June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 6-8 Jasper National Park (Alberta, Canada)

November 3, 2019

BANFF VS. JASPER

So, you’re planning a trip to Banff. Should you make it up to Jasper, too? I think an extra day or so to visit Jasper is worth it. We were there for 3 full days, and drove back from Jasper to Calgary on the 4th day. It rained most of the time we were in Jasper, so we spent one day really just hanging out and enjoying the expensive but beautiful log cabin we rented.

Jasper is further north of Banff (about a 4 hour drive from Calgary, 2-3 hours from Banff depending on if you stop along the way or drive straight through). Compared to Banff, Jasper is much more rugged and wild. We spotted animals every day (bears, elk, moose) and the town is more community-like and spread out, rather than touristy, concentrated, and compact the way Banff is. In terms of highlights, I like Banff much more in terms of things to see and the gorgeous lakes and landscape. Jasper was pretty as well, but different. And because of the weather and plethora of more rugged trails, we didn’t do as much. I thought Banff had more concentration of accessible beauty compared to Jasper.

In my opinion, the main thing to see in Jasper was going up the Jasper Gondola to hike up to the summit above the clouds and going down to Maligne Lake. Apparently, there are bears that love to walk around the road that leads you into Maligne Lake! So if you have an extra day or two, it’s worth stopping by Jasper.

JASPER SKYTRAM

Jasper Skytram is so worth going on! On the morning we went, it was really overcast and cloudy so I was doubtful we would enjoy it at all. When we arrived very early in the morning to get on the gondola (around 8:15 am), the operator said we didn’t have to worry because it was clear at the top above the clouds. If you plan to do this, come as early as you can in the morning! By the time we left/went back down around 12:15 pm, the line to go up was packed. But another plus of coming early when it opens at 8 am is that you get free breakfast included at the restaurant at the top! Free breakfast is served before 10 am.

Toasty hot chocolate for breakfast with a glorious view.

Breakfast was actually quite good and it came with a complimentary drink as well and glorious views. After finishing breakfast, we started the hike to the summit at 9:30 am and didn’t reach the top until 11 am. The path was pretty steep and the altitude is high so you’ll want to take your time. It’s not impossible to do at all, but not easy either. And there are multiple paths you can take to the top to see different viewpoints and overlooks.

I really loved hiking up this summit. It took us about 30 minutes to get back down and as I said earlier, the mountain got much busier as the morning drifted away.

MALIGNE LAKE

After a quick lunch in town, we left at 1:30 pm to catch the “premium” Maligne Lake Cruise. There are two cruise choices, one regular, and one premium. The premium basically allows you to walk onto Spirit Island for about 30 minutes, which is more than enough as the area you’re around to walk on is very small and short! You’re only allowed to walk within the outskirts of the island, in one direction. This is a constructed path to protect the island respect the natives who worship its history. This lake cruise was much better than the one we did in Banff (Minnewaska), but also skippable as well if you’re short on time.

You will definitely see bears driving back and forth from Maligne Lake! We drove on this road multiple times and we always saw a bear or two (from the safety of the car, please don’t get out like we saw multiple dumb people do!) over the course of three days.

MALIGNE CANYON

Another thing to do in Jasper is go for a walk/hike along Maligne Canyon. This was nice to see and something to do but not a must do. Twenty minutes was enough to see views of the canyon from the first and second bridges. I think there are like 6 bridges but I read somewhere that the best views were from the first two. So if you’re short on time, just do that, but if you have more time, you can do all of it. The first bridge starts by the restaurant near the parking lot and then it loops to the second bridge.

Misc. Jasper Notes

Pyramid Lake is skippable. If you have time, you can drive and have a look but compared to all the other amazing lakes in Banff, Pyramid was just ok!
Valley of the the Five Lakes was also skippable. It’s rugged trails and again, compared to other things to see/do in Banff, wasn’t as interesting to us. I hiked for about 30-45 minutes and never even made it to see a lake because of the rain, muddy trails, and generally didn’t look as interesting as to the other scenery we saw earlier in the trip.
Medicine Lake is an easy viewpoint to stop and take pictures at, but also skippable compared to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake

Overall, although we didn’t do much in Jasper as we did in Banff, it was nice to kick back, relax, and just chill in the cabin most of the time and cook. Since all the other days were so jam packed with sight seeing, it was nice to slow down and just do whatever we wanted and not rush around as much to beat the crowds. We also saw way more animals in the wild in Jasper than in Banff which was cool. The weather when we were there at the end of June/beginning of July was on the chillier side (like ranging from 40s to 60s in Fahrenheit) but I heard the year before it was much warmer, and I think two weeks after we left, it was really hot and there were wildfires! I’m glad it was chilly though because we hardly had any bugs/mosquitoes (heard that they’re humongous in Lake Louise). I did see a few monster mosquitoes but definitely not as many had it been warmer.

A visit to both parks is worth all the planning though! I feel very spoiled after visiting the beauty of Banff, Jasper, and Patagonia (in South America) over the past 12 months, I am not sure if I’ll ever find any other parks as appealing for a long while (especially those close to where I live in NYC!). I do want to go to Yosemite and Zion National Parks someday and open to suggestions and comments to any other places I should check out in the future! :)

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 5 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

October 30, 2019

The morning of Day 5 of our trip was spent on the last segment of our Ultimate Explorer Banff tour. We booked an 11 am tour for the Columbia Icefield Adventure & Skywalk visit, but arrived to the parking lot by 10:20 am. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Lake Louise.

If you have never seen a glacier before, this is worth doing. If you have, you could probably skip it though! The Skywalk is part of the tour as well, and you do this after visiting the glacier. The cool part of the tour is riding the big icefield trucks out to the glaciers—there are like 12 in the world and 9 of them are on this tour while the others are used around the world for scientific reasons. The entire tour lasts about 2.5 hours. The walk on the glacier itself is about 30 min. long (which is more than enough as the space for walking isn’t that big).

For the Skywalk part, you can stay as long as you’d like and then take one of the many buses that circle around back. We finished the tour close to 1:30 pm and had lunch there at the Visitor Center since there is nothing else around but the food was decent (but pricey). The Skywalk was ok, I thought it would be more exciting since the floor is see-through glass but it’s also really thick and not as scary as you think since you can see your reflection and things like that, obscuring the true view.

As we were driving up to Jasper National Park, we stopped along a couple of other stops along the way but the weather was crappy (rainy) so we didn’t stay very long.

