Originally Posted by
honores41
Thinking about flying into Vancouver in July and possibly taking a train to Jasper or Banff. It appears to be more expensive than flying (if choosing a sleeper); but is the experience worth it in the summer? Any recommendation as to which company we should use? We are planning on renting a car and visiting both parks - so either desitanion would work.
Yes and it's quite a trip. Banff and Jasper are two different routes. The Canadian on VIA goes to Kamloops through the Fraser Canyon and then to Jasper vs. through Revelstoke and Banff. The RM appears to follow the old Canadian route to Banff.
A lot of the value add are the views, the historical non-rushed train mentality, and tunnels are cool. WIth VIA you don't pay extra for stops as long as the train schedule works so you could stop in Kamloops for a couple days, and reboard and go on to Jasper. You can also drive to Banff in well under a day, it's only 300 km or so.
The Rocky Mountaineer looks great but to me it is really expensive. And looking at VIA they have something comparable called Prestige Class that looks as or even more expensive. Either might be a bit over the top and maybe aimed at train enthusiasts.
VIA is not the Orient Express but the bedrooms for one or two are nice, and I found the roomette (for one) a trifle small (Revelstoke to Vancouver) . Even for one person the bedroom for two makes more sense.
I used to live in Revelstoke and we'd travel to Calgary by VIA overnight, on the original Canadian route, vs. either driving or flying. Not that there was an airport where we lived anyway.
These routes even to Jasper are too long for no sleeper, even though the seats are better than coach airline seats. So check the costs vs. amenities, item to item, e.g. meals and drinks, too, and if you want to see both Jasper and Banff, and have a car, seeing both is easy regardless of choice.