Year Round Tour: Banff and its Wildlife
4.5
Year Round Tour: Banff and its Wildlife
By Discover Banff Tours
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About
Lowest price guarantee
Ages 0-99, max of 24 per group
Duration: 3h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Live guide: English
More
- Professional guide
- Maple cookie snack, fresh water
- Small group size (up to 24 guests per guide)
- Hands on interpretive tools
- Pick up from the public bus parking located behind the Mount Royal Hotel
- Hotel pick up and drop off is available on request, please contact us directly.
What's not included- Optional gratuities
- Start:
- Mount Royal Hotel, 138 Banff Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1A7, CanadaAll guests must wait at the public bus parking located behind the Mount Royal Hotel at 138 Banff Ave. You must be ready 5 minutes prior to the 8:15am departure time.
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3827DB- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
- All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3827DB
From
$67.72
per adult
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Itinerary
- 138 Banff Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1A7, CanadaAll guests must wait at the public bus parking located behind the Mount Royal Hotel at 138 Banff Ave. You must be ready 5 minutes prior to the 8:15am departure time.
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- P6053XXjw0 contributionsA must do experience!Thank you to Andy our driver, who was full of interesting local knowledge as well as giving us so e good tips when visiting Lake Louise itself to avoid the crowds. Loved this tour which was booked through our hotel concierge at Rimrock. Got some fabulous pics and super memories! As made afew other stops on route. The hot chocolate and cookie was a nice touch too. Comfy small seater coach for that more personable touch. Can't recommend highly enough! Thank you.Written December 7, 2024
- 115SteveJ0 contributionsExcellent EliThis is a brilliant hike up to the lower and upper falls with spectacular ice formations. Eli, the guide, did an excellent jobWritten December 4, 2024
- Esther M0 contributionsWildlife tourThe guide was excellent accompany was great and helpful. The tour was off wildlife off Calgary and Banff. We saw a lot of elks beautiful the tour provided cookies and hot chocolate, which was helpful. We learned a lot about Canada resources, history of becoming Canada and the hotel systems.Written November 29, 2024
- K3travels0 contributionsbreathtaking beauty!The Johnston Canyon Icewalk is a must do for visitors and Discover Banff Tours makes it both easy and enjoyable! Not only is 'door-to-door' transportation provided, the 35-minute (each way) ride is filled with information about the history of the area in additional to stunning views. Additionally, they provide ice cleats and hiking poles which make the walk more manageable (I had no idea how valuable the ice cleats alone would be!). My guide, Ethan, was super friendly and made the walk enjoyable for our small group while sharing his passion for national parks and outdoor adventure. I recommend the tour to anyone looking for a unique experience in Banff.Written November 18, 2024
- Trip091887572630 contributionsLake Louise afternoon.Brilliant tour. Emma who hosted was super friendly and great at her job- she was very knowledgeable. Can highly recommend.Written November 16, 2024
- kitcha120 contributionsFantastic EventJen was an amazing tour lead. My daughter and I had so much fun. Great storytelling and information about local ghost lore. Thank you for a great evening tourWritten November 7, 2024
- taherac20150 contributionsBanffBanff is simply amazing. Don't have enough words to describe the beauty. Went to lake moraine and Louise. lake Moraine is more peaceful.Written November 1, 2024
- gabrielew5160 contributionsGreat experienceThe tour was great, we got to see a lot of beautiful places and some wildlife. Our tour guide was Jake and he was very kind, funny and knew a lot about Banff, the wildlife and the surroundings. IWritten November 1, 2024
- paulcV7974UC0 contributionsFabulousThis tour was great. Our guide Tina was fabulous. Lake Louise and Lake Moraine were absolutely stunning. Come preapared for adverse weather conditions but that will not take away from what you see. We even saw a brown grizzly bear.Written October 23, 2024
- sarahmU401QZ0 contributionsA magical tour!I booked a private guided tour with Discover as I was travelling solo and my first time in Banff. All I had to do was list off my top places of interest and Discover planned the rest! Jake was my tour guide, picked me up promptly at the expected time. He was extremely friendly and outgoing, I was a little distracted by his luscious long locks, but his knowledge of the area was amazing (except about some of the birds) We didn't have the greatest weather so some of the planned stops were not accessible however Jake was quick to make great suggestions and we made the most of my tours allotted time. I will be back to Banff and I will definitely book with Discover again, the coordinators and Jake were amazing and awesome to deal with! I truly had a magical time!Written October 21, 2024
- stephk4680 contributionsAwesome day with fundguideA great day with amazing scenery & our guide Jake was awesome. Full of knowledge & funny. I did another tour with him 2 days later & again another great dayWritten October 13, 2024