After leaving the Columbia Icefield Visitors Center at 2:30 pm we went to Sunwapta Falls, arriving at about 3:20 pm. It wasn’t that impressive as the others so this is skippable unless you want to kill some time!

Then we headed to Athabaska Falls, arriving at 3:45 pm but due to the rain, we didn’t stay long here either and left to check into the cutest log cabin in all the land, Alpine Village Jasper. We stayed in the Whistler One Bedroom Cabin, and it was expensive but SO worth it! Built in 2018, these cabins still felt so spanking new and was so cozy and comfortable to stay in. I loved it and would definitely stay here again! It had a full kitchen and it was nice to cook our own meals and have a cup of tea out on the patio. The entire area reminds me of being in a Disney fairy tale village. It’s about a ten minute drive into Jasper but it was so lovely to stay here out in nature with modern amenities. I’m also glad we stayed here because for the most part, it was raining most of our time in Jasper so to have a nice place to chill and relax indoors was quite nice. This place also has an outdoor hot tub (by reception) but we didn’t use it.

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 4 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

October 27, 2019

Day 4: Moraine Lake

This was probably my favorite day of the trip. I was so tired from the past few days that I almost skipped out on getting up 4:45 am for the sunrise at Moraine Lake and I’m SO glad I didn’t. It was absolutely breathtaking!

We left Mountaineer Lodge by 5:15 am and drove over into the parking lot, arriving by 5:40 am. I thought we would be the earliest of early birds but oh how wrong I was! We got one of the very last parking spots and by the time we left at 7 am, the parking lot was definitely closed. My suggestion to come at the this time of the year (end of June) is probably shoot for between 5 and 5:30 am arrival.

With renewed energy, I found the path to the overlook above the lake, which I didn’t trek up the evening before. It’s easy to find and it’s not a hard path. It’s a basically a short trail and staircases and probably takes about ten minutes to get to the top of the overlook from the parking lot. There are numerous spots on the hill to get amazing views. My favorite spot was a quiet one off to the left when you arrive up the hill from the staircase, as most people rush up to the top/middle of the hill. I stayed at the overlook for about an hour, watching in awe at the majestic reflection of the mountains in the still lake. There were a few people paddling out on the lake in canoes as well. It was beautiful to see the light, shadows, and sky change as the sun lit up.

YOHO NATIONAL PARK

Yoho National Park is very close to Lake Louise and an easy day trip. By car, it’s about 20 minutes away. After having breakfast, we left the hotel at 9:30 am and made a brief stop at the Spiral Tunnels. This place was skippable, unless you’re really into trains. We stayed here for like 5-10 minutes, and unless a train is pulling in, I am not sure it’s worth it. It’s famous because the engineers had to be creative back in the day with getting trains up and down steep hills.

We then drove onto one of the highlights of the park, Emerald Lake. It was sooo crowded when we arrived; I wish we came a bit earlier! We ended up parking down the road away from the parking lot, which was full. Emerald Lake is very pretty but not as magnificent as Lake Louise or Moraine. However, it is more relaxed here and you can go for an easy walk around the lake.

Another lake you can see in Yoho National Park is Lake O’Hara. You need to make online reservations in advance (like WEEKS in advance) and I hadn’t done it so we didn’t go. I think after a while though, all the lakes start to look the same but I think the best ones were Moraine, Lake Louise, and Peyto.

We headed over to Takakkaw Falls and got there by 12:30 pm. Parking was crowded but larger and we were able to get a spot. It’s the highest falls in the park and very nice to visit. You can hike up pretty close to the falls (we didn’t do this). I think by this point we were feeling tired from the jam packed past few days! We then headed back to the hotel to rest a bit.

Later in the afternoon, around 4 pm, we headed back out to Lake Louise again to have a walk around the perimeter of the lake and just to relax and take the scene in. From the hotel out to the other side of the lake and back, it’s about a two mile roundtrip walk.

From the other side of Lake Louise, looking out at the Fairmount Hotel

Given the lack of dining options in the area, we ended up back at Peyto Cafe for dinner again and called it an evening!

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 3 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

October 25, 2019

LAKE LOUISE

Lake Louise is a highlight of Banff National Park. We planned to spend two nights at Lake Louise, which I highly recommend so that you can see everything you want in this area (Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, nearby Yoho National Park). We left Banff downtown at 8 am and an hour later, arrived and there was already traffic getting to the lake! It is no joke to come here ASAP in order to get prime parking. Otherwise, you need to park further away and shuttle over. We were lucky and were able to park in a lot close to the Fairmont Lake Louise hotel.

As a quick summary, this was what we did on Day 3 of the trip at Lake Louise:

Hike to Fairmont Lookout
Perimeter walk around Lake Louise by the hotel (FYI the hotel seemed more strict than the one in Banff in terms of access; the public can use it if they plan to shop/eat there though)
Attempted to visit Bow Glacier Falls
Visited Peyto Lake
Visited Mistaya Canyon

Day 3

We did the hike up to the Fairmont Lookout. It was a bit steep, but not terrible. Definitely knew there were animals in the area due to ‘evidence’ on the trails (meaning animal droppings, lol) but it felt safe. It’s about a mile and change one way up. When the trail flattens out and dips down a bit, you know you’re near the end of the hike and you’ll see a platform which allows you to see the lake in all its turquoise blue glory with the hotel in the back. The platform has a bench and a snack is recommended if you don’t have time for breakfast in the morning! It took us about 45 minutes to get to the top, starting at 9:45 am and we were back down by 11 am.

I also had the Lake Agnes Teahouse on my list as a possible trail to do but we ended up skipping it due to our later morning start (seriously, need to get here at like 6 am if you want to do this in peace without the hordes of tourists!). They actually ended up closing it that day too due to a nearby bear sighting! I’ve heard the teahouse hike is also long and steep so didn’t mind skipping it.

From 11 am - noon, we walked around the perimeter of Lake Louise which was gorgeous. It’s still so incredible to me that there are SO many people who come here to photograph it, yet it’s still possible to take a picture as if there is no one else here (definitely was not the case!).

For lunch, we had amazing sandwiches from this casual take out place at the nearby shopping center called Trailhead Cafe. The food was fresh, big portions, and so good we came back the next day to eat again!

