Wife and I are planning to go to Canada (BC) next September. We have a rough itinerary but I’d really appreciate some insight as to how long we should spend in each place, things not to miss etc. We tend to prefer quieter, less touristy places.

15 days in total, planning to hire a car and stay in hotels.

Calgary
Banff
Lake Louise
Jasper
Kelowna
Whistler (2 nights min)
Vancouver

I want to do at least one day biking; given the above route Squamish would be a better choice than Whistler but my wife is convinced there’ll be nothing for her to do there, and she’d rather we go to Whistler. Which is great but Kelowna-Whistler-Vancouver seems a bit of a long way

Any thoughts?

My first thought is you are going to Cananda and are only going to ride 1 day!

Kelowna-Whistler-Vancouver seems a bit of a long way

We did the reverse of that last year, but went the long way round from Whistler to Kelowna. Whistler to Kelowna to 8 ish hours going the long way round.

Calgary – we just flew back from there, it’s a city out of the hills. Not somewhere I would stop.

Banff – mad touristy, expensive. It’s ok but I wouldn’t go again

Lake Louise – everyone told us to avoid so we did

Jasper – we liked, it’s a town, but stuff to do around it.

Kelowna – we liked. Wish we had stayed a bit longer (it’s not big mountains)

Whistler – hateful place. Very expensive theme park, very busy, a ski resort

Vancouver – bit meh. Typical American city no character

Personally I’d be going to Vancouver Island, as far west and north as you can afford to go

Revelstoke – looked like it had some really good biking, nice scenery. Amazing opportunity to heli bike at not a ridiculous price

Vancouver Island, and if the pennies allow, Knight Inlet Lodge, if it’s still running. (We did most of the places you mention on our honeymoon in 2002)

+1 for Vancouver island. Tofino is beautiful.

We liked whistler. I get what you’re saying about it’s theme park feel. It’s a tad different to the last time I was there in ‘95. The riding is stunning though and there’s plenty of other things to do.

We thought Squamish was awful. A logging town that is only just getting the idea of tourism. There’s nice places about, but the town itself could do with something.

Canmore instead of Banff for me, nicer, less touristy. Last three years we’d arrive at Calgary and then hit the road with Canmore being our first stop. Not sure what is in Calgary to warrant a stop. Revelstoke is very nice.

Just back from a Vancouver Island trip. We were there for 12 days. Flew into Vancouver and hired a car, which we took over on the ferry.
Saw Humpback whales from the ferry. Went on a whale watching trip from Campbell river and saw Orca. Rode awesome MTB trails in Quadra island and Cumberland (on hired bikes). Visited the Pacific Rim and swam in the Pacific. Went hiking in the forest. Swam in rivers and lakes. Went canoeing.
Fantastic place and big enough to keep you busy for well over a month!
Did the Vancouver – Whistler – Icefields – Banff thing in 2016 and it was good, but not as good in my opinion.

Thanks all 🙂

Will have a look at the map and check out Canmore.

Disappointed to hear Squamish is grim- I’d assumed it would be a sort of Canadian Keswick.

Howsyourdad1- one days riding is the ‘official’ plan but you how plans can change when you get there!

See funcydunc, and you’ve picked a hell of a lot of touristy places…..

Lake Louise, really lovely and popular, great for shots of a beautiful lake with people everywhere, get there early, parking limited – it was full when we went (off season)

Drive the ice fields parkway (* we did when plenty of snow, truly truly lovely, and truly, truly popular)

Vancouver island we liked.

As people who like quieter, less touristy places we preferred Nova Scotia, Halifax etc

Squamish would be a better choice than Whistler but my wife is convinced there’ll be nothing for her to do there, and she’d rather we go to Whistler. Which is great but Kelowna-Whistler-Vancouver seems a bit of a long way

Your wife is right. Not much to do in Squampton while you’re out off on your bike. Whistler is only another 30 minutes up the road.

Kamloops

If you want an alternative to the Banff/Jasper/Lake Louise scene, seriously consider Waterton Lakes National Park.

It’s part of an International Park bordering with Montana. You could spend a few weeks there alone and not exhaust the mountain biking/hiking/boating/exploring available. Waterton itself it a lovely little town, and features the Prince of Wales Hotel, which is often pictured in the advertising.

I would fly into Calgary, head straight to Waterton for a few days, then head over the Rockies to Vancouver Island.

I thought Kamloops is supposed the be the Canadian Milton Keynes?!

I’d assumed it would be a sort of Canadian Keswick.

Howsyourdad1- one days riding is the ‘official’ plan but you how plans can change when you get there!

Canada is beautiful. Canadian towns/villages are just American ‘blocks’ nothing like as pretty as European town/villages.

