# Icefields Parkway GyPSy Guide — user reviews > 117 indexed App Store user reviews of Icefields Parkway GyPSy Guide by Gypsy Guide GPS LLC, rated 4.90/5 from 113 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icefields-parkway-gypsy-guide/id548847045/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icefields-parkway-gypsy-guide/id548847045.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 109 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 1 ## What do users think of Icefields Parkway GyPSy Guide? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🎙️ Excellent narrator with engaging voice - 📍 Accurate GPS-triggered commentary at perfect moments - 📚 Informative content covering history, geology, and wildlife - 🚗 Works offline without cellular data requirements - ⏱️ Well-paced narration with appropriate silence between segments - 🎯 Clear recommendations for must-see vs. optional stops - ⏳ Helpful time estimates for hikes and activities - 🔄 Different content for return trips in both directions - 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Engages entire families including children - 💰 Excellent value for the price - 🧭 Helps discover hidden gems and lesser-known attractions - 😄 Entertaining storytelling with humor and anecdotes - 🎭 Seamless integration with car stereo systems **Cons** - 🐛 iTunes auto-launches when commentary plays (Bluetooth issue) - 🐛 Playback doesn't resume automatically after stops - 🐛 App crashes or freezes on some devices - 📍 GPS location tracking unreliable in remote areas without cell service - 📥 Large file size difficult to download on limited WiFi - 🔄 Some directional confusion (left/right reversed occasionally) - 📱 Battery drain from continuous GPS usage - 🎙️ Different narrator on Banff Townsite tour less engaging - 📋 Limited written information about stops for planning - 🌍 Eurocentric perspective lacking First Nations content **Commonly reported bugs** - iTunes launches automatically when commentary triggers via Bluetooth - Playback doesn't auto-resume after vehicle stops - GPS location services fail to work in remote areas - App doesn't pick up location on subsequent days without reboot - Manual play required when auto-play fails, creating driving safety hazard - File too large to download on standard WiFi connections - Directional information occasionally reversed (left/right confusion) - App freezes or requires constant monitoring on some iPhone models **Most requested features** - Expand guides to more global destinations - Include First Nations history and perspectives - Add written stop list with time estimates for trip planning - Provide weather-appropriate images of viewpoints - Create guides for additional Canadian Rockies areas - Develop UK and international scenic drive versions - Add progress bar showing distance along route - Improve Banff Townsite narrator consistency ## Newest reviews (20 of 117) ### 5/5 — Kudos! *2019-09-30, version 3.0.1* Oh my God. This is so well done. I can’t believe how the narration was so in sync with the driving. We did the Icefields Parkway today and the recommendations were invaluable. I really learned a lot about glaciers! Last time I drove without this app and I felt blind without it. Please keep it up and create more! Was looking for South Dakota; Badlands! I never gush over apps but WOW. Thanks Gypsy! Also loved the voice guy. ### 5/5 — Great App *2019-09-23, version 3.0.1* This app made our trip through the ice fields amazing. Whenever we had questions the narrator jumped in just in time to answer them. Totally worth the $! ### 5/5 — My personal tour guide *2019-09-08, version 2.8.0* An indispensable app. That the narration came on when appropriate was a great application of GPS. The amount of narrative was great and we learned things that we would not have got from books. The walks suggested were excellent, but after walking the Parker Ridge on their advice, taking the recommendation to do the Icefields Explorer was a real comedown which took 3 hours out of our day and cost $120 per head. Otherwise, it was a sensational day, even if we missed a couple of walks due to the ‘attraction’. ### 5/5 — Fantastic Travel Companion *2019-09-05, version 2.8.0* Happened to pick up a brochure on Gypsy guided GPS tours just minutes before we headed down the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff. The day was so fantastic not only because of the natural beauty, but by the addition of this guided tour. It’s like having a super nice and informed friend in the backseat. Based on that experience we purchased the Lake Louise and Yoho National Park tour and had an equally wonderful day. The tips and history... and the driving directions are wonderful. ### 5/5 — Brilliant! *2019-09-03, version 2.8.0* We use this app for the Icefields Parkway and also the one for the Banff Townsite tour. Definitely buy them. They added so many extra dimensions to our tours, with geological information, historical vignettes, little jokes and practical tips and suggestions along the way. Technically, they work perfectly. It was just like having a tour guide in the car. If we visit other areas with Gypsy Guides available, we will definitely buy them. ### 5/5 — Indespensible *2019-09-03, version 2.8.0* Incredible app which makes a road trip more enjoyable and productive. Accurately identifies where you are and accurately pairs information to your exact position. Content with history and geology ties together