EXCELLENT TOUR!
My wife and I just returned from this tour. The tour was excellent in all respects!
•Our Tour Director Gili Keselman was incredible! Witty, smart, self-effacing; his humor and enthusiasm were infectious; very, very well organized and efficient.
•We enjoyed Calgary; even the Wild West entertainment was a lot of fun!
•The Glacier NP portion of the trip was great! Incredible scenery! The NP lodges were just that: lodges, not luxury hotels, but we enjoyed them all the same. Pro tip: try to stay in a cabin at Lake McDonald Lodge vs main lodge. Cabin guests seemed more satisfied than lodge guests.
•Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are indescribably beautiful! The Fairmont Lake Louise is fantastic. We hiked to the Agnes Lake Tea House; easy hike; great exercise! The path along Lake Louise is flat and easy. The path along Moraine Lake is also very easy.
•Jasper Park Lodge is beautiful; newly renovated since the 2024 wildfire. There is a lot of new growth in the affected areas. The path around Lake Beauvert is easy, but a lot of the other trails are not well-marked, presumably due to the fires.
•We really enjoyed the Athabasca Glacier excursion. Our hiking shoes and poles really came in handy. Very unique and fun experience.
•The Banff Springs Hotel is simply majestic. We hiked to the top of Tunnel Mountain; easy hike; great exercise. The town is nice with excellent shopping and dining options (Sophia’s Pizza was great!).
Overall, the food was superb. We ordered off the menu in every hotel restaurant. The “AAA Alberta Beef” on many menus was wonderful! I ate more tender ribeyes and tenderloins in 10 days than in the past year!
This tour is not to be missed! One additional benefit: it was COOL in Alberta in mid-September (lows in 40’s; highs in 60’s) vs the stifling mid-90’s we have been experiencing in Tennessee!
Comments
Terrific commentary. Canada is so majestically beautiful. Thanks for sharing your experience.