Prairies & Rockies of Alberta and Saskatchewan

After enjoying complimentary airport lounge access, board your flight to Canada. Arriving the same day, you’ll pick up your hire car at the airport and make the short journey to your hotel. A delightfully contemporary offering, it’s perfectly positioned right in the city centre, with all of Calgary’s delights on its doorstep. Be sure to take in Calgary’s brash Wild-West sensibilities across its honky-tonk bars, fine steak restaurants and Heritage Park Historical Village, before showcasing its new present in its contemporary art galleries and castle-like National Music Centre.

Stay: The Westin Calgary (Superior)

Driving out today, you’ll watch the city limits quickly fade into the arid plains of the Alberta Badlands – one of the world’s greatest repositories of dinosaur fossils. Indeed, we highly recommend a trip to the UNESCO-listed Dinosaur Provincial Park where a new species is discovered nearly every year, exposed by the ongoing erosion of the sandstone and mudstone landscape. Otherwise, perhaps hike out among the dramatic scenery, all wild canyons and hoodoo rock formations. You’ll be staying in Drumheller, a frontier town that’s home to the world-famous Royal Tyrrel Museum – a fascinating glimpse into the world of palaeontology. You’ll also start each day here with a Continental breakfast, and maybe a hot-tub soak.

Stay: Econo Lodge Inn & Suites (Standard)

Today’s drive will see you through wide-open prairies dotted only with lonely lakes before you hop provinces into Saskatchewan Province. Although famous for its near-endless wheatfields, the province is home to a diverse environment of rolling plains, northern forests and waterways. Arriving at La Reata Ranch, the next two days are yours to explore this beautiful landscape on horseback during the day, and spend the evenings living the social life of a Canadian cowboy. All meals included.

Stay: La Reata Ranch, Kyle (Superior)

A short drive east will today see you onto Regina. As Saskatchewan’s capital, it’s home to some of the best collections of provincial history, perhaps best exemplified by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Here, you can expect exhibitions on everything from dinosaurs to First-Nation tribes. There’s also the country’s sole training academy for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, where you can visit its historic chapel and watch the cadets drill on the parade ground. Perhaps end the day with a dip in your hotel’s whirlpool tub.

Stay: Sandman Regina (Standard)

You’ll start looping back west today, perhaps pausing for a dip at the Manitou Springs Hotel & Mineral Spa before horizonless grasslands see you on to Saskatoon. Here, we highly recommend making the short journey to the nearby UNESCO nominated Wanuskewin Heritage Park, where you’ll be able to learn how plains bison have been reintroduced onto the land. It’s a First Nations past that dates back over 6,000 years, showcased across hiking trails and interactive exhibits. Then, back in Saskatoon, explore its riverside parks, intriguing museums and superb Remai Modern before ending each day in your plush accommodation.

Stay: Delta Hotels by Marriott Bessborough, Saskatoon (Superior)

Today head for the border, and stop on the very edge of it. Lloydminster is a town of two regions with half the residents living in Saskatchewan and the other half in Alberta. Aside from its unique location, the community has come to embrace the arts and culinary diversity with its small galleries, restaurants, and casual eateries.

Stay: Border Inn & Suites, Lloydminster (Standard)

You’ll return to the province of Alberta today, with the giant skies of the Trans-Canada Highway seeing you on to its capital city – Edmonton. Don’t miss out on the living history of Fort Edmonton Park, where four historical periods are represented across turn-of-the-century street scenes and timber trading posts. Shoppers will then be impressed by one of the world’s largest malls, while Fort Saskatchewan offers further intrigue. Here, restored 18th-century homes are joined by the likes of blacksmith shops, vintage cars and Alberta’s first courthouse. You’ll return to your historic hotel on the banks of the Saskatchewan River.

Stay: Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel by Apa (Superior)

The drive today is a real treat, winding up high into the Rockies. After perhaps pausing for a tram ride up Whistler Mountain and your included soak in Miette Hot Springs, the snow-capped peaks will see you on to your cosy accommodation in Jasper. This charming mountain village is surrounded by scenic highlights, with favourites ranging from serene lakes and wild waterfalls to hill hikes and dramatic canyons. It’s all watched over by some of the world’s most spectacular mountain scenery.

Stay: Chateau Jasper, Jasper (Standard)

For your drive to Banff, be sure to choose the Bow Valley Parkway, mapping the rushing Bow River and offering the chance to stop at Johnston Canyon’s waterfalls. Then, arriving into Banff’s village idyll, you’ll stay in a chic hotel, complete with sauna and cocktail lounge. . There’s also the option of soaking in the Upper Hot Springs, spotting elk on valley hikes or checking out the Cave and Basin National Historic Site – an underground lake of ethereal beauty.

Stay: Banff Caribou Lodge & Spa, Banff (Standard)

As you return towards Calgary, you’ll sweep down back into the plains along the scenic 1A Highway. You might want to pause at the 19th-century Cochrane ranch before dropping off your car at the airport and boarding your overnight flight home.