Tours

Brewster (403/762-6767 or 877/791-5500, www.brewster.ca [1]) is the dominant tour company in the area. The three-hour Discover Banff bus tour takes in downtown Banff [2], Tunnel Mountain Drive [3], the hoodoos, the Cave and Basin [4], and Banff Gondola [5] (gondola fare included). This tour runs in summer only and departs from the bus depot daily at 8:30 a.m.; call for hotel pick-up times. Adult fare is $78, children half price.

Brewster also runs several other tours. A four-hour tour to Lake Louise [6] departs select Banff hotels daily ($65). In winter, this tour departs Tuesday and Friday mornings, runs five hours, and includes Banff sights. During summer, the company also offers tours from Banff to Lake Minnewanka [7] ($64, includes two-hour boat cruise), and Columbia Icefield [8] ($149).

Discover Banff Tours (Sundance Mall, 215 Banff Ave., 403/760-5007 or 877/565-9372, www.banfftours.com [9]) is a smaller company, with smaller buses and more personalized service. Its tour routes are similar to Brewster’s: A three-hour Discover Banff tour visits Lake Minnewanka [7], the Cave and Basin [4], the Fairmont Banff Springs [10], and the hoodoos for adult $52, child $32; a full-day trip to the Columbia Icefield [8] is adult $154, child $79; and a two-hour Evening Wildlife Safari is adult $42, child $25.

This company offers a good selection of other tours throughout the year, including a wintertime “Icewalk” in frozen Johnston Canyon (adult $66, child $40).