Canadian Rockies Blog

The award winning Rocky Mountaineer train tour across the Canadian Rockies is on most of your bucket lists. If you are flexible on dates and are able to travel later this month or in May 2012, you must check out the following exclusive GoldLeaf offers on select dates from Rocky Mountain Holidays. The savings are significant.

For your convenience, I have posted the eligible dates below. These offers are strictly capacity controlled and so will not be around for long.

Eastbound Departures (3 night packages)

• Vancouver to Banff: May 21, 28
• Vancouver to Banff/Calgary: May 3
• Vancouver to Jasper: May 7, 10, 14, 17, 28

Westbound Departures (3 night packages)

• Banff to Vancouver: Apr 25; May 2, 8, 22
• Calgary/Banff to Vancouver: May 12, 19
• Jasper to Vancouver: Apr 25; May 2, 5, 26

For more information call freephone North America on 1-888-PH-ROCKY (74-76259) and press option 1. Outside of North America you can call freephone from the U.K. on 0800-567-7542 or long distance from all other countries +1 403-609-0286 and press option 1.

Alternatively, click on this link: http://rockymountainholidays.com/rocky-mountaineer-deals.html

Tags: Banff to Vancouver Train, Calgary to Vancouver Train, Classic First Passage to the West, Classic Journey through the Clouds, GoldLeaf, GoldLeaf Discount, GoldLeaf Service, GoldLeaf Service Discount, Jasper to Vancouver Train, Vancouver to Banff Train, Vancouver to Calgary Train, Vancouver to Jasper Train
Posted in 2012, Alaska Cruise, alberta, April, availability, available, banff, banff national park, british columbia, calgary, Canada, canadian rockies, deal, discount, discounted-package, fairmont-package, free, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, hotel, information, jasper, jasper national park, lake louise, last minute, luxury, may, north america, notification, package, packages, photo, prices, promotion, rail, rates, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, Sale, special, spring, tourism, tours, train, travel, update, vacation, vancouver, western-canada | No Comments »

Rocky Mountain Holidays™ have just announced their latest deal offerings on Rocky Mountaineer Train® packages; applicable on select 3 night packages on select travel dates in April 2012 and May 2012. These savings amount to almost  the equivalent of 20% and are subject to availability. These are exclusive Rocky Mountaineer deals.

In addition to these deals, which were just announced a few hours ago, they will also continue to offer the Rocky Mountaineer ® Stay and Play promotion through March and April 2012 which includes a FREE night in Vancouver as well as a FREE dinner in the Canadian Rockies or a Vancouver sightseeing tour. I have also listed more information below:

2012 Deals on 6+ night 2012 packages*
Book any qualifying six (6) or more night 2012 Rocky Mountaineer holiday through us and receive a FREE additional night in Vancouver, a FREE Vancouver sightseeing tour OR a dinner in the Canadian Rockies at your Banff, Jasper or Lake Louise hotel.

2012 Deal – FREE night in Vancouver*
Book any six (6) or more night 2012 Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf, SilverLeaf or RedLeaf package and receive a FREE additional night in Vancouver. Must be taken at the start or end of the package. Accommodation matches the accommodation grade of the package.

2012 Deal – FREE dinner or sightseeing tour* 
Book any six (6) or more night 2012 Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf, SilverLeaf or RedLeaf package and receive a FREE dinner in the Canadian Rockies at your Banff, Jasper or Lake Louise hotel OR a Vancouver sightseeing city tour. Guests travelling in GoldLeaf service will have additional tour options. The dinner or sightseeing tour must be taken at the start, the end or during your package.

FREE Rail and Cruise Fuel Surcharge Protection*
This early-bird promotion offers peace of mind. Your holiday price will not increase after you book even if oil prices do. Any rail and cruise surcharges imposed between now and packages booked up to October 2013 will be absorbed by us.

FREE Calgary Airport YYC to Calgary Hotel Transfer*
Get off to the right start when you arrive at Calgary Airport YYC. You will be met by a representative and transported to your Calgary hotel.

* Visit Rocky Mountain Holidays for details of these offers.

