Vancouver to Calgary Rockies bus tour: 4-day guided journey

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1/7

Duration4d

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Mount Robson to Moraine Lake: the Icefield Parkway in four days

A four-day guided bus tour departing Vancouver and ending in Calgary, traveling through Jasper and Banff National Parks with three nights of hotel accommodation, park passes and a tour director. The itinerary moves you through the Canadian Rockies' most photographed stops—Maligne Canyon, the Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake, Johnston Canyon and Moraine Lake—with time built in to walk trails, ride the Sulphur Mountain gondola and paddle Lake Louise by canoe. Hotels in Jasper and Banff towns let you explore local restaurants and shops between days of travel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Vancouver To Jasper

Stop at Hope for wood carvings
Lunch in Kamloops
Coffee break in Clearwater
View Mount Robson in park

Day 2 — Jasper to Banff via Icefield Parkway

Walk Maligne Canyon trails
Explore Jasper town
Visit Nashville Riverfront Park
Ice Explorer tour on Athabasca Glacier
Visit Peyto Lake viewpoint

Day 3 — Banff National Park and Lake Louise

Gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain
Walk Johnston Canyon catwalks
Lunch at Lake Louise Village
Canoe ride on Lake Louise
Hike interpretive trail at Moraine Lake

Day 4 — Banff to Calgary Transfer

Transfer to Calgary downtown or airport

The Experience

The tour leaves Vancouver and heads east through Hope, known for its chainsaw wood carvings, then Kamloops and Clearwater before arriving at Mount Robson Provincial Park. At 3,954 metres, Mount Robson is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies and marks your entry into the landscape you'll spend the next two days crossing. You stay overnight in Jasper, positioned at the northern end of the Icefield Parkway.

Day two follows the Icefield Parkway south toward Banff. You walk Maligne Canyon, where waterfalls have carved potholes and brief canyon formations into limestone, then stop at the Columbia Icefields to join an Ice Explorer tour of the Athabasca Glacier—you walk on the glacier itself and drink its meltwater. Peyto Lake, a turquoise alpine lake ringed by the Waputik Mountains, comes next, its color fed by glacial silt. The day ends in Banff, where you can walk the town's galleries and restaurants.

Day three is split between Banff and Lake Louise. You ride the Sulphur Mountain gondola for views across the Bow Valley and six mountain ranges, then walk Johnston Canyon's catwalks to the Lower and Upper Falls. After lunch at Lake Louise Village, you canoe the lake itself—the Fairmont Chateau and Victoria Glacier rise behind you—and finish at Moraine Lake, where an interpretive trail climbs the natural moraine dam for views across the Ten Peaks. Moraine Lake is open June through September. You stay a second night in Banff.

The final morning is a transfer to Calgary, with drop-off options at downtown Calgary or the airport. The tour includes the National Park Pass, so entry fees are settled; a tour director travels with the group and speaks English throughout. Optional activities—the Glacier Skywalk, the Banff Gondola, or the Ice Explorer tour—can be added at checkout.

What’s included

Four-day deluxe coach tour with a tour director.
three nights of hotel accommodation in Jasper and Banff.
National Park Pass covering all park entry.
Rocky Mountain information package.
taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Key West Travel & Tours

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to see the Icefield Parkway's major stops—glaciers, canyons, alpine lakes—without navigating the mountain roads yourself or planning which sites to visit each day. The fixed itinerary and included transport mean the route holds together, and staying in Jasper and Banff towns gives you flexibility to explore on foot after the day's activities end.