
100%
Banff (Buckle List)
By: Anonymous | Mon Sep 18, 2017 at 01.01 AM
Took this tour since Banff is on my buckle list. The Canadian version of Yosemite. I thought about driving there myself, but as a single lady, was glad I signed up for the tour. I am glad I signed up for seating in the first 3 rows which is
.. extra, but as the rest stops which were about every 2 hours, I had the advantage of using the bathroom with hardly any wait time, along with lining up for meals. I would recommend also taking the meal plan which were usually buffet so you always had a good selection. Plus, as a group, you were advanced through the sites, without waiting to purchase a ticket in a line. Hotels were clean and safe. Tour guide was very professional, funny and tolerable of any mishaps... (I was extremely mortified with myself that I was late getting down the gondola, making my group late. And grateful that the group and tour guide were not angry with me. Later on at least 6 people, either got lost or forgot to meet after dinner at the bus. Despite All of these misadventures, the tour guide along with the bus driver were great. The only change I would make is to NOT do the mini day trip, I personally think your better off going down to the Vancouver waterfront and walking around. The mini tour just allowed you to stop for 10 minutes. I rented a bike and went around Stanley Park. (Very inexpensive. The walking and bike path follow the coast line around Stanley Park. It took less than 1 hour with stopping at intervals to take pictures! Walking would have taken 2-3 hours. I felt we had enough time at the majority of the places we stopped at. I would have enjoyed a full day in Banff but felt that we still packed a lot of activities and stops in within a limited time frame. Our tour leader was Marco and our bus driver was Marilyn. You cannot request either as the tour is randomly assigned, but I cannot thank them enough for a GREAT time. Our tour guide would also airdrop any pictures that he had to add to our own pictures! Please, please people remember to tip them graciously (as well as the servers), after all they are providing you a service at a minimum or limited hourly fee. Read full review