Sorry to be negative about such a popular attraction, but we came away from our ice coach tour feeling it simply wasn't worth the steep price. Yes, the ride is interesting and the guide(s) are knowledgeable and fun. But for $32 apiece, you ultimately end up with a scant 20 minutes to spend walking around a large ice parking lot. There's really not much to see close up, and the more distant views are pretty much what you'd see from the Icefields Center telescope. This would be a very worthwhile tour for about $20, but at this price I'd recommend driving to the foot of the glacier and exploring on your own from there.

Excellent visitor centre with commanding views of the glacier. You can get tickets from here to go on a bus tour onto the glacier - which is a definite must do tour (unless you arrive early you may have to wait a while as the tours get booked up rapidly) You can also go on a guided walk up the glacier (either full or half day depending on the day) which departs from the car park at the toe of the glacier - this is also a must do. You get a completely different perspective on the glacier. From the lower car park you can walk to the toe of the glacier (although you should not venture on to it unless you are with a guide as there a many hidden dangers) It is an interesting short walk passing a number of small cairns marking where the toe of the glacier was in the reecent past.