Gateway Cities to Banff National Park – Vancouver

Experience Canadian Rockies Cities From Calgary to Vancouver

If you drive exactly 10km over the speed limit and don’t stop at all for a break, you can drive straight from Vancouver to Banff National Park in 9 hours. The downside of this is probably death from exhaustion. Calgary is the closest gateway town to Banff and the Rockies’ but if you have the time, I always recommend flying to Vancouver and renting a car. Vancouver is a really stunning city. It is consistently voted in the top 5 most liveable cities in the world and during summer particularly, there are few better places in the world to be.

Vancouver has a mix that very few other cities can offer. It has gorgeous beaches, surrounding mountains, a beautifully designed city centre with sparkling buildings, a laid back attitude, cheap and delicious pizzas and some of the friendliest people in the world. It has some of the finest dining options you will find in North America, unique cafes, great outdoor pubs, constant live music and sports. It is very different to Banff and even Calgary and is a great way to start your trip to the Canadian Rockies.

Depending on your budget, there are a few options to get you from the beautiful city of Vancouver to the beautiful town of Banff. You can catch a train that will take you to either Banff or Jasper. These trips can take anything from 2 days to a week and it is a superb way to enter the real Rockies’. If you are going to drive, leave very early in the morning so you can stop as often as you like and take pictures of the many beautiful sights you will see on the way. There are some really nice towns such as Kamloops, Kelowna and Golden that you can stay the night in to break the trip up before you reach Banff.