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From Calgary's arrivals bays to the city or the Rockies

Calgary International is the gateway to the Rockies as much as to the city, so many groups landing here are really on their way to Banff. Either way, you'll start at the bus bays across from Arrivals.

The bus bays

On the Arrivals level, directly opposite the terminal, there are 38 bus bays for authorized commercial vehicles. They're handed out in the order flights land, first come first served, so the pickup is planned around when you actually land rather than the time printed on your itinerary.

Waiting vehicles sit in a gated staging area, entered with an airport transponder or a six-digit PIN permit bought at the Bus Dispatch Office on the day. Nothing may be left unattended at the Arrivals or Departures curb; the airport impounds it. So the driver stays with the vehicle, and you walk across to meet it.

Passenger van rear compartment loaded with luggage
Passenger van rear compartment loaded with luggage

Into Calgary

It's about 19 km by road to City Hall, around 20 minutes when traffic is light. The CTrain doesn't reach the airport, though Calgary Transit buses do; that means a lot of changing for a family with skis or a club with kit bags. Downtown, the Beltline near Stampede Park and the airport hotels are where most groups stay.

In town for the Calgary Stampede, the ten-day rodeo and exhibition at Stampede Park each July? Give yourselves extra time around the grounds.

The terminals

  • International terminal
  • Domestic terminal

Good to know at Calgary International Airport

  • There is no LRT (CTrain) connection to the airport; Calgary Transit bus routes serve it.
  • Unattended vehicles are not permitted at the Arrivals or Departures curbs and are impounded.
  • Taxis and limousines are licensed by the City of Calgary's Livery Transport Services; private limousine companies usually require advance booking.
  • Hotel courtesy shuttles use Bus Bays 16 and 17 (exit Door 4) and Bus Bay 37 (exit Door 16).
  • All commercial vehicles must register with the airport as a licensed operator (transponder, invoiced monthly on trip activity) or pay as they go with a pre-purchased permit before picking up.

Straight to the mountains

Banff is about 145 km west of the airport, roughly an hour and a half on the Trans-Canada Highway, and Canmore sits just outside the park on the way. Plenty of groups ride from the bays directly to their mountain hotel and save Calgary for the end of the trip.

Inside Banff National Park, every passenger needs a Parks Canada pass, bus passengers included. A vehicle carrying 11 or more people, counting the driver, is commercial, so it must display a commercial park-entry pass and run under a park business licence. That part is the operator's job; yours is getting the head count right.

Your questions

Can we stop at Lake Louise?

Commercial vehicles may set down and collect at the lakeshore for up to 10 minutes, and parking is first come, first served. Lake Louise is about 185 km from Calgary, roughly two hours, so treat it as a full day rather than a detour.

Is a hotel courtesy shuttle an option?

Hotel shuttles use Bus Bays 16 and 17 by Door 4, and Bay 37 by Door 16. They're fine for a couple of guests; a group on its own schedule does better with a vehicle booked for it.

What about Moraine Lake?

Its road is closed to personal vehicles. Commercial operators need a separate licence for that road, which they apply for early in the year, and they can use it from about the start of June until mid-October if conditions allow. Raise it when you book, not the week before.

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