Car Hire Alberta - Mini guide to Alberta

With its picturesque prairies, gorgeous national parks, stunning natural scenery and fantastic range of recreational activities, Canada’s Alberta Province is the country’s premier holiday destination.

Most visitors head straight for the magnificent Canadian Rockies and the famed national parks of Banff and Jasper. Banff is the more convenient and therefore the most frequented, and boasts beautiful glacial lakes, including Lake Moraine and Lake Louise, set among a backdrop of towering snow-capped peaks.

To the north across the vast Columbia Ice-field, traversed by the stunningly scenic Icefield Parkway (Hwy 93), lies Jasper, with its wild, untamed wilderness and Maligne Lake, Maligne Canyon and Miette Hot Springs. The other Alberta national parks that, together with the British Columbia national parks of Glacier and Revelstoke, make up a virtually unbroken chain of wilderness running north from the US border to the Yukon include Yoho, Kootenay and Mount Robson.

In the winter, the Canadian Rockies cater to all kinds of winter sports, while in the warmer seasons wildlife walks, swimming, caving, camping, hiking, canoeing, hot-spring soaking, fishing, white-water rafting, cycling, horse riding, scenic driving (particularly Hwy 19 and Hwy 93), and mountain climbing are all possible. Indeed, the range of recreational activities you can tackle is inexhaustible.

Edmonton is the capital of the province and, while it is mainly a transit point for accessing Jasper and the northern Alberta region via the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 19), it does have some interesting attractions of its own, including the acclaimed Provincial Museum, the huge planetarium, the enormous West Edmonton Mall and the quaint Old Strathcona suburb with its picturesque 19th century buildings.

More popular as a destination in its own right is Calgary, the gateway to Banff and southern Alberta, and home to the famous Calgary Stampede, a rowdy annual cowboy/cowgirl festival that brings to life the wild west history of this former frontier town. The city also boasts the renowned Glenbow Museum and, in the outer suburbs, gorgeous old wooden houses reminiscent of the town’s pioneer days.

All of the main tourists destinations in the province have ample first-class accommodation, as well as numerous quality restaurants. The nightlife scene is incredibly varied, with a host of bars, clubs, pubs and cafes catering to all tastes and budgets.

Calgary International Airport is the province’s main air transportation hub, with direct flights to and from most US cities. Asian travellers can reach the airport via connections from Vancouver, while European visitors can transit via Toronto or Montreal. Transportation options from Calgary International into the city are numerous and reliable.