Tags: alaska cruise, april 2012, exclusive, may 2012, promotion, savings, stay and play
Posted in 2012, alberta, April, banff, banff national park, british columbia, brochure downloads, Canada, canadian rockies, deal, discount, discount code, discounted-package, download-brochure, early-bird-discount, early-booking, free, free-vancouver-tour, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, information, jasper, jasper national park, last minute, links, luxury, may, notification, official, package, packages, prices, promotion, rates, reference, resource, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, Sale, seattle, special, spring, summer, summer vacations, summer-holiday, tips, tourism, tours, train, travel, update, vacation, vancouver, western-canada | No Comments »

With more and more bear sightings coming in, it’s hard to think about skiing and snowboarding….but you must!!! 2011 has so far been a record breaking year for snowfall and with the lower temperatures, the powder conditions are that of mid-winter.  Environment Canada predicted a later spring which has so far proven to be true.

Where to head? Sunshine Village in Banff National Park is still rocking with incredible snow conditions and no crowds. Even Easter was quiet this year due to it being a little later in the year than usual. Sunshine Village will wrap things up for the season on May 23 2011 with the 83rd annual Slush Cup. There is lots more going on including the Sunshine Village 3rd annual Bikinis for Breast Cancer fundraiser.

The video footage below was taken in March and April this year in Sunshine Village’s backcountry. These skiers are experienced expert locals and have all the right backcountry gear so please do not imitate!

Enjoy these excellent extended ski conditions and be sure to look out for bears, wolves, deer, elk and big horn sheep (to name a few) on the spring ski bus to Sunshine Village from Banff!

Thanks for reading and feel free to share your spring skiing and boarding experiences with everyone below!

Tags: Bikinis for Breast Cancer
Posted in 2011, advice, alberta, animal, April, awake, backcountry, banff, banff national park, bear, black bear, bus, Canada, canadian rockies, conditions, elk, extreme snowfall, gizzly-bear, goat's eye, grizzly_bear, heavy snowfall, information, moose, north america, open, resource, ski, ski banff, ski lifts, ski resort, ski shuttle, ski sunshine village, snow, snowboard, snowfall, spring, spring skiing, things-to-do, tips, top ski getaway, tourism, update, video, western-canada, whats-open, wildlife, winter | No Comments »

With the introduction of the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in British Columbia, Rocky Mountaineer Holiday packages will increase by up to 7%.

For those of you who are planning to book your holiday in Canada, or are about to book your holiday, be sure to read the following as you could save up to 7%. If you book and pay in full by the end of this month (April 2010), then you will only have to pay the standard Federal goods and services tax (GST) of 5%.

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IMPORTANT ADVISORY – CHANGE IN CANADIAN SALES TAXES

The Province of British Columbia, Canada, has tabled legislation to introduce a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on goods and services, effective July 1, 2010. This tax will merge federal (GST) and provincial taxes (PST) into one single amount, the HST and will, unfortunately, increase the cost of your Rocky Mountaineer® Holiday by up to 7%.

The HST applies to all Rocky Mountaineer bookings with travel dates beginning in Canada after July 1, 2010.

Below summarises three options for consideration in the implementation of HST:

1. Bookings received prior to May 1, 2010 with a payment due date by April 30, 2010

Transitional rules allow bookings made prior to May 1, 2010 to be taxed under the old GST rules if the payment is due and paid for by April 30, 2010.

2. Bookings made after April 30th, for travel before July 1, 2010

Transitional rules allow bookings made prior as of May 1, 2010, for travel before July 1, 2010 to be taxed under the old GST rules.

3. Tax rate increases for bookings made after April 30th, for travel after July 1, 2010

The changes required to comply with the new HST will result in tax increases to an effective rate of 8% – 11% for Rocky Mountaineer bookings. Please note the following exceptions: Whistler Sea to Sky bookings all have a 12% tax rate, bookings with a cruise or VIA Rail component will have a tax rate determined by the originating province of the trip.

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Please visit RockyMountainHolidays.com for more Rocky Mountaineer Tax Information.

