O Canada 🇨🇦- where to begin ?

[Gunna]

Originally Posted by SussexFamily

Neil
I’ve responded on your other thread - I can’t wait to read your reports!
Seriously considering arrival at Calgary now and then Vancouver via Vancouver island after the jasper and Kamloops sections.

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Let me know anything you want to know about the trip, more than happy to help.

[jocat]

We did the following:

Vancouver - 4 nights
Whistler - 3 nights
Kamloops - 1 night
Jasper - 3 nights
Banff - 5 nights
Calgary - 2 nights

Have you booked your flights already? If not, I’d recommend flying into one airport and home from another if you can. It will save you doing the loop and give you a bit more time at the Lake Louise part of the trip. Even travelling from Jasper to Lake Louise along the Icefields Parkway can take a day as there are so many beautiful places to stop and see along the way.

My other worry is you seem to have quite a few 1 night stops. You may need to consider whether you will get to see what you want to in all of your chosen destinations. It is hard though to fit everything in - there’s just so much to choose from. We chose to have longer stays in each place and use it as a base to visit places up to an hour or so away. That suited us better than constantly packing and unpacking, but only you know what will work best for you.

The link to my trip report is in my signature if you want a read. I found reading trip reports invaluable in helping me finalise my itinerary. We had to ditch Vancouver Island from our initial plans, as we just couldn’t make it work for us without compromising elsewhere.

Enjoy the planning and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. Someone will always be along to help out.

[skalexander]

Originally Posted by SussexFamily

The 2020 Canada 🇨🇦 road trip is shaping up.
We have ditched the train trips and it’s purely a road trip (mostly);
2 nights in Vancouver
2 nights in Victoria
2 nights in Whistler
1 night Kamloops
2 nights in jasper
1 night lake Louise
1 night in Revelstoke
1 night in kamloops
2 nights in Vancouver
I have to work our distances but that’s the basic trip.
Anyone done a similar trip?

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Its only my opinion but I think you're cramming in too many places. I would agree with the suggestion that you fly into Vancouver and back from Calgary. I'm also a little surprised you've got 2 nights in Kamloops and Revelstoke, but you're not stopping in Banff.

My parents did a road trip a few years ago. They did Vancouver, Whistler, Jasper, Banff and then stayed with family in Calgary for a couple of nights. They wanted to do the train but decided to drive, thinking they wanted the ability to stop. However, they've since said they regret not doing the train, for the experience.

[SussexFamily]

Originally Posted by jocat

We did the following:

Vancouver - 4 nights
Whistler - 3 nights
Kamloops - 1 night
Jasper - 3 nights
Banff - 5 nights
Calgary - 2 nights

Have you booked your flights already? If not, I’d recommend flying into one airport and home from another if you can. It will save you doing the loop and give you a bit more time at the Lake Louise part of the trip. Even travelling from Jasper to Lake Louise along the Icefields Parkway can take a day as there are so many beautiful places to stop and see along the way.

My other worry is you seem to have quite a few 1 night stops. You may need to consider whether you will get to see what you want to in all of your chosen destinations. It is hard though to fit everything in - there’s just so much to choose from. We chose to have longer stays in each place and use it as a base to visit places up to an hour or so away. That suited us better than constantly packing and unpacking, but only you know what will work best for you.

The link to my trip report is in my signature if you want a read. I found reading trip reports invaluable in helping me finalise my itinerary. We had to ditch Vancouver Island from our initial plans, as we just couldn’t make it work for us without compromising elsewhere.

Enjoy the planning and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. Someone will always be along to help out.

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I take your point about different airports - I couldn’t arrange it in dummy booking . I’m waiting to hear from the others so haven’t booked yet - but your stays do look good . I guess I may have tried to cram too much in - first attempt!
I will read your trippy (and Neil’s) pics are stunning !

[SussexFamily]

Originally Posted by skalexander

Its only my opinion but I think you're cramming in too many places. I would agree with the suggestion that you fly into Vancouver and back from Calgary. I'm also a little surprised you've got 2 nights in Kamloops and Revelstoke, but you're not stopping in Banff.

My parents did a road trip a few years ago. They did Vancouver, Whistler, Jasper, Banff and then stayed with family in Calgary for a couple of nights. They wanted to do the train but decided to drive, thinking they wanted the ability to stop. However, they've since said they regret not doing the train, for the experience.

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Thank you , valid points on airports. First draft and I’m sure it will not be the last !

[Gunna]

We did Air Transat into Calgary and out of Vancouver we picked our hire car up in Calgary then left it at Vancouver airport before heading into Vancouver at the end as we didn’t need the car for what we wanted to do. The one way fee was fine and for us it worked better to do it as a one way trip.

As Jocat mentioned we also based ourselves in a few places then explored from there. My other half likes to do her washing when away (mad I know) but it was also good having a base for a few nights before setting off on the longer driving parts of the trip. The train looks great but I also liked the flexibility of the car to just stop where we wanted when we saw something we liked (that happened a lot!).

It is such a massive place and even with the stops we did we could of spent so much longer in most places but we’ve said it’s more than enough of an excuse to go back.

Thanks for the feedback on the pictures. Trust me when you see these places for yourselves no pictures will ever do it justice. You will have an amazing time whichever places and route you decide.

Happy Planning!

[SussexFamily]

How did you book Accomodation?

[jocat]

Originally Posted by SussexFamily

How did you book Accomodation?

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I booked most of mine through either Expedia or Ebookers, with the exception of our Whistler accommodation which I booked through the official Whistler tourism website. Went through Quidco too, so I got around 12% cashback.

The majority of my hotels were booked at a cancellable rate, that I only had to pay on arrival. That way, if any deals came up, I could swap them to a cheaper rate. I stuck with my original Jasper and Banff accommodation though - these have to be booked very early as accommodation choices are limited and tend to sell out.

[SussexFamily]

Originally Posted by jocat

I booked most of mine through either Expedia or Ebookers, with the exception of our Whistler accommodation which I booked through the official Whistler tourism website. Went through Quidco too, so I got around 12% cashback.

The majority of my hotels were booked at a cancellable rate, that I only had to pay on arrival. That way, if any deals came up, I could swap them to a cheaper rate. I stuck with my original Jasper and Banff accommodation though - these have to be booked very early as accommodation choices are limited and tend to sell out.

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Thanks jo
I’ll look at Expedia as BA site was a bit clunky yesterday.

[Gunna]

Our Vancouver and Jasper ones we booked direct the others through Hotels.com or Expedia. Like Jo mentioned above Jasper & Banff do get booked up quickly as it’s very popular.