To-ronto or not To-ronto? That is (not exactly) the question
June 16, 2017 10:06 AM Subscribe
Please help me plan my Canada trip!
I intend to go in early August for roughly 4 weeks. Will be flying into Vancouver, most likely flying out of Vancouver as well, but that depends on the answer to my question which is essentially: how long should I spend in BC and Alberta?
Please forgive the somewhat vague and lazy nature of my question. I've just been given a last minute (by my standards) opportunity to go to Canada (yay!), but I'm slightly panicked because I know almost nothing about Canada (except that I want to go there), and it'll be high season so I really need to get moving on organising and booking.
I'll be flying into Vancouver and I guess I'd like to visit the usual touristy spots - Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, some of the national parks around the Rockies and places like Banff and Calgary. My gut feel is that I could spend the whole 4 weeks in those places. Would this be about right, or should I go somewhere further afield to make the most of the trip?
How long do you think I should stay in each of the places I've mentioned? This can be a pretty rough estimate. I just don't want to allocate a week when you can see everything in 2 days, or vice versa.
Are there other places in BC/AB that I shouldn't miss?
Considerations:
I'm pretty much interested in whatever a place has to offer, be it natural beauty, wildlife, good food, shopping, art, museums, night life, quirkiness.
Having said that, I wouldn't be up for long hikes - probably 1/2 day max or maybe a day if it's to see something fantastic.
I'd lean towards the leisurely rather than the "see all the things as fast as possible!" end of the scale.
Would drive (well, my travel buddy would drive) if necessary but would prefer to get around with the least driving possible.
In case it isn't obvious from the question - I've never been to Canada before.
You better believe I'll be back with more questions Cortex is going to rue the day he increased the question limit muhahaha
Thanks AskMe!
Please forgive the somewhat vague and lazy nature of my question. I've just been given a last minute (by my standards) opportunity to go to Canada (yay!), but I'm slightly panicked because I know almost nothing about Canada (except that I want to go there), and it'll be high season so I really need to get moving on organising and booking.
I'll be flying into Vancouver and I guess I'd like to visit the usual touristy spots - Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, some of the national parks around the Rockies and places like Banff and Calgary. My gut feel is that I could spend the whole 4 weeks in those places. Would this be about right, or should I go somewhere further afield to make the most of the trip?
How long do you think I should stay in each of the places I've mentioned? This can be a pretty rough estimate. I just don't want to allocate a week when you can see everything in 2 days, or vice versa.
Are there other places in BC/AB that I shouldn't miss?
Considerations:
Thanks AskMe!
I'm not sure if you are actually thinking of driving to Toronto from Alberta, but obligatory driving-through-Saskatchewan-scenery comment.
(I'm a big fan of Western Ontario by Thunder Bay and Northern Minnesota, myself.)
posted by jillithd at 10:24 AM on June 16, 2017
(I'm a big fan of Western Ontario by Thunder Bay and Northern Minnesota, myself.)
posted by jillithd at 10:24 AM on June 16, 2017
There's lots to take up 4 weeks in BC and Alberta. If you are planning on driving, going further takes a long time. It's also really hard to travel there without driving.
While on Vancouver Island, you can head to Tofino. Maybe plan your ferry ride to Vancouver so you stop in the Gulf Islands. You can take ferries up the coast, too. Many years ago, Haida Gwaii seemed plenty quirky to me (and it's incredibly beautiful).
The Okanangan Valley has lots of wineries. There are hot spings and caves and ghost towns near Kootenay Lake. The Spiral Tunnels are cool. Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta is cool.
posted by TORunner at 10:42 AM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
While on Vancouver Island, you can head to Tofino. Maybe plan your ferry ride to Vancouver so you stop in the Gulf Islands. You can take ferries up the coast, too. Many years ago, Haida Gwaii seemed plenty quirky to me (and it's incredibly beautiful).
