Three days in on our 7-day trip to Canmore/Banff. This area of the world is spectacular with so much to do. Went on a 6 hour, 8 mile hike, climbing 2,800ft in elevation today with a spectacular view at the top. Heading up to Lake Louise tomorrow.
Headed there over Labor Day and can’t wait. Would love a full rundown after your trip. I’m really wondering if the crowds are as bad as they used to be and if you have to get to the parks first thing to be able to park or anything.
Will share more in a write up afterwards, but it is pretty crowded and they warn against this. We’re staying in Canmore which is about 20 minutes S of Banff and have not had any issues (yet) when going into Banff. That being said, we are taking the shuttle for Lake Louise as we have heard parking at the lake is a nightmare.
Was just there last week. Parking situation was as bad as advertised. But we had a company drive us so we could fit in Moraine before hiking Louise. It will obviously all be worth it.
the main crowds at Lake Louise are pretty brutal, but walk like 200m past the board walk and you lose 75% of the people, walk a bit further up hill and you lose even more. We did a great 8ish mile hike that left most of the crowds behind. Wife and I find that when we embrace the super touristy spots and try and spot the most ridiculous tourist behavior possible, we end up having a pretty good time rather than being frustrated that it's not a serene experience.
Yeah it wasn’t huge but it was very nice. I believe it had five unique restaurants on the premises and the location was very convenient.
We went to Giacomo's for Italian, cool small family-run spot. Pretty sure I got the recommendation from here. It was well worth it. In general, I'd recommend walking through North End.
https://www.barcelo.com/en-us/barcelo-maya- palace/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=my_business&utm_content=7320 stayed here twice. Stay in the palace.
I think we are going to stick with Switzerland to avoid taking another plane once we get to Europe. We are thinking Frankfurt to Interlaken to Lake Como to Zurich to Frankfurt. Would appreciate any and all recommendations!
We stayed at the Hotel Central Continental in Interlaken in 2019. It’s a great old building from the 1920’s if I had to guess. Very convenient from the station, three blocks, and it sits right along the rivers through town for a nice view. The building shows its age, but very reasonably priced. Nothing terrible, just a building that has seen some years. I would check out more recent reviews. We had a great room with windows that opened on to the river with the balconies seen below.
I second the Hilton. I went a few years back when it was still the Royal. It was really nice back then so I’d imagine with the Hilton taking over it’s even better. I recommend the swim up rooms.
Have been trying to piece together flights for our Honeymoon + 2 friend's weddings trip next spring. LAX > Cape Town, Joburg > London, Paris > LAX After about 15 hours of time spent on it I think I've gotten it done on points + $2500 total. All business class + non stops (where possible). Would have been $12k each if paid in cash. Any tips on Cape Town or safaris in South Africa would be appreciated
Kruger National Park, outside of Joburg, for safaris. This is the company we did, awesome: https://www.nhongosafaris.com/
LAX > CPT via AMS in KLM Biz Class each leg booked on Chase portal with remaining points after below legs JNB > LHR on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class for 57.5k miles + ~$400 each (I've heard the hard product is not great but it beats the alternatives) Venice > LAX via CDG on Air France Biz Class for 70.5k miles + $275 each Seatspy was a massive help but I really lucked out on the Virgin Atlantic availability back to Europe. Had to change the schedule around a bit but need to lock these in first and then will figure out the rest Plan is: Friends wedding in Cape Town (4 nights on beach, 4 nights in winelands) Honeymoon Safari 4 nights in London with a friend Friends wedding in the Dolomites Home
great white shark diving is incredible and a once in a lifetime kind of experience. We went with a more expensive company that is a smaller research boat w/ scientists who are great teachers rather than the mass-touristy ones. Great meal at a place called Chef’s Warehouse. Another meal had a great steak for really cheap
When did you go? We went in 2019 and the operators told us great whites had largely left South Africa because of killer whales. It was still awesome, we saw a bunch of smaller sharks and one baby great white, so still worth it.
