Canada itinerary, day by day

From Vancouver to the lakes of Banff and Jasper, a road trip through the Canadian Rockies: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 5, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: June to October and December to March (winter)

Banff · Photo Roman Lukyanenko / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Canada in 5 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 400 km

1Banff

Days 1-3

Canada's first national park, created in 1885 around a hot spring. A small town in the Bow Valley, with lakes coloured by glacial rock flour all around it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Banff Gondola up Sulphur MountainHalf day · from €40
A few minutes up to the summit ridge, then a boardwalk with views across the Bow Valley and the ranges around it.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Hot springs and Lake MinnewankaFull day · from €35
A soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs, then the largest lake in the park, by boat or on foot along the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · The Valley of the Ten Peaks · Banff Avenue · Wildlife: elk and bears

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Samesun Banff (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Mount Royal Hotel (€210 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Banff Springs (€520 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Hankki (Banff + Dessert) ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2614 reviews · €
Añejo Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1754 reviews · €€
The Boss Kitchen & Bar ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1149 reviews
Good Folk ↗ ★ 4.7 · 365 reviews
The Bison Restaurant & Terrace ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1697 reviews · €€€

Photo Roman Lukyanenko / Pexels

🚗 Car · 45 min · 60 km

2Lake Louise

Days 4-5

A glacial lake at the foot of the Victoria Glacier, its colour made by fine silt held in the water. Moraine Lake is a short ride up the next valley.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canoeing on Lake Louise2h · from €60
An hour on the water beneath the Victoria Glacier, in a canoe hired from the boathouse by the Chateau.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided hike to the Plain of Six GlaciersHalf day · from €45
Up the valley behind the lake to a teahouse built in the 1920s, with the glaciers closing off the view.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Louise from the shore · Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · Mountain trails to the lookouts · The hanging glaciers above the lake

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: HI Lake Louise Alpine Centre (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Mountaineer Lodge (€200 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola ↗ ★ 4.7 · 5810 reviews
Good Folk ↗ ★ 4.7 · 365 reviews
Lake Agnes Tea House ↗ ★ 4.5 · 1770 reviews · €€
Post Hotel Dining Room Lake Louise ↗ ★ 4.5 · 156 reviews
Sky Bistro ↗ ★ 4.4 · 3801 reviews · €€

Photo Ryan Beirne / Pexels

Canada in 10 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 300 km

1Vancouver

Days 1-3

A port city between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, with real forest inside the city limits. Stanley Park alone is larger than Central Park in New York.

🎟️ Worth booking

Capilano Suspension BridgeHalf day · from €45
A footbridge of about 140 metres swinging 70 metres above the Capilano River, with walkways through the treetops beside it.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Whale-watching tripFull day · from €110
A day on the Salish Sea looking for orcas and humpbacks, with the best chances between May and October.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Stanley Park and its seawall · Granville Island and its public market · Gastown and its steam clock · The city beaches, facing the mountains

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Samesun Vancouver (€40 a night) · Mid-range: The Burrard (€190 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Pacific Rim (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

JOEY Burrard ↗ ★ 4.7 · 11255 reviews · €€
Blue Water Cafe ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3812 reviews · €€€€
Riley's Vancouver ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3644 reviews
Five Sails Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1816 reviews · €€€€
AnnaLena ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1721 reviews · €€€€

Photo Luke Lawreszuk / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 1h20 vol + 1h30 route · via Calgary (Vancouver-Calgary flight, then hire car to Banff (saves 9 h of driving))

2Banff

Days 4-6

Canada's first national park, created in 1885 around a hot spring. A small town in the Bow Valley, with lakes coloured by glacial rock flour all around it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Banff Gondola up Sulphur MountainHalf day · from €40
A few minutes up to the summit ridge, then a boardwalk with views across the Bow Valley and the ranges around it.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Hot springs and Lake MinnewankaFull day · from €35
A soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs, then the largest lake in the park, by boat or on foot along the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · The Valley of the Ten Peaks · Banff Avenue · Wildlife: elk and bears

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Samesun Banff (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Mount Royal Hotel (€210 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Banff Springs (€520 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Roman Lukyanenko / Pexels

🚗 Car · 45 min · 60 km

3Lake Louise

Day 7

A glacial lake at the foot of the Victoria Glacier, its colour made by fine silt held in the water. Moraine Lake is a short ride up the next valley.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canoeing on Lake Louise2h · from €60
An hour on the water beneath the Victoria Glacier, in a canoe hired from the boathouse by the Chateau.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided hike to the Plain of Six GlaciersHalf day · from €45
Up the valley behind the lake to a teahouse built in the 1920s, with the glaciers closing off the view.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Louise from the shore · Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · Mountain trails to the lookouts · The hanging glaciers above the lake

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ryan Beirne / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 230 km (Icefields Parkway)

4Jasper

Days 8-10

The largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, and a dark sky preserve since 2011. A wildfire in 2024 burned part of the town and the forest around it; most of the park has reopened, but check trail status before you go.

