Rocky Mountaineer – First Passage to the West — GoldLeaf
Vancouver to Banff or Lake Louise
- Score
- 7.0 out of 10
- Fare
- CA$3,109–CA$3,999 per person, quoted by Rocky Mountain Holidays, as of 20 October 2026
- Last checked
- Fare source
- Rocky Mountain Holidays
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The review
GoldLeaf puts you in a bi-level coach: a glass-dome upper deck for the views, and a dining room and open-air platform below. Reviewers who travelled this route consistently name the upper-deck views and plated meals as the reasons to pay more, typically CAD 800–1,100 per person over SilverLeaf. The hotel night in Kamloops is the same moderate three-star arrangement in either class, so the extra money buys the daytime experience only.
For
- Upper-level glass dome gives a higher view over the line
- Three-course plated breakfast and lunch in a separate dining room
- Large outdoor viewing platform reserved for GoldLeaf guests
- Heated, reclining leather seats, with all food and drink included
Against
- Meals, washrooms and the platform are down a spiral staircase, with an elevator as the alternative
- Two dining sittings, so one group waits for its meal
- The Kamloops hotel is a moderate three-star, the same as in SilverLeaf
- Long days, with no dinner on board and evening arrivals reported by reviewers
How it scores
Five scores out of 10, weighted into the overall. How we score
- Space 25% of score
- 7.0 out of 10
- Heated, reclining leather seats under a full glass dome, with a separate dining room and outdoor platform downstairs to move between, though one reviewer likens the seats to premium economy in a 2-2 layout of up to 72 guests. 123
- Dining 20% of score
- 7.5 out of 10
- Three-course plated meals in a dedicated dining room with drinks included are consistently praised, though one reviewer placed them between business and first class rather than restaurant standard and found the second sitting meant waiting. 1243
- Journey 20% of score
- 8.5 out of 10
- The same daylight route through the Fraser Canyon and into the Rockies, seen from an upper-level dome and a large open-air platform, which reviewers single out as the highlight. 5673
The facts
| Type | Seat |
|---|---|
| Bathroom | Shared892 |
| Dining | Three-course plated breakfast and lunch on both days, chosen à la carte, in a lower-level dining room in two sittings61811 |
| Included |
|
| Fare | CA$3,109–CA$3,999 per person (quoted by Rocky Mountain Holidays), as of 20 October 202610 |
| Journey time | 2 days by rail, daylight only, with one hotel night in Kamloops511 |
Sources
- Rocky Mountaineer Fact Sheet 2024
- Rocky Mountaineer 2-Day First Passage to the West