Before you pick a Rockies tour
You already know you want the lakes and the mountains. These six facts set the shape of the trip.
- Calgary1 nightA welcome night in the city before the coach heads west.
- Lake Louiseday stopThe first stop in the mountains, on the drive north on day 2.
- Jasper2 nightsTwo nights in Jasper National Park, with a Maligne Lake cruise to Spirit Island.
- Athabasca Glacierday stopThe Columbia Icefield Adventure: an Ice Explorer ride onto the glacier.
- Banff3 nightsThree nights, including a day trip to Canmore for a hockey coaching session.
- Calgaryday 7A departure transfer for your flight home.
From Trafalgar’s own tour page, read October 26, 2026: from $2,795 per person for 2027, departures from May 10. Trafalgar doesn’t name the hotels, so ask whether the Jasper nights are in town.
Four ways to move between the same three towns
You’ll see the same peaks whichever way you travel. The difference is who drives, who plans and how much you pay for the seat.
Guided coach tours
A tour director, a coach and hotels booked in each base. You see the parks from the road and the stops, without driving the mountain highways yourself.
- The widest choice: Trafalgar, Globus, Cosmos, Collette and Tauck all run them
- Group size runs from 12 (Intrepid, G Adventures) to an average of 45 (Trafalgar)
- Hotels and sightseeing included; lunches and tips mostly aren’t
Rocky Mountaineer
A scenic train that runs by day only, so you sleep in a hotel in Kamloops on the two-day routes. Breakfast, lunch and drinks are served on board.
- First Passage to the West goes to Banff and Lake Louise; Journey through the Clouds to Jasper
- Rail days run roughly 10 to 13 hours, leaving at 8:00am
- Trafalgar, Globus, Cosmos and Collette sell it as part of their tours
Small-group and camping trips
A van instead of a coach and a local leader instead of a tour director. Hotels on G Adventures’ Classic trip and Intrepid’s Comfort trip; tents on G Adventures’ 18-to-39 trip.
- G Adventures’ 14-day camping trip is for ages 18 to 39 and includes park fees
- Intrepid also runs an 8-day hiking trip, from $2,345
- More walking, fewer included meals
Driving yourself
Fly into Calgary or Vancouver, rent a car and book your own hotels. Nobody pays for a guide or a train seat, so it’s the leanest way in.
- You buy the Parks Canada pass and every hotel night
- Lake Louise and Moraine Lake have a Parks Canada shuttle, CA$12.75 per adult plus a booking fee
- All of the planning is yours; see our self-guided guide
| Item | Coach tour | Rocky Mountaineer | Small group | Self-drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per day | About $220–$975 | Highest | From about $200 | Usually lowest |
| Who plans | Almost everything | Train, Kamloops hotel, transfers | Most of it | You |
| Meals | Breakfast, some dinners | Breakfast and lunch on board | Varies; camping trips include most | Your own |
| Park pass | Ask | Not in rail-only fare | Included on G Adventures camping | You buy it |
| Freedom | Fixed schedule, some free time | Fixed train times | More free time | Total |
| Best for | First-timers who want it handled | The ride itself | Walkers and solo travelers | Hikers and repeat visitors |
Who runs Rockies tours in 2027
Eight companies with dated 2027 Rockies trips. The big coach brands start in Calgary; the train starts in Vancouver.
Trafalgar runs the 7-day Canada’s Rockies from Calgary, from $2,795 for 2027, with breakfast daily and two dinners. Its Canada page also lists a 9-day Wonders of the Canadian Rockies in its Saver tier and an 8-day Spectacular Rockies and Glaciers of Alberta in Premium; confirm the year on any quote.
Globus runs the 11-day Majestic Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary, from $4,784 on a May 2027 date, with Whistler, Butchart Gardens, the Banff Gondola and a Maligne Lake cruise. Cosmos, its budget sister brand, runs the 10-day Heart of the Canadian Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver, from about $2,350 on a May 2027 sale date, and a 13-day Canadian Rockies loop from Vancouver.
Tauck runs the 8-day Best of the Canadian Rockies from $7,790 for 2027: two nights each at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge and Banff Springs, with helicopter flightseeing. Small Group (about 24) and Even Smaller Group (about 15) versions run too.
Collette runs a 7-day coach loop from Calgary into Glacier National Park, and an 8-day tour with Rocky Mountaineer.
G Adventures and Intrepid cap their Rockies groups at 12. G Adventures’ 8-day Canadian Rockies Express uses 3-star hotels, from $2,999; Intrepid’s 7-day Classic Canadian Rockies includes six breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners, from $4,295.
Rocky Mountaineer owns the train and sells rail-only seats and packages. New for 2027, Rockies Refined runs 10 days in GoldLeaf with guaranteed Fairmont Gold rooms. Two routes have changed: Rainforest to Gold Rush likely ran its last season in 2026, and the Banff–Jasper Passage to the Peaks ran only in summer 2026.
