Practical Information for visiting Alberta

Coverage is solid in Calgary, Edmonton, the corridor cities and along the main highways, and it thins fast in the mountains and the north: the province itself warns visitors to its parks to be ready to be without cell service, especially in the Rockies, and the Kananaskis pass sometimes has to be bought before you lose signal. Download offline maps and the park information before you leave the city, and carry a paper map for the Icefields Parkway and the back roads. A working phone is the transit and parking ticket in the cities -- Arc cards and apps on Edmonton and Calgary transit, the Kananaskis pass registered to a plate online -- and free WiFi is in the airports, the visitor centres, the malls and most cafés. In wildfire season the smoke can ground flights and foul the air for days across the province, and winter storms take down power and mountain-highway access together, so check Alberta 511 for road conditions and the Alberta Wildfire dashboard before a mountain drive.

The UK rates Canada as needing a high degree of caution because of the threat of terrorism, though attacks are rare and violent crime seldom touches visitors; the everyday precautions are against petty theft, keeping valuables and passport secured and carrying a copy of the passport for ID. Illegal drugs carry severe penalties, and while recreational cannabis is legal in Alberta it may not be taken across the Canadian border and airports scan for it. The real dangers in Alberta are the land and the wildlife, not crime. Bears and big animals are the first: carry bear spray year-round and know how to use it, keep food and garbage secured, keep well back from bears, elk in rut and bison, and never feed or crowd an animal.

The weather and terrain are the other hazard. Mountain highways close in winter for snowstorms and avalanches, and driving is dangerous even when they stay open, so carry snow tyres and emergency supplies and check Alberta 511 and avalanche forecasts; winter storms with freezing rain, blizzards and hail hit from November to April, and a Chinook can ice a road as fast as it thaws it. Summer brings wildfires and their smoke across the province -- Fort McMurray in 2016, Jasper in 2024 -- so watch the Alberta Wildfire dashboard and local warnings; the Calgary–Edmonton corridor is the hail capital of Canada; and the glaciers, crevasses and cold of the high country kill unprepared walkers. Emergencies: 911.

Dial 911 for an ambulance and Health Link 811 for free 24/7 health advice from nurses and other professionals; emergency care is at a hospital emergency room or a walk-in clinic, and the UK advisory is blunt that visitors need insurance covering local treatment and medical evacuation, since Alberta's health system does not cover non-residents and even dual British-Canadians may pay unless they meet provincial residency rules. No vaccinations are required and tap water is safe. The health risks are environmental: the cold, above all -- frostbite and hypothermia are real in an Alberta winter and on the high trails in any season -- along with altitude on the peaks, the crevasses and glacial cold of the Columbia Icefield, sunburn and dehydration in the dry summer, ticks in the grass in spring and early summer, and giardia in untreated backcountry water. Wildfire smoke can foul the air for days and troubles anyone with a respiratory condition. Pharmacies are in every town; the major hospitals are in Calgary and Edmonton, and mountain-town clinics handle the rest.

Drive on the right; a foreign licence may need an international permit; watch for wildlife and, in winter, closures for snow and avalanche. Alcohol and cannabis are both legal at 18 in Alberta, the lowest drinking age in Canada, sold in private liquor and cannabis stores; do not drink or use in a vehicle, and never carry cannabis across the border, which is a federal offence the airports scan for. Smoking and vaping are banned in enclosed public places. Parks: carry bear spray, store food, stay on the trail, light fires only in the designated pits and obey fire bans, buy the Kananaskis pass for provincial land and the park pass for the national parks, and do not touch or climb the rock art at Writing-on-Stone or the cairns at Head-Smashed-In. Money: declare CAD$10,000 or more at the border.

Manners are Western Canadian and tipped: tipping 15–20 per cent in restaurants and bars and to taxis and guides is expected, and is how service staff are paid; sales tax (5 per cent GST, and Alberta has no provincial sales tax, the only province without one) is added at the till, not shown on the shelf. People are friendly and informal, hold doors and say sorry; the treaties are acknowledged at public events, and First Nations land and sites are treated with respect. In the mountains, yield the trail, pack out everything, and do not stop on the highway for a bear -- the "bear jams" are a genuine hazard.

Emergency numbers: 911 for police, fire and ambulance anywhere in the province; Health Link 811 for urgent but non-life-threatening health advice, 24 hours; 310-FIRE (310-3473) to report a wildfire in a forested area.

Consular: the UK and other countries' consular help for Canada is listed on their travel advisories; the nearest missions are in Calgary and the embassies in Ottawa. Natural hazards: winter snowstorms, avalanches and highway closures in the mountains from November to April, checked on Alberta 511 and the avalanche forecast; summer wildfires and smoke across the province, tracked on the Alberta Wildfire dashboard; floods, as in June 2013; hail and the occasional tornado on the corridor; extreme cold in winter and glacial cold and crevasses in the high country year-round. Carry bear spray in the parks and keep your distance from wildlife. The major trauma centres are in Calgary and Edmonton.