The Okanangan Valley has lots of wineries. There are hot spings and caves and ghost towns near Kootenay Lake. The Spiral Tunnels are cool. Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta is cool.
posted by TORunner at 10:42 AM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am the biggest Toronto fangirl as well as a resident and I have driven across the country! Unless you're going to fly or just love driving, I don't suggest trying to make it to Toronto within your 4 weeks. The Western part of our country is beautiful.
posted by warriorqueen at 10:59 AM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by warriorqueen at 10:59 AM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Skip Calgary and Edmonton. There's nothing in either city that justifies the time it would take to get to them.
posted by Dynex at 11:36 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Dynex at 11:36 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Vancouver to Toronto is just a bit farther than Perth to Sydney. If you're doing it, you're doing it by plane. Round trip is roughly $550 to $600 CAD. Budget a day travel each way (or an overnight redeye).
I'd stay on the west coast. Get across to the island and get out to Bamfield or Tofino. See Cathedral Grove. Drive the hope/princeton highway to Banff, stopping in manning park (the heather trail). Around Banff, see Lake Louise and Radium. Get to Calgary and see the Stampede (or parts of it). Stop at the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, then Edmonton. Get out to Elk Island National Park (buffalo), then back west to Jasper. See the Athabasca Falls, take a hike up Mt. Edith Cavell, see the Columbia Icefields and take the walk out over the glacier. From there Kamloops and the Shuswap/Salmon arm for some boating or fishing, then Vernon/Picton (and pick some peaches), then back to the big V. There stop at Vij's if you can, or the fresh seafood (Go Fish) food "truck" under Burrard Bridge.
posted by bonehead at 11:54 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd stay on the west coast. Get across to the island and get out to Bamfield or Tofino. See Cathedral Grove. Drive the hope/princeton highway to Banff, stopping in manning park (the heather trail). Around Banff, see Lake Louise and Radium. Get to Calgary and see the Stampede (or parts of it). Stop at the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, then Edmonton. Get out to Elk Island National Park (buffalo), then back west to Jasper. See the Athabasca Falls, take a hike up Mt. Edith Cavell, see the Columbia Icefields and take the walk out over the glacier. From there Kamloops and the Shuswap/Salmon arm for some boating or fishing, then Vernon/Picton (and pick some peaches), then back to the big V. There stop at Vij's if you can, or the fresh seafood (Go Fish) food "truck" under Burrard Bridge.
posted by bonehead at 11:54 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Torontonian here. Out west is pretty awesome, and there's lots of good advice upthread. You can definitely spend a whole month out there. It's pretty much all rocks and trees and lakes and trees and rocks - and the ocean. But some of the best examples of such things anywhere. So if that does it for you, then stay out there all month.
Toronto-Vancouver is pretty far, and one thing to think about is whether you're likely to come back to Canada. I see you're from Australia, so maybe this'll be your only time in Canada? Then maybe I see flying over here to Toronto. There's lots to do here. You're also close to, like, California, and Australians don't need a visa to go to the US. So maybe do that? Flights are more reasonable to San Francisco or LA.
I don't know about driving to Toronto. Sorry, winnipeg, but there isn't much between Calgary and Toronto that's worth time on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Not when an alternative would be to drive down the west coast of the USA.
Or fly to like, Whitehorse in the Yukon. That would be super cool, and not something you'd ever plan from Australia, but it's not difficult to get there from Vancouver.
Whatever you do, go to Tofino.
Enjoy!
posted by thenormshow at 12:27 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Toronto-Vancouver is pretty far, and one thing to think about is whether you're likely to come back to Canada. I see you're from Australia, so maybe this'll be your only time in Canada? Then maybe I see flying over here to Toronto. There's lots to do here. You're also close to, like, California, and Australians don't need a visa to go to the US. So maybe do that? Flights are more reasonable to San Francisco or LA.
I don't know about driving to Toronto. Sorry, winnipeg, but there isn't much between Calgary and Toronto that's worth time on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Not when an alternative would be to drive down the west coast of the USA.
