Canadian Rockies Blog

All ski resorts in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies will be open this weekend and to celebrate, we are offering a FREE 3-day Tri-Area ski pass to one lucky Twitter follower (CA$279.09 value with tax). The Tri-Area ski pass covers Banff Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise ski resorts as well as the ski shuttles from Banff. Banff Norquay celebrated it’s earliest opening ever and is currently open weekends until November 30 2012. Sunshine Village and Lake Louise are set to open for the season this Friday, November 9 2012.

To enter, follow all you have to do is:

1. Follow us on Twitter @HolidaysCanada
2. RT the tweet below

FOLLOW US, RT THIS & WIN a 2012-13 Tri-Area 3-day Ski Pass – Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine. Winner will be chosen at random on NOV 9 @ 10am PST

— rocky-peak Holidays (@HolidaysCanada) November 5, 2012

One of tweeters who RT will be chosen at random to win the 3-day Tri-Area pass. The pass must be redeemed and used this season. Good luck and happy skiing!

Posted in 2012, 2013, advice, alberta, banff, banff national park, banff norquay, Canada, canadian rockies, coupon, deal, discount, free, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, lake louise, lift pass, north america, notification, official, preparation, promotion, resorts of the canadian rockies, resource, Rocky Mountain Vacations, rocky peak, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-peak.com, ski, ski banff, ski holidays, ski holidays canada, ski lifts, ski resort, ski shuttle, ski sunshine village, ski-holiday, special, sunshine village, tips, tourism, travel, tweet, tweeting, twitter, twittering, update, western-canada, winter | No Comments »

You should always research the travel company before you make a reservation with them.

We are proudly based in Beautiful British Columbia (BC) here in Western Canada which is currently one of the most heavily regulated Canadian provinces for travel companies. With this comes Consumer Protection BC, which by law, BC travel companies must be licensed with in order to offer you, the consumer, financial holiday protection. Our Consumer Protection BC licence number is 58516 or you can simply look us up by business or trade name. For those of you from the U.K. this kind of protection is similar to that of ABTA or ATOL.

Another place to check out a North American business is the Better Business Bureau. We currently hold their highest rating of A+. Their ratings are based on a number of factors including time in business and consumer complaints.

Finally, the internet is a wonderful thing and you can easily find out a lot about a company by searching their company name online. If guests are not happy, they will likely complain online. If guests are thrilled with the service they receive, they will likely seek out review sites to let the world know about their positive experiences. If you can’t find anything on a company online, you have to ask yourself why.

We are thrilled that we are currently rated 5 stars on www.reviewcentre.com, this is their highest rating.  We are grateful that our satisfied guests have taken the time to review us online through various sites. If you were one of those guests who reviewed us, thank you!

Reviews for Rocky Mountain Holidays (rocky-peak Holidays)

We understand that most guest’s decision on who to book with is price – this is the bottom line for most and we understand this by keeping our rates competitive. We take care of our guests from your initial contact with us through to your feedback when you return and so you can always be rest assured, you will be taken excellent care of when you book through Rocky Mountain Holidays™, a trade mark of rocky-peak Holidays Ltd.

Thank you for choosing us!

Tags: 5 star rating, a+ rating, abta, atol, bbb, bc, better business bureau, consumer protection bc, feedback, rocky mountain holidays reviews, rocky-peak holidays reviews
Posted in 2012, advice, award, british columbia, Canada, comments, holiday, holidays, information, north america, official, preferred, preparation, resource, reviews, Rocky Mountain Vacations, rocky peak, rocky-mountain, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-peak.com, ski holidays canada, things-to-remember, tips, tourism, travel, trip advisor, u.k., update, vacation, warning, western-canada | No Comments »

This is a promotional Rocky Mountaineer video of the new Coastal Passage route, set to debut in August 2013. Please read our last post for more information. The 3-day route connects Seattle (via Vancouver) with Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies as well as Calgary. Any questions, please drop us a line.

Tags: bc, coastal passage route
Posted in 2013, alberta, august, banff, banff national park, black bear, british columbia, calgary, Canada, canadian rockies, early-bird-discount, early-booking, holiday, holiday-package, information, itinerary, jasper, jasper national park, lake louise, luxury, mountain, north america, official, package, rail, resorts of the canadian rockies, resource, Rocky Mountain Vacations, rocky-mountain, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, summer, summer vacations, summer-holiday, things-to-do, tourism, tours, train, travel, update, vacation, vancouver, video, washington, western-canada, wildlife | No Comments »

Rocky Mountaineer 2013 packages are now available to book with Rocky Mountain Holidays.

