Before you visit Banff, Canada, learn these 10 tips you must-know. Banff is a town inside Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Notice Banff Town or Banff Lake Louise before you visit. Get a National Park pass to drive past Canmore into Banff.

https://www.banfflakelouise.com/parks-pass-faq

Moraine Lake or Lake Louise

Lake Louise Shuttle – What You Need to Know for 2023

Moraine Lake Shuttle – What You Should Know for 2023

The correct gondola tour: https://www.banfflakelouise.com/gondolas

Escape The Crowds Of Banff Avenue In Cascades Of Time Gardens

Call The Post:  200 Pipestone Rd, Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0, Canada Phone +1-403-522-3989

20 Questions for a Pilot (husband): https://bit.ly/20QuestionsForPilot
No overhead bin space left? Watch this: https://bit.ly/NoOverheadForBag

Links:
Blue sweater: https://bit.ly/3IPWtRZ (I have 3 of these. Large for size 10 is great)
Green jacket: https://bit.ly/3SKaItl
Similar: https://bit.ly/3Gafvkh
Down jacket: https://bit.ly/3VkTeoa
Stamp Collector shirt: https://bit.ly/MyTravelShirts

What I wore to Banff coming soon.
Helpful video: https://bit.ly/BigBulkyOuterwearHack

Chapters:
00:00 Banff Alberta Canada: must-know
00:08 Banff Town
00:10 Banff National Park
00:24 Banff Lake Louise tips
00:37 Must have National Park pass
00:56 Pass on dashboard
1:17 Drive to Banff
1:32 Rent car
1:38 Pictures of Cascade Mountain
2:05 Hidden Gem Municipal Building
2:15 Cascade of Time Gardens
2:50 Air conditioning
3:45 Banff Town food
3:52 Best Italian Lupo
4:22 Best Coffee Banff Town
5:02 Lake Minnewanka
5:45 Banff Springs Hotel
6:45 Moraine Lake Tips
7:43 Chateau Fairmont Lake Louise
9:05 Rock Pile Moraine Lake

Thumbnail by @designlab4 on Fiverr.

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Instagram: @TravelTipsByLaurie (My former channel name was LauriePOP Ideas That POP, but now I produce travel tip videos only)

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41 Comments

  1. Banff used to be a 3 season town but tourism is now strong year-round! Canmore is a great option for accommodations just before the gates at the National Park.

  2. If you’re there May – September rent a bike (or e-bike) and ride to Johnson Canyon – fantastic! My favourite thing to do in Banff!

  3. Hi I have a question- travelling from Canada to Grand Caymans for 10 days . Am I allowed to carry on an “ over the counter “ sleeping aide, unopened but contains 96 tablets. From BC ….and yes Banff is stunning!

  4. @traveltipsbylaurie This is perfect timing! My husband and I are going later this year–thank you for making this vidoe!

  5. I'm confused about the fact that your hotel room was very warm but the pictures show people wearing hats and jackets. Does the temp vary that much or was it unusually warm a few days?

  6. New rules say you MUST take a bus to Lake Louise and Morraine Lake. No longer allowing parking. Thanks for all your great videos!

  7. Banff & Lake Louise have been on my List de Bucket for quite a while but your video has moved it up several notches. Great tips as always Laurie—thanks so much!

  8. Great video Laurie. Gorgeous pictures you took! Love the ones of you in front of the lake. Definitely epic photos! I had to smile as I've never heard the chair called that. Canadians will only ever call those chairs Muskoka Chairs. Muskoka is cottage country in Ontario and people have those chairs on their docks. Hence the name 🇨🇦

  9. Got confused as Banff has mountain called Cascade Mountain but it is in the Rockies, not the Cascades.

  10. it has literally been over 30 years since I've been up into canada. when I was young, we made multiple trips to Vancouver and Victoria. my parents have been thinking of driving the trans canada highway. if we made the trip, we'd likely run up from visiting my MIL in Montana.

  11. Hi, Banff is amazing but if you are just driving through and are not stopping to camp in the park you do not need to purchase a park pass.

  12. We've GOT to get there one of these days! One thing we have to clarify with people (as someone who lives near the Cascade MountainS), is that Cascade Mountain (singular) is part of the Canadian Rockies. That confuses people. 😆 Anyway, gorgeous photos!! Great tips!!

  13. We enjoyed Banff and Lake Louise on a RV trip about 15 years ago. Breathtaking scenery. While enjoying a cocktail on the patio at the Fairmont Hotel we called home to our 18 year old son who was staying home for the first time. First words out of his mouth were “I have bad news for you!). He had crashed our car going to the grocery store. Needless to say it put a damper into that awesome day but nobody got hurt and my sister was able to help him out until we got home. What a trip!

  14. Glad you enjoyed it so much. I think you would find the food in Quebec City as good, if not better, than Banff!! Canadian Thanksgiving is the same weekend as Columbus Day in case anyone is wondering about the closing dates.

  15. I am from Ontario Canada and here we call Adirondack chairs Muskoka chairs! July 2021 my daughter and I visited Banff an Jasper Alberta. Simply beautiful! I would love to go back again one day.

  16. Hello! Glad to stumble across a fellow houstonian! We are going this summer for about 3 days in banff. Do i need a national park pass for each day?

  17. If you didn't drive from Banff to Jasper on the Icefield Parkway, you missed Peyto lake and the best views.

  18. Did you come across any spots that would be good for a rehearsal dinner for a large group? I’m getting married in October of this year in Banff!! Currently trying to figure out where to hold rehearsal dinner!

  19. Some more info on the Banff Springs Hotel:
    It has a ghost.
    The hotel was built backwards (not intentionally), so what you see is actually the back.
    There are also some odd things inside, e.g., there's a stairway that leads to nothing – just a wall.

  20. I visited this gorgeous area in the nineties and loved it
    Yes the Beautiful Banff Hotel had old small and outdated rooms even then so I can't imagine now
    Chateau Lake Louise was one of my all time favorite hotels.
    We did the hike up to the "tea house" along the side of the lake louise
    I want to take my teenagers there soon

  21. Thanks for being so accurate in all your details!
    Living so close to Banff we see so much inaccurate information being posted from visitors. There is so much to see and do. Hopefully next time you come you can travel the Icefield Parkway to Jasper too.

  22. you only need to purchase a park pass if you are stopping in Banff townsite, a park pass is not needed if just driving thru on your way to the coast

  23. Not the municipal building. That is the Park's Administration Building. Town offices are right in town.

  24. Hey Laurie, great info on Banff. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Maybe one of these days I’ll get there. 🥰

  25. THis is a bit hard to watch due to some minor things. if you are not stopping in Banff you do not need a pass. The building at the end of Banff ave at 1:48 that is not a municipal building. That is a National parks Building which is federal. lake minnewanka and lake Louise can be visited via transit bus from Banff in the summer. Bow falls has a parking lot. You do not need to park at the Banff springs hotel. (I’m a almost local) my biggest “tip” is stop a Johnston’s canyon.

  26. It's on my bucket list. How many days would you recommend to stay in Banff to see everything for a first time visitor?

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