two weeks in Canada
 

We are thinking to come to America as a first. Have family in Vancouver, but what can we do in two weeks from the end of April next year. ~Sasskatswan would also be on our list if possible. Thanks, Susan.

Saskatchewan is very big. Do you know what part is of interest?

In two weeks at the end of April, you could arrive in Vancouver, spend some time there, rent a car and visit Vancouver Island (where Victoria, the provincial capital, is) and then drive east rhrough the mountains to Banff and LAke Louise, and on to Calgary, across Alberta to Drumheller (dinosaurs) and into Saskatchewan. Once there, visit whatever part appeakls, preferably in the south half, and then turn back west agiain, perhaps go through Edmonton, and drive back to Vancouver, using a route different from the east-bound one.

End of April, early May has a wide variety of weather, but it might be in the mid-teens (C) and nice and sunny, at least once you get across (east of) the mountains.

The big question is how much driving do you want to do, compared with how long would you like to stay in each place.

I've done everything above in various chunks.

Allowing for sightseeing, it's a two day drive from Vancouver to Banff or Calgary, a one day drive from Calgary to either Drumheller (and visiting the museum) or Regina. A day from Regina to Edmonton.

A day from Edmonton to Jasper (again, allowing sighseeing in Jasper) and either a very long day, or two days, from Jasper to Vancouver.

Scenery is good to extraordinary everywhere on this trip.

Hmmm - what in particular attracts you to Saskatchewan? There are a few areas where the original Prairie Grasslands have been preserved (e.g. Grasslands National Park), and outdoor activities related to the lakes and forests of the north are possible, otherwise it is mostly flat farmland.

The City of Vancouver itself is in a beautiful setting between ocean and mountains and several days here would be easy to enjoy. If you want to see more of Canada you could travel from here to the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks - e.g. Banff and Jasper - which have exceptionally spectacular scenery (note that April could still be snowy in the mountains and you should at any time make advance reservations as these are "very" popular areas). Vancouver Island - accessible by Ferry from the city of Vancouver - is another popular destination (and a very large island). Many people enjoy the city of Victoria, and if you can make it to the west coast of the Island - Pacific Rim National Park near the charming town of Tofino is unique and spectacular.

Just FYI - although North and South America are together referred to as "the Americas", the term "America" is most often used to refer to the U.S.A. and not Canada.

Hello, Susan! Welcome to Canada!! (You have tagged your thread NWT. Are you interested in NWT also?)

Canada comprises a huge geographic mass of land. On the West coast we have the Pacific Ocean. On the East coast we have the Atlantic Ocean. And, in the North, the Arctic Ocean/Sea.

If I only had 2 weeks to explore Canada, I would like to experience East coast and West coast. To do that, you could fly to Vancouver, rent a car & explore from there. Then, you would fly to Halifax on the East coast & do the same. Or, perhaps fly Vancouver/Toronto & concentrate on Toronto/Montreal (train from Toronto to Montreal may interest you). You would not get to experience the East coast if you only flew as far as Toronto or Montreal but you would experience a part of Canada that is totally different from the West Coast.

Is there a reason that you have to visit Canada at the end of April? If you have flexibility in your travel time, later than the end of April would offer you better weather. July/August/September would be perfect. But, May & June can also be very pleasant. Also if you could stretch your 2 weeks into 3 that would be better but even with only 2 weeks you can see a lot.

Where do you live?

I'm not sure that the OP would experience the best of the east coast in April, considering that much of tourism there is very seasonal (summer) and many things are only open from June through September. With two weeks and Vancouver and Saskatchewan (which begs the question: why??) as wanna-sees, the logical thing is to fill in the remaining time with the route between the two - BC's west coast or the Okanagan valley and the Rockies (Banff, Lake Louise & Jasper) are three areas I would suggest, for scenic beauty, bearing in mind though that April is basically still winter in the Rockies (ski season, frozen lakes). Also, early April can still be nasty on the prairies - I have visited Manitoba (where I have family) more than once in early April when there has been a blizzard.

