Greetings- my wife and I are thinking of heading from the US to explore Banff National Park and the west coast of US/Canada this coming summer.
Our idea was as follows:
Fly to Calgary.
Drive to Banff.
A couple of days in the Banff to Jasper parks area.
Board Canadian train in Jasper to Vancouver.
A few days in Vancouver/Victoria area.
Continue south to Seattle/Portland using Cascades Train.
Fly home, probably from Portland.
We've never used VIA Rail before, though we are experienced Euro-train users. I don't think we can afford the Rocky Mountaineer service, but we are wondering if 17 hours on the Canadian in coach class will wear us out. Can anyone speak to the comfort of various classes on VIA Rail? What is worth an upgrade? What isn't?
Our idea was as follows:
Fly to Calgary.
Drive to Banff.
A couple of days in the Banff to Jasper parks area.
Board Canadian train in Jasper to Vancouver.
A few days in Vancouver/Victoria area.
Continue south to Seattle/Portland using Cascades Train.
Fly home, probably from Portland.
We've never used VIA Rail before, though we are experienced Euro-train users. I don't think we can afford the Rocky Mountaineer service, but we are wondering if 17 hours on the Canadian in coach class will wear us out. Can anyone speak to the comfort of various classes on VIA Rail? What is worth an upgrade? What isn't?