your experience. Informing you about upcoming sites with recommendations is fantastic. I will purchase for all future road trips. ### 5/5 — Banff>>Columbia Icefield Center ‘n back in 12 hours *2019-09-02, version 2.8.0* We took three half days and one full day away from the kids and packed it in as best as possible. GypsyGuide was the key for the full day to the Icefields! The virtual tour guide adds so much life, history and context as you witness the majesty and stunning views. We couldn’t image having done this tour without it, especially since there is NO cell coverage in the Parkway. Superb storytelling and what’s nifty is how if you have Spotify playing (pre downloaded music of course), the narrator effortlessly cuts in and out enhancing the mood. Truly worthwhile investment! Yeah, same here, I think this is the first App I’ve ever reviewed! Go Gypsy! ### 5/5 — Highly effective guide! *2019-08-30, version 2.8.0* Great guide to working out where to stop along the Icefields parkway. Really enhanced the journey for us. Pops up a few moments before sights enabling us to decide whether or not to stop and providing useful background to much of the scenery. Really glad I bought this ahead of our trip. Highly recommended. ### 5/5 — Highly Recommend *2019-08-29, version 2.8.0* We downloaded the Icefields tour in Alberta, and we were so happy we did. It gave driving directions, interesting stories, and helped us decide which stops to make along the way. At one point it stated to slow down, because big horn sheep are often in the road up ahead. Guess what, the sheep were in the road! ### 5/5 — Best App for Touring! *2019-08-20, version 2.8.0* With 5 of us in the car, driving from Jasper to Lake Louise, we decided to try the Gypsy tour app. I cannot say enough about how well thought out, informative, interesting, and humorous it was. The information comes in short informative pieces of 1-3 minutes and then the tour guide is silent in between these narratives to give passengers time to talk, discuss, and marvel. My 80+ year old parents were along and they absolutely LOVED how clear it was.... and only wished they would have had Gypsy on all their prior touring trips. It’s just that good! ### 5/5 — Essential *2019-08-16, version 2.8.0* We found the Gypsy Tours incredibly interesting and accurate which made our touring really enjoyable and seamless. Well worth every penny ### 5/5 — Awesome companion for the Parkway *2019-08-11, version 2.8.0* The information provided made for an even more memorable tour of the route. The tips for places to stop and what to look for are great. Highly recommend the guide. ### 5/5 — Greatest app for travelers *2019-08-08, version 2.8.0* This is the best app we have ever used. We downloaded off a tip from a fellow traveler and found this guide to be so amazing! The narration is entertaining and informative about the history, the geology, the people and wildlife of the journey. Every viewpoint, hike, point of interest is explained in great and interesting detail. You get tips on must see places and places to skip based on your time limit. What would have been a pretty but only scenic drive turned into a fascinating journey through time and history giving us so much insight into the area. If you are a car or motor home traveler this is a must have app. You’ve spent so much money and time to get there don’t skimp and miss learning all about where you are in depth! We nicknamed the narrator Steven and we downloaded for Icefield Parkway Canadian Rockies plus Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Yosemite. Well done gypsy guides and thank you for making our trip! ### 5/5 — Best way to keep kids looking out the window *2019-08-02, version 2.8.0* No matter how Stunning the views are, kids are drawn to their screens inside the car but with this app playing, the whole family was engaged and excited to hear what the narrator would say next. Worth every penny! ### 5/5 — Best app for traveling with children *2019-07-28, version 2.8.0* The GyPSy Guide is the greatest app ever. Traveling with two small children makes it hard and expensive to go on guided tours. This app was perfect for the car as we toured Banff, Yoho, and the Icefields. It provided us interesting and helpful tips of where to stop (if we so desired), what we would be seeing, and historical/geographical information. Our oldest (10-years old) was obviously listening as he asked questions later in the trip on things he had heard in the narration. This app is worth every penny and we will continue purchasing as we show our kids the great sites of our country! ### 5/5 — Icefields *2019-07-11, version 2.8.0* Great buy. It’s like having your own personal tour guide in your car. Very easy to use and very accurate. ### 5/5 — 5 star app if you’re in the Canadian Rockies *2019-07-11, version 2.8.0* As others have said, this is a MUST have app while in the Canadian Rockies. It would have been a different trip without it. Not sure where to suggest to the developer, but if you could put an image with good weather. We just had a rainy drive in the 1st week of July. We heard to see “that mountain and at times could not see anything due to the weather. It would be a 10 star app to see some of them for the unlucky travelers like us. Again, fantastic job with your app. Amazing history, must do hikes/stops, and just enough talk to not take away from the trip. Great job!!! ### 5/5 — Best app ever *2019-07-10, version 