Ten 2027 Rockies trips, shortest first
Ten real departures, two currencies kept apart. Read the days and group columns before the price.
| Tour (2027) | Days | Route | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar Canada’s Rockies | 7 | Calgary round trip | Average 45 | $2,795 |
| Collette Canadian Rockies & Glacier National Park | 7 | Calgary round trip, via Montana | Not published | $3,899* |
| Intrepid Classic Canadian Rockies | 7 | Calgary round trip | Max 12 | $4,295 |
| G Adventures Canadian Rockies Express | 8 | Calgary → Vancouver | Max 12 | $2,999 |
| Tauck Best of the Canadian Rockies | 8 | Lake Louise, Jasper, Banff (Fairmonts) | Classic, or avg 24 / 15 | $7,790 |
| Collette Canadian Rockies Featuring Rocky Mountaineer | 8 | Vancouver → Calgary | Not published | $8,199* |
| Cosmos Heart of the Canadian Rockies | 10 | Calgary → Vancouver | Not published | $2,609 (sale from ~$2,350) |
| Globus Majestic Rockies | 11 | Vancouver → Calgary | Not published | $4,784 |
| Cosmos Canadian Rockies | 13 | Vancouver round trip | Not published | $2,859 (sale from $2,601) |
| G Adventures National Parks Eastbound (camping, 18–39) | 14 | Vancouver → Calgary | Max 12 | $2,749 |
US dollars per person, sharing, land only, from each operator’s own 2027 tour page on October 26, 2026. *Collette figures are a reseller’s 2027 listing. Sale fares move week to week. Rocky Mountaineer’s rail fares are in the next section, in Canadian dollars.
April trains, summer coaches, a September peak
Operators publish seasons and prices, not crowd or weather figures, so that’s what we show. The train’s price ladder is the clearest guide to demand.
Spring: the cheapest train, the first tours
Rocky Mountaineer opens its 2027 First Passage season on April 12 at its lowest fares. Coach tours follow: Cosmos has an April 23 departure, Globus May 9, Trafalgar May 10.
- May rail fares rise to CA$2,929 in SilverLeaf
- G Adventures and Intrepid start their 2027 Rockies trips in late May
- Ask what’s open in the mountains on your exact dates
Summer: everything runs
Every operator on this page runs summer departures, and Collette’s Rocky Mountaineer tour runs June to August only. Train fares sit at their summer level all three months.
- The widest choice of tours and dates
- Book hotels early if you’re driving
- GoldLeaf runs CA$4,099 in summer
September: the priciest train
September carries the highest Rocky Mountaineer fares of the year. Trafalgar’s Canada’s Rockies runs to September 20, and Tauck, Collette and G Adventures run September departures too.
- GoldLeaf peaks at CA$4,219
- The last month for most guided departures
- Worth it if September is your window anyway
October: the short tail
Rocky Mountaineer runs into early October, with SilverLeaf back down to CA$2,909. Guided coach departures are thin by then.
- Rail only, or self-drive
- Ask us which guided tours still run
- Confirm hotel and road openings for your dates
Rates from an authorized reseller; Rocky Mountaineer has a worldwide no-discount policy on rail-only fares. Includes one Kamloops hotel night; GST extra.
What a Rockies week costs, all in
The cheapest day rate isn’t the cheapest trip. Price the meals, the tips and the extras, then compare.
Regular from-prices in US dollars divided by days. Rocky Mountaineer rail-only runs roughly CA$1,485 a day in SilverLeaf and CA$2,050 in GoldLeaf in summer, for the two train days.
All-in math
What a Rockies coach week really costs
Our starting figures are Trafalgar’s 7-day Canada’s Rockies and the midpoints of Trafalgar’s own tip guidance. Change them to match your quote.
Trafalgar’s tour includes 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners. For scale, G Adventures suggests a US$330–430 budget for the meals its 8-day trip leaves out. Flights, insurance and extra hotel nights aren’t in this total.
A cheap day rate usually means a bigger group and more meals on your own. Tauck’s figure folds in Fairmont rooms and helicopter flightseeing; Cosmos lists its Banff helicopter flight as an optional extra.
On a rail-only ticket you still pay for Vancouver and Banff hotels, airport transfers, most meals and the park pass. Add those before you compare it with a coach tour that includes them.
A week from Calgary, more from Vancouver
Shorter than Europe, longer than a weekend. Start with the city you fly into.
Seven days covers Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper from Calgary. Trafalgar, Collette and Intrepid all run 7-day tours, and it’s the minimum we’d plan.
Eight to eleven days lets you start or finish in Vancouver, by road or by train. Cosmos, Globus and G Adventures run that shape.