It's so fucking cheap you'll be blown away. You'll be balling a dinners for $90. Hopefully you stay in Camps Bay. It's an amazing little hillside stretch. Is your Safari going to be in Kruger? We did Inverdoorn game reserve & Cheeta rehabilitation. Wasn't Kruger, but still pretty cool and a 2 or 3 hour drive from Cape Town. Hikes up Lion Head in the morning gives you a ton of cool views. It's not very steep. I rented a new mercedes for a day for about $30 and drove around the coast of the Cape. Was pretty cool, believe it is one of the most scenic rides in the world. Chapman Peak's Drive. Gives you the ability to make stops in a little towns like Hout Bay, Fish Hoek, etc. A beach with penguins. Drive all the way to the end of the world...well end of Africa. It was a pretty sick day. Restaurants. Test Kitchen - Looks to book reservations as far out as you can. We couldn't get in, but everyone we've told to go there has loved it. There are a ton more & it's all so cheap. We didn't stay in Franschhoek, only did a day trip.....but it's beautiful and as we drove through the town it seemed like there were plenty of some hotels and restaurants. We did shark diving, but as ppl said it's not that great anymore. We had some seal diving booked, which is supposed to be really fun. But waves/weather canceled it
such an awesome trip. More people should rent a car and do it. Hope you did the plain of 6 glaciers teahouse hike in Lake Louise.
gd who are you friends with that is getting married in Cape Town and then the Dolomites in the same month timeframe? trip sounds awesome
We went in 2016 I believe. The operators mentioned that the other location popular for shark dives had began experiencing that that summer, and it must have spread to the Cape Town location as well. They said the killer whales were able to move in closer to their normal habitat because of climate change increasing water temperatures enough, killing the great whites and then the great whites emitting a stress hormone from their liver telling the other great whites to get out of there. fucking bummer man
was amazing. double wetsuit because the water was really cold. the scariest part was the silence. when you think of sharks you think jaws music or whatever, but being under the water and seeing them swim and not hearing anything was terrifying.
I was in Brighton this past weekend. Cool summer spot. The beach and food even exceeded my expectations, though maybe they were too low going in. I also thankfully left just in time to avoid the heatwave. But the UK has to do something about their stupid dual-tap sinks where you get cold water from the right tap and only scalding hot water from the left tap. When the hotel and nearly every restaurant has to post warning stickers on the sink about the hot water, it might be time to overhaul them.
Where Eagles Dare where should I be looking at for Nicaragua? How's the internet there? October and November have Nepal - Chiang Mai - Hanoi. Going to spend December either in Nicaragua or Mexico (Chiapas, Baja, or back to Mazunte). January going to do a 300-hour yoga teacher training for 3-4 weeks, not sure where. Might go back to Asia, might head to Guatemala. February-March up in the air. Somewhere warm, maybe back to Brazil. Maybe one of the other places above.
Brighton and Hove is a lot of fun. Lot of good pubs and bars. And obviously the music scene. Did you do any of the hikes along the coast?
Wasn’t able to fit any in this time but will be on the cards if I return. I never realized how convenient it is to get to the city from Gatwick so definitely open to returning some day soon.
Yea the Thameslink is sweet. I like the Brighton/Eastbourne are a lot more than Bournemouth/Southampton. Dover is whatever, but if you go up to Sandwich or Whitstable can be very pretty depending on time of year. Next time in Brighton hike the seven sisters. Absolutely stunning.
Nica is really cool just depends on whether the government is still doing sketchy shit or not. San Juan Del Sur was amazing but most foreigners left for a while (I haven't been since 2018). Did an awesome surf/yoga retreat in the north called "Rise Up" but not sure if it's still there. Am sure there are others. Wifi in SJDS & surrounding areas was good enough
They got through an election in November without massive protested, unlike 2016 or so when it was really bad. Ortega won for now and it seems pretty peaceful
I did a very similar trip last Fall with Como and the Swiss Alps. I would stay up in the Mountain towns like Grindelwald over Interlaken, as you're much closer to the mountains (as the photo on the last page shows), but Interlaken is good too. I did an Airbnb in Grindelwald and that was perfectly fine. The Bachalpsee hike at First in Grindelwald is probably the greatest scenic hike I have done, and only gets a little difficult once you get past the lake (which is still good hiking but the parts are up to the Lake are the best part). Grindelwald may be my favorite place in the world. If you want a nice hotel, Boutique Hotel Glacier was right down the street from where I stayed. Stopped in and got a drink and it seemed very modern and nice, and off the main street with all the crowds. Como I stayed at Filario in Lezzano which was very modern and I loved, but after visiting Hotel Belvedere in Bellagio I probably would have liked that even more. Bellagio gets a bad rap for being touristy but there is more to do there and that Hotel is off the beaten path so you won't be overwhelmed with tourists.