Posted in 2010, accommodation, adjustment, advice, April, Canada, canadian rockies, change, early-bird-discount, early-booking, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, hotel, information, package, packages, prevention, rocky-mountain, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, sea to sky, summer-2010, tips, train, update, vacation, vancouver, vancouver-whistler-train, victoria, warning, western-canada, whistler, whistler-mountaineer | No Comments »

The Canmore weather is set to be great for this event – see you there!

Source: Town of Canmore

Posted in 2010, April, Canada, canadian rockies, canmore, celebrities, famous, information, itinerary, local, olympians, olympics, schedule, spring, things-to-do, western-canada | No Comments »

On Saturday April 10 2010 there were some loud explosions in Canmore in the Canadian Rockies which rattled most of the residents’ windows: they were bombing the east end of Rundle Mountain in Canmore to trigger controlled avalanches. Rundle Mountain is about 25km long and stretches all the way to Banff from Canmore.

Take a closer look and you can see the helicopter drop the explosives.

The explosives then trigger an avalanche down Mount Rundle’s east end.

It took some time for the dust and debris to clear.

Did anyone else here the bombing of Mount Rundle in Canmore on Saturday? I am curious how far away the explosions could be heard. If you did, post a comment below!

Posted in 2010, April, avalanche, banff, Canada, canadian rockies, canmore, helicopter, land slide, photo, photos, preparation, prevention, rock slide, snow, spring | 2 Comments »

Last one of the season!

Friday April 16 2010 :
Lake Louise Torchlight Dinner and Ski – The Ultimate Après Ski Party

This is the final Torchlight Dinner and Ski event for the 09/10 winter ski season at Lake Louise!

This party is the ultimate way for your group to wrap up a wonderful day on the slopes, or the perfect escape to the mountains after a work week.

Rates: Adult $49, Child $28.

Group rates (>15) and transportation to Banff or Lake Louise available.

Contact rocky-peak Ski Holidays to book!

Tags: torchlight dinner
Posted in 2010, alberta, apres, April, banff, canadian rockies, events, lake louise, mountain, music, prices, rates, ski, ski resort, spring, spring skiing, tours | 1 Comment »

Just received the following eCard from Sunshine Village.

The Calgary Flames are DONE for the season (but there is always next!).

Posted in 2010, April, banff, calgary, calgary flames, Canada, canadian rockies, ice hockey, icehockey, saddledome, ski, ski banff, ski resort, ski sunshine village, spring skiing, sunshine village | No Comments »

Olympic Medalist Jenn Heil to visit Jasper Marmot Basin.

Jasper Marmot Basin is thrilled to have Canada’s five time World Champion of mogul skiing, Jennifer Heil, visit on Saturday April 3rd 2010. You can meet Jenn at the Paradise Chalet.

Get an autographed photo and go for a run with our Olympic hero!

The Olympic Silver medalist was the first Olympian to win a medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. She was the gold medalist in Turin in 2006 and has just won her fifth World Championship in freestyle mogul skiing.

Watch her win silver on YouTube: Jenn Heil in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Posted in 2010, alberta, April, Canada, celebrities, jasper, jasper marmot basin, olympics, ski, ski resort, video, western-canada | No Comments »

Please note that the Banff Douglas Fir‘s in-house waterslides will be shut down for one week due to regular maintenance. In order to minimise the disruption they have chosen the shutdown to occur Sunday April 25th at 9:30 PM after their regular closing time. The slides will re-open on Friday April 30th at 4 PM, just in time for the weekend!

While the waterslides are closed for maintenance, the Douglas Fir Resort will have the playzone, amenities, pool, saunas, jacuzzi, tennis/basketball courts, fitness room and barbeques all open for your convenience.

The Banff Douglas Fir Resort is perfect for families and we are currently offering an early-booking discount of up 30% OFF for summer 2010 bookings. Some restrictions (but not many) apply!

Posted in 2010, accommodation, alberta, April, banff, Banff Douglas Fir Resort, banff national park, banff-douglas-fir, canadian rockies, deal, early-bird-discount, early-booking, hotel, notification, Uncategorized | No Comments »