First Trip to Canada

Old Feb 13th, 2018, 06:46 AM
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First Trip to Canada

Hi,

I'm looking to travel to Canada for the first time this summer and looking for suggestions on areas to visit/routes which cover multiple locations. I like to immerse myself in culture and visit scenic spots like national parks.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks in advance!
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Old Feb 13th, 2018, 11:43 AM
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That's a very broad question and Canada is a huge country.

How long do you have for your trip?
When are you coming? Summer means different things to different people -- May is full on summer in some places, but in parts of Canada you can still be skiing...

What do you want to do? Hiking? Boating? Shopping?
What is your budget? Some places are quite expensive and you need to book soon for some popular locations to get more affordable accommodation?
Will you be driving? Most national parks are relatively difficult to visit unless your drive or take a tour. If you won't be driving, that will affect suggestions...
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Old Feb 13th, 2018, 01:22 PM
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Now that is a tough one. My perfect Canada trip would:

- Start in Newfoundland. Either the east coast (the ocean, music) or the west coast (scenery. music, drinking);
- Move to Quebec City – French culture, history, cobblestones;
- Shift to Calgary, Banff and Jasper – just as beautiful as Switzerland, cheaper with fewer rules;
- End in Vancouver (incredible city) and Vancouver Island – beautiful, with hippies and whales.

I’ve skipped our two largest cities, our capital and the Prairies. Oh well, come back. It’s about 4,500 miles between St John’s and Vancouver. You may have to pick and choose.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 04:17 AM
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I am planning around 16 nights for my trip in July (hopefully)

I love hiking, boating and shopping. Love to see the sights and be outdoors, as well as hitting the shops when there's a spare few hours.

I don't plan on driving, looking to use the transport available and would consider getting an internal flight if the destination was good enough.

A mix of accommodation would be good, happy to camp a few nights and stay in a few more luxurious hotels where possible. Pretty open to suggestions!
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 04:42 AM
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The first, and fundamental, suggestion is to do some research on websites such as this one; look at the Destinations section. The menu is top centre on the opening page. Only with a little background can you pose questions that will prompt useful, pragmatic responses (and which you will have enough context to understand.) Canada touches three oceans, stretching across five and a half time zones. It deserves a little more effort to be understood.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 04:53 AM
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Even better, buy or borrow some guidebooks.

And take a look at the Via Rail website. The train can be a good option for getting from Vancouver to Jasper.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 05:45 AM
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If you plan on camping and are not bringing your own stuff see this site and look under Parks Canada equipped sites. You may be running out of time:

https://reservation.pc.gc.ca/ParksCanada?Map

It would be a pain to get to some of these places on public transportation. Personally I think your best options involve Calgary/Banff/Jasper and/or Vancouver/Vancouver Island. There is a bus service on Vancouver Island. And local buses can take you to some beautiful spots near Victoria.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 12:34 PM
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Camping reservations for the national parks opened over a month ago. I'd be surprised if the equipped campsites were still available, especially in July - they are quite popular. They're also not cheap, especially for one person -- work out best for a family or group. However, if you don't have a car, you'll struggle to even get to most campgrounds. I believe the equipped campsites are at Two Jack in Banff NP, and you need a car to get there.

With 16 days you have to make some serious choices, especially if you won't be renting a car. Two weeks is really time to see one part of the country - a loop that includes Vancouver and the Rockies, or a loop that includes Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Or a loop that includes Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City etc.

Unless you don't have a license or are young enough that rentals are really expensive, I would strongly consider renting a car. Canada is a large country, and outside the major cities and few metropolitan areas, public transport is very poor. In the Rockies, there are improved options for Banff & Lake Louise, but tours are the only real option for Jasper unless you have a car. Even then, you lose a lot of flexibility -- tours do the big, popular destinations, but you don't get to see the many smaller places that are just as beautiful. And you are on a fixed schedule.

Also, if the Rockies are of interest (or BC), you need to book your accommodation as soon as you can. July is very much peak time and some hotels are already booked out, particularly in Jasper. The more desirable/less expensive accommodations in the Rockies will be the first to go -- and average hotel rooms start at $250-350.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 04:13 PM
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Try guidebooks, those are usually resourceful.
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Old Feb 15th, 2018, 05:52 PM
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If you go with the ViaRail Canadian, there are HI hostels in Vancouver (2), Jasper outside town (taxi from town), Winnipeg (nice but far from train station) and in Toronto. I've stayed in all of them at various times.
There are car rentals available within walking distance of the Jasper train station if you don't want to use a Brewster bus tour. The ViaRail Canadian only runs 3 days a week each way so you will have 2 or 3 days in whichever stop you make.
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Old Feb 18th, 2018, 05:03 PM
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I'm from Saskatchewan and if you want to see some beautiful country - come visit us! If you enjoy boating and fishing - our northern lakes are beautiful - remote and really breathtaking. If you want more information on specific places to visit, let me know and I can suggest more... Other than that - Vancouver and really all of B.C. is beautiful. I'd highly recommend visiting the Maritimes - especially NFLD - best people in the world! It's a big country so hard to know where to start I'm sure! Toronto is nice if you want to see a bigger city - shopping is great! Hiking in the Banff area is awesome! We love visiting Montreal as well! - very European like in Old Montreal... Oh and if you enjoy wine - tour in the Okanagan in B.C. or in Ontario - some beautiful country... Enjoy and welcome to our beautiful country!
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Old Feb 19th, 2018, 07:45 AM
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Thanks for the recommendations!

I will be travelling with my partner, so not alone, therefore could definitely look into some of the campsites you have suggested. Is car rental expensive in Canada? Any popular trusted rental companies you could recommend?

I'm looking into utilising accomodation sites such as 'Air bnb' and 'Home away' for accommodation also.
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Old Feb 19th, 2018, 08:40 AM
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We've used Avis, Budget, and Enterprise within the country - one seems to be as good as the other. I usually book the most reasonable when travelling to other parts of Canada. Just one note - I read you were thinking of air - travel by air is quite expensive in Canada - we can often fly to other parts of the world - especially the U.S. for cheaper than fly within our own country... Air Canada and West Jet are the local airlines and you have to watch for seat sales. You could create a notification from either of them if you're still considering air travel.
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