Vancouver to Toronto car or train?

Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 03:05 AM
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Vancouver to Toronto car or train?

Hi there, I would like if possible the best suggestions on how to travel from one side of Canada to the other and the best places to stop on the way and stay a day or two.
I will be travelling from Australia with my hubby and we may hire a car if the traffic will be not congested, we are going in end of April/early May next year. What will the weather be like and is it an easy drive? Of course we will want to see all the beautiful places such as Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise etc
If anyone has suggestions for places I would not be aware of but are beautiful/interesting/worth stopping in I would appreciated it.
What train services can I research to be able to cross the continent and be able to have a couple of stopovers. I also have heard the Canadian side is the best viewing of Niagara Falls, does anyone have any suggestions on where to stay in that area to get to the falls easily.

Many thanks,
Dreams64
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 05:59 AM
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Are you coming back to Vancouver once you reach Toronto?
Are you restricted to Canada or can you travel across the US?
I have been on the ViaRail Canadian all the way from Toronto to Vancouver with stops in Winnipeg and Jasper (in coach).
I have also been from Winnipeg to Churchill (twice) on a ViaRail train (in coach).
Whether you can tolerate riding in coach or need a sleeper is something to research. You have at least one good long distance train in Australia with both sleepers and coach.
In late April it is still possible for a late season snowstorm in the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian only runs 3 days/week.
The prarries of Canada can be a long boring drive.
The Amtrak Empire Builder runs daily from Seattle terminating in Chicago. My favorite stop on the EB is in Whitefish Montana. Another stop along the route would be Minneapolis/St. Paul MN.
If you went by the train across the US route, take the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to Buffalo and a later Maple Leaf train to Niagara Falls Canada.
ViaRail runs the service from Niagara Falls. The train crew switches to all Canadians from the border to Toronto on the Amtrak Maple Leaf
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 06:09 AM
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Not so longa ago I did a round trip New York to New York by train, west across the US on Amtrak and east across Canada on Via Rail, sleeper class on all overnight legs. Loved it! Would give the edge to Via Rail.

For Canadian trains see: http://www.seat61.com/Canada.htm

For my cross Canada trip start here (links at the top of the page):

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ils-to-jasper/
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 08:11 AM
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I don't know how much time you have, but it is a long drive from Vancouver to Toronto (4600 km) and even at that time of year you could encounter a late winter storm and hazardous road conditions in the mountains, across the prairies, or in northern Ontario. On the other hand, traffic would not be a problem. Banff, Jasper and the other mountain National Parks are beautiful any time of year, but in late April and early May, there will still be snow at the higher levels, the lakes will be frozen and most hiking trails will be closed. One further complication is that if you are planning a one-way trip, there will be a significant drop-off charge for a rental car.

My suggestion is a combination of train and car rental. After visiting Vancouver and Victoria (on Vancouver Island), for which you may or may not want a car, take the Via Rail Canadian train to Jasper. Stay there a few days, and use Brewster bus services for tours to Banff and Lake Louise. You might want to stay a day or two there. Return to Jasper and take the Canadian all the way to Toronto--this will give you an idea of the vastness of the Prairies and the forests of northern Ontario. The Parks Canada website is an excellent source of information on National Parks across the country.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/en/index

You won't need a car in Toronto itself but may wish to drive to Niagara Falls and elsewhere in Southern Ontario. There is a huge range of hotels right in Niagara Falls, if you wish to stay overnight, but if you have a car, I recommend the historic village of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Depending on time, I would recommend that you visit Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. You could drive (4-5 hours Toronto-Ottawa, 2 hours Ottawa-Montreal and 3 hours Montreal Quebec City), but there is excellent and frequent Via Rail service between all these cities. Driving in Montreal is a real pain--heavy traffic, constant construction, and difficult parking, and Toronto is not much better. Quebec City is best seen on foot. So unless you want to take back roads and stop along the way, I recommend the train.

You should expect good weather in Southern Ontario and Quebec in early May, but as everywhere in the country, it can be quite variable. Check Environment Canada for detailed weather conditions:

http://weather.gc.ca/index_e.html

I hope this gives you a bit of perspective. I know that Australia is a vast continent and that Australians are used to great distances, but Canada is just that much larger.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 08:32 AM
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You have not given nearly enough information on which people can start to give relevant suggestions.

