Mountain Lakes and Waterfalls Day Trip from Calgary

Calgary, Canada

Discover Canada's beautiful mountain lakes and waterfalls during this day trip from Calgary. Explore Banff National Park and visit Lake Louise, the 'Jewel of the Canadian Rockies,' with its backdrop of the glistening Victoria Glacier. Visit the scenic Yoho Valley and such sights as Takakkaw Falls and Kicking Horse Pass that spans the Kicking Horse River.

From Calgary, travel the open prairie up into the foothills that lead to the Canadian Rockies. In Banff National Park, you'll journey the Bow Valley Parkway.

Enjoy a quick lunch at Emerald Lake before making your way to Victoria Glacier and Lake Louise. Time will be provided at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise before moving on to Moraine Lake, in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Crossing the Great Divide into Yoho National Park via the scenic Kicking Horse Pass, pause at the Spiral Tunnels and enjoy a walk through the paths of Takakkaw Falls.

Return to Calgary in the evening after a full day exploring the scenic sights of the Canadian Rockies.

Please note: This tour is seasonal and only operates from May through to September.

USD $184.00

Review by:   Vez,    November 2017
Beautiful sights and the whole tour was very well organized.

Review by:   barbara l,    November 2017
We were in Calgary for the Stampede which was a blast. Our driver for the tour going to Banff was nice and informative. The scenery was breath taking. We stopped at 3 lakes and had time to walk around and take pictures at each, we were lucky enough to watch a freight train go into the corkscrew tunnel and come out going in the opposite direction. We walked to 2 waterfalls and finally had time to shop and dine in Banff. It was a full day but that was all the time we had. Our driver and guide were helpful and the company was accommodating and we are glad we could fit this trip in our week.

Review by:   Brooke H,    November 2017
This is without a doubt, the best tour I've ever done. I'm a regular viator user and this tour takes the cake. The views are amazing, everywhere you turn there's so much to see. You get plenty of time for amazing photos and if you're short on time or can't stay more than a few nights in Calgary this is a must do. if you can stay longer, definitely try for extended stays at these sights - the views are incredible. This was undoubtedly one of, if not my most favourite day I've ever spent on holidays. I would do it again and again.

Review by:   Vanessa C,    October 2017
Excellent. It was a very long day, but it was worth it. _br/_ Well organized and drivers were super informative. There are two buses, one from Calgary to Banff then from Banff to the tourist spot and vice versa for the return to Calgary. _br/_ The driver doubles over as the tour guide and there is a secondary guide that does all the organizing. When you arrive at the tourist spots, there is free time to explore on your own, which is great. We throughly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting. : :

Review by:   Sharon F,    October 2017
Such a perfect day! Loved it from beginning to end.

Review by:   THERESA H,    October 2017
All these lakes are incredible experience, I can't wait to go in another tour with my girls!

Review by:   Richard M,    September 2017
This 12 hour day involved a two hour bus ride from Calgary to Banff as offered by Brewster Travel. We travelled through two provinces: Alberta and British Columbia during the course of the day. Lunched at Emerald Lake lodge. The sights were spectacular as rains had cleansed the air of smoke allowing the tourists to view the pristine waters of the lakes and the breathtaking waterfalls. The professional driver, Al, and tour guide, Bianca, afforded all ample time to see Mother Nature's splendor. My favorite waterfall was in Yoho National Park. You would just stare in awe at the beauty of Takakkaw Falls. If you have but one tour to take during your visit, THIS TOUR IS THE ONE. Highly, highly recommended!

Review by:   hyung36,    September 2017
This tour is great. _br/_ The driver ‘Dustin’ and tour guide ‘Bianca’ gave the best explanation._br/_ It was an unforgettable landscape and tour.

