Canadian Road Trip 2020

[MrsMo]

Hi all,

I haven't been on the forums for ages as we've been doing house renovations (not finished!) and holidays have been out of the question. Anyway, now we are starting to think of a nice break away. Priced up WDW and am shocked at the price increase for our family (2 adults, 4 kids) some are now adult prices and the little one is over 3, plus I think the prices have actually gone up!

So, we are thinking of a trip through Canada. 3/4 weeks next summer. What is it like for spending money? Is it best to drive? train? Fly? mix it up? We'll be spending 5-7 days in each place to explore and the kids aren't too great at moving constantly. Maybe this is a bit ambitious, we did several road trips pre kids in US

[Melbatb]

I think you need to choose an area. Options could be either East coast (Toronto, Ontario, Quebec) or West coast (the Rockies, Vancouver, Vancouver Island).

I have several Quebec reports in my siggy and there are a good few West coast (Jocat, Gunna and Parisdisneyfan immediately come to mind )

Have a read through and I am sure between us we can answer most queries. I have done 9 or 10 Canadian trips and it is my favourite place on earth!

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Originally Posted by MrsMo

So, we are thinking of a trip through Canada. 3/4 weeks next summer.
We'll be spending 5-7 days in each place to explore and the kids aren't too great at moving constantly.

See more...

We split Canada into three destinations.
1.Quebec to Toronto and Niagara Falls.
2. Calgary, Banff, Whistler, to Kamloops, Ottawa.
3. Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Prince Edward Island.

We don't like flying so won't do internal flights, we like trains but Rocky Mountaineer is too expensive, so we drive.

The longest we have been is three weeks.

A week for each area could be enough to see the main sights. My split would be a full seven days for the East, ten days for central region, with the remainder for West coast.

We visit Montreal every year, for the F1, we absolutely love Quebec. We really enjoy Calgary/Whistler/Banff too. Although we are happy to have visited Vancouver, neither of us feel any inclination to return. Most visitors seem to love it though.

Canada is possibly slightly more expensive than the equivalent areas of the US, possibly because most areas you will want to visit are what could be described 'tourist traps'. The exchange rate may be a little more favourable.

Visiting Canada is probably our favourite holiday.

[tonymc]

When we visited Canada a few years ago, we did both East and West Coasts over 2 weeks.

Started off flying into Toronto, picked up a car on our penultimate day to drive to Niagara, then drove up to Ottawa via a couple of nights in Picton. We then flew across to Vancouver for the bulk of our second week.

Not sure where the OP lives, but we flew with Air Transat direct from Manchester to Toronto and returned Vancouver to Manchester. The internal flight was with Air Canada Ottawa-Toronto-Vancouver.

Accommodation wise, we rented condos in both Toronto and Vancouver, stayed in a B&B at Picton and in a one bed hotel suite in Ottawa.

However, this was when the exchange rate was just a share under C$2 to the £1, so it was relatively cheap. Today it’s around C$1.50.

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Originally Posted by tonymc

Not sure where the OP lives, but we flew with Air Transat direct from Manchester to Toronto and returned Vancouver to Manchester.

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Canadian Affair/Thomas Cook are often very competitive flight prices to Toronto, Calgary, and particularly, Vancouver. Direct non-stop from Manchester. Especially during their sales promotions.
Have never found a good price with them for Montreal.
Instead we fly into New York then drive up. Car hire is usually cheaper at JFK or Newark compared to Montreal too.
Probably only makes sense if adding a few nights either side in New York appeals.
Canadian Affair website shows flight details, you can have a choice of carrier depending on day/time of travel. We avoid Air Transat planes if possible, sheds, or at least, used to be.

CA car hire rates can be very good, especially at Calgary.

[porridge]

I’ve just got back from Florida, and the prices were really expensive due to the rubbish exchange rate (1.18 I think to the £). Canada is more like 1.65 I think.
We went to Canada a few years ago, and I’d say the prices are similar in $ to the US, but as the exchange rate is better it makes a huge difference.

We did a week in Toronto/niagara. Then flew to Calgary and did 2 weeks Banff/lake Louise/jasper. Flew home from Calgary. Check out flights with west jet - they don’t come up on kayak usually - look on their website. They are a budget airline with no frills, but we thought they were great,