Canada: Vancouver to Calgary Road Trip

This was my favourite family holiday. Despite my brother and I being in our mid twenties at the time, we packed up and went on holiday for two weeks with our parents. It was the first time in a decade that we had all been away together. Even though my brother drove over my foot and my mum gave me a peanut chocolate bar (I’m allergic…), the breathtaking scenery more than made up for this!

This road trip took us two weeks. We flew into Vancouver and flew out of Calgary. In short this is overview but scroll down for the full itinerary and pictures!

• Day 1: Vancouver
• Day 2: Stanley Park, Vancouver
• Day 3: Capilano Suspension Bridge & Grouse Mountain
• Day 4: Ferry to Victoria & Butchart Gardens
• Day 5: Victoria
• Day 6: Ferry from Nanaimo & drive to Whistler
• Day 7: Explore Whistler, then drive to Kamloops
• Day 8: Drive to Jasper
• Day 9: Jasper
• Day 10: Icefields Parkway to Banff
• Day 11: Lake Louise
• Day 12: Banff
• Day 13: Drive to Calgary
• Day 14: Fly home

Day 1: Vancouver

If you aren’t too jet lagged when you land, take a wonder around Vancouver’s Gastown. Gastown is the oldest neighbourhood in the city so comprises of lots of beautiful old victorian buildings. It is home to Vancouver’s famous steam-powered clock.

Day 2: Stanley Park

Stanley park is well worth a visit – I’d recommend hiring a bike and cycling around the perimeter. There’s quite a few cycle rental shops on W. Georgia Street, near the entrance to the park. It’s fairly flat and the paths are wide so it’s a nice easy cycle. Look out for the totem poles, the Lion’s Gate Bridge, and Siwash Rock. Don’t forget to stop for an ice cream break at Third Beach!

In the late afternoon/early evening, take the aquabus over to Granville Island. It’s an arty district with lots of independent shops and a large indoor market. Be careful if you go on an empty stomach, the cakes are the bakery stalls are very hard to resist!

Day 3: Capilano Suspension Bridge & Grouse Mountain

For your trip to Grouse Mountain, there are a few ways to go about it. We drove, paid and took a cable car to the top. A friend of mine told me afterwards, if you walk up (about 1.5hrs), you can take the cable car down for free. There are also free shuttle buses to and from the city so this could be a very cheap day!

On the way to the mountain we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. This was quite expensive, entry was $55 CAD (about £32). It was a cool place but if you’re scared of heights, this definitely isn’t for you! It’s essentially a collection of bridges and walkways up in the trees, its a fun place to explore.

Next stop: Grouse Mountain. As I mentioned, you can park up and cable car or you can hike up. Either way, at the top you’ll find ski slopes (we went in September so these weren’t in operation), two captive bears and a lumber jack show…

If you’re lucky you might also spot some wildlife, we saw quite a few deer. And of course, you’ll have amazing views across Vancouver.

Day 4: Ferry to Victoria & Butchart Gardens

We drove to the port and took a ferry across to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. We didn’t pre-book as it cost more but we didn’t have any issues and got on the first ferry.

The views were fantastic coming into the bay, past lots of tiny islands. If you’re lucky you might even see whales in the bay.

Butchart Gardens was definitely my Mum’s favourite part of the trip. It’s a large garden created by a wealthy woman in an old limestone quarry in the early 1900s. Whilst it is a lovely place to explore, personally I felt I’d seen botanical gardens and such like it in many other places. There are plenty of other sites in Canada that are more unique to the country that would be higher on my list. But if you’re in the area and have time or you’re into gardens, its worth a stop! If you time it right, its best to visit on your way to Victoria from the ferry.

Day 5: Victoria

There’s plenty to see in Victoria! Some of the main places to wander around include: the harbour and around the parliament building, the older part of town, China town and the public market. Take a stroll through Beacon Park which is an odd mix of dry wasteland and a green oasis with peacocks and turtles.

For dinner, I’d recommend the Bard and Banker, its a set in a beautiful Victorian building that was originally a bank.

