Vancouver to Banff by Rocky Mountaineer, at a slower pace

1. Day 1: Arrive in Vancouver

   Vancouver airport (YVR) to your hotel downtown, about 30 minutes

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Vancouver
   Day 1 details

   Your driver meets you in the arrivals hall at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and takes care of your bags for the drive of about 30 minutes into the city, over the north arm of the Fraser River to a central hotel with lifts to every floor. There is nothing to do today but settle in. If you would like to stretch your legs after the flight, the Coal Harbour seawall is a few minutes from downtown: it is flat, paved and lined with benches, and floatplanes take off in front of Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week ahead, including what to pack in a day bag for the train, then we sit down to a welcome dinner close to the hotel, so nobody has far to go afterwards.

   Included

   • Pickup at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Stanley Park and Granville Island

   Vancouver: Stanley Park by minibus, then Granville Island

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Vancouver
   Day 2 details

   A gentle start after breakfast, at about 9:30 am. The minibus takes the one-way Stanley Park Drive around the park, which covers about 400 hectares on a peninsula beside downtown, so you see it from your seat and step out only where it is worth it. The first stop is Brockton Point, where a row of totem poles stands on the grass a few steps from the road, with the harbour and the city behind. Further round, Prospect Point looks down on the Lions Gate Bridge and the ships heading out to sea. Then we cross False Creek to Granville Island and its public market, a covered hall of produce, bakeries and fish counters where you can wander on level floors and sit down when you like. Lunch is together at a restaurant on the island. We are back at the hotel by about 2 pm, and the afternoon is yours: a rest before tomorrow's early train, the Vancouver Art Gallery, or the seawall.

   Included

   • Stanley Park Drive with stops at the Brockton Point totem poles and Prospect Point
   • Granville Island Public Market
   • Sit-down lunch on Granville Island

   Optional experiences

   • Vancouver Art Gallery

   Easier option: Stay on the minibus at the Stanley Park stops; the totem poles and Prospect Point views are visible from the vehicle.

   More active option: Walk a stretch of the seawall from Brockton Point with your guide while the minibus waits further along.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Vancouver

   Activity: About 2 km on foot, all of it level.

3. Day 3: Rocky Mountaineer: the Fraser Canyon to Kamloops

   Vancouver to Kamloops on the Rocky Mountaineer, SilverLeaf

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kamloops
   Day 3 details

   An early start, set by the train: your minibus leaves the hotel early in the morning for the Rocky Mountaineer station, and your suitcase goes ahead by road to tonight's hotel. SilverLeaf coaches have a single seating level with large windows that curve up into the roof, and breakfast and lunch are served at your seat. Boarding assistance and access must be checked for your needs before booking. The train runs only by daylight. It leaves the city through the farms of the Fraser Valley, then climbs into the Fraser Canyon, where the river squeezes through Hell's Gate, a gap about 35 m wide. Past Lytton the line follows the Thompson River through dry canyons, rock sheds and tunnels, and the forest gives way to sagebrush hills and the long shore of Kamloops Lake. You reach Kamloops in the early evening and your bags are waiting at the hotel, which comes with the rail journey. Dinner is your own; your guide can suggest a place close by.

   Included

   • Transfer to the Rocky Mountaineer station
   • Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf, first day: Vancouver to Kamloops
   • Luggage taken by road to your Kamloops hotel

   Free time: Evening free in Kamloops

   Activity: Seated all day; the washroom is in your coach.

   

4. Day 4: Rocky Mountaineer: over the Rockies to Banff

   Kamloops to Banff on the Rocky Mountaineer, SilverLeaf

   • By train
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Banff
   Day 4 details

   A short morning transfer back to the train, and your suitcase goes ahead again, this time to Banff. The line follows the South Thompson River and the shore of Shuswap Lake, then passes Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven on 7 November 1885. It crosses the Monashee Mountains by Eagle Pass and the Selkirks through tunnels beneath Rogers Pass; east of Revelstoke the clocks move forward an hour to Mountain Time. After Golden the train climbs the Kicking Horse River into Yoho National Park and loops through the Spiral Tunnels, which curl back on themselves inside the mountains to ease the grade, before crossing the Continental Divide at Kicking Horse Pass into Alberta. It runs past Lake Louise and down the Bow Valley to Banff, arriving in the evening. A short transfer takes you to your hotel, three nights in one room, and we have dinner together nearby.

