, Britannia copper mine is too worth a visit. Whistler very touristy like Aviemore but a cable car ride up the mountain and back down gives stunning views. English Bay in Vancouver is a lovely area to watch the sun go down, benches and logs cut into benches to people watch and get some sunset shots.
 
I can recommend Moraine Lake, Banff.
Every bit as beautiful as Lake Louise.
 
boogie man said:
It's my wife's 60th next year and we're going to do an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver in May. I figure we might as well do the Rocky Mountaineer train trip while we're there as we're unlikely to go back again. Can't afford the circular train trip but a three day one-way journey would drop us in either Jasper or Banff. Anyone done it? Which is the better destination? What's there to do? Best way to get back to Vancouver?

Also I'd appreciate any advice on Vancouver itself. Hotels, stuff to do, places to eat etc.

Thanks!
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I was in Vancouver for a couple of weeks last year - lovely place, we went to Whistler and saw black bears in the wild (Mike Allan bear trips) and went to Victoria on Vancouver Island by Harbour Air seaplane and back on the ferry - both ways were spectacular trips.

Loved the whole area - I could easily live out there.
 
viv1969 said:
I can recommend Moraine Lake, Banff.
Every bit as beautiful as Lake Louise.
Click to expand...

Lake Louise was unbelievably crowded when we dropped by - couldn't park in the car parks below the lake and the area was completely rammed with visitors - ended up missing it altogether.
 
We flew to Calgary, slowly made our way north to Jasper and down via Kamloops to catch the boat to the Island. Stayed at Tofino then made our way back via Victoria to Vancouver. 2 weeks overall, not enough time - we drove.

Highlight was Vancouver Island and Tofino, that's where I would suggest.

I preferred Jasper over Banff, but I'd go back again to both places in an instant. Some of the suggestions above are absolutely spot on Maligne Lake just outside Jasper is a super place to visit. And Moraine lake is a sound recommendation.. Lake Louise - there is good walking around there.

Vancouver is one of my favourite 5 cities (Vancouver, HK, Munich, Cape Town, Venice)

Peter
 
viv1969 said:
I can recommend Moraine Lake, Banff.
Every bit as beautiful as Lake Louise.
Click to expand...
Agree!

Banff is more touristy than Jasper, which has plus and minus points. More things to do, better choice of places to stay and to eat, etc. But busier.

Scenery-wise it's all stunning, but there are probably more spectacular sights that can be reached easily from the Banff / Lake Louise area than from Jasper. Though of course the road joining them (Icefields Parkway) is one of the greatest scenic roads and quite a good reason for visiting both towns.

One thing to check is road closures. In May there will still be a lot of snow around in the Rockies and some of the roads will be closed. For example we were there in June one year and the road up to Mt Edith Cavell was closed.
 
We did the same cruise for our honeymoon a few years back, it's awesome! Don't miss the whale watching at Juneau, watching humpbacks bubble-feeding is breath-taking and an experience you'll never forget. Well worth doing the flightseeing trip from Skagway too,, incredible views of the snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

We did a coach tour of the Rockies afterwards which called at several places and Banff definitely gets my vote over Jasper, plenty to see and do, town is more scenic....take the gondola onto Sulphur Mountain for stunning views, some nice walks in the area too accessible by local bus, the Hoodoo Trail our favourite but watch out for the Elk in the forest on the way back into Banff!

Simon
 
simonkit said:
...but watch out for the Elk in the forest on the way back into Banff!
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And remember, if you see a bear - you don't have to run faster than the bear. You only have to run faster than one of the people in your party.
 
Or trip one of them up!
 
We wer inVancouver and drove to the Rockies last October. We didn't do the train but drove across the Rockies and discovered we liked road trips. We stopped in Sun Peaks to break the journey. One night would have been enough but we had no idea of distance and in October it was deserted! One shop open, once nice hotel restaurant ... We called it Twin Peaks. Anyway, we went to Jaspar first and then Banff via the amazing ice field parkway... Stunning scenery. Athabascar Falls... River crossing, the glacier (no tours in October when we were there) Sunwapta Falls (sp?) and well, it seemed like something around every corner.

We liked Jaspar better..smaller town feel, I suppose. Edith Cavell Glacier, Lake Patricia, Pyramid Lake and Maligne Lake.. Marvellous. A few things were shut down but it was fab. Banff had a photo shop which was interesting. O and in Vancouver, we went to Beau Photo and go to Granville Island....but I digress! We went to a local Lake.. Minnewanka (I kid you not). The gondola was closed. Vermillion Lake at sunrise was good - not as good as some of the stunning pro photos I have seen, sadly... My other half likes quilting so we pootled down to Cranmore to the quilt shop. In Lake Louise we stayed at a lodge - could look it up if you wanted to know which. We went to Lake Louise; bit peeved that Lake Moraine was not accessible even though the snow hadn't come; they always close the roads on the same weekend. The walk to the far end of the Lake was great. There were other longer ones but knee injury prevented further exploring. The Fairmont seems to be a tourist attraction and many coach loads of tourists descend on the car park - a gazillion selfies...

We flew home out of Calgary which was a mistake.. air Canada flight cancelled and a very long delay home. And they did the same the day before...
Hope that is useful. O, the Rocky M was beyond our budget but we were very chuffed doing a road trip at our own speed.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
What time of year was that?
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Beginning of July 2014.

StewartR said:
One thing to check is road closures. In May there will still be a lot of snow around in the Rockies and some of the roads will be closed. For example we were there in June one year and the road up to Mt Edith Cavell was closed.
Click to expand...

We couldn't drive up one of the roads around Revelstoke because it was closed with snow, and had to hike the last few kilometers to the summit through the snow. In July.

As mentioned, the Icefields Parkway drive between Banff and Jasper is fabulous.
 
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