Rocky Mountain Coach Tours

[NefertariMalta]

My friends and I would like to extend our Alaska and Vancouver holiday and visit the Rocky Mountains! :D The train tours are too expensive :( therefore we are looking around for some coach tours that preferably would depart Vancouver on a Saturday. If any you can offer any help on some reasonably priced coach tours it would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance

[CowPrincess]

Brewster is a large operator of coach tours in the Rockies:

 

http://www.brewster.ca/Holidays/motorcoachList.asp?departure_location=YVR&locationTxt=Vancouver

 

They have several short-ish tours that aren't terribly expensive.

[NefertariMalta]

thanks very much :) I found these which are also very reasonable priced but the problem is that they leave only on a Friday :( and we are finding it difficult with the schedule we prepared ...

 

http://www.keywesttravelandtours.com/2008WestermTrails.html

[NefertariMalta]

Brewster is a large operator of coach tours in the Rockies:

 

http://www.brewster.ca/Holidays/motorcoachList.asp?departure_location=YVR&locationTxt=Vancouver

 

They have several short-ish tours that aren't terribly expensive.

 

I noticed that you are from Banff therefore maybe you could suggest which is the best tour we should take since i do not know much about that region! Much appreciated! :D

[CowPrincess]

In part, my recommendations would be based on what you feel is a reasonable amount of money to spend :) And whether you think you'll be back this way again, to see more. And how long you want to extend your trip. And if you want time to explore on your own, or if you prefer a guided experience.

 

These people have a 4 day tour leaving Vcr on Saturdays, ends in Calgary.

 

http://www.westcanadatours.com/van_tours/van_mc_info1.html

 

The itinerary sounds like one of the Brewster ones.

 

 

I'll check back later this evening to see if you've responded.

[NefertariMalta]

In part, my recommendations would be based on what you feel is a reasonable amount of money to spend :) And whether you think you'll be back this way again, to see more. And how long you want to extend your trip. And if you want time to explore on your own, or if you prefer a guided experience.

 

These people have a 4 day tour leaving Vcr on Saturdays, ends in Calgary.

 

http://www.westcanadatours.com/van_tours/van_mc_info1.html

 

The itinerary sounds like one of the Brewster ones.

 

 

I'll check back later this evening to see if you've responded.

 

The ones you posted look great and they are reasonably priced .... the problem is that it seems they leave only in July August and Sep .. and we will be there in June :(

 

Re reasonably priced i would say for a 4 day tour maybe around USD 600 to USD 800 .. what do you think? Am i being too stingy? Re being back this way .. do you mean visiting Canada some time in the future again (who knows probably though) or doing the trip from Vancouver the Calgary or Vancouver to Vancouver? We are not sure re this one so any suggestions again will be welcome. Someone told us that it is better to do it one way that is from Vancouver to Calgary since you see more like that! I think a four day tour around the rockies would be nice. Usually i must admit we prefer to do things on our own then doing them with a tour since we love our independence but driving in that area might be a bit too much of a hassle considering that we drive on the left hand side of the road and not the right hand side. :rolleyes: so might be quite complicated hehehe!!

 

Thanks so so much for your help .. really appreciate it!! Should you ever come to Malta let me know if i can help! :)

[cruiseryyc]

Why don't you contact the tour company and see if they have tours in June; I know I see lots of tour buses around Calgary in June.

[NefertariMalta]

Why don't you contact the tour company and see if they have tours in June; I know I see lots of tour buses around Calgary in June.

 

Thanks very much .. in fact i sent them an e-mail .. hopefully they will reply back to us saying that they do tours in june :D fingers crossed! Is it difficult to drive in that area? I am checking all options and although this is one i would wish to avoid it is always an option!

 

Thanks very much

[cruiseryyc]

No driving isn't difficult as long as you remember to drive on the right side of the road!

[NefertariMalta]

No driving isn't difficult as long as you remember to drive on the right side of the road!

 

hehehe that may be the problem!! last year i drove a bit in hawaii and it was quite stressful .. not cause of driving on the right but cause of the fact that you have the rest of the car on your right as well whilst i usually have it on my left .. so when calculating the distance between the car and the side of the wall .... mmmm :eek:

[CowPrincess]

Brewster's Saturday tours leave Vcr on Sunday -- the first "day" is really a night in a hotel :) And they do run in June.

 

The bus actually leaves Vcr on Sundays toward Whistler. You can check into the hotel that is included on the Saturday. Hotel is Pacific Pallisades, (for the "Moderate" price) downtown, on Robson, which is VERY easy to get to from the boat dock. (I phoned the Brewster toll-free # to get this info)

 

The pricing is here: http://www.brewster.ca/Holidays/pricing.asp?package_id=6063&vStyle=P&vBook=N

 

I'm looking at CREE3, on this page:

http://www.brewster.ca/Holidays/motorcoachList.asp?departure_location=YVR&locationTxt=Vancouver

 

Double occupancy is $1016 each plus GST (5%) -- if there are more of you willing to share a room, the price goes down.

 

If you can, I'd definitely do the "one way" tour ending in Calgary, as you DO get to see a bit more, I think.

 

I'd not consider driving, really, because of the whole "wrong side of the road" thing. Also, you get a guide on the coach tour who can give you lots of info, so you're more aware of what you are seeing, y'know? And there is the hassle of finding hotels/motels, etc.

 

If you are adventurous, you might want to consider catching a Greyhound bus from Vancouver to Banff, signing up for a couple of tours in Banff, then spend a day or two just hiking, etc, near the townsite, then catching another Greyhound bus into Calgary. Expect, though, that hotel choices in Banff will be limited and expensive. (around $250/night in June-Sept)

[NefertariMalta]

Thanks so much .. next sunday i will be meeting up with my friends and we will discuss .. hopefully we will find a solutions! :D

[BCHappyGal]

If there is a group of you why not rent a car or van - 1 way rental to Calgary and drive yourselves. I am sure it will work out much cheaper than a tour and you can then go at your own pace stopping whenever & wherever you fancy. Once out of Vancouver there are no large cities for you to have to drive in and the roads are all good with fabulous scenery.

 

This would be a very easy trip to do yourselves and one where you could just drive however far you wanted each day and then find a hotel.motel generally speaking you do not need reservations except for maybe Banff.

[NefertariMalta]

Thanks! we finally decided! we are flying to Calgary will rent a car and spend 4 days driving around and will stop in Jasper. From there we should get a Grey hound bus to Vancouver! :D