Rocky Mountaineer

About Rocky Mountaineer

Book this train if you want to see the Canadian Rockies without driving yourself or sitting in a tour bus. The Rocky Mountaineer runs multi-day journeys through Banff and beyond, stopping in Lake Louise and Moraine Lake while you eat and sleep on board. You'll see more landscape variety in three days than most visitors cover in a week, and you won't spend it white-knuckling mountain curves.

The trains feature glass-domed viewing cars where you sit for hours watching peaks unfold. Meals are included and prepared onboard. You can choose between different service levels depending on your budget, from the RedLeaf tier with viewing cars and hot meals to SilverLeaf or GoldLeaf cabins with private berths. Routes vary by season, so check what's operating when you plan to go.

Book well in advance (six months isn't too early for summer). The trade-off is cost and commitment. You're paying for convenience and comfort, not budget travel, and you're locked into a fixed itinerary with scheduled stops rather than spontaneous exploring. Go in September or early October when crowds thin but weather remains stable. Skip this if you want flexibility or prefer hiking to viewing from a train seat.