- 569rajveerc0 contributionsAmazing!Amazing!!! This was my favourite activity in Banff. We did the Stanley Glacier hike - it was well organized, great lunch, and STUNNING views of the Rocky Mountains. We had a wonderful tour guide who was very friendly and social and patient with all the hikers. I can’t wait to come again and do another hike with the group!Written October 12, 2024
- 78vd0 contributionsTim our tour guide !Our tour guide TIM! tim was amazing. He was so informative about everything - he made sure we all had our washroom stops and lunch breaks & showed us so many beautiful stops along the way. Hopefully when you book you get lucky enough to have Tim as your tour guide!Written October 12, 2024
- X5803LXkristinek0 contributionsGorgeous Banff!Banff was a quaint town nestled among the mountains. Lake Moraine and lake Louise were absolutely gorgeous! Autumn colors, smaller crowds, perfect!Written October 8, 2024
- bhavinm7710 contributionsThis tour is a MUST! Don't miss out.This tour was amazing! Our tour guide was Jake and he was nothing short from fantastic! Super knowledgeable and engaging, snuck in a few extra special experiences for us, and was always ready to take our photos. He was punctual and had some amazing stories to tell. This tour is highly recommended if you want to experience the 2 beautiful lakes without the crazy drives or hustle and bustle of the crowds. The most physically intense part of this tour was definitely the rock pile at Moraine Lake. Other than that, it was a mild hiking day, A quick, short, and sweet 4.5 hour tour with plenty of time to take it all in along the way.Written October 7, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
81 reviews
Excellent
54
Very good
14
Average
3
Poor
5
Terrible
5
Tara P
1 contribution
Oct 2021
We booked a tour VERY last minute for the Discover Banff and its Wildlife tour for our family of 5 (two 8 year olds and our 11 year old son). We are from Alberta and have visited Banff many times, but we learned SO much that I had no idea about from our tour guide Anik who was funny and informative. She was patient with the kids, told awesome stories about pine cones when my daughter told her she was part of a pine cone club at school, we even got to see a herd of elk hanging out in the soccer field. Worth every penny, we all loved it.
Written October 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MBKC
Kansas City, MO23 contributions
We generally research our trips and take off on our own in the National Parks but Banff is a bit different and we were visiting in the very busy summer months. We chose Discover Banff due to its tour options, smaller group and bus size and trip adviser reviews. WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!! We ended up doing 3 tours total and each was unique, informative and took us to key places it would have been difficult to reach on our own. After touring with DB we were able to confidently go back into the park ourselves and seek out some of the more secluded areas and trails recommended by our guides. A highlight was the Lake Louise and Moraine lake tours. Both were beautiful but Louise (as expected) was packed with people. Our guides provided great tips for getting away from the crowds at Moraine lake and we were able to get several spectacular photos. Anekk and Tim were great. We are active, on the go people and they kept us moving at a great pace. Highly recommend.
Written July 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
Thank you for choosing Discover Banff and taking the time to share your experience! We're thrilled to hear that our tours exceeded your expectations and provided you with unique and informative experiences in Banff.
We know that Banff can be quite busy, especially during the summer months, and we're glad that our smaller group sizes and knowledgeable guides allowed you to visit key places that may have been challenging to reach on your own.
Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are indeed stunning, and we're glad that our guides were able to provide helpful tips to help you escape the crowds and capture those spectacular photos at Moraine Lake.
Thank you for your high recommendation, and we hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back on future adventures in Banff.
Written July 19, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
malupit
Manila, Philippines649 contributions
The tour pick up was a bit late, but once we got started, it was a lot of fun, covering many beautiful sights in a short amount of time. Our guide Oliver was informative, would help take great pictures, and was accommodating when dealing with requests. He was able to stop the bus when we spotted interesting wildlife like deer, bighorn sheep, and a coyote. He kept the bus temperature really hot, though. Probably since he was in shorts, while most of us in the tour group were dressed in heavy layers.
We had the tour with the Banff Gondola extension, and the end of that was when things took a turn. We got to spend just some time at the top of Sulphur Mountain, since he was very specific: you must come down at 1:20 as indicated on your ticket, and if you're not on the bus by 2PM, you'll need to find your own way back into town.
Our entire group went down the gondola on time. 2PM came and went, he was not there. He arrived at 2:20PM. No explanation given to a big group of upset tourists, just a quick soft apology for the delay. Sorry, but at that point, all of us wanted more than just that, since we wasted an hour standing in a parking lot when there is so much more we could have seen with our very limited tourist time.