Figured it is a good time to share my Banff/Canmore write up as our connecting flight through Toronto was canceled upon our arrival. Trip preface: Made the trip with my wife who is 6 months pregnant. While it did not deter us from doing much, we did pull back on a few hikes after our first hike was more taxing than anticipated. Lodging: We rented an Airbnb in Canmore at the Solara resort. The resort was fantastic with amazing views of the mountains. I was hesitant of staying in Canmore at first as it wasn’t Banff, but after doing so, I am not sure I would do it differently next time. Canmore is much quieter with plenty to do and see while Banff is just 25 minutes away. We spent 2-3 days in Banff and it was not an inconvenience to make the drive as you look forward to doing so because of the views. Hiking: First off, if you do not use the app AllTrails, I highly recommend doing so before visiting. Great avenue to search and narrow down hikes/walks based off of parameters. First hike we completed was the Grassi Knob loop. Was roughly a 7 mile, 6 hour hike where we climbed 2,800 feet. Hike itself was mostly through the woods where the mosquitoes were terrible but the views up top were amazing. Wife ended up getting two blisters so this did affect what hikes we looked to do later in our trip. Second hike was the Grotto Canyon Trail. This was completely different as we were hiking within a canyon basically the entire time. Got to watch a few mountain climbers as well which was really neat. We completed a few more walks around Canmore that all ran along the creek that went through town. Again, very peaceful walks with amazing views that I doubt you’d find in Banff. Moraine Lake / Lake Louise: We were told by a few locals that Moraine Lake was the nicer of the two and after visiting both, I 100% agree. We got to Moraine lake at 9:00am and felt like we had the lake to ourselves. We rented a kayak to go out on the water and this was an awesome experience. The pictures do not do it justice as the water is so clear and the mountains are right there into the lake. Lake Louise was still beautiful but the water was not as clear and there was probably 3x the number of tourists. We purchased shuttle tickets as we were warmed parking at both sites could be a nightmare and I would do it this way again. Very seamless process. Golf: Played both Stewart’s Creek and Silvertip and while both were nice, Stewart’s Creek is hands down the better course. I felt they had overall better views and that Silvertip was more gimmicky. Multiple holes where you could attempt to fly the green or were taking 7 iron, 7 iron. Both did offer amazing views. Miscellaneous Activities: Took the Banff gondola up to Sulphure mountain where we ate at Sky Bistro. Views were fantastic and the food was really good. Highly recommend. Cave and Basin in Banff was neat, but not sure I would do it again. Did an impromptu trip to the Calgary Stampede when we arrived in Calgary. Was pretty neat, but felt like a glorified state fair. To be fair, the concert line ups looked solid and I would definitely come back. I am sure I am forgetting a few things but all in all, I am already looking forward to coming back, either in the winter or earlier in the summer so that there is more snow on the mountain tops.
Appreciate the tips. Any idea of Lake Lugano vs Lake Como? Hotels are either really expensive or not too nice on Como at this point. Found a beautiful hotel on Lake Lugano. Would day trip to Como one or two days.
Never got to go to Lugano but I spent a few months in Switzerland several years ago and the locals always talked about how great it was. I think that would be a fine idea. I have also heard that the other lakes in that area on the Italian side are very nice, but I can’t vouch personally.
That golf course looks unreal. My girlfriend went to Banff in the winter before I met her and wants to go back so i've started researching for next spring/summer.
Next time check out Jasper, on the North side of the Icefields Parkway. Pretty much the same scenery and much less crowded. We snagged a first come/first serve campsite right on the Parkway, was awesome.
Heading out to a conference in Seattle for the next 9 days with a few days and afternoons to enjoy on my own. I know nothing about Seattle but I'm seeing a Sounders match tmw night, doing a tour of Pike Place Market with the conference one day, and meeting a friend who lives on Bainbridge Island one afternoon. If anyone is around and wants to meet up, slide into my DMs. Or, I'm always open to random suggestions for things to do.
If you like beer, Georgetown Brewing. The Bodhi IPA is delightful. Red Mill burgers are pretty good too, but it gets pretty busy. And I’m always a sucker for the waterfront and Ivar’s fish and chips right down there. Really, any seafood is great though.