For 2013, there are less vacation package options due to the fact that a lot of packages can easily be customised making some of the current 2012 packages redundant.

The new Rocky Mountaineer Coastal Passage Route – 2013:

The most exciting addition is the new Coastal Passage Route from Seattle which connects to Vancouver then onto Banff or Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. There is currently only one departure date set in August 2013 which means that this debut route will likely book up quite early.

Another addition for 2013 is the option to board and disembark the Rocky Mountaineer train in Lake Louise (as well as Banff as before) in Banff National Park. This provides us with more customisation options based on guest preferences.  The station is located just southwest of the Lake Louise Village, and less than 5 km northeast of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The address is: 200 Sentinel Road Lake Louise, Alberta T0L 1E0. View Map

Motorcoach transfers will be available to and from the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and are included on all packages except 2 day rail-only. For guests departing from Lake Louise, please note that all check-ins will be at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and NOT on the station platform or at the station itself.

After the successful introduction of the onboard SilverLeaf service in 2012, the Rocky Mountaineer will also be offering this service on the Vancouver to Jasper two (2) day “Journey through the Clouds” route. SilverLeaf service will not be available onboard the Rocky Mountaineer route between Whistler and Jasper in 2013 and could potentially be introduced in 2014.

For the most luxurious accommodation option, this has been rebranded as “GoldLeaf Deluxe Service”. This allows us to book more than just Fairmont properties, such as the Four Seasons brand in this deluxe accommodation category, without conflicting with the Fairmont branding.

Cruise terminal transfers will be included with all Rocky Mountaineer rail and cruise packages in 2013.

Other than on packages connecting to Coastal Passage route, Holland America’s Oosterdam cruise from Seattle up to Alaska has been removed in 2013.

The Rocky Mountaineer city stops will not be available in 2013.

Rocky Mountain Holidays now have all of the 2013 Canada rail vacation packages for download along with early-bird pricing and promotions.

Thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to message us direct with any questions you may have. For reservations, we recommend you book direct with Rocky Mountain Holidays, an A+ rated business with the Better Business Bureau (their highest rating) and licensed with Consumer Protection BC for financial protection.

Safe travels

Tags: coastal passage, coastal passage route, first passage to the west, GoldLeaf, goldleaf deluxe, journey through the clouds, lake louise map, silverleaf, silverleaf service
Posted in 2013, advice, Alaska Cruise, alberta, august, available, banff, banff national park, british columbia, brochure downloads, calgary, Canada, canadian rockies, change, coach holidays, company news, descriptions, download-brochure, early-bird-discount, early-booking, eastern canada, fairmont-package, fall, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, hotel, information, itinerary, jasper, jasper national park, July, June, lake louise, links, luxury, may, north america, notification, october, official, package, packages, photo, photos, preparation, prices, promotion, rail, rates, reference, reserve, resource, reviews, Rocky Mountain Vacations, rocky peak, rocky-mountain, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, schedule, seattle, self-drive, september, special, summer, summer vacations, summer-holiday, things-to-do, tips, toronto, tourism, tours, train, travel, update, USA, vacation, vancouver, western-canada, whistler, whistler blackcomb, YVR, YYC | No Comments »

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TO DEBUT NEW ROUTE FROM THE US IN 2013

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (April 24, 2012) – Internationally-acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer, is pleased to announce the debut of its new Coastal Passage route, departing Seattle, WA in August 2013. This unique rail journey will seamlessly connect major cities Seattle and Vancouver, BC to the Canadian Rockies. Coastal Passage marks the company’s fifth rail route and the first time the award-winning rail service will depart from the United States.

Tags: august 2013, Banff to Seattle train, coastal passage route, GoldLeaf Service, Jasper to Seattle train, seattle rocky mountaineer, Seattle to Banff train, Seattle to Jasper train, seattle to vancouver rail, seattle to vancouver train
Posted in 2013, august, british columbia, Canada, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, itinerary, north america, official, package, packages, rail, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, seattle, summer, summer vacations, things-to-do, tourism, tours, train, travel, USA, vacation, washington, western-canada | No Comments »

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 »

I can’t tell you how many calls and emails we have received over the past few weeks from return and new guests regarding the Kicking Horse Powder Express. There seems to be a lot of confusion over what the Kicking Horse Powder Express is this season. Where has it gone? What has replaced it? How much does it cost? We have already spent a lot of time answering these questions and to make it easier and to save us some time answering individual calls and emails regarding this topic, here are some questions and answers below.

