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What is the best way to call the US while I am in Vancouver. Can I buy a calling card while I am over there? I saw some calling cards on the internet, but they were all $20 - I am not going to want to talk that much. (just calling to check in)

Phone companies vary across Canada, and I'm in the wrong province, but I helped a tourist with this yesterday, and the Toronto system will probably work in Vancouver, except with Telus, the local phone company, instead of Bell Canada.

In big shopping centers, and in telephone stores, you should be able to buy a $5 long distance card, that you slip into a slot in a pay phone. Get a genuine Telus card, rather than trying to save a dollar by buying some no-name card.

I went into a Bell store in Toronto today to see how inexpensive the cards were, and $5 was the minimum.
Or, for a quick call, just get a handful of Candian coins, and follow the instructions on the payphone to get started. Then a voice (may be real, may be a computer) will tell you to deposit some amount, and you can talk until you hear beeps and read on the front of the phone (a little computer-like screen) that you need to put in more money.

BAK

You can buy $5 all over the place. Just go to a corner store - the mom & pop lottery/junkfood type shops seem to sell them. Be aware that the cards vary (some have horrible reception, others have hidden fees), etc.

A friend of mine told me about this option: Either Sprint or Cingular Wireless offer cellular telephones which are able to have phone calls originate and receive in 180 different countries. The cost of these phones isn't very much and I can't remember the exact anachronym for the type of phone. Anyway, you simply sign up for a phone and a few days later you call the company and say that you would like to use it in Canada. There shouldn't be any additional charges to the service and it takes a day or two to set it up.

4rhodes has a point, and it may be even easier, if you have a cell phone.

My friend Charles, from New orleans, travels all over North America and his phone works everywhere he's been in Canada, with no need to do anything special except make sure he dials 1 and the area code before calling anywehre else in North America.

How much this costs is another question, but for a short call, it's probably no big deal.

BAK