Longer tours, from about 11 days, add Whistler and Victoria’s Butchart Gardens, or an Alaska cruise.
A day on tour: Trafalgar Canada’s Rockies, day 4
Leave Jasper
The coach heads south out of Jasper National Park on the Icefields Parkway.
Athabasca Glacier
The included Columbia Icefield Adventure: an Ice Explorer ride out onto the glacier.
On to Banff
The rest of the parkway south to Banff National Park.
First Banff night
The first of three nights in Banff, with a day trip to Canmore still to come.
Matcher
Which Rockies trip fits you?
Four taps. We rank fifteen real 2027 options on how you travel, how long, budget per day and group size.
Rockies plus an Alaska cruise
If you’re flying across the continent for one big trip, this is the combination to price first. Plan on about two and a half weeks.
Vancouver is the hinge. It’s where Rocky Mountaineer starts and where many Alaska cruises sail from, so the two pair naturally.
Two guided versions for 2027 run Calgary to Vancouver and end on a ship. Cosmos’s 16-day Western Canada by Rail with Alaska Cruise rides Rocky Mountaineer from Jasper, from $6,334. Globus’s 17-day Great Resorts of the Canadian Rockies stays at three Fairmonts, rides SilverLeaf and sails a 7-day Holland America cruise, from $9,733.
Holland America, Princess and Oceania sell their own rail-and-sea packages. One Holland America package we read adds hotel nights in Calgary, Banff, Kamloops and Vancouver.
Our Alaska cruisetours guide covers the Denali side, and our Vancouver port guide covers the cruise terminal.
Passports, park passes, tips and money
The small print on a Rockies trip is mostly money that isn’t in the fare. Run through it once.
Passport. US citizens can enter Canada with a valid passport, passport card or NEXUS card, but flying back into the US takes a passport book or another approved ID, per the State Department. Bring the book. Its Canada advisory is Level 1, “Exercise normal precautions” (issued June 5, 2026).
Park pass. Banff charges CA$12.25 per adult per day, CA$10.75 for seniors and nothing for anyone 17 or under. The Discovery Pass, CA$83.50 per adult, covers more than 80 Parks Canada places for 12 months. A summer 2026 free-admission offer ended September 7, 2026.
Tips. Trafalgar suggests $5–7 a day for its tour director and $3–5 for the driver. Collette leaves its tour manager’s and driver’s tips to you. Restaurants in North America expect about 15–20%.
Clocks and money. Calgary and Banff run one hour behind Texas and two behind Florida; Vancouver is one more hour back. Canada uses the Canadian dollar, and Rocky Mountaineer adds GST to its fares.
Flights. Calgary is the gateway for most coach tours; Vancouver for the train. Tours that run Vancouver to Calgary need an open-jaw ticket. Houston Bush and Dallas/Fort Worth fly nonstop to Vancouver; Florida travelers connect. Fly in the day before.
Before you book
Before you pay a deposit, read our guide to booking windows and insurance.
Who each style suits
Pick this if
- You want it handled on a first visit: Trafalgar, Globus or Cosmos by coach
- You want Fairmonts and smaller groups, and will pay for them: Tauck
- You’re solo, or want a group of 12: G Adventures or Intrepid
- You want the train for the ride itself: Rocky Mountaineer
- You’re already flying to Vancouver for an Alaska cruise: add the Rockies before it
Look elsewhere if
- You want the train as transport; a flight to Calgary is far quicker
- You hate full coaches; Trafalgar’s Rockies tour averages 45 people
- You want included lunches; most tours leave them out
- You hate mountain driving; skip self-drive
- You can only travel in October; guided departures are thin
Our take
The Rockies are easy to plan and easy to overspend on. For a first trip, a 7- to 10-day coach tour from Calgary does the job, and Cosmos and Trafalgar are the value end of it for 2027.
Rocky Mountaineer is worth it as an experience, not as a way to get somewhere. Ride it once, in the month and service level you can justify.
If you’re crossing the country for it, price the Alaska pairing before you settle on a Rockies-only week.
Where to go from here: the operators and the train
Free · No obligation
Want the Rockies priced three ways?
Tell us your dates and how you’d like to travel. We’ll price a coach tour, a small-group trip and a Rocky Mountaineer or Alaska pairing side by side, in US dollars.
Prefer to book the extras yourself?
Hotels, day trips and flights around the tour
Hotel nights before and after
Arriving a day early gives you a buffer if a flight runs late, and most people add a night when the tour ends.
Your free days
The days either side of the tour are yours. Day trips and tickets for the start and end cities:
Getting there and around
Fly into one city and home from another when the tour is one-way.
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What Rockies first-timers ask us
How many days do you need for the Canadian Rockies?
