The Rocky Mountaineer is one of the most superb train journeys in the world. This luxury train was the reason I spent a week in Canada in April, and WOW. What an experience!

About the Rocky Mountaineer

The Rocky Mountaineer has four different routes to choose from:

• First Passage to the West (Vancouver to Kamloops to Lake Louise to Banff)
• Journey Through the Clouds (Vancouver to Kamloops to Jasper)
• Rainforest to Gold Rush (Vancouver to Whistler to Quesnel to Jasper)
• Coastal Passage (Seattle to Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies)

For my trip, we traveled on the First Passage to the West route. This meant we started in Vancouver, and had two full days on the train. The first day, we traveled from Vancouver to Kamloops, where we had an overnight. On the second day, we traveled from Kamloops to Banff (via Lake Louise). We had another few days of the trip before we flew home (and had a day in Vancouver before leaving), but that was the main portion of the rail journey.

The Rocky Mountaineer is a luxury train—it’s not a normal passenger train. It is specifically designed in order to provide a relaxed and luxurious rail experience through the Rockies. The train travels slowly, so that passengers can enjoy the phenomenal scenery. It is also built so that if there is something special (like wildlife!), it can even slow down a bit so people can get a glimpse. All your food and drinks are included (and yes, that is unlimited drinks!!). And the food is phenomenal—you won’t go hungry, trust me.

Levels of Service on the Rocky Mountaineer

There are two types of service on the Rocky Mountaineer: Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. Silver Leaf is the standard class of service (which is still pretty amazing, in my opinion), and you travel in a carriage with giant windows to admire the views. You’re served your meals at your seat, and you have two hosts for your carriage. At the end of the carriage, there’s a small little area to get the wind in your hair and snap photos.

Gold Leaf is the top class on the Rocky Mountaineer. In this service, you’ll travel in a bi-level car, with a complete glass-dome carriage. There are two different levels: one for dining (and toilets), and the observation level with seats. The seats are even more comfortable in Gold Leaf—hello, butt warmers! Hello built-in back support! Hello electronic recline and footrest!

In Gold Leaf, you have your meals served at the dining level downstairs. Meals are done in two sittings, as the dining area doesn’t fit everyone on board at one time. You also have an outside observation deck at the back of your carriage in Gold Leaf. This can fit lots of people, and if you’re wanting to take good photos—I’d recommend Gold Leaf just for the outside deck feature. You also have four hosts in Gold Leaf (two in dining, two in observation), instead of just two in Silver Leaf.

I was especially lucky that I was on a work trip, since I got to experience both Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf! Our first day was in Silver Leaf, and our second day was in Gold Leaf. Unfortunately, normal passengers have to choose one or the other. I honestly don’t think you could go wrong with either—it’s a phenomenal journey either way!

The service I received on board the Rocky Mountaineer is unparalleled. And I spent most of my life in the US, where excellent service is a standard (compared to the rest of the world). My hosts in Silver Leaf, Erin and Naomi, were phenomenal. I felt like they were friends who I’d known my whole life, they were so friendly, so welcoming, and so laid back. They both had an incredible amount of knowledge about the local area, and were great at helping point interesting features and wildlife on our journey. We had our own chef, Paulo, who took our food orders, who was a gem as well.

I also had amazing service in Gold Leaf. It wasn’t quite as laid back as in Silver Leaf (although that might have just been the personalities of the hosts!), but they were amazing. Our dining hosts were Chelsea and Kyle, who were fast and efficient at taking our food orders. Our observation hosts were Carlo and Patrycja—nothing was too much for them! Literally the hosts on board the Rocky Mountaineer made the entire experience. They are all top class and a huge credit to the company. I honestly would not have had as good of a journey if it hadn’t been for them.

Day 1: Vancouver to Kamloops

The day started early for our first day on board the Rocky Mountaineer, traveling in Silver Leaf. We had a transfer from our hotel meet us at 6:50am, to take us to the station. It was very exciting as we were the first departure of the season, so we had a big send-off from the station! The train left at 7:30am. We did a welcome toast, and then Paulo came around to take our breakfast orders.

We had a scone/fruit served with tea/coffee around 8:40, and then mains were served for breakfast around 9:45am. I went for the omelette—and it was fantastic!

We had a snack and drinks just before 11:45am, with our hosts keeping us informed of where we were and highlights on the way. Most of this day follows the Fraser River through British Columbia. One of the major highlights of this first day was seeing Hell’s Gate Canyon in the Fraser Canyon! The river in the canyon narrows enough that it’s possible to cross by bridge.

For lunch, we had three courses, spread out throughout the afternoon. We had our salad to start around 1:30pm, and our main (I went for beef!) at 2:00pm. The food was AMAZING. (I’m going to be saying this a lot in this post.) We had dessert, a delicious brownie, around 3:00pm. The bar opened around 12:45pm, and both services include unlimited drinks (both alcoholic and soft drinks) throughout the day.

The entire day passed filled with amazing scenery. British Columbia looked a lot more desert-like than I thought! The last portion of the journey is around Kamloops Lake, which is just stunning. We even saw some bighorn sheep on the way, our first main wildlife sighting of the day!

