Save Money Consider Canada
 

Our dollar is at an all time low so if you ever considered a vacation to Canada - now is the time to plan. Vancouver/Gulf Islands, Interior B.C., Jasper/Banff/Lake Louise, Maritines. Come enjoy our hospitality & save some bucks.

Heard a good joke on Conan O'Brien a few months ago. Don't remember the name of the comedian, but it went something like this: <BR> <BR>"The exchange rate in Canada is so good that I went into a store to buy some cigarettes, gave the clerk a 20 and she gave me back 35 dollars!"

I went on an Alaskan cruise, spent 2 nites post in Vancouver, which ended up being 6 nites because I was to fly home on 9/11, but I can say that Vancouver is a beautiful city. <BR> <BR>Mountains, water, cosmopolitian without being snobby. I was suprised at the heavily Asian influence, I guess I expected a typical Canadian city (whatever that is!)

We are having a very nice fall here in the Maritimes!! Come visit us. <BR> <BR>Halifax has lots to see and do. Better to make it here before the snow flys! <BR>

Our trip to the Canadian Rockies was one of our best ever. I've been recommending Canada to everyone I know. The scenery was gorgeous, the people great, few complications. I just need to figure out how to duplicate poutine to make my son happy.

I live a few miles from the Canandian border and we go back and forth frequently. Canada is a wonderful place to visit (or live). Very civilized and a real smorgasbord of cultures. We go to Toronto quite often and its a great city. for those of you with kids staring college in the face, Canada is a great deal. Wonderful universities and colleges, great value with the U.S. dollar, and some even offer scholarships and great prices to entice US students!

Several years ago I took a trip to the Pacific northwest and visited Victoria and Vancouver, taking the ferry past all the islands. It's such a beautiful area. People who have homes there are so lucky! What a great escape. I would LOVE to go back sometime and explore further. Unfortunately, I rarely have the opportunity to travel west (I live in New York). Now, I have my heart set on visiting Montreal and Quebec, two Canadian cities I've never seen, and maybe I'll get my "french fix" while I'm at it. Thanks for the reminder, XXX! Returning to Canada is definitely high on my list of destinations.

We spent about three weeks in Canada this summer going from Niagra to Alaska. Don't get me wrong, I love Canada, but don't think it is quite the bargain you might expect. Yes we can get more Canadian dollars for our US dollar, but prices are adjusted accordingly. For example most Ramada Limited hotels this summer in the US had a $49 special. In Canada it was $79 very nearly the same price, actually a little higher after you convert. We stayed at a number of Hyatt and Marriott Hotels in major cities in the US with specials of $99 to $129 US, but the Marriott Bloor Yorkville wouldn't go below $169 Canadian. And after we converted liters to US gallons and did the money coversion, we found that gasoline was by for the most expensive of anywhere we traveled this summer, including Alaska and California. Of course if you get out to the country and away from Toronto or Montreal things are cheaper, but that is true anywhere. If you travel in Nebraska or Iowa you will find that everything is much cheaper than in Chicago or New York. I keep a daily record of all expenses. The totals in Canada were generally a lot higher than our totals in the US, (yes, up to 50% higher in total dollars), but of course, after converting from Canadian to US we found that we were spending about the same.

Hmmm. Comparing Montreal & Toronto to Nebraska & Iowa? <BR> <BR>I've been to all four places, and all I can say is the old joke: The good thing about living in Nebraska is that real estate is cheap. The bad thing is that you have to live in Nebraska. <BR> <BR>The hotel-comparison thing seems silly: Ramada offers $49 deal "in the US" while it's $79 in Canada. Where in the US? Nebraska? Iowa? Fact is, after conversion, hotel rooms and food in big cities like Montreal & Toronto are much cheaper than in comparable places like New York and LA. <BR>(By the way, I'm an American, not Canadian.) <BR> <BR>Montreal is one of my favorite cities, and I'd go there again anytime.

I agree with Patrick, he's right, at least for Quebec City. I went there last August expecting all these great bargains given the hype and there were none, and some things cost more than in European capitals, for example. Most things cost about the same as in a large American city (and Quebec is a pretty small city), like hotels and food, they definitely were not cheaper because they do just raise the price up in CAD to account for the exchange rate difference. Some things were very expensive, like books, they cost the same as in Paris for French language paperbacks (I read French and thought that would be a good chance to get some French books cheap in comparison to importing them from France, but they cost the same as in France). Souvenir Tshirts, for exampler were about CAD30 or USD20 which is more expensive than I've paid in Paris or other Eur cities for a lousy Tshirt (they seem to be about USD10-12 routinely). Small grocery items cost the same as in US (about USD.60-.75 for a candy bar). I saw no bargains. As an aside, what's wrong with Canada's economy, anyway, that their money has declined so much in the last few years? It's against all currencies that I've noticed, so it's not a US dollar issue.

