My Rocky Mountaineer

Following on from my stay in Vancouver, we eagerly waited to board the famous train for the First Passage to the West ride, a good waiting area plenty of coffee and a very warm welcome from everyone, regular updates and staff to chat to you about our upcoming trip.

Just as boarding was announced, we were happily surprised to see Pipers appear and play as we boarded, as if everyone wasn’t happy enough this put a big smile on everyone’s face.

We were shown to our seat and within minutes we were off.  We were in the gold leaf carriage which meant we had full panoramic views and the sights were stunning once we left Vancouver, coffee and croissants to get us going for the day ahead, the seats were cosy so we settled down to watch the mountains go past.

We headed down to the ‘Dining Room’ for breakfast which was a choice, perfectly cooked and with views we did not miss a thing.  Very comfy seats, extra pillows if you need them and you can get up and walk around, even down to the observation deck outside.  Lunch is also served down in the Dining room and in 2 sittings, how they manage to come up with the amazing meals they did in such a small space really surprised me.  The afternoon was spent sipping complimentary G&T’s and Baileys overlooking the lakes.

With this trip, if you weren’t aware, it is not a ‘sleeper’ so each evening the train will come to a halt and a transfer will take you to your hotel and collect you again in the morning, a very smooth operation and with it being a 2 day journey just the overnight bag is all you need.

On arriving into Kamloops about 5,  the coach was waiting to take us to our hotel, the weather was beautiful so we were pleased to see that there was a pool in the sunshine, we grabbed a cocktail and lounged in the sun for an hour or so.  Dinner is at your own expense and to be honest there was not a great deal in Kamloops, we found a hotel on the Park and dined in there, very reasonable and lovely food.   A walk through the town, stopping for a G&T and headed back to the hotel.

8am the next morning, we were all collected and taken to the station to board the train, under 10 minutes and we were back on board, scenery was still amazing, mountains and lakes galore.  the train itself, is surprisingly long and you struggle to see the end of it from the observation deck, they use the cargo lines so very little other traffic.   They do have a small selection of branded goods on board, I did take them up on the carry all and use it all the time now, quite often get stopped by people asking me what it’s all about while i’m trudging round Tesco’s with my shopping!

We left the train at Banff and I would say it is one of the prettiest places I have ever visited, at first sight it feels like you are left at ta station in the middle of nowhere but just a short trip has you in Banff.  the main street has many hotels, bars & restaurants, this evening we found a restaurant which was upstairs with open air, again amazing food and stunning views, probably one of my favourite places in the world.

Our next day was on-wards to Lake Louise for a night at the Fairmont Chateau, all the photos you have seen do not do the scene justice, it is just amazing, you get to walk around the Lake, you can even kayak on it if you fancy! We just had 1 night here before taking us to Calgary for our flight home, would I return to Canada – YES, definitely!

Stunning by day or evening.