Rocky Mountaineer Train Review | Cost Breakdown | Is it worth the MONEY?

This video is about Rocky Mountaineer Train and the "Journey Through the Clouds" in 2023. We tell how to save money in 2024 on this amazing train journey. We give a full review of the train and its service. We explain the train's gold leaf and silver leaf service and our recommendations to save money on train travel in 2024.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 9-day/8-night train and bus journey that took us from Vancouver, Kamloops, Jasper National Park, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, and finally Calgary.

We hope you enjoy our review of the Rocky Mountaineer and some tips to save you money if you are planning this trip in 2024.

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We love living on the road, traveling each week to a new location. We plan to travel extensively to every part of the world. Ours is not a slow travel lifestyle but rather a vagabondish one. The goal is not to check a country off a list, but to experience it by meeting new people, seeing how others live, and making new friends. We believe in laughing, loving, and living our lives to the fullest.

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Video # 129

A special thanks to Rocky Mountaineer Railroad for helping us with some of the exterior shots of the train.

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[MakeYourBestMove]

4 years ago we did the Rocky Mountaineer Gold leaf from Vancouver to Jasper only. One of the best parts of the trip was getting to Vancouver for days early and enjoying all that Vancouver had to offer before getting on the train. We opted for Gold leaf because really wanted the full luxury experience for this part of the trip. We were not disappointed in any way. We picked the standard hotel since we knew it would only be an overnight. You are correct there is no need for dinner after all the food that they offer you all day long along with all the drinks. We did the rest of the trip on our own renting a car and a cabin along the river in Jasper we drove the entire Columbia icefield Parkway making the stop on the glacier and then opted to stay just outside of Banff in Canmore in a condo to save a little money on lodging and stay out of the huge crowds in Banff. We were traveling at the beginning of October so winter was beginning to set in and it was stunning. We were able to see all of the things that you mentioned and probably saved significant money on the portion of the trip from Jasper through Banff to Calgary. Having our own car on that portion gave us a lot more flexibility to spend extra time in the places that we really enjoyed. This was absolutely one of my very favorite trips of my life and the rocky mountaineer portion was 100% worth it.

[NZTiberius]

We did the silver leaf and stayed at the Fairmont hotels in 2014. TripAdvisor did warn us that really from the train all you see is trees and the odd bald eagle, we thought we knew better. It was a beautiful train, but we felt that we didn't have enough time in Jasper to appreciate our nice accommodation. We got in late (train had to allow freight trains to pass) and then we had to leave early on our coach tour the next day. Chateau Lake Louise was beautiful, but considering the price, we felt nickel and dimed for things like WiFi which we felt should have been included. The room was very small for the price and the only place to have dinner was in their very expensive restaurant. Also, the coach tour was fine, but we found it frustrating that the stops were very short and by the time everyone had gotten off the bus, there wasn't much time to see anything. For example there was a 2 hour round trip hike, but we could only see 15 mins of it. Coming from New Zealand, we were impressed with the quality of the roads in the Canadian Rockies and we'd love to go back, but we'd hire a car and experience at our own pace and use the mid-range accommodation. Banff is still our favourite place in the world. We opted out of the gondola, went down to the Banff canoe club (corner of Wolf and Caribou streets I believe) and hired canoe for a paddle on the Bow river. It was fantastic and one of our most favourite memories.

[maryloua]

I’ve taken 3 of the four RM tours. All were on silver leaf. The benefit was not having to walk up and down narrow winding stairs to get to the other level in the gold leaf. And I loved being served at my seat. For me the extra cost wasn’t justified especially because I wanted to avoid those narrow stairways. It was a great experience and the shoulder season does make a difference. My favs - the ice field on that glacier rover and crossing the American Rockies from Denver to Moab. But none of it was bad. I’d do it again in a heart beat. They even managed to satisfy my vegetarian tastes. Highly recommend this company and their tours. Great report.

[martinwhetter]

First off, I'd like to say that I'm a local and I've been to all the areas noted. Totally agree that you can do the trip in a more budget friendly manner and have just as good as of an experience. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard how expensive the hotels were in Jasper and Lake Louise. For the Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff & Calgary section I think renting a car or hiring a van (not sure of the cost) and booking your own hotels would be a good option if you don't mind doing the self guided thing. This is a trip of a life time if you like mountains, so however you choose to do it will be worth it. Good luck and safe travels.

[dsr]

Thank you a hundred times for this. $1, 500 - $2, 900 hotel upgrade to the Fairmont with no air conditioning? That's nuts! We've looked at this trip online and on YT videos several times. Yes, we can afford it, but the price seemed exorbitant for what you actually got. (We didn't accumulate our sizeable nest egg by being wasteful.) Also, there is no info on the website about the bus portion, so that seemed overpriced, too. After seeing how great Brewster Tours was for you, I'll definitely look at that kind of tour instead. We could take an entire other trip on the money we saved, but still have a great experience. Thanks again.