Day 6: Route to Whistler

To get to Whistler, we drove up to Nanaimo to take a slightly different ferry route back to the main land. On this route, we were lucky enough to see whales from the ferry (although they were too far away to get a decent photo!).

Whistler itself is well-known for skiing but even out of season, its an easy town to wander through. We also went for a woodland walk up to the Lost Lake. In September it was still just about warm enough for people to be swimming in the lake.

Day 7: Drive to Kamloops

The most exciting this about this day was that it was the first time my Mum let me drive the car! Everyone was so nervous about me driving (completely unwarranted) that we ended up driving for 20-30 minutes in the wrong direction. My Dad was supposed to be navigating – I blame him.

The drive was very scenic, lots of winding mountain roads – which absolutely did not help my Mother’s anxiety. There isn’t much to say about Kamloops itself, we didn’t find much to do there, it seemed to just be a stopover town on the way to Jasper so I wouldn’t rush to get there.

Whistler to Jasper is an 8.5 hour drive so the stopover is definitely needed, especially as you will want to stop and see things along the way!

Day 8: Drive to Jasper

Like most of the trip this is a very scenic drive with lots of places to pull over and stop to take pictures along the way.

We actually stopped over in Valemont about 1.5 hours outside of Jasper because we couldn’t get a hotel for the night in Jasper. Valemont itself is quite small with not too much to do. Similar to Kamloops, it’s fine for a stopover but if you can make it all the way to Jasper for the night, I would recommend it.

I visited in September and whilst I was wondering around Vancouver in a skirt and t-shirt, it was considerably colder in Jasper. Not unbearably cold but it was winter coat and jeans weather.

It’s also worth noting, that at this point in the trip, we unexpectedly crossed into a different time zone. Alberta (the state Jasper is in) is one hour ahead of most of British Columbia, where we had just come from.

Day 9: Jasper

Jasper is a very picturesque town with lots of cabin style buildings set against a dramatic mountainous backdrop. There are plenty of shops to wander around in the town itself but the real fun lies in the national park surrounding it. With lakes and the Athabasca River on one side and a forest on the other, there are plenty of walking and hiking routes surrounding the town

Day 10: Icefield Parkway

The drive from Japser to Banff is around 3.5 hours but I’d give yourself the full day to get there because there are so many stops to make along the way.

The route takes you along the Icefields Parkway. The first two stops are Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls. As you can see from these photos – both are well worth a stop.

Next stop is Columbia Icefield, a huge glacier which recedes 5 metres every year, so go see it while you can! Walking up to the glacier, it’s fascinating (and also terrifying) to see points at which the glacier reached in previous years.

One of the last stops before Banff is Bow Lake which has stunning turquoise waters and is much less busy than the nearby Lake Louise.

Day 11: Lake Louise

Lake Louise is about a 40 minute drive from Banff so you could stay outside of Banff nearer the Lake or if you have time visit it during your drive along the Icefields Parkway.

Make sure you leave a lot of time aside for Lake Louise! Its super busy, we couldn’t park anywhere near it or in the town but there is a park and ride shuttle bus service a little way out. You might just have to wait a while for the buses in peak times. You can also take the bus to Lake Moraine nearby too if you have time.

Day 12: Banff

Banff is a beautiful town, surrounded by stunning views everywhere you look. There’s plenty to see just wondering around town but I’d also recommend making your way to the Cascade of Time Gardens.

We also visited Cave and Basin National Historical Site but it was a bit disappointing. The cave itself was surprisingly small and reeked of sulphur.

Day 13: Calgary

On your way out of Banff, make sure you stop off to see the Hoodoos. The hoodoos are a collection of rock columns standing tall in the canyon around Bow River.

There isn’t much to say about Calgary itself. To me, it seemed more of a business city that a tourist one. We wandered around Prince’s Island Park and Devonian Gardens (which is inside a shopping centre). If you haven’t had poutine by this point in the trip definitely eat some before you fly home!

Day 14: Fly Home

Next stop home!

If you’re planning on taking this trip, let me know if you found this useful and if you discover anything I’ve missed add a comment below!