• 8 Breakfast (B)
• 3 Dinner (D)
• 3 Lunch (L)

• Visit Banff National Park • Lake Louise • Jasper National Park • Moraine Lake • Icefields Parkway scenic drive • Maligne Lake • Sunwapta Falls • Athabasca Falls

• Icefields Parkway: Enjoy an after-hours visit to the amazing Glacier Skywalk. Step onto the cliff-edged, glass-floored walkway rising 918 ft (280 meters) above the Sunwapta Valley offering sweeping views of the valley and Columbia Icefield.
• Icefields Parkway: Enjoy an evening reception at the Glacier View Lodge. After dinner, step out onto the viewing deck and marvel at the evening sky, relax with a drink in the library or hang out inside the Moraine Lounge.
• Icefields Parkway: Take a seat in a specially designed Ice Explorer for a visit onto the Athabasca Glacier before other travellers arrive. Follow your Local Expert as you stroll on its icy surface and experience the enormous glaciers up close. 

Insight Vacations

• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• Premium regional accommodation and overnight train
• Business class coach with extended leg room, and train travel

Travel the Icefields Parkway through 232 kilometres of glacier-carved valleys, turquoise lakes and steep Rocky Mountain peaks. The scenic route links the Banff and Jasper regions, with views that make the journey an experience in its own right.

Look out for the Columbia Icefield, part of a rare watershed whose meltwater reaches the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Ancient ice, exposed rock and alpine forest reveal the forces still shaping this landscape.

Cruise Maligne Lake aboard a narrated boat journey through Jasper National Park, passing forested shores and jagged mountain peaks. The route offers views of Spirit Island, the small, tree-covered island reached by boat.

Glacier-fed water and shifting mountain light give the lake its distinctive colour and atmosphere. Your guide’s commentary adds context to the surrounding wilderness. This included cruise is seasonal and operates when lake conditions permit.

Visit Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park and watch the Athabasca River surge through a narrow limestone gorge. Viewpoints offer opportunities to see the force of the water and photograph the sculpted rock around it.

The falls are known less for their height than for the volume of water driven through the constricted channel. The thunder of the river provides a striking contrast to the quieter lakes and forests of the Rockies.

Gather for an evening reception at Glacier View Lodge, overlooking the Columbia Icefield. Enjoy a welcome drink and nibbles in a setting where glacier views take centre stage.

The lodge’s high-altitude position offers a chance to appreciate the scale of the icefield beyond a brief roadside stop. Step onto the viewing deck to take in evening light over the glaciers, or settle into the lodge’s shared spaces as the mountain landscape grows quiet.

Step onto the glass-floored Columbia Icefield Skywalk during an after-hours visit. The cliff-edge walkway extends above the Sunwapta Valley, opening views across the valley and surrounding mountain terrain.

Look down through the glass and out towards a landscape shaped by glaciers and flowing water. The quieter evening access makes it easier to pause at this dramatic viewpoint and absorb the scale of the Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Dine at Altitude Restaurant with views towards the Columbia Icefield. The included Canadian-inspired dinner features locally sourced ingredients, making the meal a chance to experience regional flavours alongside one of Alberta’s most distinctive landscapes.

From the restaurant, take in ancient ice framed by mountain ranges while enjoying a drink and conversation. The glacier-view setting, rather than the meal alone, makes this a memorable part of the icefield experience.

Board a specially designed Ice Explorer onto the Athabasca Glacier as part of a before-hours Columbia Icefield Adventure. Step onto the ice with a Local Expert and experience its immense scale up close, before the usual crowds arrive.

The glacier is an accessible outlet of the Columbia Icefield and a visible reminder of the forces that carved the Rockies. Early access on the ice allows more space to take in its textures, surroundings and geological story.

Explore two distinctive sights in Yoho National Park: the Lower Spiral Tunnels and, when accessible, Takakkaw Falls. View the railway engineering that helped trains negotiate the steep mountain grade, and see water plunge down a towering rock face.