All of our guests seem disappointed and frustrated about these changes. Feel free to comment on this post as we would like to hear your thoughts.

Okay, let’s start with the questions and answers below:

1) Is the Kicking Horse Powder Express operating this season?

The Kicking Horse Powder Express with the dedicated return transportation and lift pass included at a rate of about $100 including all tax is no more.

2) Is there a replacement to this service?

Yes. There is a scheduled service which is about $100 plus tax return for just the transportation and in addition to this, you must purchase the lift pass. There is no discount on the lift pass – you must pay full price making this ski-away day quite pricey compared to the old service.

3) How is this service different?

This service is not a dedicated Powder Express ski shuttle as in previous seasons. It is a scheduled service connecting Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Golden and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The advantage of the scheduled service means that minimum numbers are not required.

The return time of 3:30pm means that you do not get to enjoy a full ski day on the mountain but you do have the convenience of catching a one way shuttle for a reasonable price.

4) What is the schedule for this new service?

This is the new schedule correct as of today:

FROM CANMORE / BANFF / LAKE LOUISE / GOLDEN TO  KICKING HORSE

Depart Canmore 5:30
Arrive in Banff 6:00

Depart Banff 6:15
Arrive in Lake Louise 7:15

Depart Lake Louise 7:30
Arrive Golden (Prestige Inn) 8:50

Depart Golden 9:00
Arrive Kicking Horse (Glacier Mountain Lodge) 9:30

FROM KICKING HORSE TO GOLDEN TO LAKE LOUISE / BANFF / CANMORE

Depart Kicking Horse (Glacier Mountain Lodge) 15:30
Arrive Golden (Prestige Inn) 16:10

Depart Golden 16:10
Arrive Lake Luoise 17:40

Depart Lake Louise 18:00
Arrive Banff 19:15

Depart Banff 19:45
Arrive Canmore 20:00

5) When does the above new service operate?

Daily: December 20th, 2011 through March 31st, 2012.

6) Are there other ski-away options out of Banff?

Yes, the Panorama ski bus is operating again this season with a minimum of 4 required to guarantee a departure. We are finding most guests are booking this ski-away day instead this season to experience another ski resort in the Canadian Rockies at a fraction of the cost.

7) Will the original Kicking Horse Powder Express be offered for the 2012-2013 season?

We have no idea but hope so! If it does, we will be sure to get the word out!

 How do I book this new service?

Contact Ski Holidays Canada.

Happy Holidays to you all and thanks for reading. We hope that we have answered your questions okay? Remember to visit www.SkiHolidaysCanada.co.uk for ski package deals and specials.

Looking forward to your comments!

Posted in 2011, 2012, advice, airport-transfer, alberta, availability, available, banff, banff national park, british columbia, bus, Canada, canadian rockies, canmore, change, christmas in the rockies, comments, fate, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, information, itinerary, kicking horse, kicking horse mountain resort, kicking_horse, lake louise, lift pass, links, may, new year, north america, notification, open, panorama, panorama-mountain-village, powder, powder express, preparation, prices, rates, reference, resorts of the canadian rockies, resource, reviews, round-trip, schedule, shuttle, ski, ski holidays, ski holidays canada, ski resort, ski shuttle, ski-holiday, snow, snow-coach, spring, things-to-do, tickets, tips, tourism, travel, update, vacation, winter, YYC | 1 Comment »

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 »

What a great start we have had to 2011 with about a metre of snow received by the ski resorts across Western Canada over the past week! Now that we are into 2011, the busy summer season does not seem so far away. With the early-bird deals starting to “fizzle” out or become less attractive for the summer, especially with the Rocky Mountaineer train packages, now is a good time to get a good deal on a 2011 spring, summer or autumn/fall package. Rocky Mountain Holidays have brochure downloads in PDF (Portable Document Format) and as always, we have provided the links below for easy reference. These packages can be easily customised based on your preferences (as long as the changes fit in with the rail or cruise schedule). Be sure to take advantage of specials such as free nights and activities in Vancouver – value added rather than discounts are the way to go.

