Travel the Canadian Rockies by train

Canada’s Alberta and British Columbia provinces are some of my favorite places to visit in the world. The beauty in this area keeps me coming back again and again. This time I decided to see the Canadian Rockies by train via the Rocky Mountaineer. While I have been on many local trains before, I have never experienced a train ride quite like this one. Rocky Mountaineer is a luxurious train that offers 1st class travel for its passengers, and, for the most part, they were true to their word!

Unlike other rail companies, Rocky Mountaineer was created as a tourist train company, so its train is designed for this purpose. This is a luxury way to travel through the marvels of Canada. You sit back and relax as the hosts give you background of the country and its landscape. As of 2016 there are two “classes” of travel – Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. They used to have a Red Leaf class but that was discontinued. Here are some of the key differences between the two service classes:

1. Gold Leaf cars are bi-level. The passengers are seated on the upper level, and it has big rounded dome windows throughout for sightseeing. The lower level is the seated dining area, with table cloth dining service and also large windows for sightseeing. Silver Leaf cars are only one story high. You don’t have a separate dining area – food is delivered to your seat.
2. Gold Leaf cars have large viewing vestibules for seeing views in open air. The space in these vestibules allow a small group of people to gather in the area for unobstructed (no windows) views. Silver Leaf cars have smaller vestibules for viewing. The viewing area is an open window in the back of the car. The space is smaller so you can only fit about 2 people per side.
3. Gold Leaf service has gourmet ala carte meals served in the dining area (lower level) of the car. For snacks you get wine and cheese service. Silver Leaf service has hot entree options plated at your seat. Snacks include roasted nuts, trail mix, and chocolate mix.
4. Gold Leaf cars have more hosts and culinary team members to serve you during your trip.
5. Gold Leaf service has more premium accommodations overnight.

Regardless of service you pick, you will still get first class treatment. I signed up for “First Passage to the West” 2 day train journey from Banff to Vancouver (you can also choose to go from Vancouver to Banff), Silver Leaf Service. Despite picking Silver level, I still felt this was sufficient for feeling comfortable and well taken care of.

Check in at Banff Train Station

My journey began with a very friendly welcome at the Banff Train Station. Even though it was 7 in the morning, the scene at the train station was quite lively and festive. Upon arriving at the station, my mom and I were greeted with friendly staff who helped with our bags right away. We were escorted on the red carpet to the check in desk where the process was quick and informative. The staff member explained that our luggage will travel separately via truck (it’s literally a U-Haul truck) and will be delivered to our rooms that night. When we check out of the room that next morning, we would leave our bags in the room, and the bags will magically get to our final destination. They deliver to some hotels in Vancouver, so if you are staying in those hotels, you won’t even have to deal with your bags until you check into your hotel. The hotels they deliver to are: Georgian Court, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Four Seasons, Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown, Fairmont Waterfront, Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Sutton Place Hotel, Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel, and Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront.

The train station is a heritage train station in Banff, but it was remodeled recently, and it felt clean and new. There was a staff member helping with coffee and tea at the station, and there was also a musician playing a harp to help liven up the morning. While waiting for the train, a staff member made introductions and demonstrated the use of the old-school train “all aboard” whistle.

When the train came I was amazed at the grandeur of it all. The train was painted blue and gold, and it looked to at condition. During the boarding process, the staff rolled out red carpet at the entrance of each car and stood by a Canadian flag when checking our boarding passes. The Silver Leaf service cars are in the front, but I could see the taller domes of the bi-level Gold Leaf service cars in the back.

Inside the Train 

Since there is no overhead space on the train (they wanted to maximize the window space), we stored our carry on bags in front of us. Unlike airplanes you have plenty of leg room, so I did not feel uncomfortable at all having bags in front of me. There is a foot rest in front of me, but being 5’2, I could barely reach it with so much leg room, so I did not use it for my journey.

The train was separated into 9 cars or carriages. My Silver Leaf car had a total of 56 seats, and there are large windows and rounded dome windows throughout the car for scenery. Each seat area had two power outlets to charge your phones and cameras. It’s quite nice!

For Silver Leaf, there are two “hosts” and a chef assigned to each car to help take care of you during the journey. There is a small kitchen in the front of the car for the chef to prepare hot meals to be delivered to your seat for breakfast and lunch.

At the back of the car, there are 2 bathrooms with similar layouts to airplane bathrooms but with real flushing toilet (auto flush with wave of your hand) and more space. Each bathroom had the basic amenities like soap, toilet paper, and paper towels.

There is a “vestibule” (space between the cars with windows on the sides) at the very back of each car that allows you to get some fresh air and also take pictures without a window in the way.

Food

Breakfast is served in your seat. A drinks cart came by first offering coffee and tea to help us get the morning started. On the first day we had a first course of fruits and croissant and the main course of egg with mushrooms bacon and hash potato.   Alternatively you can also ask for yogurt parfait as a lighter option.

Before lunch a drinks cart came by offering local British Columbia red/white wine, local British Columbia beer (Whistler Powder Mountain Lager, Whistler pale ale, and Canadian Molson 67 beer, and your choice of liquors such as Johnny Walker Black, Baileys, Kettle vodka, Crown Royale, etc. Following the drinks cart we were served a light snack, which had a choice of chocolate mix, roasted almonds, or trail mix. I chose the chocolate mix. 🙂

For lunch, they came around with drinks cart again followed by first course (salad) and then drinks cart again. Then we have the main course which was either pork or chicken with risotto.

For dessert we had a delicious cheesecake topped with fruit.

