Brandon to Banff: Planning a Road Trip to Remember

Statistically, it's about 1200km in each direction. The value of a family road trip... priceless.

Let's say you are planning 7 days on the road. This is how it might look:

1) Brandon to Swift Current, SK (6 hours)  A low key day of driving and a night in a hotel with a pool.

2) Swift Current to Drumheller, AB (5 hours) Arrive by 3pm and enjoy an evening of touring the town and visiting Dino attractions. See the tourist centre and climb the T-Rex. Stay at the Best Western Jurassic Inn

3) A full day at the Royal Tyrell Museum  (Admission $11 per adult; Under 6 free) There is so much to see and do here. Plan to spend the day. Great outdoor spaces too for a breath of fresh air and a little running/climbing to take the edge off. Stay a 2nd night in Drumheller.

4) Drumheller to Banff (3 hours)  Enjoy the beauty of the mountains and explore this National Park  Family Pass to the park is about $20 for the day. Plan for about $30 a night to camp or at least $200 per night for hotel. Choose to stay 20 minutes down the road in Canmore Alberta at $150 or less.

5) Back to Calgary for a day at the Zoo.  Ride passes are extra. Then a short drive to Medicine Hat to grab a hotel for the night.

6) It's 8 hours home from here. Do you have one last hotel stop and water slide night? Or is it time to book it home?

7) Home Sweet Home!







Estimated costs associated: $1535 for 7 days total.

5 tanks of gas at $75:    $375

3 nights hotel at $140: $420
4th night free (Loyalty Program Reward)
5th night hotel $150:  $150

1 Night camping $40

Family passes to museum, park and zoo:  $100

Road snacks and souveniers:   $150

Meals at $50 per day average for family, 6 days:  $300
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To find savings on the road trip I would suggest the following:

Stay at the Best Western chain of hotels. They have a summer reward plan made for road trips like these. Simply register in advance for their (free) rewards program. Then book your nights. You can even book with a CAA or Military Discount. Just be sure to book with the chain, not through a 3rd party booking service like Expedia or Hotwire.  Then if you have Airmiles, go to their site and redeem 950 airmiles for a $100 gift card for the Best Western Chain. You can use it as payment at any of their hotels.

Look for Calgary Zoo admission coupons in Alberta tourist centres or on their web site for a discount here.

Collect Airmiles at Shell Canada on gas, or Aeroplan miles at Esso.

Pack a cooler of drink boxes and snacks before you go. Car bingo and movies on the DVD player are a must as well! And don't forget the camera!