Itinerary

Arrive in Alberta’s biggest city Calgary where you’ll be met at the airport and taken by private transfer to your hotel.

Explore Calgary, a cosmopolitan city with a proud cowboy heritage. Ascend the 190-metre Calgary Tower for fantastic panoramic views over the city and surrounding mountains, then wander around the unique shops and restaurants of pedestrian-friendly Kensington Village.

If you’re visiting in July, don’t miss one of the Canada’s biggest festival the Calgary Stampede, which attracts over a million visitors to watch rodeos, races and performances over 10 days.

Continue discovering Calgary’s cultural attractions today. We recommend a visit to living history museum Heritage Park (May to October). This historical village recreates Alberta in the late 19th century with over 200 attractions and exhibits including a First Nations camp. Board a steam train, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, pan for gold, explore the nature park and see the large collection of antique vehicles in Gasoline Alley Museum.

Another recommendation is the National Music Centre at Studio Bell in the East Village with exhibitions and collections of Canada’s musical heritage across five floors, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, which features the country’s icons and original costumes worn in concerts.

After a day of sightseeing, enjoy Calgary’s restaurants and nightlife either Downtown or in Kensington Village.

Pick up your hire car and drive south to Waterton Lakes. It’s nearly three hours from Calgary so consider stopping on the way at the wonderfully-named Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a fascinating place to learn about 6,000 years of Plains Buffalo Culture with an interpretive centre and cliff-top viewpoint.

Bordering the US state of Montana, Waterton National Park has marvellous scenery of rugged mountains, prairies and lakes. The town of Waterton itself has a gorgeous lakeside setting and makes an ideal base for hiking or horse-riding on trails filled with wildflowers and wildlife including bears and moose.

Spend another day exploring the verdant region of Waterton Lakes. Try paddleboarding or kayaking on the park’s five lakes. Alternatively, take a cruise and cross briefly into Montana.

Star-gazing is recommended in this region so a dark skies tour is a good night-time option.

Today, you head into the Canadian Rockies, driving over three hours north to Canmore. This town boasts a dramatic location beneath the Three Sisters peaks and has an interesting museum charting the history of its coal mining heritage.

Canmore is the gateway town to Kananaskis Country, which offers a wide variety of hiking, biking, horse-riding and whitewater rafting in beautiful mountainous scenery.

Continue to explore Canmore and the rugged Kananaskis with its five provincial parks, including Bow Valley, Sheep River, Spray Valley, and the largest Peter Lougheed, centred around Kananaskis Lakes.

The most accessible park on the outskirts of Canmore is the Canmore Nordic Centre with over 100km of hiking, biking and cross-country skiing trails.

This morning, drive the short distance from Canmore to nearby mountain resort Banff, Canada’s highest town at over 1,300m. Banff has a stunning location in the heart of the Rockies, surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

One of the best ways to take in the landscape is the Banff Gondola, soaring 700 metres up thickly forested hillsides. From the observation deck at the summit of Sulphur Mountain enjoy panoramic views over six mountain ranges and the Bow Valley, then wander along the boardwalk to Sanson’s Peak. Keen hikers can tackle the South-east Ridge Trail.
If rafting is for you, then we recommend a half-day rafting trip on the Kananaskis River on class II and II rapids.

Check into your hotel and explore the town’s restaurants and bars.

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest protected area and most visited national park with 1,600km of hiking trails and home to 53 species of mammals, including black bears, grizzlies, moose, bighorn sheep and elk.

A wildlife safari through the park is a great way to see animals with a knowledgeable guide, providing plenty of great photo opportunities.

It’s interesting to explore the town of Banff itself, which has museums including Banff Park Museum for natural history and Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum for First Nations heritage. A great way to relax is a dip in Banff Upper Hot Springs.

The shining turquoise water of Lake Louise is known as the ‘Jewel of the Rockies’ and one of the top sights in Canada, half an hour’s drive north-west of Banff.

It’s the kind of place where it’s impossible to take a bad photograph and the lake can be viewed from various vantage points – a lakeside picnic, a canoeing trip or on many hiking trails in the surrounding hills. The region is incredibly diverse, home to wildlife such as goats, elk, deer and occasionally bears (so take care). We recommend the mountains, lakes and waterfalls guided tour of the Lake Louise region to make the most of your visit.

The historic lakeside Fairmont Château Lake Louise is one of the world’s most stunningly located hotels. Even if you don’t stay here, we recommend afternoon tea to admire the wonderful backdrop. The hotel also has a day spa offering a range of therapeutic treatments.

Today you’ll experience one of the world’s greatest drives along Icefields Parkway through breathtaking mountain scenery between Banff and Jasper national parks.

Although the route can be driven in about three hours, it’s preferable to take your time with some spectacular stop-offs such as Bow Lake, Peyto Lake and the Weeping Wall waterfalls.

A particular highlight of the region is the Columbia Icefield, the largest ice field of its kind outside the poles, including Athabasca Glacier. The Glacier Sky Walk further north is a glass-floored observation platform 280 metres over the Sunwapta Valley. A recommended excursion is the Columbia Icefield Discovery Tour, including the Ice Adventure & Skywalk.

Arrive in the town of Jasper and check into your hotel.

The town of Jasper, which began life as a 19th century mining hub along the Athabasca River, is the gateway to the park of the same name.

Jasper National Park is the largest in the Canadian Rockies with emerald lakes, glacial peaks, waterfalls, canyons and evergreen forest filled with wildlife including elk, moose, big-horned sheep, bears and wolves. The more adventurous can try ice climbing and rafting, while hiking and mountain biking are more leisurely ways to appreciate the scenery. The park is also a huge Dark Sky preserve, perfect for star-gazing.

Included in your itinerary is a nature tour to Maligne Lake and Maligne River, which thunders through a 50-metre gorge in a series of waterfalls. Take a cruise on the lake to beautiful Spirit Island or a guided walk along the shoreline.
A recommended way to take in the scenery while working up an appetite is the Peak Nic food tour for lunch or dinner (3.5 hours), a 3.8km hike followed by a backcountry cookery class to enjoy a meal while admiring the views.

This morning, drive out of the Rockies to Edmonton, capital of Alberta. One of the most northerly large cities in North America, Edmonton has a busy festival programme in summer when the city enjoys up to 17 hours of sunshine.

Cultural highlights of the city include the Royal Alberta Museum, the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Alberta Legislature.

Explore Edmonton’s extensive urban parkland, especially the North Saskatchewan River Valley, 22 times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

One of the highlights of the river valley is Fort Edmonton Park, offering a journey into the past with historic buildings, artifacts, streetcars, a steam train and a large exhibition on First Nations cultures.

Continue to explore Edmonton. For some retail therapy, head to West Edmonton Mall, the largest in North America.

A good day trip from the city is Elk Island National Park, which has the largest populations of elk and bison in Canada.

From October to April, the area around Edmonton can be a good place to see the Northern Lights, visible about 90 days of the year. Good spots to do so include Elk Island National Park.

Head north-east of Edmonton to Metis Crossing to learn about the culture and traditions of the Metis people, descendants of mixed-race fur traders.

Visit the cultural Gathering Centre set on hundreds of acres and take a tour of traditional Metis lands and homes, learning their traditions through demonstrations of dance, art and storytelling.

Stay at Metis Crossing Lodge, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.

Your tour comes to an end. Drive back to Calgary, drop off your hire car and take your flight home.