Canadian Rockies Highlights - Self Drive Holiday

Itinerary

1 Night – Calgary
2 Nights – Lake Louise
2 Nights – Jasper
2 Nights – Banff

✈ UK – Calgary (1 Night): To begin your journey, we’ll fly you from the UK to Calgary, one of the main gateways to the Rockies, where you’ll have the day and night to get over your flight. An oil-rich city with a healthy dose of western influence added in, this large cosmopolitan area is an interesting place to start your trip. To get straight into the action, head to The Beltline and 17th Avenue, Calgary’s main drag. Here you’ll find entertainment, fine food, great bars and the biggest buzz in the city; this is the perfect place to enjoy your first night in Canada.

🚗 Calgary – Lake Louise (2 Nights): The next day, we’ll arrange for you to pick up your car and it’s on to Lake Louise and the real Rockies. The drive through Banff National Park is picturesque enough, but when you arrive at the shores of Lake Louise, you’ll truly feel like your trip has begun. Startlingly blue waters, backed by towering ice-capped peaks make up the scenery where you will be staying for the next couple of nights. A mainstay in Canadian mountaineering, one of the best activities to do here is lace up your hiking boots and tackle the lofty summits around you. There’s also the chance to hire kayaks and get out on Lake Louise herself. Just around the corner there’s also Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, another of Canada’s most epic beauty spots.

🚗Lake Louise – Jasper (2 Nights): Next, it’s on to Jasper. A quiet mountain town with a reputation for high-quality food, Jasper is all about the great outdoors. During the warmer summer months the area comes alive with hikers from all over Canada and beyond. Jasper National Park is full of incredible sights, so your two-night stay here will be easy to fill with amazing things to do. Athabasca Falls is a must-see attraction, with its clear, blue waters standing as a timely reminder of nature’s raw power. When you’re done trekking in the wilderness, take the time to relax in one of the town’s many spas or take nine holes on the green.

🚗Jasper – Banff (2 Nights): Finally, you will finish off your stay in Banff; a scene of tremendous natural beauty. Known for its rugged mountain landscape and startlingly blue lakes, this serene part of Canada is the ideal place to end what is sure to be a memorable holiday. Scale the heights of the Rockies in the Banff Gondola, an epic cable car journey that affords you sensational panoramic views of the park.

Take in the Columbia Icefield, 130 square miles of polar glacier in the south of Banff National Park. This remarkable sight is actually the largest sub-polar glacier in North America, and with your hire car you’ll easily be able to reach it for a day trip. The scenery around the icefields is some of the best in the Rockies, so you will be glad you’ve made the effort. If you just want to stay around Banff town for the remainder of your trip, there are still plenty of incredible activities for you to do. Try canoeing on the Bow River or Vermilion Lakes, hiking on one of the many nearby mountain trails or kayaking on the stunning Johnson Lake.

✈Banff – UK: Once your incredible trip is finished, we’ll transfer you back to the airport for your return flight to the UK.