First info on Canada - probably BC
 

Hy, I'm from Austria, and my boyfriend and I would like to take a trip to Canada next year. As we like mountains, hiking, and a little adventure - I would prefer BC and the Rockies.
I think the best for us would be to fly to Vancouver and start from there. Time frame would be 2 weeks - 14 days for travelling with the flight from and back to Vienna/Austria.
I don't have any idea of distances in Canada - in Europe everything is rather close :-))) - but I read some threads about Vancouver to Calgary (and flying home from there) - going through the Rockies - that sounds great.
What time of the year would be the best - I don't really want to go in the peak season - I was thinking about May/june or September. I rather prefer mild (warm) weather - good for hiking and travelling.
Some tipps and advice would really be great - thanks for all the help

Hi silvia1808,

To my taste May is too soon because the mountain lakes are still frozen and you cannot see the amazing turquoise colour of their water.

I believe the best times are the latter half of June or else the month of September.

You are correct in thinking that the distances are great. They are.

You can get some ideas from my website;

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips

Part of our 2000 tour comprised the following:Vancouver(2 days)-drive Wells gray park(see the two falls)-then to Jasper (two days)stay at Becker chalets-drive down to Banff(one of the most beautiful mountain drives in America)stay a few days. We then went to Wateron lakes and Glacier national park but perhaps you could arrange to return home via Calgary airport. Greetings from Belgium.Paul

First of all thanks for your help - Judy, great homepage I did take already peak.
One thing we also are not so sure about is, should we rent a car and stay in motels, hotels aso or should we rather take a mobile home and stay at camping side. I think with the car we would have to prebook hotelrooms? It is a question of the price - or do you think either way costs the same?
thx again for your help

Hello silvia1808,

When you add up the cost of renting a recreational vehicle (RV), the considerably greater amount of gasoline it consumes and campground fees, it is no cheaper to RV than it is to travel by car and stay in hotels or motels.

Driving an RV is slower than driving a car. It adds 10% - 15% to your driving time.

If you travelled in June or September, you would be wise to book accommodation in Jasper. It's a small town in a popular location. I also have read that it's a good idea to book accommodation in Kamloops if you're going to be there on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday (the nights on which passengers of the Rocky Mountaineer train fill up many of the hotel and motel rooms in Kamloops). Just because I like to have accommodation sorted out when I arrive from overseas, I think it would be a good idea for you to reserve accommodation in Vancouver as well.

Other than that, you would be able to wing it in June or September.

September is a great month in many ways. But keep in mind that there are fewer hours of daylight in September. June would be best from a daylight point of view.