Quote and suggested itinerary from Canandian Affair for July 2020 trip

[burns3466]

Hi dibbers

So I've received a quote and suggested itinerary from CA and was wondering if any seasoned travellers to Canada could let me have their comments on it and the benefit of their exprience. We have never been to Canada before and next year will be a special trip for our silver wedding anniversary. We didn't want to bite off more than we could chew so didn't want a trip where we would be in the car for hours on end and wanted time to enjoy a place without feeling rushed before moving on to the next. We were also adamant that we wanted to see Vancouver and Victoria Island and go whale watching.

Their quote includes flights, transfers and accommodation (I've looked up all the hotels and they look lovely and have very good reviews). My only concern is the airline is Air Transat and there are lots of bad comments out there about this particular airline. CA did say that they could look into prices from another airline if I wanted them to though. Really disappointed VA won't let me use my air miles

The transfer times range between 2-6 hours, which isn't too bad.

Dates: 25th July to 8th August 2020.

Flights to Vancouver, 4 nights in downtown Vancouver before being transferred (by coach/ferry) to Victoria, 4 nights in downtown Victoria before being transferred (by coach), 4 nights in Tofino before being transferred (by scenic float plane) to Whistler, 2 nights in Whistler before being transferred (by coach) back to Vancouver airport.

Cost: £8450

Suggested excursions (which will obviously be extra) Grouse mountain, Capilano suspension bridge, whale watching and bear watching.

What do you think?

[smithlane]

I have no experience of Canada but my advice of any package holiday would be have you priced it up individually to see how much if any the savings are? Obviously flights aren’t out for next year so CA are guesstimating those costs and a lot of the good flight deals for this summer have been and gone but it may give you a ball park figure using this years dates.
Is it just for the 2 of you? If so then it does seem quite high but then I don’t know what hotels they have quoted so if they’re all Fairmonts or Four Seasons then it may be a great deal!
If you’re not happy with the airline then ask for a quote using Air Canada to see if it’s much different

[Gunna]

We flew Air Transat to Canada last year and found them really good. Would happily fly with them again. Staff were brilliant.

As mentioned above I would price independently first and see how it compares.

[burns3466]

No I haven't priced it individually, mainly because having not been to Canada before, I like the thought of being looked after by a travel company who know what they are doing and who can make sure everything is booked (especially the transfers) in case I messed something up! The hotels are all lovely, scoring 4-5 stars on trip advisor - Rosedale on Robson, he Parkside Hotel Spa, Tofino Resort & Marina and the Delta Hotels By Marriott Whistler Village Suites. The trip is for my husband and I and our 16 year old daughter.

[Gunna]

Originally Posted by burns3466

No I haven't priced it individually, mainly because having not been to Canada before, I like the thought of being looked after by a travel company who know what they are doing and who can make sure everything is booked (especially the transfers) in case I messed something up! The hotels are all lovely, scoring 4-5 stars on trip advisor - Rosedale on Robson, he Parkside Hotel Spa, Tofino Resort & Marina and the Delta Hotels By Marriott Whistler Village Suites. The trip is for my husband and I and our 16 year old daughter.

See more...

I can’t remember all the costs of ours but to give you an idea. We went for 20 nights flying out mid July.

Flights for 3 (2 adults and 1 16 year old ) £1800
Car hire approx £600
Hotels, I’ve worked on an average of £175 a night some were less some slightly more so £3500.
So total of £5900 for one night short of 3 weeks. ( we looked at float plane trips and from what I remember they were not cheap but great for a special occasion)
We did book our flights with Air Transat more than 12 months out too.

We flew into Calgary and out of Vancouver driving between the two. For quite a few years now I’ve not used a travel company but do see the benefits you mention of having someone else sort it all out and having a point of reference in case of an issue. I’ve never had any real problems and because I book through companies I trust (Hotels.com, Expedia, Viator etc... ) have found that when I need to clarify anything or have done something wrong it’s always been sorted.

I’ve done a trip report and there are some great ones on here that other people have done independent. We did quite a lot of additional things (rafting, whale watching, zip lining) and booked these before travel and they worked well.

Whichever you choose to do you’ll have a great time. It’s such an amazing place and I know you’ll love it. Perfect place for a special holiday.

If I can answer any more questions just let me know happy to help if I can.

[Melbatb]

A big Canada fan here!

For me, it is expensive. We have visited Vancouver, VI (Ucluelet just down the road from Tofino) and Whistler. We DIYed and even though we only booked on May for July we managed for far less for 4 people including car hire, ferry and a week in Seattle. We were there for 24 nights.

We booked the Whale tour once in Ucluelet.

We have also flown Air Transat. Like Gunna, we would happily use them again! My only comment was that tge food portions were a little light but otherwise everything was great!

Feel free to ask any questions - VI is one of my favourite places!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by burns3466

No I haven't priced it individually, mainly because having not been to Canada before, I like the thought of being looked after by a travel company who know what they are doing and who can make sure everything is booked (especially the transfers) in case I messed something up! The hotels are all lovely, scoring 4-5 stars on trip advisor - Rosedale on Robson, he Parkside Hotel Spa, Tofino Resort & Marina and the Delta Hotels By Marriott Whistler Village Suites. The trip is for my husband and I and our 16 year old daughter.

See more...

Just had a quick check, the hotels look lovely! They average out to about £250 per night for the same dates this summer so for 14 nights you're looking at about £3500. I can't imagine the flights would be more than £1000pp which takes you to £6500 at most then that leaves just under £2500 just for transfers which is a lot. You have plenty of time between now and next July to really research the areas, the hotels and flights to feel confident to book it all DIY but I do completely understand you wanting to book with a tour company but you do pay a price. Maybe try another similar tour operator to CA to see how they compare price wise

[GKnH]

I would check the room types you are being booked into as well when deciding if this is a fair price. I have stayed at the Delta Whistler and there are 3 room sizes - a twin room with a very small kitchenette area, a 1 bedroom suite which has a bedroom with a separate living / dining / kitchen room, or they combine the 2 to make a spacious 2 bedroom apartment.
With a 16yr old daughter you want at least the 1 bed suite. Our daughter was 11 when we went and we upgraded to the 2 bed suite when we saw the size of the 1 bed suite on check in.
If you're in large suite accommodation the overall price may be justified

[katiec68]

I think there are lots of places I would prefer to have a package sorted for me - even though Im more than capable of sorting out everything myself!

With Canada you dont have to worry about any language difference so even if you do encounter an issue it'll be far easier to sort out than say Cambodia or South America!

Canadian roads are really easy to drive on - my parents while in their 70s flew to Seattle, went to the Boeing museum, then drove all around Vancouver, Vancouver island etc.

You know you can do it alone - and save yourself LOADS in the process.

(We do do a package to Canada but we're skiing - if we were to go in the summer i'd do it myself)

[Libby]

We drove in the Rockies. We didn't do huge distances each day but the freedom to be able stop at one of the many view points whenever we wanted to was something we appreciated.