From Wales to Canada!
May 5th, 2004, 11:17 PM
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From Wales to Canada!
I am planning to visit Canada in August travelling to Vancouver and then Toronto. AT the moment I cannot decide how much time to spend in each location. Travelling with family (wife and 14 year old daughter - therefore shopping is on the list of things to do!) , we like museums, art, theatre and fantastic scenery.
Also, can anyone give advice on cost of living (usual things - average restuarant costs, petrol, car hire, etc.)
Many thanks.
Andrew
Also, can anyone give advice on cost of living (usual things - average restuarant costs, petrol, car hire, etc.)
Many thanks.
Andrew
May 6th, 2004, 07:33 AM
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Hello Andrew,
I find your questions difficult to answer. If I was to ask you how much time I should spend in London -- a day, a week, a month, a year -- I bet you'd be hard pressed to answer. I think it really depends on how much time you have available.
I'm also curious as to why you want to go to Vancouver and Toronto, which are 4 time zones apart. While they certainly are wonderful cities and very worthy of your attention, you could use your time to visit just one of them and its relatively close neighbours. If you had, say, 2 weeks to spend, you could use it up on Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal - Quebec City. Still going on a 2 week timetable (if it's available to you), you could pay thorough visits to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, or alternatively you could build an itinerary around Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. These clusters (i.e., Ontario and Quebec on the one hand and British Columbia and Alberta on the other hand) serve as itineraries for many overseas visitors.
However, if you want to stick with your original idea of Vancouver and Toronto, that's okay too. In that case I think it would be ideal to spend at least a week exploring each city and its surroundings.
In the case of Vancouver, it would be nice if you also could visit Vancouver Island and perhaps Whistler too.
In the case of Toronto, it would be nice if you could do a day trip to Niagara Falls and also visit Algonquin Park.
If you click on the "Destinations" button near the top left hand side of the Fodors Forum screen, scroll down to the Canada offerings, and then click on Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Banff, Jasper and Toronto, you will be provided with many ideas. For example, there are itineraries of varying lengths. This would give you a starting point from which to work. There also are lists of hotels and restaurants with their prices. Again, this would at least give you a rough idea.
If you do a word search for Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Rockies, Toronto and Niagara here at the Fodors Canada Forum, you also will see numerous previous discussion threads.
To find out the price of a rental car, I suggest you go to a website like Travelocity.com .
From a recent newspaper article, I gather that gasoline (petrol) costs around C$0.92 per litre in Vancouver. I've heard speculation that our gasoline prices may go up this summer. I could be wrong, but I don't imagine they'd exceed C$1.00 per litre.
I'm sure you're aware that some British and North American terminology is different. I know that what we North Americans refer to as a "deductible" (in the context of insurance) is what Australians refer to as "excess." I rather suspect the Australian term is the same as the British one. This is a term of which you may want to be aware when you rent a car.
Hope the above information has given you a start.
I find your questions difficult to answer. If I was to ask you how much time I should spend in London -- a day, a week, a month, a year -- I bet you'd be hard pressed to answer. I think it really depends on how much time you have available.
I'm also curious as to why you want to go to Vancouver and Toronto, which are 4 time zones apart. While they certainly are wonderful cities and very worthy of your attention, you could use your time to visit just one of them and its relatively close neighbours. If you had, say, 2 weeks to spend, you could use it up on Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal - Quebec City. Still going on a 2 week timetable (if it's available to you), you could pay thorough visits to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, or alternatively you could build an itinerary around Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. These clusters (i.e., Ontario and Quebec on the one hand and British Columbia and Alberta on the other hand) serve as itineraries for many overseas visitors.
However, if you want to stick with your original idea of Vancouver and Toronto, that's okay too. In that case I think it would be ideal to spend at least a week exploring each city and its surroundings.
In the case of Vancouver, it would be nice if you also could visit Vancouver Island and perhaps Whistler too.
In the case of Toronto, it would be nice if you could do a day trip to Niagara Falls and also visit Algonquin Park.