I would suggest that on tours like this where the bus leaves and comes back to do pick up later, you should leave a number the group can call so we can find out what the problem is that's causing the delay. The "not knowing" caused a bit of anxiety for many in the group, especially those with other tours scheduled that afternoon or with flights to catch.
Sad that was the final memory we had of the tour, since the first part was smashing.
We had the tour with the Banff Gondola extension, and the end of that was when things took a turn. We got to spend just some time at the top of Sulphur Mountain, since he was very specific: you must come down at 1:20 as indicated on your ticket, and if you're not on the bus by 2PM, you'll need to find your own way back into town.
Our entire group went down the gondola on time. 2PM came and went, he was not there. He arrived at 2:20PM. No explanation given to a big group of upset tourists, just a quick soft apology for the delay. Sorry, but at that point, all of us wanted more than just that, since we wasted an hour standing in a parking lot when there is so much more we could have seen with our very limited tourist time.
I would suggest that on tours like this where the bus leaves and comes back to do pick up later, you should leave a number the group can call so we can find out what the problem is that's causing the delay. The "not knowing" caused a bit of anxiety for many in the group, especially those with other tours scheduled that afternoon or with flights to catch.
Sad that was the final memory we had of the tour, since the first part was smashing.
Written June 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your recent tour experience with us. We sincerely apologize for the delay in pick-up and the inconvenience it caused at the end of your tour. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the beautiful sights and found our guide Oliver to be informative and accommodating. We will certainly address the issue of the bus temperature with him to ensure a more comfortable experience for all guests in the future. Regarding the delay after the Banff Gondola extension, we deeply regret the inconvenience and frustration it caused. Your suggestion to provide a contact number for such situations is valuable, and we will consider implementing this to improve communication and reduce anxiety for our guests.
We appreciate your feedback and will use it to make necessary improvements to our service. Thank you again for your review, and we hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future. Best regards,
Written July 4, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Rohan S
3 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
Disappointed and waste of time . We booked discover banff and wildlife morning tour and we’re excited to see some wildlife . Tour guide Andrew was knowledgeable about areas but he came late to pick up and then he had 2 more stops to pick up other people . Tour time says 3 hours but another group in our party had 11:30 appointment for Banff Gondola so over all we just got 2 and half hours . Wild life spotting is usually good in the morning and I have been to several such tours before in different national parks and while no one guarantees it but every one before tried their best to show some wildlife however in this tour first half of the tour was for locations in banff and which reminded me my school field trip and he didn’t try to search for wildlife and that’s my biggest issue with the tour if you don’t find it’s fine but at least try. Any one can go on this location by their own and you don’t necessarily need this tour . It was such a nice weather that day ( October 11th) and I felt we wasted our morning just going around Banff town rather than looking for wildlife, we saw Elk and I could have seen those on my own with better visibility. I would not recommend this tour at all , save your money and go to Bow valley or other locations on your own in the morning to see wildlife . If you want to know history or how Banff was developed then yeah follow your heart and waste money otherwise you can get that info online too .
Written January 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Rohan,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on the Discover Banff & Its Wildlife Tour with Andrew. There's a 15 minute pickup window for all of our tours, to help ensure that tours start on time (and at 8:30am in the case of this tour). This morning sightseeing tour runs from 8:30am - 11:30am, so that guests are returned to their pickup point 3 hours later at 11:30am. While we can't confirm what happened back in October on the morning of your tour, it is certainly possible that if some guests were late for their 8:15am meeting time prior to picking up yourselves, that the tour started a few minutes later than 8:30am once all of the stops were made. However, the tour always ends at 11:30am back at their pickup point and our Banff Gondola upload time is not until 12:20pm for this morning tour, so as to not affect guests that aren't continuing on with this portion of the extended tour.
This morning tour is designed as a sightseeing tour, where guests can also learn about the local wildlife. We're often lucky to see wildlife such as elk, deer and bighorn sheep but can't guarantee this as while we know many of their favorite spots they are wild animals and move around.
You're correct that this tour can be self-driven by anyone, as with all of our tours. However, many of our guests appreciate a local guide to share stories and interesting information about the park and wildlife with them, as it's far more interesting to hear about this from a professional guide rather than trying to read it online as you drive around. And certainly wildlife such as elk can be seen in Banff if you're lucky, although please bear in mind that you do need to stay a safe distance from elk, especially during the rut season in fall.
We're sorry to hear that this tour wasn't what you're looking for, and we'd be more than happy to recommend some wildlife-specific tours for your next visit.
Written January 18, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ellen M
1 contribution
Jul 2023 • Couples
Tour is short as advertised. Bus was very comfortable and clean. It’s a quick 3 hour tour around Banff. We saw a couple of elk. You’re not going to see an abundance of wildlife close to town. We did see some places that we were able to walk back to later on our own. Eli our guide/driver was very personable and kept us entertained. He was very accommodating taking photos for people and answering questions. If your time is limited like ours was this gives you a snapshot of Banff. Based on the bus and guide I would recommend taking one of their all days tours if you have more time.
Written July 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
marathonman33
Bradenton, FL303 contributions
Aug 2022
This tour was almost a total wast of time. Let's start with the only good part of the tour. They got us to the gondola on time for our ride up the mountain. They were 45 minutes late picking us up. The tour guide, who they said was new, was not good at all. It was not just because he did not know some of his facts, as he was corrected by other passengers on the bus, his delivery was poor. The stops we made were OK. All in all just not a positive experience.
Written August 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello David,
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Unfortunately, like many other businesses, recovering from Covid has been a challenge. We are trying to overcome challenges by hiring new guides to deliver the best possible tours. We appreciate your understanding with our new hire. Your guide is well versed in biology and the Banff ecosystem but we will keep training him to provide the most accurate information.
Traffic in Banff has been worse this year then in years prior, we are working on staggering pick-ups for guests to make pick-up times more smooth for the future. We appreciate your feedback and will continue to strive to provide the best tour experiences.
Written August 12, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
SMW20
Wakefield, UK179 contributions
Pick up was on time for this small group tour. Our host Evie was very personable, knowledgeable and passed on lots of useful information. It was more like travelling with a friend.
We went to all the advertised places but unfortunately the weather put a dampener (literally) on the day as it was torrential rain when we got to the gondola. This meant the gondola was running intermittently and large queues were building so we made the decision to abandon it and returned to town with Evie.
I would recommend this trip - especially with Evie.
We went to all the advertised places but unfortunately the weather put a dampener (literally) on the day as it was torrential rain when we got to the gondola. This meant the gondola was running intermittently and large queues were building so we made the decision to abandon it and returned to town with Evie.
I would recommend this trip - especially with Evie.
Written July 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
280sethf
Guam, Mariana Islands11 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
We actually went on three Discover Banff tours in a two-day period: Banff & its Wildlife with Gondola with tour guide Georgia, the Ghost Walk tour, and the Lake Louise & Moraine Lake tour. (Sorry, this was a few weeks ago, so I'm not sure I'd remember the other guides' names correctly.) This combination, along with one free day to wander through the town, made for a great stay in Banff.
Written August 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cindy A
4 contributions
We really enjoyed our experience with Discover Banff tours. Everything ran on schedule, the bus was comfortable, our guide Tina had a wonderful personality and we got to see the key sites in a condensed amount of time. As a bonus, she pointed out a field of elk so we saw wildlife as well as great scenery.
Written July 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allison
Moorestown, NJ53 contributions
You must request the tour with Jake! He’s ridiculously handsome so if you strike out seeing wildlife (we didn’t) you’ll still enjoy being on the bus with him! We had a great time, saw a couple very cool animals, and enjoyed magnificent views during sunset. And views of the impossibly debonair Jake. He was awesome and made the trip even more fun. He could write a novel titled “Dumb Stuff Silly Tourists Do” Don’t miss this tour!
Written August 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is this tour wheelchair accessible? If not, are there any other Discover Banff Tours accessible?
Written January 23, 2019
Hello,
Thank you for your question.
We can usually accommodate small, collapsible wheelchairs or walking aids with advance notice, although it will depend on the vehicle/tour etc. Please note that guests must be able to embark/disembark the vehicle on their own, or with the assistance of a travel companion.
Written March 25, 2019
Ligia gerti fle... F
Porto Alegre, RS
Em agosto e necessário roupa quente no passeio de gôndola??
Written August 9, 2018
Hello,
Thank you for your question. We'd certainly recommend bringing a jacket with you on the Banff Gondola. You will be inside the gondola on the way up, but will likely find that it's a little cooler at the top if you wish to enjoy the viewing deck or the boardwalk.
Written March 25, 2019
Is there an opportunity to actually get out of the bus and walk, & for how long, & at what locations?
Written April 19, 2018
Hello,
Thank you for your question. This tour has various sightseeing stops including Bow Falls, Lake Minnewanka, Surprise Corner, the Hoodoos and Bankhead. The timing for each stop is approximately 10-20 minutes, depending on the location.
We hope that helps!
Written March 25, 2019
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