The downtown area of Lake Louise is very small and you should definitely book a hotel way in advance as soon as you know you want to come here! I was very lucky to find room at Mountaineer Lodge back in January when I was looking. Initially almost all moderately priced rooms were sold out, but the lodge just renovated and released rooms back when I booked it. It’s going to be expensive in Banff/Jasper no matter what and I TOTALLY think it’s worth spending the money staying in the areas you want to stay in to limit all the driving back and forth. I’m so glad we stayed here due to it’s super close proximity to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, both of which are overloaded with tourists. Anyway, Mountaineer Lodge was great, very stylish and comfortable and they also have an indoor hot tub. Actually all the places we stayed at had a hot tub but we never had a chance to use them! They also include free breakfast, which was great. Another word of advice though: do your supermarket shopping in Banff before coming to Lake Louise! Their supermarket options were more expensive and tiny compared to Banff’s.

Another tip: If you need to use the restroom but can’t find a good public one, just head over to Lake Louise Gondola. This is a ski resort with another chairlift to the top of the mountain. It’s less than a 10 minute drive from downtown Lake Louise. We contemplated taking the gondola up, but the weather was cloudy and you can see the sky cam from the top broadcasted next to the ticket desk to determine if you feel like it’s worth going to or not. To us, it wasn’t so we skipped it and headed over to Bow Glacier Falls.

Bow Lake

So we never really made it to Bow Glacier Falls. I wanted to, but it’s considered bear territory and it wasn’t swarming with tourists like other trails were so didn’t feel comfortable going without any defense. However, the lake around here was GORGEOUS and reminded me very much of the mountains and lakes I saw in Patagonia! It’s great to just walk around the perimeter towards the Bow Glacier Falls trail. There is a path and you can walk as far as you want. It was also very windy here though on the day we came. We arrived here at 1:45 pm and left about an hour later.

PEYTO LAKE

Peyto Lake is about 15 minutes drive north of Bow Lake and SOOO worth pulling over to see! Not much of a hike here, you go straight to the platforms overlooking this beautiful cyan blue lake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a purely bright hued lake like this before.

MISTAYA CANYON

After the brief stop at Peyto, we then drove 30 min. north to Mistaya Canyon. The hike down to the canyon is less than a mile roundtrip and an easy walk but a semi-rocky trail. Canyon was cool to see but skippable if you don’t have the time for it. Also the fact I’m too lazy to find a picture of it to upload reminds me it was skippable, lol.

MORAINE LAKE - In the evening

By the time we returned back to the hotel and took a bit of a break, it was almost 6 pm. We decided to try our luck to get into Moraine Lake since traffic seemed to have lightened up. From Mountaineer Lodge, Moraine Lake was actually a bit closer to drive to than Lake Louise. We arrived at 6:30 pm to the parking lot and waited about 10 minutes before being able to park. But we were lucky! Pretty sure everyone after us had the same idea to come later in the day and the line to get into the park (by the time we left at 7 pm) was longer than when we came in. The problem though is that the parking lot is one way and circular, and people can’t see there are spots on the other side unless they risk going down that one way route and around towards the exit.

Anyway, getting a glimpse of Moraine Lake was pretty, but I didn’t get the hype. Why did everyone rave about this place? When we entered, I saw a ton of people to the left on a pile of rocks on a hill, but by then we were SO tired and I didn’t want to do another hike to see the lake from above. Also, in order to get up to the left side, it looked like you had to take this long path up and around. So we kept to the right side of the lake, which was also nice. I learned my lesson the next day though when I came back to see it at sunrise!

For dinner, we went to Peyto Cafe. The food was decent, just had burgers and fish and chips. We ate here twice as well since otherwise dining options were a bit limited in Lake Louise! It’s located inside a hostel but the service and ambience was very nice and laid back. Would recommend for an easy, relaxing dinner.

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Day 2 of Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)

October 20, 2019

I realize I am super behind in writing about my Banff/Jasper trip! After my last post, the WiFi service was really spotty and the summer flew by in a snap. Was too busy living it then sit at home and write content! Good thing I kept meticulous notes on my iPhone during the trip though :)

DAY 2: Banff

The schedule on this day, which I mapped out in advance and we kept for the most part, was as follows:

Morning, 6-9 am : Visit Johnson Canyon
9-10 am: Drive back to Banff town and grab quick breakfast
10-10:45 am: Drive to Sunshine Village to take the gondola up
11:30 am - 1 pm: Hike at the top around Sunshine Meadows
3-4 pm: Returned to Banff, grab lunch and rest at hotel.
4 pm: Leave to drive to Lake Minnewasaka
5-6 pm: Lake Cruise
6-7 pm: Drive over to Tunnel Mt. just to have a look
7-8 pm: Check out Fairmont Banff but also end up at Bow Falls
After 8 pm: Dinner and sleep

So we crammed A LOT in on the second day, see below for notes and observations.

Johnson Canyon

Our second day in Banff started off with waking up before the crack of dawn to beat the crowd at Johnson Canyon. Very happy we made this effort as by the time we left, we noticed a plethora of more people and it wouldn’t have been as relaxing or nice since the pathways are a bit narrow.

We left the hotel (Mount Royal) at 6 am to get to the canyon, which was about 45 minutes away from town. Upon arrival, there was plenty of parking but was completely full by the time we returned to the lot at 9 am. There are clean bathroom facilities here next to the parking lot. As you can see from the map below, it should take about 30 minutes to walk to the Lower Falls and from there, another hour to the Upper Halls.

The trail is easy to follow. Most of the walk to the Lower Falls will be right along the canyon on these ramps. It’s pretty scenic, cool, and a bit misty down here. The walkway is a bit narrow (can fit two people comfortably side by side but probably not much more than that) which is why starting the trail early with the mass amounts of tourists is well worth it.

We made the (not fatal) mistake of bypassing stopping at the Lower Falls first and went straight to the Upper Falls. The walk to the Upper Falls is longer and more inland, not along the canyon. The path isn’t too difficult, but it is longer and has more ups/downs than the Lower Falls trail. Once you get near the end path to the bottom of the Upper Falls, you can take another path upwards to the top for an overlook of the Upper Falls. We skipped that portion since we were tired and had a busy itinerary for the day. If you plan to go further up, plan for another 30-45 minutes.

Upper Falls was very nice to see though. You get to stand on a platform above the river rushing below down to Lower Falls. When we reached here it was still pretty empty but on the walk back down to Lower Falls, we started to see more and more people coming up the route. By the time we reached Lower Falls, I really regretted not stopping there first!

The view of watching the water rush down from Upper Falls downstream

Lower Falls - you can get more up and personal to it via a small hole in a cave.

