How Much Does a Trip to Banff Cost in 2026? (Honest Budget Guide)
Banff National Park is an incredibly beautiful place, with stunning peaks all around! 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. However, 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 what you can expect to spend during a week-long trip to Banff!
Note: Prices in Banff have increased significantly in 2025/2026. This guide has been updated with current park fees and average hotel rates to help you budget accurately.
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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 |
Continue reading for a break down of these numbers, what’s included in each, and where to save money!
Flights to Banff
Flights are going to vary in price depending on when you’re traveling and where you are flying from. We booked our flight with Air Canada and paid $306 per person plus $30 each way for one checked bag. For reference, we flew out of Atlanta, during the beginning of September.
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 will obviously range depending on where you stay and what you are looking for in accommodations. For example, if you want to stay at the lodges at Lake Louise or Moraine Lake, it will be more costly.
To save money consider:
• Staying in an Airbnb
• Staying 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 National Park. 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.
Note: As of January 2026, the Airbnb in Harvie Heights averages $220 a night.
Transportation
We paid $435 for our rental car for 7 days. We booked through Turo-which is basically the Airbnb of rental cars. Opting for Turo over traditional rental agencies saved us money and made the process super convenient. Picking up the car at the airport was seamless, and we didn’t have to wait in line, which was a huge bonus!
If you prefer renting from a traditional car company, I recommend checking out Discover Cars, which finds you the best rates on rental cars in the area. We’ve used Discover Cars a few times when they had better prices than Turo. Also included in the cost of transportation is:
- $75 for parking our car at the Atlanta airport.
- $45 for parking in Banff. This includes street parking and parking at Lake Louise.
- $94 for gas, including driving to and from Calgary, to Kananaskis & all around Banff
This brings the total transportation cost to $650 for the week.
Excursions/Activities
During our trip, we kept it simple and chose just two excursions: the Sulfur Mountain Gondola and the Lake Minnewanka Cruise. On our final day in Banff, we decided to unwind at the Kananaskis Nordic Spa, which was exactly what we needed after hiking 6-7 miles daily! 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 the basics 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. We spent $77 on groceries for the week.
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.
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!
