Trip to west Canada
Jul 18th, 2005, 12:41 PM
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Trip to west Canada
Hi,
I used live in Brazil and i'm planning to spend my vacation(me and my husband) in a 13days travel to west Canadá on next October.
My plans are: - 3nights in Vancouver, 2 nights in Victoria;-1 or 2 nights in Jasper and then Calgary
I'm intending to rent a car(pick up in Vancouverand drop off in Calgary).
My questions are:
- I wanto do make the route from Victoria to Jasper in one day and I know it is a quite long (10hours aprox.) Would you recommend that?
- I'm intending to spend 3 nights in Vancouver, is it too much? Is it necessary to have a car in Vancouver or we can make all sightseeings walking?
- Would you recommend spend one more night to go to Seattle,or not?
I would appreciate your help.
I used live in Brazil and i'm planning to spend my vacation(me and my husband) in a 13days travel to west Canadá on next October.
My plans are: - 3nights in Vancouver, 2 nights in Victoria;-1 or 2 nights in Jasper and then Calgary
I'm intending to rent a car(pick up in Vancouverand drop off in Calgary).
My questions are:
- I wanto do make the route from Victoria to Jasper in one day and I know it is a quite long (10hours aprox.) Would you recommend that?
- I'm intending to spend 3 nights in Vancouver, is it too much? Is it necessary to have a car in Vancouver or we can make all sightseeings walking?
- Would you recommend spend one more night to go to Seattle,or not?
I would appreciate your help.
Jul 18th, 2005, 01:25 PM
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Even in the summer the drive from Vancouver to Jasper, (never mind Victoria which would add at least 3 hours ferry time), is a tough drive with over half being on two lane mountain roads. In October you are very likely to find weather conditions much more treacherous. There could even be snow and ice in the higher levels. The trip should be taken in two stages with the first stop either in Kamloops if you are coming from Victoria. If you're coming from Vancouver you can go an hour or two further either to Clearwater if you're traveling via #5 or Salmon Arm if you're going via #1 which is the longer but more scenic route.
Vancouver is definately worth 3 nights and days. Rio is more beautiful from a distance but close up Vancouver is more lovely - and safer.
I wouldn't bother with Seattle. It's a very nice city but pales next to Vancouver and with your limited time better spend the extra days in Vancouver and Banff and Jasper.
Vancouver is definately worth 3 nights and days. Rio is more beautiful from a distance but close up Vancouver is more lovely - and safer.
I wouldn't bother with Seattle. It's a very nice city but pales next to Vancouver and with your limited time better spend the extra days in Vancouver and Banff and Jasper.
Jul 18th, 2005, 01:53 PM
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Hello Carolff,
I agree with what GaryA has said. Here's some additional information.
>>>I wanto do make the route from Victoria to Jasper in one day and I know it is a quite long (10hours aprox.) Would you recommend that?<<<
No, I do not recommend it. In addition to the factors that Gary has mentioned, keep in mind that your day will lose an hour when you cross from the Pacific Time Zone to the Mountain Time Zone a short distance west of Jasper. Even if you were to leave Victoria as early as possible, you’d reach Jasper after dark, which I don’t recommend.
>>>I'm intending to spend 3 nights in Vancouver, is it too much?<<<
No, it is not too much. I consider it to be too little. I believe Vancouver deserves 3 full days, so therefore 4 nights.
>>>Is it necessary to have a car in Vancouver or we can make all sightseeings walking?<<<
You can see Vancouver’s attractions by a combination of walking and catching public transportation.
>>>Would you recommend spend one more night to go to Seattle,or not?<<<
Again I will add to Gary's comments. It takes 2.5 hours to drive from Vancouver to Seattle in one direction. I have not done the Canada-U.S. border crossing in that area in October, but a wait of an hour is not uncommon in the summer. So it’s possible that you’d spend 7 hours in getting from Vancouver to Seattle and back again.
Since you will be attempting to cover a great distance in a short amount of time, I do not believe you can afford the distraction of taking a side trip to Seattle.
I would even go so far as to say that you cannot afford the distraction of a side trip to Victoria. I certainly advise against an overnight trip to Victoria. You could decide, once you're in Vancouver, whether or not you want to take a day trip to Victoria.
You might consider this itinerary:
1, 2, 3, 4 - Vancouver
5 - Revelstoke
6 - Lake Louise
7 - Jasper
8 - Calgary
On a trip that is as short as yours will be, you should spend no more time than necessary in Calgary. The only reason I've included Calgary is that you may need to spend a night there prior to catching a morning flight the next day.
Hope that helps.
I agree with what GaryA has said. Here's some additional information.