When we reached Lower Falls, there were more people arriving. I had failed to notice that you can get up and close to the Lower Falls via a small tunnel in a cave, which holds about maybe 4-5 people at a time on a small standing area. It wasn’t terribly crowded, but compared to the fact that there was NO ONE here when we first arrived, I regretted not stopping to see this first and breezing on by on the way back. If it’s super crowded and you’re unable to get into the cave, it’s not the end of the world. The view is not going to be that much better or anything, but knowing that we could have seen it crowd-free earlier pained me, lol. By the time we returned to the parking lot, it was about 9 am. We were starving and decided to head back into town for a quick breakfast at McDonald’s before shooting back out to Sunshine Village.

OVERALL: Johnson Canyon is worth seeing, it’s an easy/medium level hike and enjoyable for all. Definitely try to start this as early as you can in the day, and bring a snack/water.

SUNSHINE VILLAGE

Next up in the jam packed day was a visit up to Sunshine Village. The weather forecast for Banff the time we were here at the end of June was mostly rainy. Sunshine Village is a ski resort about 20 minutes from Banff, but the attractions all sit at the very top of Sunshine Mt. We booked our gondola tickets in advance and I am very glad that we planned to come during the start of peak season as otherwise, the gondola/access up here is closed. So the day we went was the very first day of gondola operation (the last Friday in June).

As we drove from Banff to Sunshine, the rain and mist did NOT let up. I was very sad since the prior day we could not see anything at the top of the gondola in Banff. However, as we neared closed to Sunshine Village, it suddenly cleared up and the area lived up to its name!

We arrived by 10:45 am (I had booked for 11 am) and off we went! This gondola ride was LONG because this mountain is HIGH. Also, be sure to dress warmly—it was much colder and windier at the summit. The gondola was a nice leisurely 20 minutes long but once we got off, we still had to head over to another ski lift to get to the very top! This ski lift takes you up to Sunshine Meadows, where you can see a few lakes and go for a hike. Before you get on the second lift though, there is a nice lodge where you can have lunch/grab a Starbucks coffee, use facilities, etc. You also have the option to walk up to Sunshine Meadows but that walk is not short. From what we saw on the second chairlift, it’s quite steep and long.

If you plan to come to Sunshine Village, it’s better to go on a day where you don’t have anything else to do in the morning. There is so much to see up in Sunshine Meadows and the last gondola ride down is at 5 pm. If you can start earlier in the day here, you’d be able to see more. However, what we saw was sufficient for us (since it was cold and early in peak season). On a warmer day you’d probably want to spend more time here.

By the time we reached Sunshine Meadows, it was about 11:30 am and we walked around and down to the Rock Isle lookout and back and finished by 1 pm. By time we took the two lifts down the mountain, it was about 3 pm in the parking lot. So yes, start early if you can!

After we finished with Sunshine Mountain, we headed back to the hotel to rest up and have some late lunch. The town of Banff is very cute with lots of restaurants but also pricey. Think I just ended up getting a Subway sandwich because I wanted something quick and take a break on my bed!

LAKE MINNEWASAKA CRUISE

Since we were going all out on this trip, we bought the Ultimate Explorer Banff pass, which allows you to do three activities, such as the Banff Gondola, the Columbia Icefield Adventure and Skywalk, and the Lake Minnewasaka Cruise. While Banff Gondola and the Columbia Icefield activities were great, this cruise is SKIPPABLE! Only do it if you if you’re taking little kids and want an hour of boat cruising time without having to do any physical exertion. Our boat cruise was far from being relaxing, as there were tons of kids/families on the boat and the boat is not really that nice, nor there is not really a platform to stand outside or take pics in. There is a small area in the back of the boat, but it’s not really a ‘must do.’ Going down to the lake is recommended as it is beautiful, but to go out on the lake is not necessary. Plus the windows on the boat don’t make it optimal for good picture taking.

We took the 5 pm cruise, which is the last cruise of the day. They also offer a booze cruise but I think renting a canoe would be more interesting.

After returning to shore by 6 pm, we drove over Tunnel Mt. trailhead to check it out since it was nearby (the lake is about 15-20 min. from town). It was getting dark at this time so we didn’t try to do the trail, but wish we had time! This trailhead overlooks the town of Banff and there is limited parking, though you could walk from town to do it.

BOW FALLS

At around 7 pm, we decided to head over to Fairmont Banff to check it out. It’s open to the public and we parked nearby on the street. We ended up wandering around the grounds and finding a path in the back of the hotel (near the German restaurant!) to Bow Falls. Since we missed this the day before due to the wandering elk, we took the opportunity to check out Bow Falls and so glad we did! It was very pretty and lots of public parking next to it. The sun was starting to set lower so the lighting for pictures around this time was great, too.

This was the last thing we saw before heading to dinner and much needed night of sleep! A great packed day 2 of the trip though!

June/July 2019 Trip Report: Planning for Banff & Jasper National Parks

July 3, 2019

In case you’re unaware, I am very OCD about planning my trips. Mainly because time is money and time is also very precious to me. However, as much as I am a scheduler, I also add in flexibility to my vacation schedule as I know you can’t control everything (especially the weather!).

Earlier this year (January 2019) I spent a good 3 weeks planning my summer 10-day vacation to Banff and Jasper National Park’s. All that planning and research really paid off though as we’ve been having a wonderful time out here in Canada and yes, you really do need to book things that early! There are limited accommodations throughout the park so if you want to limit the amount of time of driving back and forth from place to place because you couldn’t get a room, definitely book by early January. Even when I was looking, a lot of the rooms I wanted were booked up! However other places also didn’t open up their reservation system for the summer until just after New Years (i.e., the wonderful Alpine Village in Jasper). I may have even started planning a bit around Christmastime last year, now that I think about it!

Planning for Banff & Jasper National Park (with a bit of Yoho on the side)

My holiday in Banff started at the end of June 2019, flying out Wed. June 26 and leaving Saturday, July 6. I’m currently still in Jasper (writing a long post since it’s been raining all day!) and I will say that I think you can do all the highlights in a week. However, it’s nice to have a couple of extra days to relax and unwind or to burn in case of bad weather. One great thing about the park system here is if you make a reservation for a gondola ride or lake cruise online, you can change it if your plan or weather changes.

Below is a brief outline of out overall itinerary as well as places we stayed at and brief comments:

The town of Banff on our first day (which was unfortunately cloudy and foggy).