It’s sounds like you may well be looking at biking by yourself? I found it very intimidating to do that with bears and cougars around (having been stalked by a bear on Vancouver island)

Look up Myra Canyon however, it’s not a difficult ride but we did it as a family and it was great (no wildlife issues there)

vancouver – do gas town for eats and beer, live music, etc.
Have a stroll round stanley park
North Vancouver – Ride some shore at Fromme and Seymour ( trailforks it).. epic go to the tap and barrel shipyards pub at the quayside
Squamish – hike the cheif – and back down the cable car – though it will be busy if the weathers good Alice lake also pretty for a hike
Ride some of the slab trails in squamish its mind blowing
Whistler – do the bike park for a day or two ( i did 4 days this year and it was plenty ) hiking is there but busy
Pemberton – sleepy backwater north of whistler not much to do except ride the trails and they are awesome
Vancouver island – this is where id spend most of the time, only had 3 days there this year but needed more. went with this guy for guiding, http://www.islandmountainrides.com/ lovely quaint town in Cumberland with ace brewery and eats. but you can explore as much as you want, kayaking hiking, fishing etc.
Should be plenty for a two week road trip
If you want to save money on car rental hire a Uhaul van, its $20 per day plus mileage and works out way cheaper than a car plus you can chuck your bikes / gear in the back!
Also whatever you do don’t fly with air canada rouge – appalling is putting it kindly.

Got to love opinions – agree and disagree with a number of posts – my take is:
Vancouver – cool city, loved the Gastown/park/chinatown/Granville Food market for 2 days
Lake Louise – agree a bit over touristy. Just ip the road is the far quiter Moraine Lake
Jasper – really liked the vibe but this is a good few years ago
Yoho national park – Takkakaw Falls and Kootenay National Park (Paint Pots)

Didn’t do Biking so can’t comment on that side

Squamish – hike the cheif – and back down the cable car – though it will be busy if the weathers good Alice lake also pretty for a hike

That might be quite difficult

shish kebab! why would anyone do that to a cable car!

Can’t believe no one has mentioned Lake Minnewanka yet!

It is actually quite a nice place to visit.

Lots of very useful info in this thread also.
Trip didn’t come off for us yet…

why would anyone do that to a cable car!

Disgruntled loggers unhappy at the touristification of their town?

I woudl swerve whistler unless you really want to ride those trails. Super crazy expensive, accommodation, bike hire, food, everything.

Disappointed to hear Squamish is grim- I’d assumed it would be a sort of Canadian Keswick.

It is nothing like a Canadian kewsick unfot! And despite disliking whistler, it is only 20/30 mins up the road and is much nicer than Squarmish!

Van Island is AWESOME.
Do go see some whales.
Van city is a super cool city. I disagree its boring, you can enjoy a day or two there.

Calgary hasn’t got much going on really, I wouldn’t bother except to fly in/out of.

I like Banff and LL but yes they are touristy.

Banff is absolutely breathtaking and busy for a reason, please don’t come all this way and discount it, absolutely go to Lake Minnewanka, Lake Louise and Johnston canyon, drive up the ice fields parkway

Calgary to Banff is 2 hours or so, could easily spend a few days there, up the ice fields parkway as a day trip

Banff to Okanagan valley {Kelowna} 5 hours

Kelowna Vancouver 4.5 hours
Kelowna whistler via Lilloet and Pemberton 6 hours ish

over here you average around 100 km/h on a road trip, the driving and scenery is part of the journey, September is off season so if you have the balls and aren’t fussy book the first few nights in Banff and a car and fly by the seat of your pants after that, be a better trip if your flexible in my opinion

For instance friends recently did the the kind of trip your doing, when they visited us in Kelowna at the end of the trip they were so tired and just wanted to hang out with us for a few days on the beach etc, I asked what their favourite part was and they said Pemberton, all 4 of them agreed

As far as biking maybe try to get on a shop ride so your not on your own, if I’m at home when your in Kelowna I will take you if we can figure out a bike for you

Medicine Hat’s nice. 🙂

Disgruntled loggers unhappy at the touristification of their town?

Disgruntled ex-employee/indigenous community/environmentalist?

Whilst some locals are unhappy with rising property prices due to incomers, the gondola had virtually no impact on logging…
Also, there was plenty of objection to the gondola as part of the provincial park was split off for the development.

Fwiw, our (cycle free) honeymoon route was

Fly into Calgary
Banff – lots to see and do already mentioned
Lake Louise
Icefields parkway
Jasper
Rocky Mountain train to Vancouver
Vancouver Island
Knight Inlet
Vancouver
Home

Was amazing….

We did Van-tofino-Campbell river-Whistler-clearwater-jasper-canmore-kelowna-van this summer over 2.5 weeks. Managed 1 day biking so just hit the park in whistler with a guide / lesson, it was awesome fun and the guide really helped me get the most out of it (and improve my jumping). Felt whistler was probably the best place to do that as there was plenty for the wife to do while I was out. It is basically a ski resort, but in contrast to kittyr’s post we actually had our nicest accommodation there and it was one of the cheapest (airbnb).

I’d also agree / disagree with deserter about banff – the surrounding area is spectacular, but banff itself did nothing for us, its rammed full of tourists and is super expensive. We stayed in Canmore and that was much more our speed.