[hbwygkx]

I am a tour manager who takes groups on the Rocky Mountaineer each year.
I totally agree either your assessment of taking Silver Leaf and should season. Gold Leaf is not worth the extra cost. Scenery is the same and meal choices are superb. Save the $$ and go Silver Leaf

[jbcallender]

We took the Mountaineer Gold Leaf service, Banff to Vancouver at the and of July '23. We stayed at the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary, Rimrock Resort in Banff and Sandman hotel in Kamloops. The service was excellent and everything was first class in every way. We were completely satisfied. Hats off to Rocky Mountaineer.

[erinaustin]

We were in the Banff area in July too. Very crowded but we weren’t too disappointed because we had gone previously for a conference that spared no expense. This area is a bucket list location especially if you can get out and explore the outdoors. Thanks for the honest review.

[travelman]

Great summary! We appreciate the honest evaluation of the train, excursions, and hotels. Very helpful.

[bearisland]

We splurged to take our mothers on the gold leaf trip to Banff. Wonderful train and staff. The food and the cider was great. The silver leaf customers came up to see our first class coach after we arrived in Banff and they looked so jealous. Gold leaf is the way to go!

[gazzafloss]

Hey folks, 100% agree with you on the cost and relative value of the fancy hotels. All thats needed is a clean reasonable room and bed with a clean bathroom, all the rest is superfluous to needs. We paid $1000/ night for a fancy hotel one stay in Singapore we were so disappointed with what we paid for a king bed and gold plated faucets in the bathroom and staff with a "superior attitude". Much happier with our regular $100/night clean queen bed room closer in to city center with chrome plated tap wear and friendly staff. Thanks for your "sage" travel advice, keep on traveling !

[leannebree]

We did it super budget about 10 years ago, hired a car and drove. Loved it. We can’t afford the train - or Fairmont - prices but it is an option that is so rarely mentioned.

[lindab]

My husband and I have talked about taking one of these train trips for a long time, and it does ideed sound like a wonderful, pampering experience. However, we have visited almost all of these spots on our own, from Victoria to Calgary via car. And because we need to be conscious of how we spend our vacation dollar, DIY is a lot less expensive. So, your advice is solid, i.e. if you can afford it, go for it! Thanks for another good review!

[julialembcke]

Wow. I've never even considered this trip, but now it's on our bucket list! The train/bus is SO cool!!! Great information all the way around.

[maryflanagan]

Enjoyed your post. As a recent retired healthcare professional I am eager to start traveling when my husband retires next year

[DarkpawTheWolf]

The other major difference between Silver and Gold leaf is that Gold gives you a fully OPEN area in the back of the car. So you can actually go outside and experience the trip directly exposed to nature while on the train. I think this was a huge part to leave out, as it's one of the biggest reasons to choose the Gold Leaf class.

[FunFoodie]

John and Bev, My husband and I took advantage of this awesome experience this past May for his birthday, but we did the Rockies to the Red Rocks from Colorado to Utah. We also selected the gold leaf package. It was a wonderful experience of you are fortunate enough to do this trip. We did spend 2 days in Colorado and did my own DIY excursions and 2 days in Utah doing the same thing.

Thank you both for sharing your honest review and great experience. I am glad you both enjoy this wonderful experience with friends.

[lovehandr]

I went with a friend in 2019, in late April, so the start of the season. Our route was from Calgary to Vancouver via Banff and Lake Louise. We chose Silver Leaf, so we got the Silver Leaf discount and a significant early season discount. It was a great experience, meeting all our expectations. We had very nice accommodation in Calgary, Banff, Kamloops and Vancouver and stayed at the Chateau Lake Louise as well. Our Banff hotel was right in the centre of town, so I considered this a bit of a plus over the more remote luxury hotels. Going so early, it was chilly in the mountains and Lake Louise was still frozen over, but views were probably better with trees still not leafed out. If budget is of any concern, choose Silver Leaf. The service and food was still great.

[Anonymous-One]

Thank you for sharing your honest feedback regarding your trip. We are similar when it comes to hotel rooms. We usually go for something in the middle. Sometimes the lower end rooms are scary, such as holes in the blankets and cob webs - true story about a room we stayed at in San Francisco. We don't find it worth the money to stay at high end rooms, since we are usually out and about doing activities and don't spend much time in the room. Regarding wildlife - we live in Colorado and hike a lot. We are most concerned about getting attacked by a moose. They are big and can quickly have a bad temper. We don't have grizzly bears in Colorado, but if we did we would be as concerned about them as the moose. Just a tip for those who don't know.

[VeldboerMike]

I would suggest taking the Rocky Mountaineer to the Rockies and then rent a car to spend at least a week there. There are actually 7 national parks in the Rockies and each has its own amazing views and things to do/see. The smaller parks such as Yoho and Kootney are actually many locals favourites because they give a much more intimate atmosphere. There are hundreds of hiking trails with different ranges of difficulties. The views are specular and the experiences are incredible. If you go to any of the visitor centres, you can find free maps and brochures with information on the more popular spots in each national park, along with info about the wild animals you may encounter. The Canadian Rockies is one of the easiest places to have a self-guided trip. Combined with the tours you can purchase, e.g. the Columbia ice field experience, you can get a much more diverse experience of the whole area.