How to Get to Banff Without a Car

For most visitors, the default way to get to Banff National Park is to drive. On the surface, driving to Banff certainly is the easiest solution, but it also comes with its own set of challenges (parking, traffic congestion, etc.). You may be interested to know that it is surprisingly easy to get to Banff National Park without a car, and that once there, it’s equally easy to get around Banff without a car. If this idea interests you, keep reading to discover how to get to Banff without a car.

It’s important to note that although this post discusses how to get to Banff without a car, all of these options can be used to get back to where you started (the Calgary airport, etc.) without a car.

If you’d like to know all the ways to get there, including by car, check out our post on How to Get to Banff National Park.

This post contains compensated links.

Reasons to Travel to Banff Without a Car

As mentioned above, there are many excellent reasons to travel to Banff without a car. The reasons will vary from traveller to traveller, but here are a few of the most common:

1) Your style of travel does not require a car. Lots of visitors to Banff National Park simply want to easily arrive in the Town of Banff and enjoy the many things to do around town. There’s tons of shopping, restaurants, museums, and parks to enjoy within easy walking distance of downtown. In addition, there’s an endless variety of day tours from Banff, along with plenty of hiking trails in the Town of Banff which you don’t need a car for.

2) If you are traveling to Banff on a budget, you may wish to avoid the expense of getting a rental car for your trip. The savings will vary depending on the number of people in your party and the length of your stay, but traveling to Banff without a car can often save you hundreds of dollars.

3) As you can see from this recent article in our local newspaper, the number of vehicles coming to Banff each year continues to break records. During the peak seasons, this creates unpleasant traffic congestion and parking issues. Treating yourself to a trip to Banff without a car is a great way to avoid all the traffic stress!

4) If you are visiting Banff in winter, you may be nervous about driving a rental car on snowy highways in the mountains. Allowing someone else to do the winter driving completely eliminates this stress!

5) Last, but certainly not least, is that getting to Banff without a car is good for the environment and the many beautiful animals who live in the national park. Millions of vehicles on the roads each year cannot be good for the fragile ecosystem in Banff National Park. To protect this beautiful national park, we need to get more cars off the roads.

If you are traveling to Banff without a car, be sure to read our post the Best Hotels in Banff if you Don’t Have a Car.

5 Ways to Get to Banff without a Car

1. Calgary Airport to Banff Shuttle

The Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the closest airport to Banff. Most visitors to Banff who opt not to get a rental car will simply take one of the easy Calgary Airport to Banff shuttles.

There are two main alternatives for Calgary Airport shuttles to Banff. For most, who want a simple transfer from YYC to Banff, the Banff Airporter is an easy option. If your travels take you somewhere outside Canmore or the Town of Banff, the Brewster Express is a great option.

At first glance, these two YYC airport shuttles are very similar, but there are nuances to each which may be important to you. To help you determine which Calgary airport shuttle is best for your needs, check out our Calgary Airport shuttles to Banff post.

We live in Canmore, so when we travel we typically drive our own car to YYC, but we occasionally treat ourselves to a Calgary Airport shuttle, especially in winter. We love how simple and how relaxing the experience is.

If you need to take a shuttle back to the Calgary Airport, be sure to schedule your ride with ample time cushion before your flight. Especially if you are visiting Banff in winter, a winter storm can blow through on the Trans-Canada Highway, forcing the bus to slow way down due to road conditions. I recently took an airport shuttle from Canmore to Calgary in March and it took about 40 minutes longer than expected due to a winter storm.

You can make your YYC airport shuttle booking through the following buttons. If you are leaning towards the Banff Airporter, you can get a 10% discount through the Banff Discounts we have secured exclusively for our readers.

2. Take a Bus to Banff from Calgary (and beyond)

Calgary Airport shuttles are the easiest way to get to Banff without a car, but with convenience comes a higher cost. If you’d like to get to Banff without a car for less, you should consider taking a bus from Calgary to Banff.

There are three main companies which offer bus services from Calgary to Banff:

Flixbus

Flixbus is my top pick for taking the bus to Banff National Park. A leader in bus services around the world, Flixbus offers simple online booking, competitive pricing and a large, flexible network. There are many reasons why I think FlixBus is the best option for most people who want to take a bus to Banff:

1) Calgary Airport Pickup: Flixbus has several bus stops in Calgary, but the one most useful for visitors to Banff is the FlixBus stop at the Calgary Airport. Not every daily run between Calgary and Banff goes to YYC, but in high season there are several a day. The average transit time from YYC to Banff is around 2 hours and 30 minutes.

2) Many Calgary pickup locations: In addition to the very useful Calgary Airport bus stop, Flixbus has a wide variety of bus stops in Calgary, in all corners of the city. The main Flixbus bus route to Banff is the downtown Calgary to the Town of Banff route. Flixbus offers this route several times a day, even in low season.

3) Three attractive mountain destinations: Flixbus offers bus service to three of the top destinations in the Canadian Rockies: Canmore, the Town of Banff and the Lake Louise lakeshore. If you are unfamiliar with any of these locations, find out more in our Banff Destinations page.

4) Bus service to Lake Louise: Yes, you read that right – FlixBus offers bus service to the Lake Louise lakeshore! If you haven’t looked at how to get to Lake Louise, it’s not exactly easy. With extremely limited (and expensive) parking at Lake Louise, and a crowded Lake Louise shuttle system, having the ability to take a public bus from Calgary all the way to the Lake Louise lakeshore is a huge benefit! (They also have a stop in the Lake Louise village).