Trip Overview

Flew into Calgary International Airport from JFK. Stayed one night at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson near Calgary Airport. Great easy hotel, seems new, very comfortable and clean, decent free breakfast. We arrived at 9 pm so had to stay the night.
Drove 90 minutes from Calgary to Banff, stayed for two nights at Mount Royal Hotel. Loved it here, very boutique and luxe feel. Worth the $$$. No breakfast but nice rooftop indoor lounge and outdoor hot tubs (which were always in use). Centrally located with parking.
Drove 60 minutes from Banff to Lake Louise, stayed for two nights at Mountaineer Lodge. Based on my research, they just renovated these rooms in the past year and it shows! The outside may not look like much but inside was very comfy, clean and well laid out. Free breakfast included and parking. The proximity to Moraine Lake is CLUTCH. One night is really enough here but I’m glad we stayed two in case the weather was bad (and we definitely found things to do). Also, book this place early!! I initially booked one night back in Jan. and a few days later, tried to change it to two but the original room size I wanted was sold out so had to upgrade to a bigger one (which was ok since I’m traveling with two others anyway). The hotel allowed me to get the bigger room while paying one night fee of the smaller room, which was nice (I e-mailed them to ask if I could have the smaller room for two nights but glad we got upgraded for one night instead). While we stayed here, we saw a few tour buses here so it gets booked out for those groups. Has an indoor hot tub/sauna/locker rooms near the reception which I wish we got to use but didn’t have time.
Yoho National Park is twenty minutes away from Lake Louise, which is why we chose to spend two nights, not one here. Yoho is more underrated than Banff and Jasper. Emerald Lake is the highlight here, and if you want to go see Lake O’Hara, you must make rsvps online in advance as only shuttle buses are allowed to travel down there. I didn’t do this but it’s an option.
Drove 3 hours from Lake Louise to Jasper, stayed four nights at Alpine Village Jasper. This place was SO WORTH THE MONEY. It’s expensive, but it’s the #1 rated place to stay in Jasper and they just renovated all their log cabins in 2018. It is so cute and cozy and feels like they were built yesterday. The grounds are so well maintained and it’s a comfy place to hang out in when the weather is bad. I think two nights is good for Jasper but we don’t mind staying four as we did a lot on this trip and it’s nice to relax and unwind in the country the last couple of days. If you pay in cash, you save a bit on taxes (plenty of ATMs in Jasper. Also side note: you really don’t need cash for anything else). Has a nice outdoor hot tub area but we didn’t use. Cooked meals in the nice clean kitchen.
Plan to drive 4-5 hours back from Jasper to Calgary on July 5 for our flight home to NYC July 6 (staying at another hotel airport).
Other tip: If you’re doing a 10 day trip like us, it’s a better value to buy the ANNUAL pass for Canada’s National Parks. You can do this when you arrive at the park gates. Once you buy a park pass, you hang it on your car. Otherwise buy the pass that best suits you but generally anything longer than a week, you should just get the annual pass.
Other things I booked online in advance included:
- The Ultimate Explorer package. This included entry to the Banff Gondola ride up Sulphur Mt. (was foggy when we went but otherwise seems like it would be spectacular to do on a sunny day), a cruise on Lake Minnewanka (skippable), and the Glacier Adventure & Skywalk tour on the Columbia Icefields (nice, if you like glaciers and scenery). I booked this a few months earlier but you can wait a few weeks before your trip.
- Gondola at Sunshine Village. This is a must do! I loved it. It’s a very long 20 min. ride to the top, and then another chairlift to the very top to Sunshine Meadows, where you can go for multiple hikes down to lakes sitting up 8,000 ft. at the top. Breathtaking, especially on a clear day (our day was partly cloudy). I booked this a couple of weeks before we left. The first day of operation was June 28 so you definitely should check/plan your trip around when they open (which is what I did when I started research back in Jan.).
- Jasper Skytram. Also a must do. Gorgeous views of Jasper and the opportunity to hike up a mile up to the top of Whistler summit. You’re basically walking above the clouds up here! They are running a summer promotion where if you get on before 10 am (it opens at 8), you get a free breakfast at the restaurant at the top! Amazing value and also great views. They run the same promotion for after 5 pm for dinner. You only get like 3 food choices but it’s still a nice deal. Peak tram times seem to be btwn 11-5 (when we left by 12:30 pm it was soooo crowded. We got there at 8:15 and it was quiet and so enjoyably peaceful). Booked this a week before we left.
- Maligne Lake Cruise, premium. If you want to do a lake cruise, I would pick the Maligne one over Minnewanka. And you should do the premium one so you can have a nice little walk on Spirit Island (half hour stop which is enough) and take in some nice pictures. After seeing so many lakes here, they all pretty much start to look the same. Minnewanka is very nice and you should definitely stop over to see it but no need to do the lake cruise (just motors out to the middle and back, and there isn’t a huge outdoor walking deck on the boat).

Another thing you can do/book in advance is the Lake Louisa gondola ride but I think it’s probably less impressive than Jasper, Banff, and Sunshine (we went there and looked at the webcam views from the ticketing office).

So with all that being said, I’ll try to recap my trip by day so you get an idea of how much was crammed in.

Day 1: Banff

We arrived in Banff on Thursday morning from Calgary at about 10 am, leaving Calgary by 8:30. The day was pretty cloudy and drizzly but we really had no other time on our schedule to do this so we up to the top anyway.

We could not see a thing but there were several indoor exhibits inside including a brief movie on the park and other factoids. There is also a nice boardwalk outside where you can walk up to the weather station and we enjoyed that even though we couldn’t see much. The clouds did lift a bit but overall not much of a view, I was okay with it though as I knew we would have other nice days and views ahead.

Afterwards we headed down on the gondola and walked around town a bit. The town of Banff is so cute with a lot of character, shops, and restaurants. I like it better than Jasper though Banff is probably more commercialized. Banff is more concentrated and compact though while Jasper feels more spread out and rustic.

Since it was drizzling we were limited on what we can do outdoors. Banff has a TON of things to do and we only did a handful of it all.

After some lunch, we checked out the Cascade of Time Garden, which is free and easy to get to. Everything in Banff is easy to walk to, which is why i think I like it more too.

From there we tried to walk to Bow Falls Viewpoint (about 15 minutes from the garden) but when we arrived near the trail, we saw it was all roped off by the rangers. Apparently it’s calving season and this mama cow elk has been charging at hikers since she has a baby calf with her!

There were at least 5-6 rangers trying to herd her off and away from the trail so that was cool to see. You will definitely see animals coming into Banff/Jasper! We have seen at least one kind of animal every day.

