Alaska/Canadian Rockies

[PeterW00]

Thanks for the advice Belinda, I have been following this thread.

My better half and I arrive in Calgary Saturday week. We are renting a car to travel through the Rockies. We sail on the 2nd September from Vancouver. I have been following the weather there for awhile now, you can never predict the weather... anywhere!

A couple of questions, How is the wild fire situation now around Banff and Jasper, any others to worry about?

Also, are there lots more tourist than normal in the area?

 

regards Peter

[lyndarra]

Arrived by train in Vancouver from jasper today. Having excellent weather all the way from Calgary. Hope it continues.

[cassamanda]

Sure your friends have departed by now but the temps in Alberta/Jasper area today are in the low 30's, but just a word of warning, it could just as easily be closer to 15C and even lower overnight. In this end of the woods you need to be prepared with some layers of clothing just in case!

 

No worries. They are prepared. I made the comment in light of the fact that many peoples will have a preconcieved idea that the weather in Alaska and in the Rockies is always cold. 15c is still warmer than it is currently in Sydney (our winter). Yesterday the road through the Blue Mountains was closed due to snow and black ice.

Our roads and vehicles are not equipped and serviced for those conditions,

 

I also did warn them to expect rain at some ports on the inside passage cruise.

[lilly4350]

We have driven the Rockies 3 times (2 cars, 1 RV) and have driven (RV) around

Alaska once. Unless you feel you are incapable of driving on the wrong side of the road, self drive is the only way to go. It is a lot cheaper and you can see what you want to see. For example, we saw a bear on the side of the road in the Rockies. We were able to stop and take our time getting heaps of photos (from inside the car of course). A tour bus pulled up, stopped for about 2 minutes and took off again. I would have felt disappointed if I had been on the bus.

[markarmel]

Hello. Back in 2007 my wife and I did a 7 week trip through Nth America. Part of that trip was flying up to Anchorage (Alaskan Airlines) from L.A to spend 2 nights in Anchorage. From there we caught the Coastal Classic train from Anchorage down to Seward for our 7 night cruise on Radiance of the Seas down to Vancouver.The cruise was amazing and we will always remember going to Hubbard Glacier,Skagway etc. After 12 days in Vancouver,Whistler and Victoria (Vancouver Island) we caught a bus to Jasper where we spent 4 nights. Whilst in Jasper we travelled around seeing a lot of the main sights like Malaigne Lake(spirit Island), Mt Edith Cavell, and a number of sights down the Icefields Parkway (Athabasca Icefield etc). After 4 nights we drove to Banff for 6 nights. So many places to go here, Lake Louise, Morraine Lake,Emerald Lake,Peyto Lake,Bow Lake,Johnston Canyon,Vermillion Lake,Herbert Lake to name a couple. The scenery at Jasper and Banff is absolutely stunning and it is well worth getting a car and take it all in at your own pace. It may be worth looking at the cost of the Rocky Mountaineer against staying for 7 -10 days in a B & B for instance. You may be surprised at what you can get for the same price and the B & Bs we stayed in were fantastic. Canada is one of the most beautiful countrys we have been to and we really look forward to one day getting back there again.

[retyredgreynomad]

We flew into San Francisco, drove hire car to Seattle for Solstice to Alaska then coach to Banff (where we had 8" of snow) and then Rocky Mountaineer (too dear) back to Vancouver and sailed back to Hawaii last August...trip of a lifetime...next time there will be no coach and no train and hopefully no snow in August.

 

Something we did not allow for was tipping...all tourist areas automatically add 20% to your Credit Card bill...some offer you to chose 15%, 18% or 20%...total $610 for US/Canada touring... add to that the gratuities on the two cruises....worked out at $1000 for 5 weeks... about $28 a day... $120-150 a day spend.:eek:

 

Don't get me wrong...food and drinks were generally cheaper than Sydney (pre tips), and we bought and ate whatever we wanted....great food, hospitality and service everywhere we went.

 

That's why we will go back....one day:D....no date set.