Or fly to like, Whitehorse in the Yukon. That would be super cool, and not something you'd ever plan from Australia, but it's not difficult to get there from Vancouver.
Whatever you do, go to Tofino.
Enjoy!
posted by thenormshow at 12:27 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Whitehorse, Yukon is a relatively short and inexpensive flight from Vancouver (definitely take Air North- you get a meal and warm cookie!). It's very pretty and will give you a different experience from the south, and the round-the-clock daylight is pretty neat. There are lots and lots of trails in town that make you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Carcross is an easy 45 min drive and very, very scenic with cute shops, cafe and restaurant.
posted by bighappyhairydog at 12:46 PM on June 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by bighappyhairydog at 12:46 PM on June 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
Ottawa has new stuff in their museums for Canada's sesquicenntenial.
posted by brujita at 1:28 PM on June 16, 2017
posted by brujita at 1:28 PM on June 16, 2017
Spend the whole time in BC. There is So Much to see. There are the Gulf Islands, and Okanagan wine country, and ghost towns, and music festivals, the Squamish Valley, the Kootemeys, the Thompson Valley, the Kettle River bike trail... And this is like 5% of thr province. you will not be bored.
posted by PercussivePaul at 1:47 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by PercussivePaul at 1:47 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Stay on the west coast. Agreeing with thenormshow, a flight up to Whitehorse would be totally worth it at that time of year. Toronto is another nice big city while the Yukon is unlike anything you get in Australia. Gulf islands, Okanagan, plenty to do.
posted by N-stoff at 3:30 PM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by N-stoff at 3:30 PM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
So many points:
- Unless you book some sort of all-in tour, you're likely in for a fair bit of driving; sorry. That said, the larger cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton) have sufficiently workable public transit if you stay someplace central, so the driver gets a few days off.
- If you're here from early August to early September, it may be worth checking out some of the summer festivals. Two worth thinking about - maybe less as a must-see detour and more if going to be passing through Edmonton and are figuring out when - are the Edmonton Fringe theatre festival (Aug 17-27) and Edmonton Folk music festival (Aug 10-13). You'll be too late for the Calgary Stampede.
- This year is Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, and national parks passes are free. This means that even larger crowds are expected than usual; I would try to plan a schedule so that you're in the national parks (especially Banff) primarily on weekdays. For the love of God, be somewhere other than Banff during the long weekends (Aug 5-7, Sep 2-4 in both AB and BC).
- In the parks areas, definitely do a little walking. I'm sure you'll be at Lake Louise. There are thousands of tourists that stop at the end of the lake, enjoy the view (which is marvellous) and then move on; it's a sea of humanity. If you hike for like half an hour along the flat path alongside the lake, you'll maybe not be alone, but it'll be a lot more peaceful. (I do recommend reading about bear safety for a couple of minutes, though at least they aren't poisonous.)
- I think the real do-not-miss gems are Tofino/Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, and Lake Louise/Banff/Icefields Parkway/Jasper. Actually, bonehead's itinerary is pretty plausible.
- Locally to me, I'll defend Calgary's honour -- there's a few interesting neigbourhoods, a few pleasant parks, a pretty good zoo if that's your thing, and if nothing else, it's a nice break from the mountains and the mountain prices and touristy-ness. I'd also recommend the badlands around Drumheller and Tyrell museum, which is a world-class paleontology museum, a plausible daytrip from Calgary, and a totally different environment from the mountains and coast - you get a tiny sense of the vastness of the prairies on the way.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:07 PM on June 16, 2017
- Unless you book some sort of all-in tour, you're likely in for a fair bit of driving; sorry. That said, the larger cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton) have sufficiently workable public transit if you stay someplace central, so the driver gets a few days off.
- If you're here from early August to early September, it may be worth checking out some of the summer festivals. Two worth thinking about - maybe less as a must-see detour and more if going to be passing through Edmonton and are figuring out when - are the Edmonton Fringe theatre festival (Aug 17-27) and Edmonton Folk music festival (Aug 10-13). You'll be too late for the Calgary Stampede.
