The tour itself was great, as was the guide, Amy, and driver, Lorne. We did the Canadian Rockies from 6-7 thru 6-15-17. Nice mix of hotels, lodges, cabins, inns. Good food - a little on the pricey side, I thought. Stops were all great. Due to weather Lake Peyto was closed and because of high water, the rafting was cancelled. I thank Caravan for making customer safety a priority. They did send us a check for $50US to reimburse. I would have gladly given 5 stars except for 2 things - lies and customer service, or lack thereof. I would gladly do this trip over again in a heartbeat, the trip was great, hands down. The day we went to Lake Louise, it snowed. Caravan has no control over the weather, of course. We got to see the hotel inside and spent enough time at each stop. I have pictures of Lake Louise, but you can not tell were the water or mountains or sky are because everything is gray and blurry because of the snow. Three days later, on the way back south, we (about 10-12 of us) asked Amy if we could make a 10-15 minute unscheduled side trip to Lake Louise. The weather this day was perfect and we would be driving roughly 1 mile from Lake Louise. Yes, 1 mile. NO. Understandably we could not just drive the bus where we wanted, it has GPS and the company would know we went off course. We asked Amy if she could call in the main office to get approval for a side trip, just for picture taking. NO. But we have no pictures of Lake Louise, which was sort of the crown jewel. NO. There would be no charge, since Canada was celebrating 150 years of Parks and all Parks were free of charge. NO. When we asked why, we were told if we wanted to contact the main office, we could. They were aware of why we could not deviate from the route. Instead of taking a 10-15 minute unscheduled side trip to Lake Louise on the most perfect day for picture taking, we went, instead, to Banff, where we already were for 2 days and had a 30 minute bathroom break and time to stretch at the Banff Bus Depot!! Yes, the bus depot. Why did we need 30 minutes at the bus depot, when 15 would have been enough and the other 15 could have been at Lake Louise??? At the end of the trip we were given a survey. I said how wonderful the trip was except for the fact that we missed taking pictures at Lake Louise and I would like someone to contact me. Then we went home and I waited. and waited. In August, I called Caravan, explaining that I was waiting for a contact regarding the post trip survey. I was told they read each and every one and will contact me. So I waited. and waited. On November 1, 2017, almost 5 months after returning home from the trip, I called Caravan again. Explained again. The lady gathered information, placed me on hold, came back and told me Katie? would call me that afternoon. I waited. and waited. I thought, there is a time difference, I'm EST and they are CST or MST. I'll get the call tomorrow, 11-2. I waited. and waited. On 11-3, Dan called my home, was given my work #, called me there and I returned his call. He was very professional and understanding. He, they, someone had contacted Amy, the guide and she explained that since the Parks were free, the Parks Dept did not want overloads at the Parks and scheduled the busses accordingly. WHAT?? First of all, during the trip, Amy implied that it was the decision of the Main office, NOT her decision. Now I'm being told it was Amy's decision, not the Main Office's. Somebody is lying. Second of all, we were ONE bus with 35 people. Even if all 35 people got off the bus and went to take pictures, 35 people for 10-15 minutes would not have overloaded the Park. What kind of nonsense is that?!?!? Thirdly, whether we were scheduled or not, who would know. It's not like we checked in every time we stopped at a Park.That's it. Somebody (Amy or Caravan or the Canadian Parks Dept) did not want Lake Louise park to be overloaded with Tourists so ONE bus of 35 people could not make an unscheduled 10-15 minute photo op stop. REALLY??!! Dan did offer a $100.00US credit off of another Caravan trip in the future. I don't know. The trip was great. The guide and driver were wonderful. I guess as long as there is no hick-up it would be OK. But in today's world, what runs smoothly? There is always a bump in the road. Caravan is a wonderful company doing great trips, AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. My point being, If you are OK with a great trip going horribly wrong, being lied to and then given crap for an excuse, this is the company for you to travel with. If only the weather was better on our Lake Louise day, but no one can control the weather. If only we could have stopped for 10-15 min on the way back - just for a photo op stop. NO. If only there was a really good, vaild, makes sense reason. But there isn't. I would have gladly given 5 stars, but don't point fingers and lie to me. Take responsibility and be honest with me. Don't insult my intelligence. read more
