There is no question that exploring Banff has gone viral over the last few months, and why shouldn’t it? The views are unparalleled! Being 25 and not having tons of money to blow, we took it upon ourselves to explore Banff on a budget, and here are some tips!
Don’t stay in Banff, Pick Canmore instead
Booking hotels or Airbnb in Banff can drain your wallet. Banff is just a 25-minute drive away from Canmore, a small town, which is just as gorgeous and surrounded by mountains. It is a smaller town which is much quieter so it lets you admire the surrounding beauty in peace. In Canmore last year, we stayed at an Airbnb called Mountain Memories and it was a perfect stay – it was gorgeous, the host was amazing, and they even provided breakfast and homemade granola!!!!!
Car rentals can add up, Try Turo Instead!
The second shock we faced was the cost of renting a car – Banff is a tourist destination, after all. Save some money by booking a car on Turo (which is like Airbnb for cars). Some Turo hosts will even drop off the car at the airport (ours did) which saves the hassle of commuting to the rental agency. Turo has different levels of insurance but we always recommend at least going for the standard option as most credit cards don’t cover Turo under car rental insurance. The Turo car we rented provided us with no problems at all, and our Airbnb provided free parking as well (so we had some extra savings here).
Gas can add up, Bus where you can
If you’re in Banff, you don’t want to waste your time looking for parking. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake (where cars aren’t allowed as of the summer of 2023) are a great example of this. If you don’t get up early and arrive before the crowds, you may not be able to explore everything.
Here is what we did. We drove from Canmore to Banff and found plenty of street parking (which was much cheaper than parking lots). Additionally, there is also free 8-hour parking available in some spots. We then used the 8x bus by Roam Transit to go to Lake Louise. We enjoyed this option because we had reserved our spots ahead of time, were not bothered by parking at Lake Louise, and the pass included a lake connector bus to Moraine Lake. Roam Transit also offers a ‘Super Pass’ option – this option lets you hop onto any Roam Transit bus even if you don’t have reservations (subject to spaces) which is a great option to make your trip flexible.
Avoid the crowd, Show up during the shoulder of the season
If you’ve ever looked at plane tickets to Calgary, you’d notice that prices during the summer are shocking. At least 3x higher than usual! Unless you’re planning on finding another way to arrive, I’d suggest booking tickets during the shoulder season. We went in early July and made use of slightly cheaper flight tickets. A little research here is important to make sure all the attractions are accessible. We had to confirm that the lakes were accessible and that certain routes weren’t blocked out due to rain or snow. That’s the gamble you are making booking in the shoulder season. Housing is also cheaper during this time.
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