Month long Canada trip - suggestions please?

[Vytalis]

Anyone got any 'must sees' on this route please:

Day 1: Fly in
Day 1-7: Toronto- Niagara
Day 7-11: Driving up the lakes from Toronto to Thunder Bay via Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie and 1 other (not booked yet - probably White River or Marathon-ish)
Day 11: Fly from Thunder Bay to Calgary
Day 11-14: Calgary
Day 15-28: Rockies and Vancouver (not booked yet)
Day 28: Fly to Toronto (not booked yet)
Day 28-30: Toronto
Day 30: Fly out

Seriously looking forward to it - first holiday (apart from a week in Tenerife) in about 5 years...

[Matt..]

Why don't you fly out from Vancouver instead of going back to toronto and then flying back?

[ewenm]

Years ago I flew into Toronto, went to Niagara, then Greyhound across the middle, to the Rockies, Banff, Jasper, Kamloops, Vancouver, fly home.

I was only 18 hence the bus

I'd recommend spending lots of time in the Rockies, but then I am a mountain-lover.

[Vytalis]

Matt.. said:

Why don't you fly out from Vancouver instead of going back to toronto and then flying back?

we're with our two young children and would rather split the flying into more manageable chunks so they're not bored out of their minds. Plus, it has worked out cheaper to get a return flight into and out of Toronto + an internal Vancouver to Toronto flight than book two singles.

[sawman]

Whilst in calgary the kids will probably enjoy the heritage village, and you should take a trip out to the alberta badlands, probably visit the royal tyrell dinosaur museum at Drumheller, its a dull drive to get there but a pretty cool place non the less.

Mavbe check out the okanagan valley whilst in BC, its a pretty nice spot

[The Leaper]

A few comments:

1. I remember being in Toronto many years ago on a business trip and I took an evening boat trip on the lake at Toronto...superb.

2. 7 days Toronto-Niagara looks a lot. It's a doable trip in one day although I'd recommend a day or two. If you decide to walk over the bridge into the USA for a bit of fun, then take your passports too! Niagara on the Lake (not Niagara itself) is a beautiful town well worth a stop overnight. There's a hotel I can recommend there and I could look up the details if necessary.

3. Sault St. Marie: many years ago I did a road trip with wife and young son which included a couple of days at SSM. Ahead, we booked a trip on the Agawa Canyon Railroad. This is longish all day trip up through the mountains and canyons north of SSM. All meals are provided throughout the day. The train stops for lunch at Agawa Canyon for a BBQ, then returns. It's about a 10 hour day from memory, well worth it.

R

[RedWhiteMonkey]

The falls at Niagara are obviously an awesome sight but Niagara itself is an awful tacky place. As said earlier Niagara on the Lake is very nice and there are plenty of surrrounding wineries to visit.

[Vytalis]

Thanks for all your comments - we're stopping at Sault Ste Marie for one night as part of the Toronto-Thunder Bay trip.

I've set aside 7 days at the start to cover Toronto and Niagara, 3 nights Toronto, 2 nights Niagara, 1 night Toronto

We're staying in Hiltons for 18 of the nights (HHonors points) but have yet to find hotels in Jasper, Clearwater, Thunder Bay and somewhere between Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay.

[Markytop]

Would recommend at somepoint in days 1-7 in Toronto, heading up to Ottawa and Montreal. The drive along the 1000 island parkway (memory seems to suggest it is called that) is spectacular, and there are loads of places to stop for a picnic, or a walk by the river. Alternatively if taking the 401 direct you can get to Montreal in about 6 hours drive, so easy to do in a couple of days.
Seven days in Toronto is a lot even for a great city, and to be honest Niagra, once you have seen the falls (which are great) is pretty much a sthole that you dont want to be spending time in.
Toronto Islands are great for kids though in the summer, what time of year are you going?

[Matt..]

How old are your kids?

Depending on their age, it might be fun to go whale watching out of Victoria/Vancouver? You might not be able to go on the RIB, but you could probably take a bigger boat!

[Vytalis]

we're flying out at the very end of this month. I've got at least four nights booked in Vancouver at the back end of the holiday so we'll try for whale watching then (need to check if it is the right season). Kids are 2.5 and 4 months (which might seem like a nightmare to some but they're really adaptable and sleep well so...). 6 hour trip each way from Toronto may be a bit much in one go though - I've had to plan the Toronto to Thunder Bay bit really carefully so we've not got the kids in the car for more than a couple of hours twice a day.

[havoc]

Markytop said:

Would recommend at somepoint in days 1-7 in Toronto, heading up to Ottawa and Montreal. The drive along the 1000 island parkway (memory seems to suggest it is called that) is spectacular, and there are loads of places to stop for a picnic, or a walk by the river. Alternatively if taking the 401 direct you can get to Montreal in about 6 hours drive, so easy to do in a couple of days.
Seven days in Toronto is a lot even for a great city, and to be honest Niagra, once you have seen the falls (which are great) is pretty much a sthole that you dont want to be spending time in.
Toronto Islands are great for kids though in the summer, what time of year are you going?

Agree with this. Niagara is definitely day-trip only, wouldn't want to overnight there.
- Toronto is nice but doesn't really warrant more than a couple of days in the city and a couple in the environs. Island was pretty cool - can play disc-golf there (frisbee golf, effectively...looked rather fun but they had a competition on when we went)
- Montreal is also very nice, worth a couple of days. Good food, too.
- Ottawa was really boring, but have the Mounties headquarters and have a half-decent Aviation Museum, both very close to each other.
- 1000 Island Parkway was pretty cool.


West coast - Vancouver Island is lovely, wish we'd had longer to spend there. Depending on how outdoorsy you all are you could spend ages there and in the Rockies. Make sure you do a whale-watching trip out of Victoria - we used Eagle Wing who were excellent - not sure what the opposite of clock-watching is, but the sun had set by the time our 'afternoon' trip returned to harbour!

Rockies - unless you're walking lots you'll be bored of mountains and lakes after~5 or 6 days (2-3 in each of Jasper and Banff parks is enough to see most stuff).

[keeplftxcpt2pass]

Plan to do this which will take less than a day, only 20 kms west of Calgary and well worth the drive.

http://www.braggcreek.ca/kananaskis/elbowfalls.htm

After the Falls go to the village of Bragg Creek for lunch you will love it.

If you have two young children, go here which is not far from Bragg Creek:

http://www.calawaypark.com/

[chrisdk]

Holy thread resurrection Batman !

Came across this conversation but after a bit of help to tailor it to my bespoke needs, thoughts / comments welcome.

Family of four (kids will be 11 and 8) planning to travel to Canada for three weeks next August where I’m currently thinking:

Fly to Toronto - 3/4 days, around the city and a drive out to Niagra (maybe with an overnight). We do enjoy a theme park so considering adding a day for Canada’s Wonderland - does it really compare to Universal in Florida ?

Fly to Calgary - Maybe an overnight here in the city. Next thought it 8 day motorhome rental, drive east to the dinosaur stuff then head back on ourselves and slowly wind to Jasper (I know it it’s only 150 miles but would to take it steady).

At Jasper I’d then either swap the motorhome for a car (or overnight train) and hightail it somehow to Vancouver / