Banff is nice to visit for a couple of hours but any more than that it's a bit crap unless you're there to ski/snowboard. Same with Whistler.

If I hadn't been to Banff before (which I have countless times), I could happily spend a few days there and I don't even ski. There's lots of touristy things to see and do. Apart from all the shops and restaurants and skiing, there's the tubing I mentioned earlier, hot springs, gondola up Sulphur Mountain and Bow Falls. Just outside town is Cascade Ponds, Two Jack Lake and Lake Minnewanka (nice boat tours in the summer). Banff is also a good base for visiting Lake Louise and Johnsons Canyon and a whole host of other beauty spots.

Granted, unless you're an avid hiker or into skiing, Banff may not be somewhere to spend a couple of weeks but certainly enough to do for a few days at least.

Banff really does sound great and quite possibly a good bet, if we manage to sort the car insurance out soon!!

We can't afford much so a nice b&b where our little girl gets to have a little bit of christmas magic would be great.

So the next question is new year then?? we have a 17month old so its probably going to be and the hubby locked up in a room somewhere so a nice place would be great but maybe different from Banff??

Ex

If your location is accurate i can think of nothing nicer than a couple of days in Southwold or Burnham Market. I am not sure if the steam train runs this time of year, but a quick trip from Holt to Sheringham, few pints on the seafront and back would be pretty good too

LOL while all of these things would be great, I think heading back to Norfolk is a bit more of a commute than i was banking on!!!

Although Sheringham is amazing and I do have a cousin in Holt!

Ex

B&B's tend to more expensive than motels.

And I don't think motels would offer too much Xmas spirit - especially not the ones in the "quaint little Canadian villages"

I've yet to see a quaint little Canadian village in Alberta, I know exactly what you mean and exactly what type of motel you mean too. Some of them look like horror movie motels too

http://www.banff.ca/visiting-banff.htm. This is the official site for Banff and has lots of places to stay and things to do. I just Googled B&B's there too and got some really nice looking places. We went two years ago and it was super, our son loved it, especially all the deer and moose etc., very festive. I hope you have a great stay.

You could do worse than divide your time between Banff and Vancouver. Might give you the best of both worlds.

Hi Em,
Have shared on FB to see if anyone has a month by month rental out there! Will let you know how that goes.
Talk to you soon!
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