P.S. Agree with mat54 - over here "America" means the USA, not North America.

krp, Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada's East coast is pretty nice the 2nd week in May which is when the OP wld be there if he/she went to Vancouver for a week @ the end April. Halifax is open 365 days a year!! B-)

Ooops, sorry, OceanBreeze, I do agree Halifax can be pretty nice in May. I read their timing as "two weeks *at* the end of April", not two weeks *from* the end of April.

But still... they only have two weeks, and specifically mentioned Vancouver and Saskatchewan (why?? ... at the risk of repeating myself LOL), which will more than fill their time. Had they mentioned only "two weeks in Canada", I might agree with you about an east coast/west coast split, but much as I love the east coast, doing both coasts in one trip can be quite expensive, you basically lose a whole day in travel, and there is a four hour time difference to consider, on top of whatever time difference they'll already be dealing with from whereever they are coming from (which, based on their comment about "America", I am guessing it's across the pond... one way or the other.)

I meant no slight on Halifax - I have family there and love visiting.

Halifax, average high in April is 12 and in May the average high is 19. Assuming end of April is avove tehaverage and start of May is below the average, assume around 15.

Visiting Halifax when going to Vancouver is like visiting Perth when going to Sydney; visiting Rome when going to London.

( With apologies to the OP, operafanatic, for intruding on your thread but I just have to say something here that has been bugging me for years)

Brian, they will not be in Halifax (if they go) until the first week in May! So what do April's historical weather stats have to do with anything? I happen to know that Halifax in May can be beautiful. And, people often visit London & then fly to Rome. So, what's your problem with that? I did not suggest that the OP visit Halifax while visiting Vancouver! I noted that Canada is huge. I merely suggested that following their Vancouver visit, they consider flying to Halifax from Vancouver. Or, if they are unable to fly to Halifax, then head East from Vancouver to Toronto and/or Montreal. That's why we have planes!

Why do you have to inject your sarcastic comments into every, single thing I post? For example, when I asked, some time ago, about getting to Chester, NS from Halifax airport, you shot back by telling me that I appeared to be "mapless". You then went on to imply that I believed the hotels in Chester were not good enough for me or some such nonsensical comment. On another recent thread, when I talked about the pronunciation of Toronto by Torontonians as being representative of "authentic" Toronto, you responded with "Why don't you try being helpful?" So, I am compelled to ask: Do you have some problem with me, in particular, or everybody, in general?? Just asking...

Given that I have been "on Fodor's" for over 10 years & that you have been around here for a very long time too, the chances are that neither one of us is voluntarily going to go away at any time in the near future. So, in the spirit of cooperation, I would ask that you kindly scroll past all future posts of mine and refrain from commenting. Do you think you can do that? You can start with this one....don't even answer my question!

Well, gee.

Not worth a comment

BAK

The April weather references made sense. Considering the lows and highs for May would have made similar sense. Nothing was lost by reaching for the April weather data to perhaps offset the fact that the trip would be prior to much of May, when warmer days would inflate May's "average" numbers.

Nextly, anyone with the Northwest Territories under consideration simply can't be expected to (ever) rule out either Halifax or Vancouver for temperature considerations.

Finally, the distance between Halifax and Vancouver is thrice that of London to Rome - what in the world?

We need more in the way of interests and mode of travel ideas from the OP in order to help. If going north from Saskatchewan in early May, it promises to be a wintery experience even in spring.

If you are interested in spending time in spectacular countryside and seeing Grizzly Bears in the wild go to
grizzly bear ranch, we went in October best 4 days holiday i have ever had: http://www.grizzlybearranch.ca/.

Banff/Jasper and Lake Louise also worth a visit spectacular.

I have been across the country and back.
I would NOT go to Saskatchewan in April or May.
British Columbia, yes!

I travelled every major and medium city in the country decades and practically every province - including Sask - is wonderful in May. But I cannot see reason at all to visit Sask in any month. Oh, my apologies - they have GREAT potash. How could I have forgotten.