Since we couldn’t go to Bow Falls Viewpoint, we decided to go to Surprise Corner instead, which is probably a 15 minute walk from town but we drove there since it was raining. After you park at the designated parking lot, walk along the side of the road where you can hear the raging rush of the Bow River and you’ll get a great view of the Fairmont Banff.

This was all we got to do on the first day. We had wanted to do Tunnel Mountain, which is a hike next to Surprise Corner and is supposed to be a great view of the town but due to the weather and time constraints, we were unable to do it.

The Duomo Cathedral in Milan - one of the most beautiful churches I’ve seen in Europe!

May 2019: Milan, Italy Trip Report

June 26, 2019

Is Milan Worth Visiting?

Oh, Milano! I’ve been to Italy three times but never to Milan. Milan is known as the fashion capital of Italy and being from the fashion capital of the U.S. (NYC), I’ve never had an interest to visit (sorry, I can’t help it I’m a bit of a travel snob!). Once in a while I do like going to different cities to escape mine and this year for Memorial Day weekend I was in the mood to do just that. A few friends had been before and thought Milan was underwhelming though, with not much to do. After spending four days here, I disagree! I loved Milan and totally think it’s worth visiting if you’re in the mood to go somewhere culturally different than the U.S., easy to get around, and okay with exploring art/design culture and great Italian food.

Granted, Milanese Italian food is not as good as other areas of Italy but still better than the U.S.! Of all the countries I’ve been to around the world (40+), Italy is my favorite country to go back to. There is so much concentration of things to see, do and eat in this country and every time I come I fall more in love with Italian food.

From NYC, Milan is an easy trip to plan as well, where the flight times are pretty good and direct that you can spend a full four days here. I flew with Emirates Airlines (first time ever), leaving Wednesday night at 10:30 pm and arriving in Milan by Thursday, noon. Returning, my flight back to NYC from Milan was at 4 pm and I got back into JFK by 7 pm.

For those who fly with Emirates to Italy from NYC: definitely plan to arrive to the airport early to check in!!! I got to the airport by 8 pm and I barely had enough time to check in and grab some dinner before boarding the flight. Check in took FOREVER as everyone has to check in the front desk and I think a lot of people take this flight with a layover in Milan and then onwards to their flying destination in the UAE. It was probably the longest check in wait I’ve had in a long time when traveling. Flying back from Milan, I also arrived to the airport 3 hours early and I’m glad I did since I also needed to go to the tax-refund area as well (Note: As of May 2019, if you’re bringing your tax-free goods with you on the carry-on, they make you get the tax-free refund AFTER check-in security. If you have it in your checked luggage, you’re allowed to process it in an area BEFORE security. Sounds like these new rules were effective in the last year or so; definitely research for your travels!).

Why I Loved Visiting Milan

Milan is so much different than Rome, Florence, and Venice. I found it out be more classy, laid back, less touristy, and relaxing. Granted, maybe I was there during a good time of the year (late May) but I felt so safe walking around the streets of Milan. Sometimes when you visit other European cities, you need to be cautious of ‘bad’ or degenerate neighborhoods but I didn’t come across any sketchy streets. Of course that’s not to say there’s no crime but I felt safe and was never harassed or asked for money like I am in most other places. I also thought Milan moved at a relaxing pace and was less overwhelming with people than other Italian cities. I stayed in the ‘up and coming’ area of Tortona, which is near the southern end of the city and close to the Navigli area (which has a few canals and is very hip/more young and artsy. The Air BnB I stayed in was very nice and centrally located close to the Porta Genova Metro Station. The Duomo, which is in city center, was within a 20-25 minute walk. It was very easy to get around on the metro, trams, or with your own legs.

Milan is also great as it’s a jumping point for Lake Como and other surrounding areas. I wish I had more time to do day trips to the lake regions but I didn’t have time since it was a long weekend trip.

Spa Time

The highlight of my entire weekend was spending a day at QC Terme Milano. OMG this was one of the best day spa experiences I’ve ever had! I would pass through Milan just to enjoy this pleasurable day of bliss and relaxation. Unlike my other trips, I didn’t really spend too much time pre-planning as I plan so much for work and my personal life that I was ok just winging this weekend. However, anytime I travel solo, I always look up spa places in case I get bored or don’t have much else to do. I am SO glad I came across this little slice of heaven on Earth. I’ve been to a ton of spas around the world and in NYC and for the level of amenities and price, this may be my favorite one. I literally have nothing bad to say or to criticize this place.

In the halls of this artsy and wonderful spa

Why I loved QC Terme Milano:

The design of this place was so gorgeous. From the two outdoor hot tubs basking within the Romanesque stone walls to the bird-cage nap room and the underground jacuzzis, everything was so nicely designed and CLEAN. I also loved the tram sitting in the garden which is a dry sauna.
All the saunas were clean and had really relaxing music piping through speakers.
The steam rooms were also very nice and filled of nice aromas. There was one steam room where you can also scrub down your skin with salt and while you sit in the steam room, it melts into your skin.
There are also face lotions/creams to use and plentiful naps rooms (including a room with infrared bed lighting).
Complimentary tea and fruit was also provided. For a full meal you need to pay a la carte, UNLESS you stay til the evening hours (7 pm) when they serve you apertivo (drinks and Italian charcuterie/snacks/food) which is INCLUDED in the admission price.
Value: For a day pass, if you arrive in the morning, it’s just 48 euros!!! You can add on services like massages, etc. but I read reviews online that the massages are terrible. If you come later in the day, the admission price is less but it’s also more people.
Very close to a metro station so it’s easy to get to. I took a tram from Tortona and it only took me 15 minutes to get to. I didn’t have a rsvp and I don’t think you really need one unless you come at a busy time.

Tips

Do not come on a weekend. I came on a Friday morning, at around 10:30 am. Check in was easy (the front desk speaks minimal English but enough to get in). It was pretty empty but got a little bit more busy as the day went on. However by 1-2 pm, it died out again.
Definitely come in the morning to enjoy this place in peace and cleanliness. I could totally understand that later in the day and on weekends, it gets busier and not as well-kept.
I stayed from 10:30-4 pm, and around then, a lot more people were arriving, probably to take advantage of the apertivo hour which is included in the admission price no matter what time you arrive. So I didn’t experience it but I was okay with that since i really enjoyed lounging around!
Bring sunscreen for the hot outdoor pools!
Walk around the facility to get a sense of where everything is before enjoying it. I did a quick walk through when I arrived, but realized I truly didn’t discover everything until after being there for about three hours. Then I went back and re-visited all my favorite spots.
The locker area—they give you a card as part of locker security. I didn’t know what to do with it until someone else showed me. You need to insert this card to a slot behind the locker door, then take the key with you. I felt that my things were secure.
Be sure to explore all the rooms in the underground baths!
I am so excited this brand is planning to launch a spa here in NYC as well in a couple of years on Governor’s Island!

