The Ultimate Cost Breakdown for a Trip to Banff

Banff National Park is one of the most beautiful places in the world! It’s no wonder that it’s a popular tourist destination, especially during the summer months. The question most travelers ask before planning a trip: How much does a trip to Banff cost? The truth is, it depends on your travel style and budget. But in this blog post, I’ll give you a breakdown of the how much we spent for a week in Banff.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about the cost of a week-long trip to Banff!

Trip to Banff Cost- Overview

Expense	Cost Per Person	Total Cost for 2 People
Flights	$336	$672
Accommodation	$566.50	$1,133
Transportation	$325	$650
Excursions/Activities	$182	$364
Food	$321	$642
Misc/Souvenirs	$94	$188
Total	$1,824.5	$3,649

Total Cost in Each Area in USD

For a break down of these numbers, what’s included in each, and where to save money continue reading!

Flights

Flights are going to vary in price depending on when you’re traveling and where you are flying from. We booked our flight during Black Friday with Air Canada and paid $306 per person plus $30 each way for one checked bag.

A few ways to save money on flights:

Be flexible with your dates & check the price calendar to see which days are cheaper
Visit during the shoulder season: September – October or May – June. The summer is the busiest time also making it more expensive.
Look for flight deals during Black Friday.
Book a flight with a layover- typically direct flights are going to be a little more expensive.

Accommodation

The average cost for a hotel in Banff is around $350/night. This can range depending on where your staying (more expensive next to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake). To save money consider:

Looking at Airbnbs
Stay in Canmore instead of Banff
If traveling alone or only with one person look into hostels
Travel during shoulder seasons

We stayed at an Airbnb in Harvie Heights, only 5 minutes from the entrance to Banff. We paid around $180 usd a night. The Airbnb wasn’t anything fancy but it was a great home base for our adventures! For 5 nights we paid $911.

At the end of our trip we stayed at an Airbnb in Calgary for two nights before heading home and paid $223 total.

To the left is the view from our Airbnb in Calgary.

Transportation

We paid $435 for our rental car for 7 days. We rented off of Turo instead of traditional options, such as Hertz. It was cheaper and very convenient to pick up at the airport. We didn’t have to wait for the car either which is a large bonus. Also included in transportation is:

$75 for parking our car at the airport in Atlanta
$45 for parking in Banff. This includes street parking and parking at Lake Louise.
$94 for gas

This brings out total transportation cost to $650 for the week.

Excursions/Activities

Pursuit has a lot of great attraction options to choose from. They have options in both Banff & Jasper. Since our trip was only in Banff we choose the package with the Gondola to Sulfur Mountain and the Lake Minnewanka. On our last day in Banff, we decided to relax at Kananaskis Nordic Spa. Which was much needed after hiking around 6-7 miles everyday! We choose the twilight option, which was cheaper and allowed us to explore some more in Banff before heading over. The final cost in the excursion area is the park pass to get into Banff everyday. The cost are listed below:

Gondola & Cruise package: $164
Kananaskis Twilight Spa: $122
Park Pass: $75

Food

Depending on where you eat, cost for food can definitely add up quickly. Like most of our trips, we stopped by a grocery store on the first day to get the necessities. We grabbed bagels, cream cheese and yogurt to eat for breakfast. Instead of grabbing breakfast out, we prefer to eat breakfast either at our Airbnb or on the go so it saves us time and money in the morning. We also grabbed stuff to make sandwiches and snacks for our hikes. We ate sandwiches on the trail everyday and had snacks such as granola bars, chips, and something sweet. Our total cost for groceries was $77.

We ate dinner in the town of Banff most nights. Some days we were able to save on cost by eating during happy hour. We splurged one night at Sky Bistro for our anniversary and it was 100% worth it. Our total cost for restaurants was $565, this includes coffees, ice cream and beaver tails.

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Misc/Souvenirs

If you’re like me, you can’t go to a new place and not come home with at least a t-shirt. We spent $189 on a few t-shirts, magnets, stickers, and a few misc things. Depending on how much shopping you like to do on vacation, this can vary greatly per person.

Trip to Banff – Is the Cost Worth it?

100% yes! Banff is an incredibly gorgeous and magical place and I would definitely recommend everyone to visit. As you start planning your trip to Banff, be sure to check out these ten things you should know before visiting! Once your ready to start planning your trip, checkout this 7 day itinerary!