Review by:   Maria R,    September 2017
Ok so obviously the places you visit are beautiful but the reason you opt for a tour is to get that bit extra and avoid the hassle of renting a car._br/_ If you start the tour in Calgary beware of the waiting times that nobody warned me about. In the morning you do have to wait for about an hour to join the tour and in the evening, at the end of a very long day you need to wait for like an hour and a half. Not ideal and not great. _br/_ When you board the bus you're told that if you are a single traveller you will need to share a sea with someone else. Fair enough. This always happens. But what is not acceptable is that if you are there nice and early and get a seat by the window you get pushed to the back and to an aisle seat. The only reason why I booked a tour instead of rent a car was so that I could take pictures. If I can't do that then I have no interest in the tour._br/_ On top of that, there were a few issues with people joining us later who moved other passengers' stuff and took advantage of their old age and took it against a couple who didn't speak very good English. Needless to say the driver and guide didn't do anything._br/_ In summary, next time I would rent a car. Especially when they do not make their policies clear before booking.

Review by:   Kah Ee Y,    September 2017
Absolutely stunning views and scenery. Not forgetting the interactive coach driver Rick and guide Ben! Highly recommend this tour to anyone from anywhere around the world it's a memorable experience!

Review by:   Robert R,    September 2017
Great tour. We covered a lot of ground in one day. Three beautiful lakes and a waterfall and the town of Banff. Our guides, Andy and Hassel, were great. They provided lots of good info and stories. Andy drove and commentated during the bus ride, Hassell took us on guided walks at the stops optional. Definitely a day well spent. There are a few things people should know that weren't communicated on the original tour info. 1. There was no info on what to wear. There was no rain in the forecast, so I did not bring a raincoat and had to buy one during the tour. The rain started after our first stop and continued the rest of the day, but did not by any means ruin our trip. Jeans and layers are appropriate attire. Plan for hot, cold and wet. 2. We knew lunch was provided, but the brochure did not say if we should bring water or snacks or if they would provide that. We decided to get something at the Tim Horton's in the terminal before the tour, which turned out to be a good idea. They did provide cookies and drinks at one one of our stops during the day, but nothing early in the am. Lunch was good and well organized. 3. We were given a hotel pick-up location, but nothing else. Should we wait in the lobby, outside or somewhere else? Were we in the right place? There was no sign and the hotel employee we asked knew nothing. This also happened on another Viator tour we took, so was less worrisome than would have been if this were our first Viator tour. 4. Once on the bus, we did not know we were being transferred. The driver simply gave us the required emergency info for the bus and then said nothing else. We were a little uncomfortable at first not knowing what was going on. He did not say where we were going or when we would arrive. We were afraid it was going to be a bad tour, but we finally deduced on our own that we were being transferred to another bus. Once on the actual tour bus, we finally got to hear how our day would unravel. After the tour, we arrived back at the transfer station in Banff earlier than expected. They they were nice enough to give us some earlier return options or we could choose to stay longer in Banff and take the originally scheduled transportation back.

Review by:   Nour Z,    September 2017
Worth it!! The team was great and very entertaining!

Review by:   James M,    August 2017
The Canadian Rockies were everything I had ever heard of, and more. The guide Nikol was astonishingly nice and well informed, and able to dig up any information she didn't know at once. They know where to go, and it is much better to have someone else driving and access to the bus parking areas. Brewster is the company that runs the tours, and I would use them again in a fat minute.

Review by:   FOLUSO A,    August 2017
Amazing tour, amazing views, very well planned and good value for money. Our tour guides, Nicole and Rob were fantastic. They did and excellent job and made effort to add some extra stops for us.

Review by:   Anusha S,    August 2017
I enjoyed the trip and lunch was good.

Review by:   Elena K,    August 2017
Very nice tour, highly recommended. Moraine and Emerald lakes are breathtaking, on Moraine lake u have to climb the rocks to get a decent picture of the lake. Wish we would have more time there. Lake Louise was super crowded.

