Vancouver to Niagra Falls
 

Hi,
My daughter is spending a month in Vancouver staying with friends and Niagra Falls is one of the many places on her wish list. As she is a student and has worked very hard to save for this trip I would love some ideas on getting her to and from there in the cheapest possible way. Would it require an overnight stay and where? Is it cheap enough to fly? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Maudie;
I'm assuming this is a legitimate question and deserves a serious reply. Canada is a vast country -- we're talking approx. 3000 miles and 5 provinces to travel from Vancouver, British Columbia to Niagara Falls, Ontario.

It's a 4.5 hr. flight from Vancouver (YVR) to Toronto (YYZ). With the time difference, if your departure time from YVR was 7 am you should land at YYZ around 2:30 pm. It is then approximately 1.5 hrs by car to Niagara Falls, on a good traffic day.

There is limited bus service, accessed from downtown Toronto, but the co-ordination of all this would take careful planning and a generous budget.

My answers to your questions in order would be: Yes, it would require an overnight stay. No, domestic flights across Canada are not cheap -- they certainly would strain the budget of a student.

There is so much to see and do in and around Vancouver BC that your daughter will not have any difficulty filling her days with exciting adventures. The delights of Ontario and Niagara Falls should be saved for a future trip.

Bert2,
Many thanks for your quick reply, yes it is a legitimate question. My daughter will be travelling from Perth, Western Australia so we are also used to vast distances. It was pretty hard to tell from looking at an atlas so thanks for the info and I take your point, maybe this time around Niagra won't be struck off her very long "places to see before I die" list. It does sound just a bit too much!
I am sure she will have plenty to do in and around Vancouver to fill her time.
I knew someone would set us on the right track, so thank you for taking the time to respond, Bert.

The highest canadian waterfalls are located in British Columbia.

Why not visit
- Shannon Falls waterfalls (vancouver)
- Helmken waterfalls (well gray pp)
- Takakkaw Falls (Yoho NP)
- Della Falls (Vancouver island)

If she does decide to try this cross-country trip ... she should look at Westjet and Canjet as airlines, and she should consider either Toronto (the main airport) or Hamilton (closer to Niagara Falls but a lot less busy)

Niagara is wine country -- perhaps there's an Australia connection that would justify the trip.

But really, if her budget is limited, she should consider staying withn the Vancouver Island, across the mountains to Calgary, north to Whistler, and south at least to Seattle and maybe (farther than you might think, but a wonerful city and surrounding area) as far as San Francisco.

Is she at the university level? What's she studying, mostly? Maybe we can offer more suggestions.

BAK

My suggestion is that she should either spend several days to visit the east - go to Toronto & Montreal along with Niagara Falls - or don't go.

It's like someone visiting Australia for the first time, will be in Perth, and ask whether she should go for an overnight trip to Canberra. Well, I'd hope she also go to Sydney and Melbourne, wouldn't you?

[Not the best example, I know, but I hope you get what I'm saying.]

Thanks again for the replies, Tom great info on the Falls in the Vancouver area, we will be researching them further. She will be studying to become an International Travel consultant when she gets back so all expreriences will be of great value. Any trip that includes wine is certainly justified! Rkkwan, good example, I can only hope the friends she is staying with may take pity on her and organise a family trip Niagra and surrounds, they are ex-pat Aussies too.
Edmonton Mall is also on the list - hey there is no stopping a 17 y/o girl when shopping is involved.
You have all been very kind, this is such a great place to get info and such nice people reply.