BC road trip advice

Old Jun 26th, 2017, 11:26 PM
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BC road trip advice

Hey everyone, my friends and I are planning an activity vacation and I'd love some advice on optimizing our journey! I've been asking around as much as I can and appreciate any advice

We have the first week in BC, renting a car and driving everywhere. This is our plan so far:

July 21st -- land in Vancouver at night, pick up our rental, sleep in Vancouver.

July 22nd -- Grouse Mountain and area first half of day, unwind at Stanley Park in the second half.

July 23rd -- explore in the morning, Granville Island area, museum. At 3 we begin our drive down to SEATTLE (go Seahawks!). Sounders game that night, and we hope to reach CenturyLink stadium by 7 or 8pm. Sleep after game in Seattle.

July 24th -- Full day to explore Seattle, coffee/craft beer, Space Needle, Pike Place, maybe art museum. Sleep in Seattle again.

July 25th -- Port Angeles ferry back to Victoria. Whale watching in the morning, Beacon Hill or inner harbour in the afternoon, Butchart gardens in the evening. Sleep in Victoria or Nanaimo, depending if we want Nanaimo bars.

July 26th -- Ferry from Victoria or Nanaimo to mainland and drive-through to Whistler. Likely stop by Squamish in the first half of the day. Sleep in Whistler, potentially camp.

July 27th -- All day in Whistler! Excited for this portion, plenty of trails and depending on budget: ziplining, treetops, bungee jumping, gondola ride, ATV, Olympic park/bobsledding (can't afford all of them, still deciding which are musts)

July 28th -- Mostly a driving day. We need to be in Calgary by night. Stop by Kamloops, maaaybe squeeze in Kelowna if time permits but it's off the path. Sleep in Calgary.

July 29th -- Drop off rental car, pick up larger rental car, pick up three more friends in the morning and begin our second week of Banff/Jasper...

So it's a pretty ambitious trip (mercifully, the Banff portion has been booked and planned between the six already, three of us just decided to do an extra week in BC first.)

Any concerns or suggestions? Anywhere we can trim the fat? We played around with shuffling the order too, landing in Vancouver->Victoria->Vancouver->Seattle, then driving back up. We want to minimize backtracking though and since there's already a ferry from Seattle to Victoria the listed order seems more efficient.

Re accommodations, we'll need hotels/airbnb/hostels for Vancouver, Seattle, Victoria, Whistler, and Calgary.... That's going to be really expensive. Don't know if this is bizarre, but is it feasible to camp in the wild for the Whistler portion on? We have a nice lodge booked in Canmore for the second week so we'll freshen up there, but we're really looking to cut expenses anywhere we can.

Thanks for the help, we've been excited for this trip for a long time and I can't wait for the experiences!
fodeypetey12345 is offline  
Old Jun 27th, 2017, 01:59 AM
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A couple of comments:

July 25: Have you checked the ferry times? You will have to leave Seattle very early indeed to arrive 60 minutes before the morning ferry. That evening, if you plan to visit Butchart Gardens, I would stay in Victoria, rather than driving to Nanaimo. (You can get Nanaimo bars anywhere in Canada).

July 26: I would take the ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, and avoid having to face the traffic driving through Vancouver to get to Whistler.

July 28: This is indeed a mostly driving day. Count on at least 12 hours including a minimum of stops. The road from Whistler to Cache Creek, while scenic, will be slow. The Trans-Canada from there to Calgary is a good road, but mostly two-lane until you get to Lake Louise. Traffic will be heavy with many trucks and RVs. There is absolutely no way you should consider a detour to Kelowna.