A couple hours after lunch we were offered drinks and snacks (same as in the morning) again. Because our train was a bit delayed due to traffic they also offered us curry chicken from Gold Leaf as supper. All the food was plated in front of us by the chef in our car.

If you like to enjoy your drinks, you can get a total of 4 drinks during the day, although I am sure you can ask for more if you need more. However 4 drinks was quite sufficient for me for a relaxing day on the train!

Food service was similar on the second day, with some changes in the menu. For breakfast, we had fruit and scone as the first course and then omelet with tomato and sausage as the main course.

For lunch we started out with  tomato salad and warm bread as the first course. For the main course we had the option of either braised short ribs or fish.

To finish the meal off we had an indulgent chocolate cake for dessert.

The Journey

We saw spectacular sights throughout the journey. Given the unique landscape of West Canada, we were able to see a diverse landscape, from mountains to lakes to deserts to forests and rivers.

Our hosts were really good about adding in colorful commentary about what we would be seeing along the way. At key sights, the train would slow down a bit so you can take pictures.

We also saw lots of wildlife along the way. Our hosts were very good about pointing them out as they are spotted. Some of the wildlife we saw included 3 black bears (although I was only able to see 1), mountain sheep, deer, beaver, and eagles. There were many other kinds of birds in the air, so if you are a bird person you may want to consider bringing binoculars to see them better.

Planning the Trip

Since this was not a round trip journey, I had to work through some logistics to connect the dots on this trip. Here’s how I planned our 6-day trip:

Day 1: We flew one way to Calgary airport in Alberta. I rented a car from Avis at the airport and stayed by the airport that night.

Day 2: This was our free day to explore Banff. There are many things to see there, but since we have been there before, we took it easy and just went to a few places – Chateau Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon, and Banff Hot Springs. That night we stayed at a hotel in Banff and explored the town.

Day 3: Drove to the Avis office in Banff to drop off the car. Since our train was leaving so early in the morning, I had to drive to the nearby garage (by IGA) and do a key drop. The good thing about using Avis is that they do not charge a fee for one-way rental. Score! From the Avis garage it was a short 5-10 min walk to the Banff Train Station where our adventure began.

Day 4: Another day on the train. We ended up in Vancouver and stayed the night in downtown Vancouver.

Day 5: Spent the day exploring downtown Vancouver. In the evening we took the Skytrain from Waterfront Station to go to the Vancouver airport so we can rent a car for the next day. That night we stayed by the airport in Richmond.

Day 6: Spent the day sightseeing by car. Places we went to include Capilano River Hatchery, Cleveland Dam, and Deep Cove. After a late lunch we flew back on a one way ticket from Vancouver.

Conclusion

Taking the Rocky Mountaineer train was a unique experience from my past trips. With the first class service and the majestic views seen from the comfort of your seat on the train, it does leave quite an impression on you. If you are debating if you should take this train or drive, here are a few things for you to consider.

Pros

1. No driving needed. While you don’t have as much flexibility as you do when you drive, it is nice to kick back and relax on this journey and take in the scenery without worrying about keeping your eyes on the road. Also you can have as many drinks as you want without being irresponsible. You also don’t have to worry about gas stops or bathroom breaks.
2. Worry free traveling. From the moment you board the train to the moment you get off, everything is taken care for you. The luggage you check in is taken care of and delivered to your destination (i.e., your hotel room that night) without you lifting a finger. In the morning you leave your bags in your room and they will be picked up and delivered to your next destination, At your final destination they deliver bags to a number of hotels around town. If not you can claim your bag at the train station. Actually if you make additional travel arrangements with Rocky Mountaineer (they offer packages that include hotels, cars, cruises, etc.), they make your travels quite seamless for you. When you are aboard the train, they pamper you can just sit back and relax. Hot gourmet food is provided for you throughout the day, and drinks are served to your seat. You can also request blankets if you need them.
3. The train is built to maximize sightseeing. Each car has large windows, including dome windows at the top.
4. The seats are very roomy and comfortable. Even though you are sitting on the train for a good portion of the day, you will feel very comfortable with the large, comfortable seats and extra leg room and the wide aisle for you to walk around in. If you need a breath of fresh air you can also go to the vestibule in the back and take in the fresh air and the scenary outside.
5. The train goes by rail which takes you to some places where cars cannot access by road.

Cons

1. Given the luxury experience, the train ride is quite expensive when compared to driving. For the 2 day passage to the west journey, it costs $1,428 per person after taxes, which is pricey for only a 2 day trip.
2. Given the rail traffic and slower train speed, it takes longer to take the train than it does when you drive. To give you an idea, it took 10-11 hours to go from Banff to Kamloops (the overnight stop) and another 9-10 hours to go from Kamloops to Vancouver. If you drive, you can get from Banff to Kamloops in 5.5 hours and Kamloops to Vancouver in 3.5 hours.
3. You don’t have a lot of transportation options to/from the train stations in Vancouver and Banff. The train stations that Rocky Mountaineer boards at are almost run exclusively by Rocky Mountaineer. Because of this, the stations are not as busy as say, airports or main terminals. Thus, your main transportation option is probably the taxi when you are trying to get to/from the stations. This only applies if you did not book hotel or packages with the company since they will take care of transfers in that case.
4. Meal service takes a long time because the hosts would plate each dish for each passenger. I know we are supposed to sit back and relax on this trip, but if you are hungry, it would suck if you are one of the last to be served and the hosts are taking a long time serving the dishes.

Do you have other ideas on how to best see the Canadian Rockies? Leave a comment below or send me a note!