Banff Area & Johnston Canyon 1-Day Tour from Calgary or Banff
Description
From the quaint mountainside town of Banff, to the snow-dusted peaks, misty falls, and dramatic canyons around Banff as you explore this rugged slice of Alberta with an experienced guide. Starting your day with rolling by the steep slopes of Sulphur Mountain for the chance to take a gondola ride to the summit's sweeping viewpoints. (Banff Sulphur Gondola is optional) Enjoy some leisure time in downtown Banff and Snap photos of Johnston Canyon's limestone-carving creek. Fill your camera with misty shots of the tumbling rapids at Bow Falls, capture panoramic images of downtown Banff framed against a backdrop of craggy peaks from the Surprise Corner lookout, and keep your eyes peeled for the monolithic silhouette of glacier-carved Hoodoos.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Bus Ride from Calgary to Banff / Pick Up Guests at Banff
Take the Sulphur Gondola (Optional) to the top viewing point of Mt Sulphur to enjoy a 360º view of Banff. **With the high demand, we strongly recommend to book the option provided with admission **Tour will not visit Banff Gondola during Nov 6-Nov 17 due to Annual Maintenance. Will replace by other sightseeing place.
Enjoy some leisure time in downtown Banff, consider grabbing lunch or looking for a new piece of gear in a shop catering to outdoor adventurers.
Known for its walking trail throughout the year. The trail to the waterfalls of Johnston Canyon has to be the busiest in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly every day throughout the summer, hundreds of hikers follow its canyon-clinging catwalks and cliff-mounting staircases to the gorge’s Lower and Upper Falls. Throughout the journey, scan the creek and its banks for dippers. Also known as water ouzels, these solitary, slate-grey birds are often seen bouncing up and down on streamside rocks. *Free Crampon are provided for Winter itinerary (Nov to mid-Apr) **November to April we will visit Marble Canyon (Stop for 30 minutes)
Capture panoramic images of Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and downtown Banff framed against a backdrop of craggy peaks from the Surprise Corner lookout where most of the famous pictures have been taken
Hoodoos are composed sedimentary rock covered by harder rock that is harder to erode. Once softer sediment erodes rock needle, or tower like natural obstacles are left.
Location of the film "The River of no return" in 1960's. Fill your camera with misty shots of the tumbling rapids at Bow Falls.
Bus Ride from Banff to Calgary
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(151)
Finding and boarding at the pickup point is easy. The bus, driver, and guide are all enjoyable. Great selection of sites to be seen.
This is a tour focused on sites around the Banff town area. The tour company seems to specifically focus on Asian/Chinese customers as the entirety of the trip was bilingual with a heavy preference to the Chinese guests. The tour I experienced felt rushed and regimented. However, the guide Allen, was polite and respectful. While we saw everything on the itinerary, there wasn't a lot of time given to enjoy it, just photograph before being whisked to the next location. Driver was 10 minutes late and this was taken out of the free time in Banff. Banff town centre has so much to look at that it is impossible to see anything of note within the time frame. The tour with Gondola option when picked up from Calgary, does present good value for money as booking separately is costly. Seemed the majority of other customers used it as a shuttle service between Calgary and Banff, with a tour tacked on. While enjoyable, I would go to other companies for a more personal experience.
They say there is a Japanese guide, but only the sightseeing information is played through the earphones. The tour names were posted in Chinese and many were Chinese. What’s more, there were explanations in Chinese and Chinese-accented English, meeting places and time guidance, but they didn’t say for sure. I had to wait for nearly an hour to get a ticket at the gondola stand. Tickets are distributed in advance for other tour guests
We’re very sorry to hear that aspects of your experience did not meet your expectations, and we truly appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Regarding the guide you mentioned — while he is of Asian heritage, he was raised in Canada from a young age and communicates in fluent English. He has consistently received positive feedback from English-speaking guests. We regret that you found his accent unsatisfactory, and we’ll be sure to remind our guides to encourage guests to take notes—either on their phones or in writing—when important instructions are given, to help prevent any miscommunication in the future. As for the gondola tickets, please rest assured that all bookings were made and confirmed with the attraction well in advance. On the day of your visit, the guide did their best to manage the situation and assist everyone as efficiently as possible despite the large crowds and coordination with multiple parties. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and thank you again for sharing your feedback—it helps us continue improving our service. Below is the AI translated Japanese content. この度はご不便をおかけし申し訳ございません。 担当ガイドはアジア系ですが、カナダ育ちで英語も堪能であり、多くの英語圏のお客様から高い評価を頂いております。ご期待に沿えなかったことを残念に思います。今後は、重要な案内についてはメモなどで確認いただくようガイドにも共有いたします。 また、ゴンドラのチケットは事前に手配済みで、当日は混雑の中で可能な限りスムーズにご案内いたしました。ご理解いただけますと幸いです。 貴重なご意見、誠にありがとうございました。
Really, in this part of the world one can't have a bad day...getting out n about here is invigorating, a life,body and mind recharge.Views to carry for life, memories to last a lifetime.Trily magnificent experience.
The tour guide took the last walk to Mable Canyon to see the canyon Walk the muddy road with a unique taste The tour guide specialized in providing ice nails Help a lot of work The scenery is really great
非常感謝您的分享與肯定！ 我們很開心您喜歡我們的行程，導遊特地準備冰爪，就是希望能讓大家走得更安心、更舒適，那裡的風景確實令人難忘，也謝謝您與我們一同體驗這段美好的旅程。 期待未來還有機會再為您服務，祝您一切順心！
The whole tour was great, our driver name Jessie was very approachable. It’s a 5/5 for me and I enjoyed the whole tour.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear you had a great time on the Banff Area & Johnston Canyon tour and that Jessie made your experience even more enjoyable. Your 5/5 rating means a lot to us, and we're so glad you enjoyed the whole journey! We hope to welcome you on another adventure soon!
Fabulous and thrilling. Loved the Banff gondola and Marble Canyon was incredible. Our guide Zacko was pleasant and informative
Thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re so glad to hear you had a fabulous and thrilling experience. It’s wonderful to know you enjoyed the Banff Gondola and were impressed by Marble Canyon. We're also happy to hear that Zackal made your tour pleasant and informative — we’ll be sure to pass along your kind words! Looking forward to seeing you on another adventure soon!
All the hiking and walking we did to get to see all the beautiful mountains and waterfalls was WELL WORTH IT!!! I’m 68, and I highly recommend this tour! Pleasant guide too!!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We’re so glad to hear that you enjoyed the hikes and the stunning scenery, and that it was well worth the effort. It’s fantastic that you had a pleasant guide to accompany you too. We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you again for more amazing adventures!
Banff is one of the most beautiful spot if you are a nature lover, the weather was perfect, and very accessible, unforgettable!
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re happy to hear that you enjoyed Banff’s natural beauty and perfect weather. It truly is an unforgettable destination for nature lovers. We hope you have many more wonderful adventures ahead!
My husband and I did two diff tours around Banff with this same group in September 2024 and both were excellent! Great tour guides who were very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful! We would highly recommend them and would definitely book again!
Thank you very much for your kind words! We’re thrilled that you and your husband enjoyed both tours and appreciated the knowledge and friendliness of our guides. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we look forward to having you join us again in the future!