🎟️ Worth booking

Icefields Parkway and the Columbia IcefieldFull day · from €90
The 230 km road from Lake Louise to Jasper, with a stop to walk on the Athabasca Glacier after a ride in a giant-wheeled snow coach.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Maligne Lake cruise to Spirit IslandHalf day · from €40
A boat across Maligne Lake to Spirit Island, the most photographed view in the park. Maligne Canyon, on the road up, stays closed through 2026 after the wildfire.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Maligne Lake · Maligne Canyon (closed through 2026) · Night skies in the dark sky preserve · Wildlife: elk, bears and bighorn sheep

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Jasper Downtown Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Forest Park Hotel (€190 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Kumama Bistro and Canteen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 338 reviews
Jasper’s Wafflato ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2716 reviews · €€
The Raven Bistro ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2036 reviews · €€
Mad Grizzly bistro.bar ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1258 reviews
The Maligne Range ↗ ★ 4.7 · 414 reviews

Photo Nunzio Guerrera / Pexels

Canada in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 300 km

1Vancouver

Days 1-4

A port city between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, with real forest inside the city limits. Stanley Park alone is larger than Central Park in New York.

🎟️ Worth booking

Capilano Suspension BridgeHalf day · from €45
A footbridge of about 140 metres swinging 70 metres above the Capilano River, with walkways through the treetops beside it.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Whale-watching tripFull day · from €110
A day on the Salish Sea looking for orcas and humpbacks, with the best chances between May and October.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Stanley Park and its seawall · Granville Island and its public market · Gastown and its steam clock · The city beaches, facing the mountains

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Samesun Vancouver (€40 a night) · Mid-range: The Burrard (€190 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Pacific Rim (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Luke Lawreszuk / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 1h20 vol + 1h30 route · via Calgary (Vancouver-Calgary flight, then hire car to Banff (saves 9 h of driving))

2Banff

Days 5-8

Canada's first national park, created in 1885 around a hot spring. A small town in the Bow Valley, with lakes coloured by glacial rock flour all around it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Banff Gondola up Sulphur MountainHalf day · from €40
A few minutes up to the summit ridge, then a boardwalk with views across the Bow Valley and the ranges around it.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Hot springs and Lake MinnewankaFull day · from €35
A soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs, then the largest lake in the park, by boat or on foot along the shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · The Valley of the Ten Peaks · Banff Avenue · Wildlife: elk and bears

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Samesun Banff (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Mount Royal Hotel (€210 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Banff Springs (€520 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Roman Lukyanenko / Pexels

🚗 Car · 45 min · 60 km

3Lake Louise

Days 9-10

A glacial lake at the foot of the Victoria Glacier, its colour made by fine silt held in the water. Moraine Lake is a short ride up the next valley.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canoeing on Lake Louise2h · from €60
An hour on the water beneath the Victoria Glacier, in a canoe hired from the boathouse by the Chateau.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided hike to the Plain of Six GlaciersHalf day · from €45
Up the valley behind the lake to a teahouse built in the 1920s, with the glaciers closing off the view.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Louise from the shore · Moraine Lake (by shuttle only) · Mountain trails to the lookouts · The hanging glaciers above the lake

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ryan Beirne / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 230 km (Icefields Parkway)

4Jasper

Days 11-14

🎟️ Worth booking

Icefields Parkway and the Columbia IcefieldFull day · from €90
The 230 km road from Lake Louise to Jasper, with a stop to walk on the Athabasca Glacier after a ride in a giant-wheeled snow coach.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Maligne Lake cruise to Spirit IslandHalf day · from €40
A boat across Maligne Lake to Spirit Island, the most photographed view in the park. Maligne Canyon, on the road up, stays closed through 2026 after the wildfire.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Maligne Lake · Maligne Canyon (closed through 2026) · Night skies in the dark sky preserve · Wildlife: elk, bears and bighorn sheep

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Jasper Downtown Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Forest Park Hotel (€190 a night) · Luxury: Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nunzio Guerrera / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Poutine: chips, cheese curds and brown gravy, from Quebec but sold everywhere.
Maple syrup: on pancakes, on bacon, on just about anything.
Tourtière: the spiced meat pie of Quebec, eaten at Christmas and all winter.
Pacific salmon: smoked, grilled or cooked on a cedar plank, the pride of British Columbia.
BeaverTails: fried dough stretched flat and sugared, with a shop on Banff Avenue.

⚠️ What to avoid

Underestimating the distances: Vancouver to Banff alone is around 850 km, so plan the driving days.
Forgetting that sales tax is added at the till, and that restaurants expect a tip of 15 to 20%.
Getting close to wildlife: Parks Canada asks for 100 metres from bears and 30 metres from elk.
Leaving bookings late: Moraine Lake shuttles and park campsites fill months ahead for summer.
Packing for summer only: mountain weather turns fast, even in July, so bring a warm layer and rain gear.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Canada guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Canada, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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