FIRST, you must say how much time you will have and what kind of budget you have to work with.

In general, my advice would be a car between Vancouver and Calgary with stops depending on your interests along the way. For example if you were interested in wine it would make sense to take Highway 3 to the Okanogan Valley.

From Calgary to Toronto I would fly. The prairie provinces are endless days of flat farmland. On the other hand, you could drive from Calgary south and go through some of the Northern US states if there were some things of interest to you there and you had enough time. Yellowstone National Park for example.

But if you drove it all either way, can you afford the hefty drop-off charge for the car rental? Or do you have enough time to do so? We don't know, you haven't said.

Niagara is an easy day trip from Toronto, which is how most people would probably choose to handle it.

As for trains, very few Canadians use trains to go anywhere. It's freight that keeps them in business, not passengers.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 08:57 AM
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>

It's true that for long distance travel most Canadians prefer to fly. However, the Vancouver to Toronto "Canadian" is a great way to get a sense of the country, especially for a visitor.

In the Windsor (ON) to Quebec City corridor, train service is good, frequent and well-used, particularly the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal lines.

The two main Canadian railways, CN and CP, are strictly freight lines and gave up their passenger service years ago to ViaRail, the principal passenger carrier.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 09:02 AM
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>

It is true that I met more tourists than locals on the Canadian, but it was hardly a representative sample. The train was vey long, and full. Via Rail did not seem to be hurting for passengers. In any case the OP is a tourist, not a Canadian, so the comment is irrelevant.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 02:45 PM
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I don't think the comment is irrelevant to a tourist who is wise enough to ask, 'why is that the case?' The answer of course is it takes too much time to cover the distances involved such as from Calgary to Toronto. That ride is a case of days of boredom interspersed with minutes of something of interest to see out the window.

When you cross most of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba by train or by car, about the most exciting thing you see along the way is a grain silo.

'Oh look everybody, another silo. Quick Mary, hand me my camera.'
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/EBXF4B/grai...wan-EBXF4B.jpg
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 03:34 AM
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oh you have made me laugh with the tourist/local conversation and grain silos (although you have no idea how many of them my hubby likes to photograph) - yes even though I am Australian, I think I am underestimating how large Canada is or the USA for that matter. I loved the suggestion of going back down into the USA and visiting Yellowstone so that may be a great idea, however am getting the gist that dropping off a car one way is a huge expense and yes I am only going East to Niagara and then NYC for a week.

I think, after all your very helpful replies, I may consider flying from Calgary after staying in Jasper and doing a couple of bus tours to Banff and Lake Louise (Thanks @Laverendrye).
Time isnt an issue as we have that, I just need to work out the best use of it thats my challenge and I think probably hopping on a plane to Toronto will be the best fit after staying in Vancouver/Calgary areas. Thanks so much for your advice and funny discussions on my trip accross the vast plains, much appreciated, Dreams64
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 03:38 AM
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PS Thursdaysd, great blog I am about to read it and well done you for travelling solo and exploring this wonderful planet - appreciate your tips and suggestions. I am a blogger to and will blog about my travels as I do them (once I work out what I am doing)
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 05:03 AM
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Thanks Dreams - you may notice that I did not get bored on the Jasper to Toronto leg, and did not see a bunch of silos, either.

If you are interested in solo travel there is a thread on the Travel Tips board that has links to solo TRs.
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Old May 22nd, 2017, 12:49 PM
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Hi Dreams,

Canada is huge. The drive from Toronto to Montreal is 5 and a half hours and that is non stop, no traffic and good weather. I would say do a combo of train and car but do not drice in Toronto. The traffic is horrible. The transit is not much better but it will (mostly) get you from A to B. If you want to get to Niagara there are shuttles . Also, you could rent a car for a day. I am from Montreal but live in Toronto. If you have any specific questions , feel free to ask. Toronto is a great tourist city.
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Old May 23rd, 2017, 07:32 AM
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I think you are best served by a combination of rail, air, and auto rental when needed for local touring...

In your original post, you asked about Niagara Falls Hotels,.. although there are dozens, you might consider Fallsview resort and Casino, the Hilton attached to the casino, the Oakes Hotel, or the Embassy Suites. All have views and you should get off season rates...

Also consider Niagara on the Lake, in the heart of the wine region, a quaint village with great hotels, food, and romance.
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