The transfer to the hotel when we arrived in Kamloops was seamless. We got our hotel keys on the train, before we even left. Then the coach transfers were all lined up perfectly with our carriages, so all we had to do was get off the train and get onto the coach. We left the train around 7:00pm—so it definitely is a full day on board! We were hosted that evening by Tourism Kamloops for drinks and apps. I was really bummed we only had one night in Kamloops—it seemed like a really fun place, with a small-town vibe and lots of restaurants and bars to try!

Day 2: Kamloops to Banff

It was an even earlier start on our second day on the Rocky Mountaineer, going from Kamloops to Banff. We got picked up from our hotel at 6:15am, and then were on the train at 6:40am. Since we were traveling in Gold Leaf this day, we had two sittings for meals—I lucked out with first sitting! (I was starving, ha!)

In Gold Leaf, your food is served ala carte, so you can choose whatever you want off the menu for breakfast. Yes, this is real life on board the Rocky Mountaineer!! First a roll and a juice smoothie, and then I went for pancakes (with real maple syrup!!!!!) for my main. It was delicious. Honestly it was some of the best pancakes I’ve made, and the fact that it was cooked in a tiny kitchen on board a luxury train heading to the Canadian Rockies… well, it was pretty mind-blowing.

For a large part of the morning, we went along Shuswap Lake, the Houseboat Capital of Canada! The scenery here was just stunning, and it only got better as we went along!

We had lunch at 12:00pm, and again it was three courses. I went for the burger for the main and I was not disappointed. It was simply phenomenal.

The rest of the afternoon we spent going through tunnels, past small mountain towns, and getting deeper into the mountains. We also got to go through the Spiral Tunnels as we climbed in elevation! We reached the Continental Divide just before 6pm, which is 5332 feet in elevation (the highest point of our journey).

By this point, we were really in the Canadian Rockies. It was all mountains, forests, rivers, waterfalls, on this stretch getting to Banff.

One of the biggest highlights of the trip? We saw a bear!!! And not just a bear, but a mama bear with three baby cubs!! Our hosts got a call from the cars ahead, and we all turned as soon as we heard “bear on the left!” It was too quick for me to snap a photo (by the time I got my camera out, we were gone), but a few people in my group were lucky enough to get one. It was so cool. I wish we had seen a moose too, but I guess you can’t win them all!

The train stopped at Lake Louise just after the Continental Divide. The train station at the stop was actually used in Dr. Zhivago, one of my favorite classic movies! It was a stand-in for some of the remote Siberian train stations in the movie. We made it into Banff just after 7:00pm. Again, it is a full day on board—don’t make many plans for yourself in the evenings after, since chances are you’ll be a bit tired! The Rocky Mountaineer is such a wonderful experience though. It is really a fantastic way to travel and see the scenery.

Things to Know About the Rocky Mountaineer:

• You will switch time zones on this journey! For me, it was on Day 2 (Kamloops to Banff), and my phone switched automatically around 2pm/3pm.
• You may have to wait for freight traffic. There were a few times on the Rocky Mountaineer that the train stopped as we had to let another train pass us. Freight traffic tends to get priority over passenger trains in Canada. So whatever timings you get for the train (they’re generally vague for a reason), make sure to allow extra time on board in case you get slightly delayed.
• Your luggage travels on ahead of you on both days. Make sure you bring a day bag with everything you need for the train journey, so that you can have what you need on board with you!
• There is no wifi and very limited phone signal on board the Rocky Mountaineer. I loved this opportunity to disconnect and switch off! But make sure you do anything that you’ll need wifi for (like urgent emails) before you get on board for the day.
• Tipping isn’t included in the cost of the journey. Rocky Mountaineer recommends a tip of $35-45 per person (CAD) for Silver Leaf. They recommend $40-50 per person (CAD) for Gold Leaf. This is done with an envelope at your seat on the last day, so try to bring some cash with you. Tipping is common practice in Canada and trust me, your hosts will be amazing and will deserve every single cent.

Planning Your Trip on the Rocky Mountaineer

The Rocky Mountaineer was a bucket list, once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you want to visit the Canadian Rockies in luxury, and have the budget to do so, I cannot recommend this enough. Even if you’re a budget traveler like me, I would highly suggest splurging on this journey (in Silver Leaf for a lower price point). You can travel on a budget for the rest of your trip (check out my Budget Travel Bible for 101 of my best budget travel tips!), and live in luxury for a few days on board.

For more information on booking a journey on the Rocky Mountaineer, visit their website here.

If you’re planning on flying to Canada, I always use Skyscanner to book my flights. You can search for hostels here, and search for hotels here! You can also sign up to and search accommodation through Airbnb here. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

Traveling on the Rocky Mountaineer spoiled me. While I definitely want to go back to this part of Canada when I have more time, I could not have asked for a more phenomenal way to travel. This was part of my job—this was a day at the office for me. I am so grateful to have had this experience. Canada, I will definitely be back!

This trip was sponsored by the Rocky Mountaineer, and made possible through my job as a Tour Advisor—all opinions and photos remain my own.

Have you been on the Rocky Mountaineer or another epic train journey before? What was your experience like?!

You might also like my other Canada posts from this trip:

Photoessay: Vancouver To Calgary Through The Canadian Rockies

How To Spend 24 Hours In Vancouver

Highlights From Banff And The Surrounding Canadian Rockies

All my other Canada posts!

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