Nap room, where they have sounds of birds chirping. Infrared beds in the back area and another room to sleep in is beyond that as well. So much to explore here!

Outdoor jacuzzi where I spent most of my time.

Other things I did in Milan was mainly shop, visit the Duomo, and eat! The Galleria next to the Duomo is gorgeous and there is a dept. store nearby where you can head to the rooftop for a view of the Duomo and the city.

I was very lucky to get a private tour of the Duomo. A colleague of mine has a connection to the Duomo and I really enjoyed visiting it. The highlight is visiting the rooftop and the interior of the Duomo (can skip the museum, though it really does have cool artifacts). I am pretty surprised the Duomo is not talked about as much as other churches in Europe. I found it to be more beautiful than Notre Dame or La Sagrada Familia. It was so clean/well-preserved and all the intricate details and statues on the exterior are amazing to look at.

For food/drinks, it was a hit/miss. This cute little cafe below (Bar Luce) is near the Prada Foundation and was designed by Wes Anderson, an artsy American film director. The food and coffee here was very good (and at great price points for the quality!).

Another highlight was this wonderful restaurant with freshly slice prosciutto di parma and the most creamiest burrata cheese I ever had! My mouth is salivating just thinking of it. Salsamenteria di Parma has several locations throughout Milan and the milky white cream oozing out of this cheese is seared into my memory. The pasta here was nice as well but I loved my cured meats and cheese! I ended up buying some prosciutto to go to snack on the plane ride home (BEST DECISION EVER).

I also had a tasting menu meal at Langosteria, a highly rated seafood restaurant in Milan (and close to Tortona area). The food was light and delicious but pretty pricey. I did savor every bite though and langoustines are one of favorite things to eat!

Overall a wonderful short trip to Milan.

Off to another adventure today which I will try to be good about posting so I don’t fall behind on my trip reporting! :) Follow me on Instagram at thegirlwhotraveled for more photos and info!

Sunset from Douglas Family Preserve in Santa Barbara

April 2019: West Coast Trip Report (L.A. & Santa Barbara)

May 13, 2019

I took a long weekend trip over Easter Weekend 2019 to L.A. and Santa Barbara. I’ve been to L.A. quite a few times, most recently last September for a work trip and New Years Eve 2016. I really do love the West Coast and could totally see myself live out there someday. As much as I love NYC, the older I get, the more I crave outdoor space, access to nature, and being into health & wellness. L.A. has changed a lot in past 18 years (I first visited when I was 21) and I love how the quality of produce/food is fresher, there’s tons of beachside communities to visit, there’s a great amount of culture and activities, and the weather is usually great (compared to East Coast 6 month long winters!).

For this trip I went out to visit a friend and we did a short overnight stay in Santa Barbara. My impressions of Santa Barbara were as follows:

Cute beachside town - has a lot more character than Santa Monica and other places closer to L.A. I think it’s because it’s way less touristy (it’s a 90 minute drive north of L.A.) so it doesn’t feel as overcrowded as Santa Monica does, even though SB also has a pier/wharf area, a stretch of pedestrian-friendly shopping area, and nice beaches.
The food scene is delish - the best meal of the trip was at Les Marchands and the Lark. Both are right next to each other and I’d rate Les Marchands better because the menu (Italian-based) was more unique and diverse.
I’d recommend spending two nights here if you want to do some hiking. We didn’t do any hiking since we spent only one night. Inspiration Point is a popular one that was recommended.
Definitely go to the Douglas Family Preserve for catching a glorious sunset. This park sits on a cliff above Arroyo Beach and accessible to the public from a residential street. Can take an Uber there (plenty of street parking though) and lots of locals/dog walkers walking around in the evening.
Visit the wine valley. We did a bike tour with iBike Santa Barbara. It was well organized and the bike tour was nice and relaxing. We rode 13 miles around and then had a few wine tastings and lunch. This took up most of a day.
A lot of great spas are here too but I think it’s only worth visiting a spa if you’re going to use their amenities as well. I looked into their prices and most massages/treatments started at $200+ so I wouldn’t go just for a treatment and leave. You should make it worth your time/value by spending a few hours relaxing in whatever amenities the spa offers too. I think since in NYC I can get a great (though no frills) massage for under $60 an hour, I find it hard to pay 3-4x that amount and just spend less than two hours at a spa.
Overall I enjoyed Santa Barbara— great for couple, girlfriend getaways, and families. There really is something for everyone! If I go back it would be more for spa and hiking.

My time in L.A. was fun as well—my favorite place to eat in L.A. this trip around was at Nightmarket in Venice Beach. Amazing Southeast Asian food and knowledgable waitstaff who made excellent menu suggestions! Mama Shelter was also a fun rooftop bar in downtown L.A. with great cocktails and service. I look forward to future visits back!

View of Albuquerque, NM from Sandia Peak.

February 2019: New Mexico Trip Report

March 22, 2019

I spent New Years Eve 2018 weekend out in Nashville, TN but I’m too lazy to recap it! I was there for about four days, which felt a tad too long when it’s too cold to stay outside. Nashville was nice to visit; the highlights were eating fried chicken at Hattie B’s and getting amazing cocktails at speakeasy bar Patterson House. Otherwise Nashville seemed like a blend of Las Vegas/Charleston/New Orleans to me and every neighborhood is pretty spread out.

Over President’s Day weekend 2019 in February I took a mini trip out west to New Mexico and visited Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I loved driving out there, the sky is this brilliant blue that’s different from what I see on the East Coast and the landscape was breathtaking. Unfortunately I was the driver most of the time and unable to take pictures from the road though.

Getting to New Mexico from NYC

I booked this trip back in December and it was one of the cheapest direct flights I could find from NYC to anywhere in the U.S. for President’s Day weekend. I think the non stop Jet Blue flight was just around $300 or so, leaving Thursday evening 8 pm NYC and arriving in Albuquerque by 11 pm. As soon as we arrived, we picked up our car rental from Enterprise and spent the night at a low cost hotel by the airport. Stayed at Baymont by Wyndman, which has a 24 hour front desk and seemed like a ‘newer’ hotel. I’d definitely recommend it for a short stay, the place was clean, comfortable, and the hotel breakfast was the best of our weekend.

