Trip Profile: Alberta

I was born and raised in Toronto and am an extremely proud Canadian. That said, in my 24 years, Alberta was the first destination I've ever travelled to within Canada. It's not that I've never had a desire to explore this great nation. It's just...the flights are SO EXPENSIVE. To put this in perspective, a flight to New York is cheaper than flying anywhere out of province from Toronto. Crazy! But this trip really opened my eyes to why us Canadians need to get out more to explore our own great nation. Alberta was definitely one of the more expensive trips I took in 2017, but in today's blog post, I share my top five tips on planning a great adventure without hurting the bank account too much, what to expect, where to splurge if you can, and more!

SUMMARY

Cost | $$$

Budget per Day | $150 CAD

How to Save | group travel, cooking, bringing food

Solo Travel | not recommended (gets very expensive)

Accommodations | mostly Airbnb and hotels, hostels limited

Transportation | car rental is essential.

Suggested Time to Visit | September (still get the photographic beauty of Summer without the crowds)

Suggested Duration of Stay | 5-7 days for Banff and Jasper

Activities | photography (wildlife, landscape), hiking, waterfall chasing

Technology | wifi very accessible

1. FIND A GREAT FLIGHT DEAL TO TRAVEL IN CANADA, EH

Next Departure is my favourite travel deals website and Facebook page to follow. In fact, it's where I find most of my flights, including this one to Edmonton. Next Departure's website also has a great feature where you can filter which city you're flying out of, and find the best travel deals from there.

If you're from Toronto, try flying out of Hamilton! Sometimes, flights are much cheaper than flying out of Toronto Pearson International Airport. Parking at Hamilton for the week was $60 at the time (check updated rates if you do plan on doing this) and I was able to split this between three other people. So for me, saving $100+ was well worth the one-hour drive to Hamilton for the flight.

If you are looking for a little more flexibility in booking your Canadian flight, look out for discount codes from Air Canada and Westjet during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and New Year's, which are typically 15% off base fares.

2. WHERE TO STAY WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

Accommodations in Jasper and Banff are extremely expensive because you are paying for convenience by staying in close proximity to the parks. So for our trips, we decided to stay in Airbnbs in neighbouring towns (30-45 minute drive out from the parks) and we camped!

The neighbouring towns we stayed in were Hinton (when we were visiting Jasper) and Canmore (when we were visiting Banff). Accommodations were $150-$200 per night, which is pretty decent compared to what you'd be paying in Jasper and Banff ($300-$600) per night.

In terms of camping, we thought that the weather would still be warm enough in September to camp out at Wapiti Campground in Jasper and Banff-Lake Louise Campground in Banff. Well, were we wrong. It was freezing in our tent after wearing four layers plus my sleeping bag. After speaking to locals, September 2017 was unusually cold with temperatures dropping to -5 to -10 degrees Celcius at night. After looking at the weather for September 2018 - same thing. #climatechange. So, you will definitely save by camping out, but keep weather in mind if you're planning to go between September to April.

3. BE PREPARED TO POP A SQUAT

Exploring Jasper and Banff National Parks, you're bond to have the urge to use the washroom during your 8-hour days of enjoying the great outdoors. Though there are designated rest stops with real toilets along Highway 93, they are spread pretty far apart and when nature calls, well, you gotta go! All of the parks and attractions are typically equipped with portable toilet. So if you're not comfortable with popping a squat, better practice now and get used to it! You have been warned.

4. ACTIVITIES - FREE & PAID

Paid Activities - there's a wide range of options to elevate your trip to Alberta and have fun with paid activities! Some of the more popular ones (weather pending) are: glacier hikes, canoeing, horseback riding, hot springs, boat tours, and whitewater rafting. Personally, we had plans to dabble in canoeing and whitewater rafting, but it came down to cost and temperatures when we arrived there and decided not to.

Best that brings me to the best part of Alberta, there are so many free ways to enjoy Alberta just by getting out and exploring!

Photography - Alberta should be on every photographer's bucket list. The mountains, wildlife, and greenery make for stunning pictures on camera and phones! I'd say Alberta is a very easy location for amateur photographers to get started on landscape photography. Some of my favourite must-see spots included: Lake Louise (of course), Maligne Lake, Edith Lake, and Athabasca Glacier. Also keep your eyes peeled for great shots during your drive. There were so many lookout points and my favourite photo taken during the trip was an unplanned stop during our drive into Banff National Park at a lookout point. We didn't have cellular service at that point, so sorry can't share the location with you! But again, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!

Hiking - And lots of it! One of the best parts about Alberta was that there were so many parks, mountains, and hiking trails to choose from and not much planning is needed because the signage is amazing along the drive. Personally, we drove from Jasper to Banff and stopped along the major attractions as we made our way south. We had a full itinerary planned out, but the best parts of the journey were when we made random pitstops at the lookouts along the drive. Planning your hikes is great, but be open to going off course! There are lots of hidden gems in Alberta and I know I only scratched the surface of it during my seven-day adventure.

Waterfall Chasing - with Iceland being the first, I'd say Alberta is the second waterfall capital of the world. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of waterfalls (they all look the same to me) but I do enjoy the hikes in getting to the waterfalls. And sometimes don't too out too bad for the 'gram (like this one below from Johnston's Canyon).

5. THE ONE PLACE YOU HAVE TO SPLURGE - CHUCK'S STEAKHOUSE

I still think about this meal to this day. Chuck's Steakhouse is a well-known spot in Banff, Alberta for amazing steak - and I can confirm it is well worth the splurge. I wouldn't say I'm a steak connoisseur but the ambience, the flavours, how the steak just melts in your mouth is truly an unforgettable experience and was a great way to end our trip after eating cold-cuts and instant noodles for six days. Reservations are recommended, but we were able to snag a great walk-in spot on a weekday during low season. We family-styled our meal between four people and enjoyed a wagyu prime, alberta beef tenderloin, and appetizers. We pitched about $50 per person, which isn't too bad (goes to show how group travel has its cost benefits) and definitely well worth it!

Alberta was my first Canadian trip, but definitely won't be my last. I've been keeping an eye out for my next Canadian adventure but have had some trouble deciding because there's so many options! Have suggestions? Let me know in the comments!