Hello /trv/, I have a few questions regarding Calgary. In September I´m traveling with my girlfriend to Calgary for two weeks. We´re both from Germany and it´ll be our first visit to Canada.
Because of that I´m looking for some advice about what to look out for, what to do etc.
First of all, how will the weather be in September? Do we need our winter coats or are light jacekts enough?
Second, we´ll have a rental car and I´ll be the driver. I have almost 10 years driving experience in Germany, northern and southern Europe so I´ve seen my fair share of possibly dangerous situations. Are Calgarians good or bad drivers, agressive or courteous?
I have read about the public transportation system in Calgary and think that leaving our car at the place we sleep at would be good, as the train and bus connection into the inner city is quite good. Any advice on that?
We´re also planing on going to Banff national park for two to three days for hiking and sightseeing. As far as I have understood there´s an entry fee for the park which you have to pay before entering. Essentially like a road toll. How does it exactly work and what are good places to sleep over in the park if you can´t use a tent/camper?
Last but not least, what´s the best way to deal with money issues? We were thinking of taking some Euros on the plane and exchanging them at the airport. Later we´d use my credit card to withdraw a larger amount of cash to pay with it, since there´s a fee when I´m using the card for non-Euro purchases. Are Canadians willing to accept cash or is a credit card a must?
Quite a few questions, I know, but I´m grateful for every hint! Thanks in advance and prost!
You're in luck cause I'm Calgary anon.
You don't need a parka, but you need a coat. We are far from the ocean so temperature fluctuates more than ocean based cities because there is no water to stabilise the temperature.
Driving is super polite and chill. The roads are crowded and people are polite. We don't honk unless it is "important",
The Calgary tower gives you a nice view of the city. It is $20 to go up, but it is free to go up if you buy at least $25 per person at the restaurant. The restaurant is really nice and great for a date type feeling. and It slowly rotates (maybe one rotation per hour) so you slowly get a whole view of the city while you eat.
When downtown you wanna visit Prince's Island park, (it is an island park along the river and is well maintained. and the Devonian Gardens which are an indoor garden. Also all buildings downtown are connect by a 15 foot above grade walk way called the 15+. If it get snows or rains when you are there, you can still explore downtown while staying indoors.
SAIT has the nicest campus in the city. If you want to go to a redneck bar with shitty country music Cowboys is the place to go.
Don't go to the very large club formerly called The Back Alley. It is notorious for its random violence. They keep renaming it due to its bad reputation. It has a Hooters bar in front of it and is in a strip mall outside of downtown. If you end up there, go back.
I think they are marketing it as kind of a western club now.
Also watch out for drunk natives on public transit. They might try to provoke a fight and may have a non-gun weapon.
Banff has a road toll, I think it is like $30-$60? Banff is a park, but it is also a cute little tourist city with hotels and shit. Go during the week and you should get a decent rate and it will be less busy.
You can use cash, it is just less common though.
>>1137558
>First of all, how will the weather be in September? Do we need our winter coats or are light jacekts enough?
The absolute coldest it will be is 10°, realistically 15-20° . It'll be enough with a hoodie, sweater, or thin fall jacket.
>Are Calgarians good or bad drivers, agressive or courteous?
They are worse than German drivers but better than American drivers on average. You'll be fine. You won't have a case of road rage, but watch out for brown pakis (drive like maniacs, don't follow road rules) and yellow chinks (no peripheral vision or spatial skills, seriously the worst). Oh, sometimes rednecks in giant trucks will drive like aggressive dickheads, but they're uncommon.
>I have read about the public transportation system in Calgary and think that leaving our car at the place we sleep at would be good. Any advice on that?
Parking downtown is expensive and a bitch, so unless you're miles out of town, just take the bus. Taxis aren't killer either, download the Uber app and you'll get cheap airfare.
>Essentially like a road toll. How does it exactly work
Exactly like you described. Pay on your way in.
>what are good places to sleep over in the park if you can´t use a tent/camper?
You're not getting cheap hotels anywhere in the national park, they do have a YHA hostel but book well in advance. The downside is you'll be rooming with Australians, and you want to avoid Australians AT ALL costs. Some resorts will offer off season pricing but youre still looking at a minimum $100 per night, probably a lot more realistically.
>What´s the best way to deal with money issues? Are Canadians willing to accept cash or is a credit card a must?