>>>I wanto do make the route from Victoria to Jasper in one day and I know it is a quite long (10hours aprox.) Would you recommend that?<<<
No, I do not recommend it. In addition to the factors that Gary has mentioned, keep in mind that your day will lose an hour when you cross from the Pacific Time Zone to the Mountain Time Zone a short distance west of Jasper. Even if you were to leave Victoria as early as possible, you’d reach Jasper after dark, which I don’t recommend.
>>>I'm intending to spend 3 nights in Vancouver, is it too much?<<<
No, it is not too much. I consider it to be too little. I believe Vancouver deserves 3 full days, so therefore 4 nights.
>>>Is it necessary to have a car in Vancouver or we can make all sightseeings walking?<<<
You can see Vancouver’s attractions by a combination of walking and catching public transportation.
>>>Would you recommend spend one more night to go to Seattle,or not?<<<
Again I will add to Gary's comments. It takes 2.5 hours to drive from Vancouver to Seattle in one direction. I have not done the Canada-U.S. border crossing in that area in October, but a wait of an hour is not uncommon in the summer. So it’s possible that you’d spend 7 hours in getting from Vancouver to Seattle and back again.
Since you will be attempting to cover a great distance in a short amount of time, I do not believe you can afford the distraction of taking a side trip to Seattle.
I would even go so far as to say that you cannot afford the distraction of a side trip to Victoria. I certainly advise against an overnight trip to Victoria. You could decide, once you're in Vancouver, whether or not you want to take a day trip to Victoria.
You might consider this itinerary:
1, 2, 3, 4 - Vancouver
5 - Revelstoke
6 - Lake Louise
7 - Jasper
8 - Calgary
On a trip that is as short as yours will be, you should spend no more time than necessary in Calgary. The only reason I've included Calgary is that you may need to spend a night there prior to catching a morning flight the next day.
Hope that helps.
Jul 18th, 2005, 01:59 PM
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The trip from Victoria to Jasper will take you longer than 10 hours, I would estimate at about 12 hours if not more.
As Gary mentioned, the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver takes time even though the sailing time is just over 1.5 hours (you have to add in time for getting to the ferry terminal, waiting and then boarding the ferry, and then disembarking once you get to Tsawassen/Vancouver).
The drive from Tsawassen to Hope could take more time than you estimate from the distance - depends on the traffic in the Vancouver area (which during rush hour could be very slow).
Once you get to Hope, the rest of the way is fairly fast and straightforward. There could be fog and or snow on the Coquihalla (Hope to Kamloops) - and that could slow you down considerably. But it all depends on whether you are travelling at the beginning of October (nicer weather) or the end of October (colder weather), and even then it may not be a problem at all.
The drive from Kamloops to Jasper (5 hours) is the easiest part of the drive. Although it is a two lane undivided highway, in October the traffic isn't heavy, and that part of the country tends to be dry so it's unlikely that the weather will slow you down (the road travels the length of a valley at fairly low elevations, so snow shouldn't be a problem; it's a bit early in the season for it anyway).
To answer your question - you could do it in a day, but it would be a very long day, and part of it would be driving in the dark (it's after the autumnal equinox so nights are longer than days in October - for example 10 to 11 hours daylight and 13 to 14 hours darkness).
I would not recommend it, especially not if this is your first trip to western Canada.
Split up your drive as Gary suggested: Victoria to Kamloops, then Kamloops to Jasper the next day.
If I were you I would spend one night in Jasper, one day driving down the Icefield Parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise, overnight in Lake Louise, and then your final day in Banff before driving to Calgary (Banff to Calgary is a one hour drive).
Good luck!!
As Gary mentioned, the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver takes time even though the sailing time is just over 1.5 hours (you have to add in time for getting to the ferry terminal, waiting and then boarding the ferry, and then disembarking once you get to Tsawassen/Vancouver).
The drive from Tsawassen to Hope could take more time than you estimate from the distance - depends on the traffic in the Vancouver area (which during rush hour could be very slow).
Once you get to Hope, the rest of the way is fairly fast and straightforward. There could be fog and or snow on the Coquihalla (Hope to Kamloops) - and that could slow you down considerably. But it all depends on whether you are travelling at the beginning of October (nicer weather) or the end of October (colder weather), and even then it may not be a problem at all.
The drive from Kamloops to Jasper (5 hours) is the easiest part of the drive. Although it is a two lane undivided highway, in October the traffic isn't heavy, and that part of the country tends to be dry so it's unlikely that the weather will slow you down (the road travels the length of a valley at fairly low elevations, so snow shouldn't be a problem; it's a bit early in the season for it anyway).
To answer your question - you could do it in a day, but it would be a very long day, and part of it would be driving in the dark (it's after the autumnal equinox so nights are longer than days in October - for example 10 to 11 hours daylight and 13 to 14 hours darkness).