The best thing we did on our holiday was kayaking in Gowlland harbour (out of campbell river), we half wished we’d done one of the 3 day trips where they take you out looking for orcas and camp on the islands (except we don’t like camping…).

When I lived in Fernie I really fancied going to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, if nothing else that we’d never call a place something like that so literally (King found in car park city anyone?).

Anyway, definitely a big vote for Vancouver Island, Tofino is a wonderful place. I love Vancouver itself too but agree on what others have said about Squamish. Was contemplating spending a season there but one night in the hostel put me off. Some world class climbing and bouldering there though.

I have a number of friends in ottawa, every single one of them has recommended Vancouver island.
Haven’t been yet, but it’s on the list.

“We thought Squamish was awful. A logging town that is only just getting the idea of tourism. There’s nice places about, but the town itself could do with something.”

I think the first rule when it comes to expectations on BC / Alberta towns is to assume that they will all suck to some extent or another. There’s no sleepy villages, cozy pubs, landlords lurcher snuggled up against the fire, quaint old churches, thatched roofs etc etc. They are all settlements stolen from the locals around 150 years ago with some generic dwellings thrown up on them so the settlers could chop down a load of trees, dig for gold and other minerals etc. Hardly centers of high culture 😉

Squamish has the added problem of becoming a commuter town for people driving to ‘the city’ every day. I think most of these people do most of their shopping and the like in Vancouver and as such I agree that down town Squamish is still pretty depressing. If the people that lived here supported their own town more then it’d be more inspiring.

“We tend to prefer quieter, less touristy places.”
You’ve listed all the busy touristy places though 😉 Go to the Yukon. I’m actually somewhat serious. Everyone I know who’s been there loves it. I only made it up to Watson Lake on a road trip though but would love to head further north.

As above…go to the Yukon.

I am fortunate enough to spend a lot of time there, although live in Calgary.

Colours are amazing in September, lots of wildlife to see, decent chance of aurora, far less tourists than everywhere you have mentioned.

Would definitely recommend Vancouver Island, particularly taking the sea plane from Vancouver city harbour – incredible scenery. Boat trip from Victoria harbour – wildlife and whale watching.
Jasper is nice, particularly go up to Moraine Lake – it was still frozen when we went, snow covered empty car park and wife less impressed by me doing donuts in the hire 4×4.
Lake Louise was very busy – stayed overnight and got upgraded to one of the big suites complete with hot tub etc – very nice but $$$.
Banff busy too, but the cablecar to the top of the mountain was OK as there was plenty of snow. Canmore is a lot nicer, less manic.
Could have given Calgary a miss.

I live in Yukon. Whenever I return from a trip or a holiday I’m excited to be coming home.

Did you say you were planning a September visit? It isn’t the warmest place in September (mid teens with cold mornings and evenings) if you are planning on camping. However, it is dark by 9 and you have a good chance of seeming the aurora and the autumn colours are amazing. You can take a trip to Alaska and watch grizzlies eating salmon. August is warm with lots of daylight.

Hiking, paddling, mountain biking all very well represented. Not a place for shopping unless you want equipment for hiking, paddling or mountain biking.

It does get busy in the summer, but if you are coming from the UK you are unlikely to notice.

if you have any questions, feel free to ask or message me.

However, your itinerary looks good. In September the places in Alberta that you mention will be quieter than high season. Lake Louise is beautiful. Jasper is a lovely spot. Banff isn’t great, as mentioned Canmore would be better. Calgary is a city. I’ve only stayed in the centre and would go for the shops when I lived in a place with few shops. Vancouver has a better atmosphere.

Ive visited whistler a few times in September. All be it not for 6 years. There were good deals on accommodation, though it does get busy at the weekends. The bike park is (surprise) amazing. The blue trails are not intimidating and a lot of fun. The only way, I feel, that you wouldn’t enjoy the bike park is because you don’t like bike parks.

“We tend to prefer quieter, less touristy places.”
You’ve listed all the busy touristy places though 😉

I know, I know! It’s more that we don’t want to miss anything.

Thinking we have to get Vancouver Island in there somehow, and check out Yukon.

The only way, I feel, that you wouldn’t enjoy the bike park is because you don’t like bike parks

To be honest I don’t. The plan will be to hire a bike and guide and do something more rooty/rocky rather than tabletops.

We stayed in Canmore this summer and found it much nicer than Banff. my friend lives in Calgary and that’s where she recommended.

We used Frontier Holidays for our first trip out there. Preferred Pemberton over Squamish for biking myself. Did do Vernon, Nelson Fernie Van Island and Whistler too on last trip. Anywhere will be great. Enjoy. Jealous already. 😉😉

The plan will be to hire a bike and guide and do something more rooty/rocky rather than tabletops.

You’ll have a great time doing that as well.

Given that I lived in Calgary and have travelled the area a little

mostly covered everything above is fairly accurate but dull

I would go
Calgary
Black Diamond
Fernie
(Whitefish Montana if you have time)
Nelson
Kelowna
Revelstoke
Golden
Radium Hots Springs
Canmore