I was fortunate enough to start 2019 with an adventure.
My dad and I went to explore the Rockies during the first week of the year. We booked our 4 day trip with Calgary Tours since we were a bit scared of driving on our own during the winter season. Initially, we were puzzled because no one wrote about booking with Calgary Tours nor their experiences with the agency so my dad and I just prayed that the experience won’t be bad.
From Vancouver, we rode a local plane to Calgary. Part of the tour offered airport pick up and drop off services so we were very happy about that part.
DAY 1
Calgary Tours gave us the whole day to explore Calgary or to join their optional tours. We chose to explore Calgary. Since the hotel that was booked for us was close to the airport, the only mode of transportation was booking a cab. Thank goodness the driver who picked us up at the airport told us that Calgary has Uber services! Uber was our saviour that day.
The hotel that was booked for us was Ramada Plaza & Conf Center by Wyndham Calgary Airport (I think the shorter version is Ramada Airport Hotel). The room of the hotel was a bit old but since we were just staying for a night, my dad and I didn’t mind.
With much time to kill during our first day, we went to explore downtown Calgary!
DAY 2
We had the earliest call time during the next day because we had to pick up the other people who joined the tour.
The order of places we went to for day 2 was:
- Bow Falls
- Banff Sulphur Mt Gondola
- Banff Town (for lunch)
- Surprise Corner
- Banff Hot Springs
- Banff Town (check in at hotel)
Before I share how the places look, I’ll start with where we stayed just like what I did for day 1.
The hotel that was booked for us at Banff was Banff Aspen Lodge.
Sharing with you some photos of the places we went to by order.
Bow Falls
Banff Sulphur Gondola
You have an option of riding the gondola up the mountains or not. Since we’re staying there for an hour and a half, my dad and I decided to ride the gondola.
Banff Town
Surprise Corner
Banff Hot Springs
DAY 3
For day 3, this was the order of where we went to:
- Lake Louise (we did snowshoeing here)
- Lake Louise Town (for lunch)
**wasn’t able to take a photo of town sorry! it was smaller than Banff Town** - YOHO National Park
- Emerald Lake
- Natural Bridge
I’ll start with where we stayed for day 2.
The hotel that was booked for us at Lake Louise was Lake Louse Inn.
Lake Louise
Emerald Lake
Natural Bridge
DAY 4
For day 3, this was the order of where we went to:
- Lake Louise Ski Resort (Tuber/Sightseeing Gondola)
*you’ll have lunch inside the resort, the chili cheese dog and cheese pizza was good! - Johnston Canyon
- Lake Minnewanka
No hotels for day 4 since we were flying back to Vancouver that day.
Lake Louise Ski Resort
(Wish I was able to ski here! Time was too short 😭)
Johnston Canyon
Lake Minnewanka
all photos taken using an iPhone / Fujifilm X-A3 18-55 mm
Final review:
My dad and I had fun even if all the people we were with were Chinese people. Most of them were from mainland China but are residing in Canada.
They weren’t the unruly or the noisy type. We got lucky with our group. They were on punctual with time so we did not have any delays during the tour. We just wished breakfast was included in the payment.
My dad and I did not get the “group meal” option for the tour since we wanted to explore on our own and from experience of joining a tour with other people, we didn’t usually like the food.
Will I recommend booking with them? Yes if you don’t mind having people from mainland China as your tour buddies!
Here’s the direct link of the tour package we got from Calgary Tours:
I can’t wait to be back to explore the Rockies during Spring and/or Autumn season! I’m sure it will be as breathtaking as Winter season.
Watch my Canada + USA Travel Film!
💚, R
Read about my other Canada adventures