In travelling to and from Seattle, don't forget to factor in border crossing times.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf/menu-eng.html

Perhaps you should reconsider visiting Vancouver Island, and give yourself more time on the mainland.
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Old Jun 27th, 2017, 03:49 AM
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I agree with the July 25 issue. To go from Seattle to Port Angeles will take close to 3 hours, plus allowance for commuter traffic. The ferry leaves at 8:15a, and you will need to be lined up at least 60 minutes in advance (remember, you will be passing through Customs). That would put you into Victoria around 10am, which may be rather late for "whale watching in the morning." If you miss that sailing, the next one is 12:45p. It can also add up, pricewise, with the car and however many of you are traveling.

https://www.cohoferry.com/Fares

Kelowna - yeah, no way you'll have time. This is going to be a long driving day. If you do work in a few stops to stretch your legs at some parks or sights, count on arriving in Calgary late night. One place you can stop is Craigellachie, where the last spike was driven to complete the railroad. It's at a place on the drive you will be wanting to stop anyway, good for maybe 30 minutes.

http://www.railwaymuseum.com/lastspike.php
sludick is offline  
Old Jun 27th, 2017, 09:25 AM
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I might reconsider delaying our car pickup as late as possible, and skipping Victoria altogether. I understand Vancouver and Seattle's public transit is very good and the car-ferry-island seems like a headache where the money could go towards mainland accommodations.

However, we are carrying clothes for two-weeks worth (rented a van for Banff/Jasper) so unless we pack very light we'd have baggage to carry around between Vancouver to Seattle and back. Are there lockers in Vancouver that we can safely store our luggage during the Seattle excursion?

This opens up the passenger-only Victoria Clipper ferry from Seattle to Victoria IF we still choose to do a Victoria day-trip, but then getting off the island back to the mainland to pick up our car would be more tedious (bus to Nanaimo->ferry to Horseshoe Bay?).

In a car-less scenario, how manageable is it to get around North Vancouver? We're active and I'd really love to tackle the Grouse Grind, but the other mountain activities can be done at Whistler. The backpacker's revision would look like this:
21-Jul - sleep/drop off luggage at our hotel/airbnb
22-Jul - bus north, Capilano Bridge, Grouse Grind AM, Granville Island PM
23-Jul - Stanley Park AM, bus/train to Seattle, bar/soccer game PM (leave some luggage in Van if possible)
24-Jul - Seattle, ferry back to Vic OR skip Vic altogether and bus/amtrak back to Van for the night
25-Jul - From here we pick up our rental car and proceed to Whistler and the rest of the activities.

More reasonable? If there's no lockers we could even book the same accommodation in Vancouver straight and leave stuff there from July 21-July 24. We'd waste one night's worth of stay while in Seattle but it may still be more cost-effective than the car.

We'll probably cut out whale-watching or any time-sensitive activities. The Whistler-Calgary drive is the tough leg but it will be split between two drivers so we should be okay, but Kelowna is also definitely off (Kamloops can still be a leg-stretcher).
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Old Jun 28th, 2017, 03:29 AM
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I've been thinking over your trip. One thing we haven't discussed is your budget. You will be visiting Seattle and Vancouver at high season for cruises. Hotels will be quite expensive (out of my price range, frankly). This should be a consideration in planning your trip, and you might consider NOT actually staying in those two cities, at the very least not downtown.

In both cities, lodging will be nosebleed expensive, as will parking. I'm not into hostels, but there are others on Fodors who are, if you do a search. I suspect those may be booked for your July dates already, however.

For Vancouver - yes, they have excellent public transportation, and you can certainly use it to get to Grouse Mountain. Consider staying in North Van, if possible.

Luggage storage in Vancouver - not that I have ever found.

Train between Seattle/Vancouver - a 4-hour trip. Bus may be faster (have not used), but you do have delays at the border.

Don't stop in Kamloops to stretch your legs, it's really just an unattractive largish city. Drive through and stop at Sicamous or Salmon Arm. You'll see why.

Hello BC is a great site for your proposed trip. You can get all sorts of recommendations on activities, lodging, routing suggestions, etc. If you haven't checked it yet, don't miss it: http://www.hellobc.com/default.aspx?CC=US

British Columbia is a beautiful part of the world, and really our favorite, I hope you enjoy.
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Old Jun 28th, 2017, 07:20 AM
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Hi!

