canada

Who Goes to a Place Called BANFF, Anyway?!

ccandido1 Travel , , ,

Although it’s been almost a year already, I’ve gotten four messages in the past week regarding October’s trip to Canada. I first heard about Banff from a customer at the kennel – she had gotten her husband a book of amazing places to visit and, low and behold, it was one of them. Neither of us had ever heard of the national park and we laughed as she reluctantly dropped off her dog & said, “Who goes to a place called BANFF, anyway?!” When they returned, she raved about it.

That was almost a decade ago and I could never get it out of my head. Though on the same continent, Banff isn’t exactly cheap to get to; direct RT flights from NYC typically go for at least $650. If you’re flexible with your dates and keep an eye on them, however, you can score AirCanada tickets to Calgary for under $350. That’s exactly what my friend Lauren and I did in the fall. In true form, we flew in just for the weekend (two full days) and rented a car to explore ourselves. We were not disappointed – Banff is seriously what road trip dreams are made of.

An abbreviated version of our itinerary is as follows:

Friday, October 5th

  • EWR -> YYC
  • Pick up car from Routes Car Rental
    • Shuttle required to get to Rental Car Centre (all companies)
    • $120
  • Stay at Banff Ptarmigan Inn
    • 337 Banff Avenue, Banff, T1L 1H8, Canada (1.5hr drive)
    • $450
  • Banff Gondola Ride at 6:10PM
    • $115

Saturday, October 6th

  • Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park
  • Lake Louise
  • Moraine Lake*
    • Hike to Consolation Lake from there
  • Icefields Parkway toward Jasper
    • Peyto Lake
  • Hot springs

Sunday, October 7th

  • YYC -> EWR

It’s worth noting that we chose early fall to see some foliage, but it was already full blown winter in Alberta. It was stunning to see a snow-covered Banff, but Moraine Lake* was already closed for the season and we froze our butts off exploring the others. In hindsight, I wish we’d gone a few weeks earlier. A friend of mine had recommended we take the gondola ride at sunset and I’m so glad we did; it was breathtaking. The entire trip ended up costing us under $1,000 each including flights, hotel, car, gondola, food, etc., and we really splurged. Banff, as funny as your name sounds, you were worth every penny.