Banff Jasper Collection by Pursuit

Interesting experience with Pursuit for sure. First, we made the mistake of assuming that all of the venues were reasonably local to Banff, which is where we were staying. After realizing that we would have to drive 4.5 hours to get to one we immediately tried calling to get a refund and couldn't reach anyone. So, we stopped into the office in Banff and were told that there was really nothing they could do to help us. We weren't allowed to book earlier than 3:30 because of the pass we bought, and it didn't matter that the only spots available were on the same day but hours apart, and it was impossible to actually get to both during the time provided. At one point the representative offered us an 11:00 spot, apparently not realizing that she just told us many times that we had to book after 3:30 or she had to get manager approval for a change, but never offered to actually speak to a manager. Customer service was pretty bad, but whatever, it was our mistake for not checking out locations first.

Because she booked us at 11:00 we figured out that they don't really have systems to track most of what happens with their passes so we went ahead and rescheduled as soon as we arrived on-site, every time. They had people showing up on the wrong days and that still didn't matter - they just re-booked and put them in a group to go to the activity.

The activities are really meant for the very old, very inexperienced, or children, so if you are looking to do something with 200 of your best friends for a 15 minute block of time, then this pass is a good option. We aren't that type of travelers so everything was pretty underwhelming.

We wish that we would have rented kayaks for each of the lakes, walked to the glacier, and skipped everything else. The gondola was interesting, but again, there are a ton of people up there with you at all times. Same with the sky bridge, which was actually so crowded that you couldn't even stand out there and enjoy the view.

The lake tours were really just rides out to the middle of the lake while being entertained by a guide, and then you ride back. It is pleasant for sure, but you don't learn much and near Spirit Isle they allot 15 minutes for picture taking before you get back on the boat for your ride back. You can kayak that trip in 3 hours and have peace and quiet, which would have been a much better way to engage with the back country.

As for the views at the gondola and elsewhere, make sure you check the smoke map before you book anything. We didn't even end up going to Golden because the smoke was so bad, and when I asked various Pursuit employees and others about how often there is an issue with smoke they all laughed and said that this is really an annual thing and you should expect to have impaired views during the summer depending on the wind that day.

In summary, I would do the lake tours again when I am 95 years old and not looking to have much adventure in my life, but would pass on the rest. Until then I will just stick to hiking any of the hundreds of awesome trails in the national parks and use an app as a tour guide.

The packages are Great and worthy. You got to buy one and visit the counters at your convenient time. Don't worry about the time if you already picked one. They will try accommodating with the earliest time available. The staff is fantastic with great sense of humor. They will make sure you have fun!
One thing to note is that, it may be hard to reach them on Phone. But, you get all the help once you reach one of their office/counters.

I did the giant canyon swing at Golden and the staff were incredible! Caitlin helped us get into the harness and she was amazing! Caitlin is one of the best staff they have and she made this experience memorable!! Thank you! Highly recommend doing the giant canyon swing!

We had booked this company for tickets for the Columbia ice fields. We had to cancel because of road conditions at 35 plus cm of snow. Extremely difficult people to get in touch with. Over 2 hours wait time. We put in our phone numbers so that they could call us back. Someone did call us back after an hour or so. The cancelation policy was seamless and the staff were very friendly. The reason I gave 4 stars is the sheer length of time on the phone and the difficulty trying to get through.

We just did the Maligne lake cruise with captain Cam and Jess as the host. She said it was just her second cruise and she did an excellent job, very knowledgable and entertaining.We also did the glacier tour and the skywalk, which we would definitely recommend.