2.8.0* I purchased the Canadian Rockies bundle and it was worth every penny and then some! We called the narrator “Steve” and he became an integral part of our trip. We made many stops at his advice and were so glad we did. On the parts of our trip where he didn’t have a tour, we felt lost and bored! Haha! What a great app. ### 5/5 — WORTH EVERY PENNY (and more) *2019-07-04, version 2.1.5* I have never felt that an app was so valuable that it was worth the time spent writing a review... until now. I write this only to strongly encourage anyone visiting the Canadian Rockies to seriously consider purchasing the entire package—Icefields Pkwy, Banff,Jasper, and Lake Louise. My wife and I spent many hours researching and planning our trip to the Rockies and we still would have missed several key stops had it not been for this app. Even the Fairmont concierge’s recommendations were not sufficient. There are so many jaw-dropping stops, that it would be nearly impossible for a first-time visitor to plan a trip that properly balances time and value of each stop. The narrator provides just the right amount of commentary and detail to allow you to make an informed decision about what to see and how long to stay. In addition, the app works in real time with a phone gps, so there is no need to carry a map and count kilometers when you should be enjoying the spectacular views. I keep thinking of all I would have missed on this trip if not for this app. My wife and I are truly grateful. ### 5/5 — Gypsy guide *2019-07-02, version 2.1.5* We used these guides all through Canada and they are fantastic. Well worth the money! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Idea great - Execution fails - waste of money *2013-09-30, version 1.2* I was super excited when I saw this! And gladly paid. But it's a too large file to download on wifi as an international tourist trying to find a good wifi near the location. Then in using the app the location feature just would not work. Re-starts, changed settings etc..to get the location services to recognize my iPad. But then in this remote area with no cell service, it would not find any updated GPS locations...and the point of the app to auto-play as you drive didn't work. Very frustrating as a great idea!! How do I get my money back?! ### 1/5 — Doesn't work *2013-08-09, version 1.2* This is the same review I've posted for all versions I bought. I downloaded this as opposed to renting the actual Gypsy guide and I regret it. It was supposed to automatically acknowledge the selected path once you drove past the 'start point' but it didn't. I was able to play the points manually but had to guess where they were. Not to mention the danger of taking you eyes off the road to play them manually. I bought all the ones associated with Banff/Jasper national parks and it was a complete waste of money. ### 2/5 — App didn’t work driving from Jasper to Banff *2018-06-23, version 2.1.1* This app didn’t work driving from Jasper side of the Rockies, towards Banff! ### 3/5 — 5 stars for content, 3 stars for functioning of app *2016-08-19, version 1.4* The commentary was very enjoyable and informative. However, the playback was buggy on my iPhone 6s- I had to constantly monitor the phone and press the play button to restart the commentary since it wouldn't restart automatically when we reached the part when there was supposed to be commentary (per app map display). I think we missed several parts of the commentary because I would get distracted - when I remembered to check my phone and press play on the app, the commentary often started in the middle of a sentence. If someone were driving by themself, they would have missed the entire commentary. ### 3/5 — Excellent but bugs *2015-08-13, version 1.4* We loved the commentary of this tour. It was very informative and made our drive so much more interesting. However there was a bug with the app that made it frustrating. I am using an iPhone 5 and sync the Bluetooth to the car sound system. Each time a commentary would open to play, it would trigger my iTunes and start playing the first song in my iTunes Library. I would have to stop iTunes and press play on the commentary. We tried multiple changes with the phone settings but could not make this stop happening. The tour is so good I went through the hassle to hear it anyway. However if you were driving alone and had this same bug there is no way you would be able to manage the pause play and drive. This only happened when we were driving and the commentary comes up automatically, not if I am manually listening to the tour from my room. This same thing happened with all three of the Banff tours we downloaded. ### 3/5 — Same info, not as accurate as should have been *2013-05-02, version 1.2* I really enjoy using gypsy guide (I have rented them before the app was available). I was disappointed that the ice fields parkway tour and Banff, lake Louise, yoho tour had the same information on them. I would have liked to have heard some new facts. Also the woman speaking on the tour at times talks like she is talking to a child. A more "grown up" tone of voice would have been appreciated. Some pull-outs and landmarks were on the opposite side of the road than what the tour said, making us miss some as we were looking for a pullout on the left and drove past the one on the right, not finding one on the left up ahead. ### 4/5 — mr Gypsy *2015-11-12, version 1.4* we highly recommend