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.

https://www.rockymountaineer.com/routes_destinations

Here you go............

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.

My advice to people planning something like this is to avoid the Rocky Mountaineer and simply buy a normal train ticket. The RM is quite frankly a tourist trap rip-off in my opinion.

Personally, I would drive as you can stop and go as you please along the way. I would suggest checking the 'drop off charge' for a rental car from Vancouver and then compare that, the rental cost itself, fuel, meals, etc. to see what difference if any there is in overall cost if that is a consideration at all.

The biggest advantage to the Rocky Mountaineer is that it stops overnight and you sleep at a hotel, so you don't pass anything in the night. However, in June/July daylight hours are very long so not much is really "missed" on Via. If comparing Via sleeper cabins - which IMO should be viewed as the absolute minimum class of travel for this journey - to RM, the pricing is fairly similar. Via is $1200-1500 depending on the type of cabin and it looks like RM starts at $1500 (although that is for a seat with overnight in a hotel).

That was also my impression re: the Rocky Mountaineer, so leaning towards the VIA options at this point. We did consider driving and are generally a BIG fan of taking that approach. But we would have just come back from a longer trip that will require countless hours of driving, so we will be in desperate need of a driving break.

I'd like to give you some advice, but I did Edmonton-Jasper-Vancouver in May 1973 so my advice is probably not so good But it was a spectacular trip. My brothers and I still talk about.

I would also suggest driving.

we tried to book the Rocky Mountaineer a few years ago, it was sold out so we ended up going by road from Calgary to Jasper, Quite a trip but the big surprise was when we arrived in Jasper we discovered the train used the same hotel we stayed in. Best Western actually which was quite nice , not as good as Lake Louise Fairmont but OK for one night.

I've never booked the Rocky Mountaineer, but my understanding is when it comes to hotels you have a "Bronze / Silver / Gold" option.

Presumably the best western was not the "Gold" choice.

Best Western in Jasper is actually pretty nice, though obviously not a luxury property.

At the time of booking it was the best of what was available. The rooms were like a mini apartment, lounge with kitchenette and breakfast bar and behind the kitchenette was the double bed. All very clean. The restaurant attached was pretty good as well.

If I was in Jasper I would stay there again.

We're going back to Calgary for new year.

I recommend driving. You may rent one way from Vancouver to Calgary and fly out of Calgary. If you chose the train, Via's Candian would be my second choice and you definitely need to purchase some minimal sleeping accommodations. RM is a tourist trap as many have mentioned.