Backpack & Budget : Canadian Rockies in Five Bus Stops

After last year’s successful summer, the Rocky Express budget bus service will once again take travelers on do-as-you-please weekly tours of the Canadian Rockies.

True North Tours, in association with Hostelling Alberta, is offering five-night programs that depart each Sunday through October.

A 15-seat passenger van picks up a maximum of 14 people from the Calgary and Banff hostels and transports them to a variety of activities in a different area of the Rockies each day. Stops include Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefields, Athabasca Falls and Jasper.

Activities range from hiking, canoeing, touring a glacier in an all-terrain vehicle, horseback riding, white-water rafting and biking.

Each evening the bus delivers passengers to a different hostel where beds have been reserved. Hostels range in price from $5.50 to $11 per night for dormitory accommodations.

The price for the transportation is $94.50. Passengers must provide their own meals. All of the hostels have their own kitchens, and in some locations it is possible to dine out.

This tour is available to anyone, any age, whether they are members of an affiliated hostel association or not.

For further information, contact Banff International Hostel, P.O. Box 1358, Tunnel Mountain Road, Banff, Alberta T0L 0C0; telephone (800) 363-0096.

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Travelers using VIA Rail’s unlimited travel Canrailpasses this year (including those buying the reduced youth or senior versions) will be getting an extra perk, a Hello Phone Pass (value $14) valid for complimentary long-distance calls.

The Canrailpass is valid for 12 days of coach-class rail travel within a 30-day period, anywhere in Canada that VIA services. The regular price of a high season pass (June 1 to Sept. 30) is $357, travelers age 2 to 24 pay $322. The regular price during low season (Oct. 1 to Dec. 14) is $244, youths pay $223.

Pass holders are required to obtain tickets before boarding, and because the number of seats available to pass holders is limited, it is recommended that tickets be obtained early.

Pass holders are also offered discounts at Choice Hotels and a version of the Canrailpass, which includes three days of car rental.

Travelers age 12 to 24 who buy tickets for VIA coach, first class or sleeping accommodation services are also eligible for a 10% discount throughout the system. For details see your travel agent.

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A former hotel in Fort Lauderdale has joined the American Youth Hostels network and is now offering low-cost dormitory accommodation, scuba lessons and trips to the Everglades.

The HI-Fort Lauderdale International House is across from the beach at 3811 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33308.

It can accommodate 96 travelers in air-conditioned rooms with four and eight beds. The overnight fee is $12 for members of Hostelling International and $15 for non-members.

There are kitchen facilities, a garden/barbecue area and a swimming pool. Trips to the Everglades are arranged in the hostel van for $15.

Economical snorkeling, reef diving, underwater sightseeing and wreck-diving excursions can all be arranged for hostel guests. A scuba certification course for theory and practical instruction in the swimming pool and the ocean, costs $135. Fees include the use of equipment, instruction and air refills.

Call the hostel for reservations at (305) 568-1615.