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Transportation: Okanagan-Shuswap's Airports

There are four key airports in the Okanagan Area: Kelowna (YLW), Penticton(YYF), and Salmon Arm(YSN), and Kamloops (YKA). Kelowna has excellent access to the central and north Okanagan, and Kamloops has excellent access to Shuswap Lake (sparing Calgarians about 6 hours of driving through the mountains).

The major scheduled airlines (WestJet and Air Canada) service Kelowna, Penticton and Kamloops. Kelowna's airport is a little ways out from the city, to its north, and cab fare into downtown will run you about $26. Penticton's is across the Okanagan River Channel to the west of town, and taxi fares into town will typically run up to $12. Salmon Arm's airport is to the community's southeast, and a taxi ride into town will cost around $10. Kamloops' airport is on the Northside, and about 10 minutes from downtown with a taxi reide about $25.

Many people find it an enjoyable and very scenic drive from Calgary's or Vancouver's International Airports. From Calgary, the northern Okanagan is a 400 kilometre drive through the Rockies in Banff, Lake Louise and the Roger's Pass. From Vancouver, its a 300 kilometre drive to the southern Okanagan is a 300 kilometre drive up the Fraser River and through very hilly Manning Park and Princeton. Many car rental companies will allow you to do one-way rentals so you can start in one major city and fly out from the other, allowing you to spend more time enjoying all the spots (like the Okanagan) in between. (The drive between Vancouver and Calgary is a solid 12-13 hours, and depends --in winter -- on the Roger's Pass not being closed due to avalanche). See Airlines Listing