Review by:   Jonathan G,    July 2017
I have always liked exploring new places on my own. This was the first organized trip we have ever taken. To say we enjoyed it would be an understatement. Our driver Andy and guide Hessel were terrific. We were continually impressed with Andy's knowledge of the area and it's history. We learned much more than we expected to prior to the trip. Hessel was our guide when we left the bus. He was also full of information about the various stops. One of the nice things about being on the bus is that we were able to go places that were restricted to other motorists due to the crowds. The lakes and waterfalls were spectacular. We saw the train both enter and leave the Spiral tunnels. The wildlife was also abundant. _br/_ I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. The bus was very clean and comfortable, we never spent too much time on the bus between stops, and we had plenty of time to explore each stop.

Review by:   Jaime M,    July 2017
It was an amazing tour! Loved it from min 1 ! So much to see and great sceneries! Amazing! Your tour guide was very well prepared. I would recommend it

Review by:   Jose E E,    June 2017
We celebrated our wedding anniversary this day! and it was one great experience!

Review by:   Doug B,    October 2016
This was exceptionally great. The narrator was well versed, the trip was very memorable, and we got some great shots. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Would greatly recommend to all.

Review by:   Steffie v,    September 2016
From the first stop at Castle Mountain to stops at Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Emerald Lake, the spiral tunnels, the natural bridge over the kicking horse river and the final stop at Takakkaw Falls, everything was very beautiful and worthwhile! I absolutely recommend this trip to everyone!

Review by:   Betty anne D,    September 2016
This was an amazing trip. So many beautiful places to see and experience. Even though it was a long day 6:00 AM to 9:30 PM it was well worth it. The scenery and landscapes were unforgettable..... Our driver/ tour guide Patrick O'Connor was so knowledgeable and informative. He truly contributed to the all the wonderful events of the day.....I an so glad I chose this day trip and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see this beautiful area of our country

Review by:   Margaret M,    September 2016
The trip was done by Brewsters of Banff and I cant fault their service.

Review by:   Nicole J M,    August 2016
This tour was very good, besides just the scenery of everything beautiful around, the tour guides were both very knowledgeable about everything and very pleasant. It was great to see many of the different lakes and sights they had planned as well as had a great little lunch spot. There was a lot of driving but that's the nature of being surrounded by everything beautiful

Review by:   degustons,    August 2016
Wonderful day!

Review by:   Gene M,    August 2016
Very good tour to see many sites in limited time

Review by:   Josee,    August 2016
This was a great tour. The bus driver/tour guide from Banff was fantastic. He tried very hard to ensure we had an enjoyable experience. My only negative was that I had booked my stay at the Ramada hotel Downtown because it was in the list of hotels for the departure point for this tour but the bus does NOT pick-up/drop-off from that hotel. I had to walk to the Sandman hotel to catch the bus, which was a little annoying. Other than that, it was a fantastic tour!

Review by:   burtonhill60,    July 2016
All day trip to Mountain lakes including Lake Louise, Emerald Lake, Moraine Lake. The trip was incredible. Long day...14 hours from pick up at 6AM to return to Calgary downtown at 9:30PM.

Review by:   Yinci Y,    July 2016
Beautiful lakes! Our drivertour guide Andy was very knowledgeable and helpful. I like the design of this tour overall.

Review by:   Rosa E V,    July 2016
Such a great experience, we loved this trip

Review by:   Joan W,    July 2016
The Driver, Patrick and the helper, Roberto are very helpful. They are fun and informative. The lakes and fall are beautiful. It is worth the trip and long drive from Calgary.

Review by:   James Z,    July 2016
Absolutely undeniably money well spent. Wow. Saw everything we had on our list and then some. Awesome tour guide was knowledgeable, extremely capable as a driver, and funny. Yes it and #39;s almost $200 bucks. I kid you not. Worth every dime!

Review by:   BarbP,    July 2016
Tim and Renata with Brewster travel where both great! Tim has a vast knowledge of Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise and all the provincial national parks we visited.

Review by:   Ilisa L,    July 2016
We had such a great time! Definitely great value for all the things we saw. Very organized and the lunch included was great.

