If you can swing it fly into Calgary or Vancouver and drive to the other city through the mountains. Oh they are spectacular.

Another option is to fly from Toronto to Kelowna BC. AC has a direct flight in the summer (for now) and a random ticket with Sat night stay came out to $571 CDN including taxes.

Kelowna is right in the heart of the Okanogan Valley and is wonderful.

If you are able to, I recommend driving from there to Calgary through the peaks of the Rockies. It is a site that everyone should experience in their lifetime. It is only a 1 day drive (about 8 to 9 hours) to Calgary from there. You can even just stop in Banff if you can't make it to Calgary. That will save you about 1 1/2 hours driving each way.

As for WestJet. they are fine airline as said earlier on. You can fly to either Calgary, Kelowna or Vancouver. Kelowna will require a connection in Calgary. The good news with WestJet is that all fares are one way so you can fly in and out of different airports without penalties. Also they have been around for a quite a while now and are very reputable (and profitable) so they no need to worry about them going under before your trip.

The seat pitch tends to be a bit less than on AC and as said they don't serve meals or provide movies or audio channels on your flight.

I visited Calgary once too many times with my old job out of Toronto and quit to move here. I fly into Kelowna every 6 weeks for work (don't have time to drive it anymore ).

A nice side trip from Banff is to drive up Glacier National Park where the mountains are indescribable. You can also take a tour on a glacier even in the summer.

I don't check in here too often but if you would like any further advice feel free to drop me an email or come by the Air Canada forum. We talk about everything Canadian there there is someone there asking about accommodations in Banff that is getting responses.

Have a great trip and I hope that you enjoy Canada

[This message has been edited by cattle (edited 05-16-2003).]