I thought New Mexico would be warmer than NYC but I was completely wrong! There was one day of 40-50 degree weather but otherwise it was just as cold as NYC (25-40 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a dry cold at least but it got pretty windy at times too.

Day 1 (Friday):

The first day was the warmest day of the weekend so we took the opportunity to check out Sandia Tram, which is one of the world’s longest tram ride up (about 15 minutes). The views are very scenic and it was pretty snowy and a bit icy at the top. It takes you up to Sandia Mountain, and skiers/snowboarders may be on your ride as well. When it’s warmer you could go on hiking trails around there but otherwise you’ll probably just spend about 20 minutes looking at the various lookout points before catching the tram back down.

After we finished the tram ride it was about 11 am and we drove up to Santa Fe but went to Tent Rocks National Monument first. It’s on the way and about an hour and change from Albuquerque. It’s an easy place to visit but you would definitely need to check the website to see if it’s open due to weather conditions. Luckily for us the easy 1 mile loop was open (but another trail further in was closed).

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

I love how you can see the cuts and colors of the rocks. No hiking shoes necessary if you’re doing this easy loop around the park. Afterwards we checked into our next hotel, the Homewood Suites Santa Fe, which is coincidentally next to a casino. The hotel was nice though, also clean and comfortable, but the breakfast wasn’t as good as the previous one. It’s also about a 15-20 min. drive from city center, but much more affordable.

Day 2 (Saturday)

The weather forecast was turning colder by the minute so we started the day heading out to Bandelier National Monument. We headed out there from the hotel around 9 am and it seemed like we were the only ones going as we hardly saw any other cars on the hour drive over. The drive into the park is also very nice, as you’re going through semi-twisty roads (safe though) but you should also check that the park/trails are open before heading over there. On the way, there is a pullout stop/parking to check out the canyon views.

Canyon view on the way to Bandelier National Park

I didn’t quite know what to expect of Bandelier but it was a fun visit. When you pull into the main parking lot, there will be a Visitor’s Center where you can get information on the trails. On the day we went, only the main trail was open but that’s the main attraction anyway!

Bandelier is a place that was abandoned 500 years ago by Native Americans. They basically create a community and homes within the mountains/caves and you can climb up through the ladders to have a look. It kind of felt like being in an episode of the Flintstones!

The trail loop is about 1.5 mile but some of it was covered in snow/water so we stuck to the main trail along the cave homes. Kids would definitely love playing and scrambling around, but adults will as well!

The forecast called for snow and just when we finished exploring the part of the cave homes, it started flurrying. The weather around here changes so fast!

After having some lunch, we then went to take a glass blowing sculpture class with Prairie Dog Glass. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it! You just have to call in advance and make an appointment for a private lesson. It was kind of expensive ($180 an hour) but then when I got back to NYC and saw how much more expensive it is NYC (like about $200+ and it’s not private class and you only get to make one thing) I think i got a good deal in New Mexico! At this class, it’s a one on one private session and you basically can make as many objects as you can within the allotted hour. I chose to do a vase, bowl (20 min each) and a paperweight (15 minutes). And you get to keep it all!

For the most part the instructor is helping and guiding you but you get to pick the colors, twirl the molted glass in the hotter-than-lava oven, and help shape your project. I really enjoyed it and would love to try it again sometime.

I always wondered how they make the ‘flower’ inside the paperweight. Basically they create the flower in a mold, and then they dip that flower shape mold into another layer of molten glass to encase/seal it in. After finishing these pieces, they’re placed in a sealed closet to cool down and then you return the next day (as early as 9 am; our class was at 2 pm) to pick up and take home with you. The instructor will pack it up in bubble wrap for travel as well.

Day 3 (Sunday)

Sunday Funday! We woke up to 26 degree weather but it didn’t matter as we planned to spend half the day at Japanese-inspired spa Ten Thousand Waves. This spa has been around forever and is about a 10-15 minute drive from city center of Santa Fe. Definitely make a private spa reservation in advance! I called maybe 3 weeks before the trip and there was only ONE time slot left for the private hot tub/sauna room I wanted to book.

As far as spas go, I’ve been to many around the world and this was a nice local one to visit. The prices compared to elsewhere in the world were fairly affordable! The cheapest would be to do the day spa admission, which is $28 for the day and you get to hang out in the communal areas like the Grand Bath. There are also public same-sex only hot tubs (women/men-only) which are also communal but smaller (holding maybe 6 people max at a time. And they have this lovely outdoor foot bath, where you can sit and soak your tired tootsies while wearing a bath robe and sipping complementary tea.

I ended up grabbing a private hot tub/sauna rsvp for 12:15 pm at the Ofuro hot tub. This was money WAY WELL SPENT. Oh my goodness for $59 per person we had this lovely hot tub and dry sauna with private shower/toilet/lounge area for a glorious 90 minutes!!! 90 doesn’t sound long but it was just enough. The water is really hot and full of minerals. I couldn’t really stay in more than 15 minutes at a time. Since the communal areas can be crowded (and kid friendly) it was nice to have this private space to ourselves. In addition, if you book a private spa the communal areas are ‘free’ for use. I loved this one too as it was shaded (we had a roof) but also ‘open windows’ to the outside. I wish I could come back here once a week!

There is an intercom that will tell you when you have 15 minutes left in your time slot. The doors are locked so no one will come in and bother you. It’s really an amazing way to relax and the bath area was super clean and had ice water to drink/refresh yourself with as well as plenty of towels and floor slippers.

We arrived at the spa at 9 am on Sunday. It was pretty quiet/empty but got fuller around 11 am. You can also book other appointments like massages but I would NOT recommend the private foot massage. Not worth it. Was less than half an hour and cost as much as the private hot tub.

After the spa, we went to pick up the glass work we made the previous day. Then we drove down to Albuquerque to visit the city but overall it was too cold to spend too much time outdoors there. On Monday (our fourth day) In Albuquerque we visited Old Town but it was pretty blah. The casino was ok to kill time in. The Petroglyph park was nice but too cold to walk outside. So I didn’t enjoy this area as much as we did Santa Fe!

Our flight back to NYC was supposed to leave at midnight but it ended up being delayed til 2:30 am! So the last day there wasn’t as ‘fun’ as the previous days but really enjoyed our time in Santa Fe.