Rocky Mountaineer
Sunday 15th July, 2018
Day 1: Banff to Kamloops
We arrived at the station at 0600 for our 0630 departure and enjoyed a cup of coffee and some harp.
Our two-day journey
We boarded the Rocky Mountaineer this morning for the first part of our journey from Banff to Kamloops – about 500 km and 10 hrs.
The first 2/3 of the journey was through the spectacular Rockies and the last 1/3 through flat semi-arid desert (no sand, but hot dry heat like Adelaide gets).
Our menu
Banff to Kamloops
*Full disclosure: we didn’t actually see the bears pictured. It is a simulation of what we could have seen if we were lucky enough.
We arrived in Kamloops in the late afternoon to 32 degrees – Banff was 7 degrees when we left.
Monday 16th July, 2018
Day 2: Kamloops to Vancouver
Leaving our accommodation
Today we finished our rail adventure in Vancouver after another full day on the Rocky Mountaineer. The scenery today had flattened out as we traveled through the semi-arid landscape. We saw plenty of eagles, a few mountain sheep (that looked suspiciously like goats) but alas no bears or moose…
“Bear on the right…”
If only.
Leaving Kamloops
Kamloops to Vancouver
The Rocky Mountaineer was a once-in-a-lifetime train journey.
The views on day one were stunning as we traversed the Rocky Mountains towards Vancouver. Day two was less spectacular but still enjoyable.Â
The food was nice but not brilliant, drinks were free but scarce and accommodation overnight in Kamloops was mediocre given the price we paid to do the two days.
Overall it was a great experience but waaay overpriced for what we got.