Spokane Travel Forum

Hi,
I am hoping to take the train from Chicago across the US, to about Spokane then travel north to Revelstoke, BC to visit friends. The train from Chicago to Spokane looks good, although it arrives at 1.30am (where do you stay?). I will be holidaying with my 3 teenage kids but would like to avoid driving if possible. Any suggestions?
Sparkler,
Cambridge, UK

This is going to take you some time. There are three buses that depart from Spokane to Revelstoke, they go via Seattle and Vancouver which means two changes of buses along the way. Depatures are 120am, 845am and 1155am from Spokane. The trip will take 20 to 22 hours depending on the departure time. Since you are arriving in Spokane at 130am then the best is the 845am departure. However, you could fly from Spokane to Seattle with a connection to Kelowna and then get to Revelstoke for around $250.00 so you might want to consider that. Check out Alaska Airlines website as well as Air Canada, but you will probably find that Alaska Airlines will offer the best airfare.

Ouch … a difficult itinerary

The only public transport I know of to Revelstoke is via bus.
You would catch the bus in Vancouver, Kamloops, Calgary (all 3 of which you can fly to).
Or you could take the train across Canada to Edmonton or Kelowna . If you went to Edmonton, you could catch the bus through the Canadian Rockies to Banff, thence another bus to Revelstoke. Or you could stay on the train to Kelowna, then catch the bus there.

For the bus see:
http://www.greyhound.ca/

For the cross-canada train see:
http://www.viarail.ca/

There is a luxury train that works more like a cruise ship, The Rocky Mountaineer, that gous THROUGH Revelstoke, but does not stop there. It’s a tourist train to and from Vancouver, Kamloops, Banff, and Calgary only and does not serve as normal public transport.

If you already have to take the train across the States to Spokane, it would be more convenient to stay on the train to Seattle, then take either the train or bus to Vancouver, thence the bus to Revelstoke.

Or of course, you could drive from any of the cities
Call up Mapquest.com
Click on maps / cities in the region to get a feel for locations, etc. Distances are large.
Spokane & Revelstoke: 315 miles, driving time 7 hrs,
Calgary & Revelstoke: 255 miles, driving time 5 hrs,
Kamloops & Revelstoke: 131 miles, driving time 3 hrs,
Vancouver & Revelstoke: 349 miles, driving time 6 to 7 hrs,
All above are BEAUTIFUL drives through the mountains. The roads are good (though more mountainous than you’d be used to in the UK)

elbegewa, is an airline not considered public transport?

Is there commecrial airline service to Revelstoke?
The closest commerial airline service I knew about was to Kamloops, as I mentioned.
I can't find that Revelstoke Airport (YRV) has any commercial service.
Let me know if it does.

Sparkler has not been on for four days -- disappointing after your very good responses!

THanks,

Very helpful

I didn't think there were flights to Revelstoke!

Thanks

There are none, in my post above I guess that I should have made it clearer that you would fly to Kelowna and then you would have to make your way to Revolstoke. It is 135 miles between the two cities and Greyhound offers three buses daily, trip takes approximately 3 hrs 45 min, one direct and two with a change of buses in Salmon Arm. The one way fare is CAD $41.20

To summarize and add to all the previous answers:

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Flying and taking the Bus:
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there are 2 choice for you to get to Revelstoke by flying to a nearby city:
1. You can fly to KELOWNA and catch any of 3 busses. 1 is a through bus (leaves at 8 AM), 2 require connections (leaving at 11:45 AM & 7:00 PM) - all are apx 3 hr 40 minute trips
2. You can fly to KAMLOOPS and catch any of 3 busses. 2 are through buses (leaving at 12:10 PM & 7:45 PM), 1 requires connections (leaving at 8:30 AM)- all are apx 3 hr 10 minute trips

Both Kelowna and Kamloops are served by direct non-stop flights from Calgary, and from Vancouver, and from Seattle ... your could check, there may be direct flights from other Canadian cities too, but not from Spokane.
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Taking train & bus:
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Another option is to take the VIA Rail Canada train from either Vancouver (eastbound), or westbound from Edmonton, or points east (it starts in Toronto). You would go to Kamloops, then, like by plane, take the bus from there.
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Taking bus:
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Or you could take the bus direct all the way from either Vancouver or from Calgary.
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Renting car::
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A final option would be to rent a car in eithger Spokane, or Seattle, or Vancouver, or Kelowna, or Kamloops, or Calgary and drive to Revelstoke from there. Routes from all those cities are over good highways through spectaculat mountain secenery.
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Note re getting to the region:
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Both Vancouver, Calgary, and Seattle have direct non-stop flights to/from the UK as well as cities throughout North America.

P.S. to my last response above
Kelowna has more air service (and in part via larger planes) than does Kamloops, but both have multiple flights daily