this travel Ap. we used it from Calgary all the way to Jasper. Entertaining and Informative. Our only complaint is that it is very Eurocentric. It would have been wonderful to learn about the First Nation People of this area. ### 4/5 — Personal tour guide *2015-10-12, version 1.4* The app worked great, like having your own personal guide. It came on automatically (used Ipad with cellular) and switched easily from our music playlist to the commentary when we came to one of the tour points. We only had to reboot the app once after a stop at a rest area and it quickly picked up where we left off. The commentary was informative and entertaining. Well worth the purchase. ### 4/5 — Great app. Like more please *2015-06-03, version 1.2* This app is great. It made for a very nice drive from Jasper to Lake Louise. It would be nice to see more tours of areas in the Rockies. There is a lot to see and do. Make more of them! ### 4/5 — Excellent *2012-09-28, version 1.0* Provides interesting information for the journey. Clearly explained and activates at the correct times. The other routes shown in the app are not yet developed but do not indicate this is the case. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Icefields Highway *2020-09-26, version 3.0.1* What a great trip. It was so nice to know the details of stops along the way! Like how far a walk and if the stop is picture worthy! Sure made the trip relaxing without any FMO (Fear of Missing Out!). Cheers Shelley ### 5/5 — Perfect commentary *2020-09-22, version 3.0.1* Very informative! It made the trip !! ### 5/5 — A must do. One of the best guides I’ve had. 10/10 *2020-09-13, version 3.0.1* A perfect app. ### 5/5 — Jasper to Lake Louise *2020-08-05, version 3.0.1* Great way to learn more about what you see from your car. Narrator only talks when there is something interesting to say. Makes great suggestions of where to stop to look at something. Really glad we found this app. It made the trip so meaningful! ### 5/5 — Always Remember my First! *2020-02-28, version 3.0.1* We first heard about GyPSy Guide when we went from Banff to Jasoer. We found it incredibly informative and entertaining. When there’s something to see (or a hike) “Fred” tells you when, what, how... and if it’s worth doing. When there’s nothing much to specifically look at, he’ll fill time with historical stories, oddities, lore, geology, biology, etc! So on our first trip to Hawaii, when I really didn’t know where we were or what to see or do, I got the island package and first used it on Kauai. I really can’t say enough superlative words about the app. As good (or better?) even then the jasper road one. While it was more obvious on the road to Jasper when there was a waterfall or viewpoint, how it worked because there was only one road, it worked just as beautifully with choices of places and directions and limited time. “Fred” helped us choose where to go, gave us lots of information about the history, culture, geology, and flora/fauna and weather. It tells you what is a must see and what to do or pass up depending on time. He speaks with humor and has a good voice. I like how he reminds of previous stories and continues them at various points. It was great for our 2 days on Oahu and then the 7 days on the Big Island. “Fred” even did a great job of explaining not only what to see in Volcano National Park and how to use our limited time wisely, but also about the important geology, history and biology related to the park. I seriously will purchase every single one available for every road trip or vacation we do from now on!!!! ### 5/5 — Amazing app *2019-12-28, version 3.0.1* So worth having this app. Totally made our trip so much better. You Must have this app. ### 5/5 — Great guide *2019-11-04, version 3.0.1* First review I’ve ever left, but this guide is so good I felt I needed to congratulate the people behind this. We found this guide very useful and informative during our drive. All the main photo stops are pointed out in plenty in of time and we also found some nice little spots we’d have missed without this guide. We will definitely use this again the next time we visit Canada ### 5/5 — Your own tour guide! *2019-10-08, version 3.0.1* This app is fabulous!!! We used the Calgary/Banff, Banff/Lake Louise and the Icefields/Jasper. You can buy one app that covers all of them, but we weren’t sure we were going to the Icefields so we bought them separately. No need for internet after you’ve downloaded the app. You just open the app, it knows where you are and he tells you things to see, history and other fun facts and stories. There are even different stories for your return drive! We stopped many places that we would not have seen if not for this app. I wish there was a GyPSy app for everywhere!!!! ### 5/5 — Made the Icefields Parkway 100% better *2019-10-06, version 3.0.1* I can only say one thing....Get This App. Some humor , sarcasm, history, geology......it was absolutely fantastic. The narrator is incredible! Thank you ### 5/5 — A must have for the Icefields Parkway *2019-10-01, version 3.0.1* We downloaded this app for our honeymoon trip along the Icefields Parkway and it was amazing. We learnt so much, and got to see so much because it warns you when stuff “not to be missed” comes up. Take a map with you as it doesn’t include everything but if you have just one day driving it - this is the app you need. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*