:gasp: A non-Disney Vacation? Airport Question

[debster812]

Hi Folks! Hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

DH and I spent 2 fabulous weeks in the Canadian Rockies, BC, and Seattle about 5 years ago. That time we flew into Seattle, drove to Banff, did Banff Nat'l Park, Jasper, Lake Louise, etc. The drive was not a ton of fun, but on the way back, we went to Vancouver Island, to a town called Tofino, and it was just majestic. But...I digress

This time, we would probably want to skip the 10+ hour drive, and fly into somewhere closer to Banff, etc. Please forgive my lack of geographic knowledge, but how far from Banff, Jasper, etc is Edmonton? Or Alberta? The flights into Edmonton from Boston seem a bit better. (I'd rather connect through Toronto instead of Seattle ).

So, any tips, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Debbie

 

[E.Jane]

I believe Jasper and Banff are at least a couple hundred KM from Edmonton. I think Calgary is closer to Banff, but not exactly sure. Try mapquest.com

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

Hi Debbie! I did a double take seeing you here on the Canadian Board, I thought I was on the Community Board, LOL. Great seeing you over here!

I'm from Manitoba and have only been out west once, when I was about 5, so I don't remember too much but I can help a bit.

To clarify first of all, Edmonton is in Alberta... not two seperate places. Edmonton is the city, Alberta is the province.

Here's a map that might help a bit...

I like to use www.freetrip.com to calculate mileages (or kilometers ) in Canada.

For instance from Banff to Edmonton, it is 248 miles, or about 4:15 hours. However, from Banff to Calgary (another large city) it is only 80 miles or about 1:22 hours.

Jasper to Calgary is 258 miles. Jasper to Edmonton is 216 miles.

If you look on the map above, the four cities (Jasper, Banff, Calgary, Edmonton) make a very rough square so it partially depends where you want to go first. You wouldn't want to fly into Edmonton and go directly to Banff since it would make more sense to fly to Calgary. But if you are going to Jasper first then it would actually be a bit (not much) closer to fly to Edmonton so that would be okay.

(Disclaimer... you might want to double check those numbers as it's after 2 am and I don't guarantee that they are 100% free from copying errors ).

So there you have it... I really don't know too much about the area... but am pretty handy with Goggle.

Have fun Debbie!

PS... it's only a 883 miles or a 15 hour drive from Banff out here to Winnipeg.

 

[bevvy5]

Calgary is only about an hour or so from Banff, good road all the way. If you decide to fly into Edmonton because it's a lot cheaper, it's about a three hour drive from Edmonton to Calgary. The road is excellent and it's an easy drive.

Also, if you are driving from Edmonton to Banff, there's a route you can take that will bypass Calgary, which cuts a chunk of time off your trip. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll look up the exact highway numbers for you.

Bev