Completed in the early 20th century, the Spiral Tunnels changed rail travel through the Rockies. Takakkaw Falls, viewed seasonally, brings a different sense of scale to the landscape with its glacier-fed cascade.

Pause for photographs at Moraine Lake when seasonal access allows, and admire the mountain setting of Lake Louise. At Lake Louise, look across turquoise water towards the rugged peaks and Victoria Glacier.

These celebrated Banff National Park viewpoints show how glacial sediment can give alpine lakes their vivid colour. Their character changes with the weather and light, from sharp reflections on calm water to clouds gathering around the peaks.

Enjoy an included lunch at Fairmont Château Lake Louise, the landmark hotel beside one of Canada’s most recognisable alpine lakes. Its lakeside setting gives the meal a view of the surrounding peaks and Victoria Glacier.

The hotel has long been associated with visitors drawn to the Canadian Rockies. Dining here offers time to appreciate the Lake Louise mountain panorama from a different perspective, with the shoreline and glacier forming the backdrop to your table.

Take a scenic exploration of Banff National Park, visiting the hoodoos and Surprise Corner. See the slender, naturally eroded rock formations and stop for a view towards the Bow River and Fairmont Banff Springs.

These viewpoints bring together two sides of Banff: the geological processes that shape its valleys and the mountain-hotel heritage of the town. Bring a camera for river, forest and peak views from the accessible overlooks.

Walk through Banff’s boreal forest with an Indigenous Local Expert and learn about traditional uses of local plants for food, healing and survival. Hear how knowledge of the land has been carried through generations and reflected in stories about wildlife.

This hosted experience offers an Indigenous perspective on the Rocky Mountain landscape, connecting familiar forest surroundings with cultural practices and ecological knowledge. Where included in the hosted programme, a tobacco smudging ceremony is shared with respect for its meaning.

Choose to visit the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff and explore its collections of artworks and artefacts. Exhibits consider the region’s peoples, cultures, environment and changing ideas about mountain life.

Founded by artists and philanthropists Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte, the museum offers cultural context for the landscapes outside its doors. This is an included Insight Choice alternative to the Fairmont Banff Springs history experience, rather than an additional-cost excursion.

Choose to explore the history of Fairmont Banff Springs with a hotel ambassador. Hear stories connected to the landmark hotel and its guests while learning how it became part of Banff’s identity.

Opened in 1888, the hotel is closely tied to the growth of tourism in the Canadian Rockies. Its Scottish baronial-inspired architecture provides a distinctive setting for this included Insight Choice, offered as an alternative to visiting the Whyte Museum.

Share a celebration dinner at Fairmont Banff Springs with your Travel Director and fellow travellers. The hosted gathering offers time to exchange impressions of the Rockies over a meal in one of Banff’s best-known landmark hotels.

With its Scottish baronial-inspired design and setting within the national park, the hotel has a character rooted in the region’s travel history. A menu highlighting regional Canadian ingredients connects the occasion to its Alberta surroundings.

Ride the Rocky Mountaineer from Banff to Vancouver on the rail portion shown in this itinerary. Travel by daylight through mountain passes, canyons, ranchlands and the changing landscapes of British Columbia, with an overnight stay in Kamloops.

Look out for the Spiral Tunnels and Rogers Pass, the historic last-spike site at Craigellachie, and Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon. Onboard service and meals accompany the views; the SilverLeaf or GoldLeaf service level depends on the option selected.

Choose an Athabasca River float trip in the Jasper area for a gentle, water-level view of the surrounding wilderness. Drift along the river and take in its forested banks and Rocky Mountain setting from a different perspective.

The Athabasca River is one of the defining waterways of Jasper National Park. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; availability and the precise route should be confirmed with your Travel Director.

Choose to ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain for elevated views over the Banff townsite, Bow Valley and surrounding peaks. The ascent offers an accessible way to see the scale of the national park from above.

At the summit, take time to look across the layered mountain ranges and changing alpine light. This optional gondola experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability and operating conditions.