   Included

   • Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf, second day: Kamloops to Banff
   • Luggage taken by road to your Banff hotel
   • Transfer from Banff station to your hotel
   • Dinner together in Banff

   Activity: Seated all day.

5. Day 5: Moraine Lake and Lake Louise

   Banff to Moraine Lake, then Lake Louise, and back to Banff

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Banff
   Day 5 details

   We leave Banff at about 9 am, after a proper breakfast, and drive a little over an hour up the Bow Valley and the Moraine Lake Road, closed to private cars, in a licensed minibus. Mid-morning is usually quieter than sunrise or midday at the lake. From the lodge end of the lake a level path runs along the shore, so you can see the Valley of the Ten Peaks over the blue water without climbing; the stepped Rockpile viewpoint is there for anyone who wants it. Then it is about 13 km back down to Lake Louise for a sit-down lunch by the lake, looking up the water to Victoria Glacier. The lakeshore path afterwards is flat and wide, with benches, and you walk as far as you like. We are back in Banff by about 3:30 pm, before the afternoon thunderstorms that often build in summer.

   Included

   • Moraine Lake by licensed minibus, road access included
   • Level lakeshore walk at Moraine Lake
   • Sit-down lunch at Lake Louise
   • Lake Louise lakeshore path with your guide
   • Parks Canada admission

   Optional experiences

   • Canoe on Lake Louise

   Easier option: Watch from the shore by the Moraine Lake lodge and from a bench at Lake Louise, with no walking beyond a few hundred metres.

   More active option: Climb the Rockpile steps at Moraine Lake with your guide, or walk the Lake Louise shoreline to the far end of the lake, about 2 km each way.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Banff

   Activity: About 3 km on foot on level paths, less on the easy option.

   

6. Day 6: Sulphur Mountain and Bow Falls

   Banff to the Banff Gondola and Bow Falls, then a free afternoon in town

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Banff
   Day 6 details

   A slow morning. At about 9:30 am the minibus takes the short drive to the foot of the Banff Gondola, and an eight-minute ride in an enclosed cabin lifts you up Sulphur Mountain, where the summit building has lifts between its floors and a rooftop deck. From up here you see six mountain ranges, the town spread along the Bow River, and the Fairmont Banff Springs standing above the forest. A boardwalk with steps continues along the ridge to Sanson's Peak for anyone who wants it; the views from the deck are nearly the same. Lunch is together at the summit before we ride back down. On the way into town we stop at the Bow Falls viewpoint, a few steps from the vehicle, where the river drops over a wide limestone ledge below the hotel. The afternoon is free. This evening the group meets for a farewell dinner at about 6 pm.

   Included

   • Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain
   • Sit-down lunch at the summit
   • Bow Falls viewpoint
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Banff Upper Hot Springs
   • Lake Minnewanka cruise

   Easier option: Stay on the summit building's rooftop deck, reached by lift, instead of walking the boardwalk.

   More active option: Walk the boardwalk and steps along the ridge to Sanson's Peak, about 1 km each way.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Banff

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot unless you take the boardwalk.

   

7. Day 7: Banff to Calgary

   Banff to Calgary International Airport (YYC), about 1.5 hours

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   No rush this morning. Have breakfast at your own pace, and if you are up early, take a last look at Cascade Mountain at the end of Banff Avenue. Your driver loads the bags, and we head east on the Trans-Canada Highway down the Bow Valley, past Canmore and the three peaks of the Three Sisters, then out of the mountains into the rolling foothills and on to Calgary International Airport (YYC), about 145 km and roughly an hour and a half, with a comfort stop on the way if you would like one. Book a flight home leaving after about 12:30 pm, and tell us your flight time so we can set the pickup to suit it. Your guide sees you to the departures door. If you would like an extra night in Banff or in Calgary before you fly, ask us and we can add it to your booking.

   Included

   • Transfer to Calgary International Airport (YYC) with your guide

   Free time: Morning free until the pickup

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 12:30 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: Summer days in the Rockies are mild and the evenings cool, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in July and August, which is one reason we do the lakes in the morning. Smoke from distant wildfires can haze the views on some summer days. Elk, bighorn sheep and bears are sometimes seen from the train and the road, but no sighting is certain.

• Vancouver2 nights
• Kamloops1 night
• Banff3 nights