Isn't there some kind of goods and services tax in Canada which is pretty hefty?

No,North, you missed my point entirely. I was comparing the outreaches of Canada (small towns in Saskatchewan for example) with Nebraska and Iowa. What I meant was whenever I mention how Canada was really no cheaper than the US, people say, "oh you need to get out of the big cities." Of course that's true. What I was saying that just like Toronto and Montreal are more expensive than the small towns, so New York and Chicago are more expensive than Nebraska and Iowa. And that is not meant to be an insult to anyone from any of those places, it's just a fact of life. And my comparison still stands. I was comparing a $99 special at the Hyatt Whitney in Minneapolis and a $119 at a Marriott in Detroit (both including breakfast by the way) to the price of $169 for the Marriott in Toronto (no breakfast included and it was even over the weekend). I would consider those fair comparisons even thought the hotels in Minneapolis and Detroit were far superior to the one in Toronto. The final amount was pretty much the same -- certainly no bargain because I was in Canada. The Ramada comparison was between Ft. St. John in British Columbia as opposed to one in Perry, Georgia. I think my comparisons are fair. I'm NOT comparing a Ramada in Nebraska to one in Montreal, for example. Yes, I must agree that hotels in New York may still be higher than Canada, but not even necessarily there. Usually when I've stayed at the Marriott Marquis in NYC I've managed to negotiate a $149 rate. That's only slightly cheaper than the $169 Canadian at the much lesser quality one in Toronto. And incidentally that $169 rate was supposed to be a major bargain, about half of their usual rack rates. <BR>The high added taxes in Canada are another thing as well. Of course, I have filed and am supposed to get back a portion of those taxes from the hotels, but a lot still remains, and the taxes even on restaurants are pretty overwhelming.

Patrick-I was in Canada a year ago and filed to get my portion back and so far have received nada.

Canadian cities such as Montreal are great bargains, even with the 14% in taxes. For example, my wife bought a pair of Canadian made leather boots for $180 Canadian, with taxes. This is about $120 US. We got part of the tax back at the border, since the purchase was over $50. A typical good dinner will run about $20 - $30 Canadian plus 14% taxes. Where you can really make out is on a small B&B. I believe any small hotel or B&B is not taxed at all. Typical B&B's in Montreal are under $100 Canadian for 2, with breakfast included, which works out to about $65 US - not bad!

I often stay in nice B&B's in the US, especially in places like Savannah and Charleston as well as New Orleans. I would never pay $100 US for one, and seldom pay over $50 US. In my opinion $65 is still a fairly high price to pay for a B&B in Montreal. I agree with Patrick. You may get more Canadian dollars, but everything is marked up that many more dollars in Canada. Of course, there are exceptions.

Anyone who says that Canada is not a bargain right now is dead wrong or doesn't know where to shop. I lived in Canada for 5 years and have been living in the USA for the past 2 years and I can tell you that I can go to nice restaurants, buy clothes and go shopping for groceries far more cheaply than I can here in Baltimore. <BR> <BR>I'll give you an example from a recent trip to Montreal and Quebec City this past August...my friend pays CAN$32/month with equivalent facilities to go his gym in downtown Montreal vs. US$75 that I pay for mine in downtown Baltimore. Same stuff, but I pay a whole lot more...US$16.50 per day use here, CAN$11 per day use there. I bought a bagel with cream cheese an orange juice for breakfast at a stand in Montreal for CAN$1.95 this past trip (US$1.20). A gorgeous Simon's (similar to Banana Republic in style) shirt for $CAN20 ($US12.50). Coffee at an equitable coffee house for CAN$1 with refill...(US$0.62)...and they get their beans from cooperativas in Latin America; this is high quality coffee people. And let's not even talk about my friend's gorgeous loft apartment with a view of the Chateau Frontenac in downtown Quebec City which he pays only CAN$400 for...(US$270!!!!). <BR> <BR>Toronto and Vancouver are less of a bargain than the cities in Quebec, but I know there are some good deals to be had in Little Italy, the Kensington Market and Chinatown in Toronto.

Canada may indeed be a bargain right now, but the US economy needs our $$$$ a lot more.