About a week on the ground for Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. Trafalgar, Collette and Intrepid all run 7-day tours from Calgary for 2027. Add two days if you ride Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver, and about a week more for an Alaska cruise.
When is the Canadian Rockies season?
Rocky Mountaineer’s 2027 First Passage to the West trains run April 12 to October 8. Guided tours start earlier than many people expect: Cosmos has an April 23, 2027 departure, Globus May 9 and Trafalgar May 10. Most run through September. Rail fares are lowest in April and highest in September.
How much does a Canadian Rockies tour cost?
On the operators’ own 2027 pages, guided tours start from about $2,350 for Cosmos’s 10-day Heart of the Canadian Rockies on a sale date, $2,795 for Trafalgar’s 7-day Canada’s Rockies, and $7,790 for Tauck’s 8-day Best of the Canadian Rockies. Rocky Mountaineer’s two-day train alone runs CA$2,399 to CA$4,219 per person in 2027. Flights are extra.
Do I need a park pass for Banff and Jasper?
Yes, to stop in the national parks. Parks Canada charges CA$12.25 per adult per day at Banff, CA$10.75 for seniors, and nothing for anyone 17 or under. Its Discovery Pass costs CA$83.50 per adult and covers more than 80 places for 12 months. Ask whether your tour includes admission; G Adventures says its camping trip does, and Rocky Mountaineer’s rail-only fare doesn’t.
Do US citizens need a passport for the Canadian Rockies?
You can enter Canada with a valid US passport, passport card or NEXUS card, but flying back into the US from Canada takes a passport book or another approved ID. In practice, bring the passport book. The State Department rates Canada Level 1, “Exercise normal precautions” (advisory issued June 5, 2026).
Is Rocky Mountaineer worth it?
It’s a daylight scenic train with meals and drinks, not transport. You trade a one-hour flight for two days of scenery, a night in Kamloops at a moderate hotel, and a fare of roughly CA$1,200 to CA$2,100 per person per day. Pick it for the ride itself.
Can I combine the Canadian Rockies with an Alaska cruise?
Yes. Cosmos sells a 16-day Western Canada by Rail with Alaska Cruise from $6,334 for 2027, and Globus a 17-day Great Resorts of the Canadian Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer and a Holland America cruise from $9,733. Holland America, Princess and Oceania sell their own rail-and-sea packages too.
Which Rockies tour is best for solo travelers?
G Adventures and Intrepid both pair solo travelers with a same-gender roommate at the twin-share price on most trips, in groups of 12 or fewer on the Rockies trips we read. Trafalgar offers the same roommate matching on nearly all of its solo-friendly tours. Ask for the single-room price if you want your own room.
Sources · 35 links · checked October 2026
- Trafalgar: Canada’s Rockies, 7 days (2027)
- Trafalgar: Canada vacations (tour list)
- RACQ Travel: Trafalgar Canada’s Rockies, May 10 to Sept 20, 2027 departures
- Trafalgar: Tipping on a Trafalgar tour
- Trafalgar: Solo travel
- Globus: Majestic Rockies (2027)
- Globus: Great Resorts of the Canadian Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska Cruise (2027)
- Cosmos: Heart of the Canadian Rockies (2027)
- Cosmos: Canadian Rockies (2027)
- Cosmos: Western Canada by Rail with Alaska Cruise (2027)
- Tauck: Best of the Canadian Rockies (2027)
- Tauck: Small group journeys
- G Adventures: Canadian Rockies Express (2027)
- G Adventures: Canadian Rockies, National Parks Eastbound (2027)
- G Adventures: Solo travel
- Intrepid Travel: Canadian Rockies tours (2026/2027)
- Intrepid Travel: Classic Canadian Rockies
- Intrepid Travel: FAQ (solo rooming)
- Global Journeys: Collette Classic tours (Canadian Rockies listings, 2027)
- Collette: Private group tours (exclusions)
- Rocky Mountain Holidays: First Passage to the West, 2026–27 rates and inclusions
- Canadian Train Vacations: Rocky Mountaineer routes and service levels
- Canadian Train Vacations: Rocky Mountaineer cost
- Global Journeys: Rocky Mountaineer packages
- Rocky Mountaineer: Train schedule
- Rocky Mountaineer: 2023 terms and conditions
- Railfan: Rocky Mountaineer to end run on former BC Rail
- TravelPulse: Passage to the Peaks route (2026)
- eGlobal Travel Media: Rockies Refined for 2027
- TravelAwaits: Is Rocky Mountaineer worth the cost?
- ROL Cruise: Holland America 2027 Alaska & Canadian Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer
- Parks Canada: Banff National Park fees
- Parks Canada: Passes, permits and fees
- U.S. State Department: Canada travel advisory (issued June 5, 2026)
- Insight Vacations: On your trip (restaurant tipping in North America)