Alberta Banff and Lake Louise

Alberta (Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise) is a destination that I had read about and seen the most astonishingly beautiful images of – I had for many a year longed to visit... When I eventually did, it turns out I (and anyone that has not visited) had truly been missing out! Flying directly into Calgary from London was a breeze and a little quicker than I had expected, a flight to the far side of the North American continent in less than 9 hours was a pleasant surprise! As for the destination of Banff and Lake Louise (a 1.5 hour transfer – which feels more like a cinematic experience - from Calgary through the most stunning and grand mountain scenes you will probably ever see)… WOW! The destination is fortunate enough to have an exceptional array of activities, from skiing to tubing (google it – it’s a lot of fun), dog sledding to snow shoeing, curling to ice canyon walking through the otherworldly Johnston Canyon. This is just the tip of the glacier! You can even become a hockey player for the day with the Canmore Eagles - don your skates and get a rare behind the scenes glimpse of a vibrant ice hockey club as the dedicated coaches impart their knowledge and passion directly to you. Calgary could potentially be overlooked as the gateway to the Rockies, but the 1988 Olympic park (think Eddie the Eagle and Cool Runnings) and seeing the famous Calgary Flames fight (quite literally fight at some points) for the NHL Stanley Cup in the famous Saddle Dome is certainly worth a visit to the city, please note - without a hotdog and beer in hand you might appear quite the tourist, and you wouldn’t want that would you? The rich vein of activities is not at the expense of accommodation with great hotels in Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise. Getting a room with a view is not difficult! As for the welcome, you would be very hard pressed to work with more genuine and friendly people who are understandably proud of their wonderful country. My experience of Alberta has been during the winter time (which in fact is their value season) however it truly is an all season destination. Next stop… Alberta next summer, maybe even during the famous Calgary Stampede when - believe it or not - it’s even more popular, and just as beautiful….