If you click on the "Destinations" button near the top left hand side of the Fodors Forum screen, scroll down to the Canada offerings, and then click on Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Banff, Jasper and Toronto, you will be provided with many ideas. For example, there are itineraries of varying lengths. This would give you a starting point from which to work. There also are lists of hotels and restaurants with their prices. Again, this would at least give you a rough idea.
If you do a word search for Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Rockies, Toronto and Niagara here at the Fodors Canada Forum, you also will see numerous previous discussion threads.
To find out the price of a rental car, I suggest you go to a website like Travelocity.com .
From a recent newspaper article, I gather that gasoline (petrol) costs around C$0.92 per litre in Vancouver. I've heard speculation that our gasoline prices may go up this summer. I could be wrong, but I don't imagine they'd exceed C$1.00 per litre.
I'm sure you're aware that some British and North American terminology is different. I know that what we North Americans refer to as a "deductible" (in the context of insurance) is what Australians refer to as "excess." I rather suspect the Australian term is the same as the British one. This is a term of which you may want to be aware when you rent a car.
Hope the above information has given you a start.
May 6th, 2004, 11:16 AM
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In Toronto this morning gas was 79.9 cents a litre. Restaurants costs are hard to estimate since it depends a lot on your choice of restaurants. In my neighbourhood in Toronto, we can get dinner for 2 with soft drink and a beer for less than $20 Canadian at the local Indian restaurant. Conversely up the street we can get dinner for 2 (with no alcohol) at the French restaurant for
$60 C.
Things to do In Toronto: lots of good museums and art galleries (ROM - Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario to mention 2), lots of theatre, fantastic scenery (not much in Toronto but some nearby - i.e. Niagara Falls, Algonquin Park, Bruce Peninsula); other stuff - if your daughter likes animals - the Metro Zoo is quite good
Check out the website: www.toronto.ca - lots of useful info.
$60 C.
Things to do In Toronto: lots of good museums and art galleries (ROM - Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario to mention 2), lots of theatre, fantastic scenery (not much in Toronto but some nearby - i.e. Niagara Falls, Algonquin Park, Bruce Peninsula); other stuff - if your daughter likes animals - the Metro Zoo is quite good
Check out the website: www.toronto.ca - lots of useful info.
May 6th, 2004, 12:46 PM
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I have been told by British tourists in Toronto that things that cost a pound in London cost a dollar in Toronto.
It's not universal, but it seemed close enough to them, and they thought of Toronto as a bargain.
BAK
It's not universal, but it seemed close enough to them, and they thought of Toronto as a bargain.
BAK
May 6th, 2004, 12:47 PM
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Sorry Andrew_John: That website is
www.toronto.com not ca
www.toronto.com not ca
May 6th, 2004, 04:04 PM
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The time budget is one of the most difficult things about travel planning. A week each in Vancouver and Toronto (with side trips out of town) is perfectly reasonable. Another thought is to add Montreal to the mix and sample Canada's three largest cities. As has been pointed out Vancouver and Toronto are a long distance from each other, about the same distance as from Wales to Newfoundland or Kazakhstan. Judy has made some good suggestions. Availability of reasonable flights will influence your decision. August is high season.
Vancouver has the edge in scenery. There is lots of shopping in any big city. Toronto has more to offer in theatre and probably museums.
In my opinion Toronto and Montreal is a better introduction to Canada since you get to experience something of both English and French Canada and the geography is easier. On the other hand there is no denying that the best scenery is out west. Tough choices...make a return trip but even then you will have missed the charms of Atlantic Canada.
Vancouver has the edge in scenery. There is lots of shopping in any big city. Toronto has more to offer in theatre and probably museums.
In my opinion Toronto and Montreal is a better introduction to Canada since you get to experience something of both English and French Canada and the geography is easier. On the other hand there is no denying that the best scenery is out west. Tough choices...make a return trip but even then you will have missed the charms of Atlantic Canada.