I might be biased, but I think you'll be delighted by the Island. Activity-wise, it's almost unbeatable, especially considering you can hike, surf, kayak, fish etc. (sometimes a couple in the same day), plus there's great food and beer to be had.

Here's a website that will help you get a feel for the areas of the Island and maybe find some hikes and activities that you guys are into:

www.discovervancouverisland.com

As far as just Victoria goes, I usually peruse this site when I'm heading that way:

www.VictoriaBC.ca

The city there is great, Beacon Hill and the Inner Harbour are do-able in a single afternoon together (depending on how much time you take for yourselves). If you have a vehicle, doing the Dallas Road drive is pretty scenic as well.

If you find yourself with a lot of extra time on the Island for some reason (trimmed too much fat from your trip), I highly suggest going out to Tofino and Ucluelet. They're a unique portion of the Island (and maybe the world) that will win over your hearts and steal your breath. Especially if you like surfing.

WHISTLER - I did Whistler Bungee and thought it was fantastic. They let you harness either by your ankles or with a chest harness and everyone there has a great attitude. Very scenic jump and I screamed my head off in the best way possible.

Enjoy your trip!
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Old Jun 28th, 2017, 12:33 PM
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If you are going to save a day with your new itinerary (arriving Whistler on the 25th rather than the 26th), do yourself a favour and take two days to get from Whistler to Calgary. Stay overnight on Sushwap Lake in Salmon Arm or Sicamous. That way you will get to enjoy the magnificent route through the Mountain National Parks on the second day (Revelstoke, Glacier with the Rogers Pass, Yoho and Banff) rather than hurrying through them.
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Old Jun 28th, 2017, 12:46 PM
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it sounds more practical not to have a car for your Vancouver/Seattle/Victoria portion of your trip. Parking is hard to find, and ferry costs skyrocket when you have a vehicle.

I googled baggage storage in Vancouver; try PorterGenie.
While in Victoria you can rent a scooter or bike if you are comfortable with that, though the downtown is very walkable. I is a really lively and scenic downtown.

Agree with others not to stop in Kamloops - shuswap area is much prettier.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2017, 03:29 PM
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Vancouver hotels will be VERY expensive. Fortunately we've been able to stay on points on many trips there. You may want to consider the YWCA if on a budget. Excellent cheaper rooms (private rooms w/ ensuite) in a recently new building. Right near the center of things: walking distance to downtown & Grenville Isl. amongst others. They have some parking. When not travelling on points DW and I stay there. Reservations needed far in advance at busy times.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2017, 05:52 PM
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Whistler really isn't the kind of place where you could easily car camp "in the wild."
There is a commercial campground in Whistler (combined RV's and tents) - reserve in advance http://www.whistlerrvpark.com/rates/

There are also a few provincial parks relatively nearby (w/ driving distances 30 - 60 minutes) Really hard to get a campsite in them during summer, especially on weekends https://www.whistler.com/activities/camping/

There are some hostels in whistler:
http://hihostels.ca/en/destinations/...ia/hi-whistler
http://whistlerlodgehostel.com/
http://www.hostelworld.com/findabed....Country.Canada

There are legal places to camp if you'd hike in for 3 or 4 hours, but that's not what your trip would allow.

If you'd try to wild-wamp beside the highway you'd probably get rousted. There aren't many secondary roads in the area and you'd have to know it pretty well to find camping spots - and still would stand a chance of getting rousted. It's looked at more seriously there than just not allowing people camping wild - Whistler HAS TO BE seriously concerned about wildfires and some start from camping.

Try to reorganize your trip to have more than one day to get from Whistler to Calgary. It's doable but a long trip: 10 to 11 hrs wheels turning not including stops. You go through some stunning lake and mountain scenery, especially between Pemberton and Cache Creek (the hike to Joffree Lake is one of the best quick hikes in the area).
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