5) Wide Alberta bus network: If you are trying to get to Banff by bus from elsewhere in Alberta, there are a wide variety of locations you can travel from. Flixbus offers service from Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and more. If you want to get to Banff from one of those more remote locations, you’ll likely need to transfer buses in Calgary.

Flixbus offers all the amenities you expect on a good bus, including free wi-fi, power outlets, washrooms, and the ability to reserve individual seats in advance. Cell service between Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise is spotty at the best of times, so keep your wi-fi expectations low – think of it as a bonus if it’s working. (You should be looking out the window at the scenery anyway!).

Whenever my schedule is flexible and I want a cheap, reliable and convenient way to get between Calgary and my home in Canmore, Flixbus is the bus that I use.

Rider Express

The next option for how to get to Banff by bus is on Rider Express. Travellers who use Rider Express to get to Banff will be travelling on their Calgary to Vancouver route.

One advantage of taking Rider Express to the Canadian Rockies is that they offer the widest selection of mountain destinations reachable by bus. On the Calgary – Vancouver route, you can take Rider Express to Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Field, Golden and Revelstoke.

For travellers to Banff, one big disadvantage of Rider Express is that it does not have a stop at the Calgary Airport. The closest Rider Express bus stop to the Calgary airport is at Marlborough Mall. There is no direct public transit from the airport to Marlborough Mall, so you’re looking at a 20-minute taxi / Uber ride.

Unlike FlixBus, which has a stop at the Lake Louise lakeshore, Rider Express only goes to Lake Louise village, which requires you to find your own way to the lake.

If you are looking at doing an epic Vancouver to Calgary trip without a car, Rider Express is a decent option. Unlike Calgary, Rider Express offers a pickup stop at the Vancouver Airport (YVR).

On-It Regional Transit

The On-It Regional Transit is another of the major bus operators between Calgary and Banff. I list it as the third option on how to get to Banff by bus as it’s the least convenient of the three.

On-It runs seasonally (spring to fall) and typically operates on Friday, Saturday, Sunday + holiday Mondays. Dates vary by year, so confirm before you plan your arrival around it.

To catch the On-It bus, you’ll need to catch a Calgary Transit bus (Route #300) from the Calgary Airport to downtown Calgary. The On-It bus is not the easiest way to get from Calgary to Banff, but if you have the desire, you can save a lot of money vs. an airport shuttle.

See all of the Calgary to Banff Bus Options in One Place

Most of us have very specific timing in mind for our travels. If you’d like to see all of the Calgary to Banff bus schedules in one place, I recommend using BusBud. By using BusBud, you can see the schedule and prices for every bus operator offering service from Calgary to Banff, including FlixBus, Rider Express and many more.

BusBud will show you all of the options for getting from Calgary to Banff National Park by bus. You can also look for transportation options to/from other cities to Banff National Park.

3. Take a Guided Tour to Banff National Park

Perhaps the easiest and most enjoyable way to enjoy Banff National Park without a car is to join an organized tour. As you’d expect with a destination as popular as Banff National Park, there are a wide variety of tours to choose from.

Day Tours to Banff

If you find yourself in Calgary and want to see Banff, but you don’t have a car, taking a tour to Banff is the easiest way to go! There’s a wide variety of tours and destinations you can visit from Calgary on a tour to Banff.

Perhaps the most popular and loved day tours from Calgary to Banff are by the Banff Jasper Collection. In a single day, you can visit many of Banff’s top sights and attractions. These tours often include stops at the Banff Gondola, Lake Louise and as far as the Columbia Icefields!

If you’d like more selection, there’s a great selection of Banff tours from Calgary on Get Your Guide.

Multi-Day Tours to Banff

When looking for a classic, multi-day Banff tour, why not start with Trafalgar Tours? They offer a wide variety of Banff tours, many of which include a trip on the scenic Rocky Mountaineer.

If you are looking for a more active Banff tour, we recommend G Adventures (who we’ve traveled with extensively around the world).

When cost is not an option, take a look at these amazing luxury tours to Banff.

4. Private Transportation from Calgary to Banff

Taking a Calgary airport shuttle or public bus to Banff is not for everyone. If you’d like to treat yourself to some personal service, you can arrange a private transfer from Calgary Airport to Banff.

You’ll pay a premium for the private driver to Banff, but you’ll love the convenience. Your driver will often meet you at your arrival gate and will drive you door-to-door to your Banff accommodations.

If you are traveling with a larger group, the cost of a private transfer is often cheaper than buying individual airport shuttle tickets. Even if you aren’t looking for a little luxury, it’s worth doing the math…

Private airport transportation is offered by Ten Peaks Shuttle & Tours, one of the leading shuttle companies in Banff. A selection of other private shuttle operators are available on Viator.

5. Calgary to Banff Train

There is currently no Calgary to Banff train in operation, although discussions are ongoing about reviving this service.

You can get to Banff National Park by train on the luxury Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver. Enjoy glass-dome coaches as you enjoy your all-daylight trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Don’t Forget Your Park Pass

If you are visiting Banff without a car, you still need a Banff Park Pass. Chances are good that your mode of transportation will not stop at the Banff Park Gates to buy park passes, but this does not mean that you don’t need one. Almost everyone who enters Banff National Park needs to have a park pass.

You can make things easy on yourself and buy your pass online ahead of time. Alternately, you can stop by the Banff Visitor Centre and purchase one there. For more information on who requires a pass, refer to our post about the Banff Park Pass.