I would not recommend it, especially not if this is your first trip to western Canada.
Split up your drive as Gary suggested: Victoria to Kamloops, then Kamloops to Jasper the next day.
If I were you I would spend one night in Jasper, one day driving down the Icefield Parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise, overnight in Lake Louise, and then your final day in Banff before driving to Calgary (Banff to Calgary is a one hour drive).
Good luck!!
Jul 18th, 2005, 03:09 PM
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I have visited out there, too.
You have gotten the best possible advice. It is a long drive that you describe.
I have driven it, but not in one day.
Judy and Borealis live out there and they know the territory better than I do by a lot. I am just a visitor who stays for a couple of weeks.
You have gotten the best possible advice. It is a long drive that you describe.
I have driven it, but not in one day.
Judy and Borealis live out there and they know the territory better than I do by a lot. I am just a visitor who stays for a couple of weeks.
Jul 21st, 2005, 10:05 PM
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the trip you're planning is a great one and it's a beautiful time of year to visit jasper/lake louise/banff especially, but the drive you're thinking of doing is really not wise in october. i regularly drive the route from vancouver to calgary (12 hrs) and would not attempt it in october unless i absolutely had to.the drive from vancouver to jasper is about 16 hrs. you can easily add 2-3 hrs to those driving times in the winter. in october, especially in the mountains, the weather changes quickly and drastically and can be treacherous. often you find yourself snowed in - stuck in some far off town until the plow comes through the pass. unless you have good driving experience in snow and ice, which you very well might, i just think it's an unneccesary risk and stress for you. you can save yourself a ton of time and worry by flying some of your distances.
domestic flights in canada can be quite cheap, especially in the west, so i would look into that. westjet - www.westjet.com - and tango air (a subsidiary of air canada) are very good places to start. if you book enough in advance you can pay as little as $250 CA with taxes on a flight from vancouver to calgary ( 1.5 hrs), which, with the cost of gas and the risk of driving, is negligable. once you get to calgary you can rent a car to drive to banff or lake louise. (only about 1.5 hr and 2.5 hr drives repectively, but, again, i'll warn you about hazardous road conditions) you could easily bus to either of those places, and i know for a fact there are aiport shuttles to both, or you could take a train (at least to banff). i would suggest taking a train to jasper, it's a great way to see the country side. also, to japser from edmonton is a 3.5 hr drive, and from calgary it's 5hrs. that's a LONG way in the winter. i wouldn't do it.
i think if you're going to go to the coast in you MUST visit victoria. it's beautiful. and the ferry ride is one of the most amazing ways to see the gulf isalnds between vancouver and vancouver island. it's well worth the trip and easily done in one day if you want to. but victoria's great, a night there is definetly not a waste.
one last thing! you'll be spanning some big temperature differences. in vancouver and victoria it will probably be really wet, the mountains below 0 celsius to as low as minus 15 celsius, and in calgary anywhere from 10 degrees C to minus 10 degrees. so pack some layers and bring an umbrella.
what a rambling response! hope you're not overwhelmed. i'm sure you'll have an amazing time. it's beautiful here and it's a great not so busy time to visit. hope you have a great one.
domestic flights in canada can be quite cheap, especially in the west, so i would look into that. westjet - www.westjet.com - and tango air (a subsidiary of air canada) are very good places to start. if you book enough in advance you can pay as little as $250 CA with taxes on a flight from vancouver to calgary ( 1.5 hrs), which, with the cost of gas and the risk of driving, is negligable. once you get to calgary you can rent a car to drive to banff or lake louise. (only about 1.5 hr and 2.5 hr drives repectively, but, again, i'll warn you about hazardous road conditions) you could easily bus to either of those places, and i know for a fact there are aiport shuttles to both, or you could take a train (at least to banff). i would suggest taking a train to jasper, it's a great way to see the country side. also, to japser from edmonton is a 3.5 hr drive, and from calgary it's 5hrs. that's a LONG way in the winter. i wouldn't do it.
i think if you're going to go to the coast in you MUST visit victoria. it's beautiful. and the ferry ride is one of the most amazing ways to see the gulf isalnds between vancouver and vancouver island. it's well worth the trip and easily done in one day if you want to. but victoria's great, a night there is definetly not a waste.
one last thing! you'll be spanning some big temperature differences. in vancouver and victoria it will probably be really wet, the mountains below 0 celsius to as low as minus 15 celsius, and in calgary anywhere from 10 degrees C to minus 10 degrees. so pack some layers and bring an umbrella.
what a rambling response! hope you're not overwhelmed. i'm sure you'll have an amazing time. it's beautiful here and it's a great not so busy time to visit. hope you have a great one.