The only time you really need a credit card is to rent a car, or book a hotel, both of which you can do online to avoid international fees. Other than that, you can pay for anything with cash. Many places actually prefer it. I'd lean towards the cash option, if your bank can't sort out a fee -free international credit card.
Thank you guys for your tips, really helpful!
After checking out AirBnB and seeing the steep prices for Banff appartments/rooms I wonder if it´d be better to not sleep there but do several day trips, each time driving back in the evening? This way we´d avoid booking two places at the same time (our stay in Calgary plus the one in Banff/Lake Louise). Though I´m not sure if that´d be more expensive because of the additional fuel we´d consume...
Also, is it a good plan to take the Bow Valley trail into Banff instead of the Trans-Canada-Hwy? I´d like to see as much of the scenery as possible and from Google StreetView it looks like it´d be better to take the (a bit slower) 1A.
Another thing I noticed is that there´s a certain area of the C-Train map that is supposedly free of charge to use. We´re in Sunalta and the next station into town would be inside that "free of charge bubble", so to speak. I wonder if it´d be viable to walk the 1.5 km to West Kerby station to save on the fare. Good or bad idea?
Also...tipping. What do we have to keep in mind? Is it like in the USA where tipping is the unofficial part of a waitresses wage or is a treat for good service, like in Germany?
>>1137620
>I wonder if it´d be better to not sleep there but do several day trips, each time driving back in the evening?
From Calgary? Erghh it's tough to say. Gas is cheap this summer, think maybe $1.00/L in Alberta. Having said that, paying the entrance fee multiple times adds up. At the end of the day if you like scenic road trips, you'll save $50/day, if you want to cuddle up in a nice chateau, you're not paying so much more.
>Also, is it a good plan to take the Bow Valley trail into Banff instead of the Trans-Canada-Hwy?
It's okay, pretty lakes and stuff, but there's much narrower chewed up strips of highway and a lot more spots where the speed limit's reduced. You're not missing much by taking the trans Canada and it'll be smoother, straighter roads.
> I wonder if it´d be viable to walk the 1.5 km to West Kerby station to save on the fare. Good or bad idea?
Now you're just being a cheapskate. You'll have no fun on your travels if you pinch every penny. Live a little.
>Also...tipping. What do we have to keep in mind? Is it like in the USA?
You're expected to tip, otherwise they'll treat you like cheap euro trash (though I'm beginning to wonder if you aren't). I like to tip 15% as a general rule, 10% if the service is absolutely terrible, 20% if they really go above and beyond. If you want good service from a bartender, tip really good in the beginning and you'll get your drinks lightning quick.
>>1137661
Just wanted to add, thinking about it, you're probably better off driving to and from Banff, as you'd have to pay the fee either way.
What's attracting you to Banff? Jasper is just as nice a park, with significantly fewer Chinese tour buses and other cancer.
Drive highway 93, the iceway parkway, and stay in Jasper or area for a few nights instead of Banff.
If you're spending money to rent a car, don't subject yourself to what cheap backpackers do.
>>1137669
>Willing to walk 30 min to save a 2.00 bus fare
>Doesn't want to tip
>Willing to drive 4 hours to avoid paying for a hotel
>Going through hoops to avoid paying credit card fees
I think this is about as cheap as backpackers come. Worst part is he probably has money he's just a miserable tightwad.
OP here, thanks again for your input. Especially the idea about driving to Jasper sounds interesting, I'll have to think about that. Maybe one night at Banff, two nights at Jasper...?
About tipping, I'm not trying to save every last penny. The reason I was asking was because tipping is quite a sensitive topic. There are places where tipping is basically mandatory, then there are places where tipping is an appreciation of good service and then there are places where tipping is either unknown or even frowned upon. Since this'll be my first trip to Canada I don't want to appear like some clueless tourist but do what locals do. Hence my question.
I also checked out the public transport fees and they're not particularly expensive. If you take the inner city free zone into account it's actually cheaper than most German towns.
Credit card fees are actually a valid concern IMHO, as non-Euro-payments stack up pretty quickly. And I'd much rather spend my money on something nice like dining at the Calgary Tower than using it to pay fees.
I've also seen that there are some interesting areas to hike next to the city, like Weaselhead which we'll check out.
What part of the city is the Hart House?
