Key West Tour of Rockies

We are taking the Circle West Tour by Key West, from Vancouver.

Tour includes a few optional tours, of which we have to choose. Anyone who has done any of these sites, would you chose the GLACIER SKYWALK or ICE EXPLORER?

ICE EXPLORER*

The Columbia Ice eld is one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle, and the Athabasca Glacier descends almost to road level. You will travel in a specially-designed Brewster Ice Explorer to the middle of the Athabasca Glacier on a 5-kilometer roundtrip journey. Your tour guide will tell you about the glaciers and point out interesting geological features as you travel.

In order to guarantee your seat, this activity must be pre-booked and pre-paid by credit card.

To Pre-book: https://keywesttravelandtours.com/orders/index.cfm?fa=book_form&tourid=99 Adults - $58.75 / Child - $29.40 (incl. tax)

GLACIER SKYWALK*

Walk along a cli -edge walkway and experience incredible views while learning about the diverse ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains through interpretive exhibits. The glass- oored observation platform at the end of the Skywalk extends 280 m. over glacier-formed valleys and waterfalls, providing an exhilarating and breathtaking experience.

In order to guarantee your seat, this activity must be pre-booked and pre-paid by credit card.

To Pre-Book: https://keywesttravelandtours.com/orders/index.cfm?fa=book_form&tourid=102 Adult - $32.50/ Child - $16.23 (incl. tax)

BANFF GONDOLA

The Ban Gondola takes visitors to the summit of Sulphur Mountain at an elevation of 2,281 m., where you can enjoy a 360° view of six mountain ranges. Keep an eye out for the wildlife – there are frequent sightings of iconic Canadian animals, including mountain goats, deer, and even bears!

In order to guarantee your seat, this activity must be pre-booked and pre-paid by credit card.

To Pre-Book: https://keywesttravelandtours.com/orders/index.cfm?fa=book_form&tourid=130 Adult - $43 / Child - $21.48 (incl. tax)

If you did the Key West tour, how did you like it?

Do the Ice Explorer as it gets you right onto the glacier, the skywalk is very underwhelming and not actually over a glacier.

On a clear day the gondola is a great choice, unfortunately you have no idea when booking this far ahead what the weather will be like.

Just found some vids.

• I've been on the ice fields explorer and felt it was a must do. Yep they take you out to the glacier where you can walk around on top of it.
  
• Sulphur gondola gets 4 out of 5 stars for me.
  
• Haven't been on the bridge yet.
  
• Friends who went on KeyWest several years ago enjoyed the trip
  
• instead of a round trip.... consider a one way KeyWest tour that ends or starts in Calgary, after beginning/ending in Vancouver.
  
• there's also some Chinese tours that can do the trip cheaper, but most will enjoy KeyWest's ambience.
  

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Just found some vids.

• I've been on the ice fields explorer and felt it was a must do. Yep they take you out to the glacier where you can walk around on top of it.
  
• Sulphur gondola gets 4 out of 5 stars for me.
  
• Haven't been on the bridge yet.
  
• Friends who went on KeyWest several years ago enjoyed the trip
  
• instead of a round trip.... consider a one way KeyWest tour that ends or starts in Calgary, after beginning/ending in Vancouver.
  
• there's also some Chinese tours that can do the trip cheaper, but most will enjoy KeyWest's ambience.
  

 

[YOUTUBE]DJQ-_zmc-f0[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]vGrJiPcg4Ok[/YOUTUBE]

Will we need to take our boots with us for the glacier walk?

You will have better grip and be warmer. But I think basic running shoes were OK on a sunny day. Once the big bus parks itself.... it depends on how far you want to walk away from the bus.

We are taking the Circle West Tour by Key West, from Vancouver.

 

If you did the Key West tour, how did you like it?

Hi, I didn't do the Key West tour but went up the Banff Gondola and on the Glacier Skywalk. The Gondola is well worth it - if you have gone high on Alpine mountains the ride up is nothing special but the Cosmic Ray Station lookout is interesting and you do get great views of Banff and the Bow River.

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As has been said, the Glacier Skywalk is a misnomer as it juts out over the Sunwapta valley, although I suppose it was a glacier a few years ago :) and it is very well explained with interpretive stations. You are 280m above the valley floor so it's less than half the drop of the Grand Canyon skywalk but I thought it was fun.

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All the best - I'm sure I would have enjoyed walking on the glacier too !

Hello, I have actually done this Tour before my Alaskan cruise, and I love this company so much. It was such a great value and the tour was excellent. To answer your question, do the Ice Explorer and the Gondola. Definitely the Ice Explorer, you are going to be right beside a glacier, might as well get as close as you can.

The Gondola is great as well. You get to go up Sulphur Mountain, and see a 360 view of the rockies.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me as I have taken this tour.

ETA: You don't need to take boots for the Ice Explorer, I wore sneakers and it was just fine. The snow is pretty compacted.

Also I paid for the Ice Explorer in advance simply because they take a certain amount of people at a certain time period so it is better when Key West tours can take care of the booking, but for the Gondola, you can buy tickets when you get there.