Review by:   Kristen M,    July 2016
I had a wonderful experience on this trip. The guides were very friendly and gave a great commentary. The only downside and this is very minor! was that the itinerary was not clearly stated when the trip was booked leading to some confusion as to when those of us who were picked up in Calgary would return. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this trip!

Review by:   Laura H,    July 2016
The tour was very good_br/_ Our driver tim was great in explaining and telling storys about the area._br/_ I realy enjoyed the trip._br/_ Very good organized and just great_br/_ I highly recommend this trip

Review by:   jdbadger,    July 2016
Fantastic well satisfied

Review by:   Andrzej J,    June 2016
Great tour! Wild life, great views!

Review by:   Ruta A,    June 2016
The trip was amazing, i saw more mountains on that day than i did in my whole life : You will have many amazing photos from this trip. Our guide and driver were funny and friendly.

Review by:   Judit V,    December 2015
Spectacular scenery, loved the tour

Review by:   Kalpana P,    September 2015
Great tour with 5-6 beautiful photo stops. It's a long day 15 hours but well worth it for the beautiful sights and drive. Tour was not rushed and well guided.

Review by:   J J Brookes B,    September 2015
Really enjoyed this trip. I even saw 2 black bears on the way back to Calgary late afternoon._br/_ So much was covered but really well. Some stunning scenery even with rain._br/_ Would recomend

Review by:   Diana G,    September 2015
Awesome trip! a bit long, but totally worth it!

Review by:   Antares R,    August 2015
Everything was find, the drivers were super funny and nice, our tour guide did such an amazing job, I really enjoyed visiting all these places.

Review by:   Linda B,    August 2015
I was in Calgary with my daughter's family..........took a day by myself to go on this tour and had a wonderful experience! I'm an active lady in my 70's and had no trouble at all getting around, walking, and thoroughly enjoying all the stops on this tour. The tour guide was very helpful and informative along the way. Good memories!

Review by:   Phill Clegg,    July 2015
While working in Calgary, I wanted to visit the Rockies. So I booked this trip. The organisation went very smoothly, with a 06:50 pick up from my hotel. We changed coaches in Banff and had time for a quick coffee and snack before heading off. Our Driver Dave was friendly and knowledgeable. First stop was Johnson Canyon, where we had around 40 mins. That was enough for a walk up to the lower falls and plenty of photos. Lake Louise was the next stop, where we picked up our lunches and had around 1 1/2 hrs to wander around and take in the scenery. It's an easy walk along the shore and quite quickly you can get away from the hoards. The views are wonderful. After lunch we set off to Moraine Lake, very spectacular, but only 30 mins here. Next we set off to Yoho National Park and Takakkaw Falls. Again very spectacular, but only 30 mins on the ground. After this we headed back to Banff, where we had a wait of around 3 hrs for the coach back to Calgary. I enjoyed the trip, the views if the weather is good are amazing and the driver was very informative. However, as a keen outdoors person and photographer, I would have gladly spent longer on the tour and spent much less time in Banff. While it's a nice town, it's still a town. Perhaps they need to have a option from Lake Louise for an extended trip arriving back in Banff in time to catch the coach back to Calgary. That said it was an enjoyable day out with some wonderful scenery.

Review by:   Allison C,    July 2015
The ?Australian?New Zealander tour guide was excellent. Only slight fault. He would underestimate walking times to various spots. Otherwise he was excellent. He was also a skilful driver._br/_ We were completely satisfied with our tour.

Review by:   Oscar L,    July 2015
We had a great time. Go see it if you get a chance!

Review by:   JUNGHAN K,    October 2014
very nice guiding and schedule, enough explanation. i recommand this tour.

Review by:   Mihai S,    August 2014
Excellent trip, a very good weather helped indeed, but beside the packed schedule with many lakes and waterfalls visited and of course the spectacular views that we enjoyed all the time, I need to make a special mention of the star of the day, the driver Bob, who made the excursion beyond expectation with his knowledge and wits. Entertainment was complete. We highly recommend this trip to anyone interested to spend a day surrounded by the beauty of nature.