- This year is Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, and national parks passes are free. This means that even larger crowds are expected than usual; I would try to plan a schedule so that you're in the national parks (especially Banff) primarily on weekdays. For the love of God, be somewhere other than Banff during the long weekends (Aug 5-7, Sep 2-4 in both AB and BC).
- In the parks areas, definitely do a little walking. I'm sure you'll be at Lake Louise. There are thousands of tourists that stop at the end of the lake, enjoy the view (which is marvellous) and then move on; it's a sea of humanity. If you hike for like half an hour along the flat path alongside the lake, you'll maybe not be alone, but it'll be a lot more peaceful. (I do recommend reading about bear safety for a couple of minutes, though at least they aren't poisonous.)
- I think the real do-not-miss gems are Tofino/Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, and Lake Louise/Banff/Icefields Parkway/Jasper. Actually, bonehead's itinerary is pretty plausible.
- Locally to me, I'll defend Calgary's honour -- there's a few interesting neigbourhoods, a few pleasant parks, a pretty good zoo if that's your thing, and if nothing else, it's a nice break from the mountains and the mountain prices and touristy-ness. I'd also recommend the badlands around Drumheller and Tyrell museum, which is a world-class paleontology museum, a plausible daytrip from Calgary, and a totally different environment from the mountains and coast - you get a tiny sense of the vastness of the prairies on the way.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:07 PM on June 16, 2017
If you are driving between BC and Alberta I highly recommend a stop at Lussier hot springs. It's out of the way but it is a undeveloped gem accessible by a pretty good logging road. It is an authentic hotspring rather than a public pool thing.
posted by srboisvert at 4:50 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by srboisvert at 4:50 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Four weeks is along time but not enough time to drive to TO.
One amazing trip would be to take the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, then drive up the island to Port Hardy. Take the ferry to Prince Rupert, then drive Hey 16 east. The road from Rupert to Houston is truly God's country, and very very few BCers ever get to see it. The Hazeltons and Kispiox are worth stopping at.
At Prince George, swing south. Drive the Fraser Canyon. Head west at Lytton and drive back to Van on the Sea-to-Sky via Whistler. An incredible trip. Would take a leisurely two weeks.
posted by My Dad at 9:27 PM on June 16, 2017
One amazing trip would be to take the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, then drive up the island to Port Hardy. Take the ferry to Prince Rupert, then drive Hey 16 east. The road from Rupert to Houston is truly God's country, and very very few BCers ever get to see it. The Hazeltons and Kispiox are worth stopping at.
At Prince George, swing south. Drive the Fraser Canyon. Head west at Lytton and drive back to Van on the Sea-to-Sky via Whistler. An incredible trip. Would take a leisurely two weeks.
posted by My Dad at 9:27 PM on June 16, 2017
I'm in Toronto and I say trust your gut and stay out west. I love my town but it's too far to travel. Even flying would burn up a lot of your trip with a couple days of travel and the jet lag. Plus, you'll have flown a long way already.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:47 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:47 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all so much for your helpful responses!
To clarify, I would fly rather than drive to Toronto or elsewhere east but you've all convinced me to stay out west anyway... and I'll just have to scrape the money and leave together for another trip in the future :)
posted by pianissimo at 10:28 PM on June 16, 2017
To clarify, I would fly rather than drive to Toronto or elsewhere east but you've all convinced me to stay out west anyway... and I'll just have to scrape the money and leave together for another trip in the future :)
posted by pianissimo at 10:28 PM on June 16, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
And if you feel like a bit more driving, going from Banff up to Jasper is very pretty and there are some nice hot springs further up there - Miette and Radium Hot Springs are a lot less crowded than the one in Banff. I would skip the Banff hot springs as it's just too busy and not hot enough.
Just make sure to plan enough time to get places - driving from Vancouver to Banff is 850km! And there are only so many ferries from Vancouver to Victoria.
posted by GuyZero at 10:20 AM on June 16, 2017