Self-drive holidays are becoming increasingly popular in the Canadian Rockies as it gives you the independence but you also have full support when you are out here and the peace of mind that you won’t struggle to find accommodation during the peak season months in the Canadian Rockies. When booking a self-drive package, check to see if you have Loss Damage Waiver insurance coverage with your credit card provider as this can save you about $30 per day. Also, check out what the one way drop-off fees are from Vancouver to Calgary for example. When you book independently they can be as much as several hundred dollars whereas through a tour operator, typically the rates are about $75-$100.

Other things to look out for if you are shopping around are hidden fees such as “credit card surcharges”. This is a common technique used by some companies to squeeze some extra cash out of you after you have already agreed to the booking. It is also good to ask the straight question – “what extra costs will I have to pay in additional to the package price?”. Any good tour operator will be able to list these for you immediately so you know where you stand with the total of your holiday cost.

Here are the holiday brochures for 2011 – available for download through RockyMountainHolidays.com.

• Rocky Mountaineer Train Holidays 2011
• Alberta Holidays (5 pages) 2011
• British Columbia Holidays (3 pages) 2011
• Coach Holidays in Canada (4 pages) 2011
• Train Holidays in Canada (7 pages) 2011
• Holidays in Eastern Canada (3 pages) 2011
• Holidays in Canada (23 pages) 2011

Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2011.

Posted in 2011, accommodation, advice, alberta, august, autumn, banff, banff national park, blackcomb, british columbia, brochure downloads, calgary, Canada, canadian rockies, canmore, coach holidays, deal, discount, discounted-package, download-brochure, early-bird-discount, early-booking, eastern canada, fairmont-package, fall, Fernie, free-vancouver-tour, heavy snowfall, holiday, holiday-package, holidays, hotel, information, itinerary, jasper, July, kicking horse, kicking_horse, kimberley, lake louise, links, may, new year, north america, october, package, packages, panorama, powder, preparation, prices, rail, rates, reference, resorts of the canadian rockies, resource, rocky-mountain, rocky-mountain-holidays, rocky-mountaineer, rocky-mountaineer-holiday, round-trip, Sale, self-drive, snow, snowfall, special, spring, storm, summer, summer vacations, summer-holiday, things-to-do, things-to-remember, tips, tourism, tours, train, travel, update, vacation, vancouver, vancouver-whistler-train, victoria, western-canada, whistler, whistler blackcomb, whistler-mountaineer | No Comments »

Fernie Alpine Resort named one of the top 5 best ski resorts in North America – 2007.

Fernie Alpine Resort took the Number 5 spot in Skiing Magazine’s “Top 25 Resorts in North America”. The Resort was one of only two Canadian resorts in the Top 10. Whistler Blackcomb was rated Number 1. The magazine compiled the results after readers submitted their favourite resort picks based on quality of snow, terrain, affordability and nightlife.

Fernie Alpine Resort has gained a reputation for its powder, but is now becoming famous for so much more. With a fun and friendly ski town atmosphere, great dining, adventure activities, a mountain village and a number of new real estate developments, Fernie caters to a variety of skiers and riders from around the globe.

The Resort has also received a number of other accolades in the past year, including:

– One of the Top 6 Powder Destinations on the Planet (Fall Line Skiing Magazine, 2007)
– “Best Powder” (Ski Canada Magazine, 2007)
– “Best New On-Mountain Restaurant” – Lost Boys Café (Ski Canada Magazine, 2007)
– “Best Thank You to the Locals” (Ski Canada Magazine, 2007)
– “Best Places to Powder Your Nose” – Fernie’s White Room Sessions (Ski Canada Magazine, 2007)
– Ranked 8th out of the Top 25 Resorts in North America (Skiing Magazine, 2006)
– “Best Deck Party in Canada”, “Best Ski Town”, “Best Powder” (Ski Canada Magazine, 2006)

Fernie Alpine Resort is gearing up for the 2007/2008 winter season with a number of resort enhancements, including snowmaking improvements, additional heated washroom facilities at the new mountaintop Lost Boys Café, improved cat track and terrain access, added tree skiing and more. Fernie Alpine Resort is scheduled to open December 8, 2007.

Book early for great savings at Fernie Alpine Resort! Ski Holidays and Vacations in Fernie available from rocky-peak Holidays.

Posted in Fernie, north america, ski, skiing magazine, Top 25 | No Comments »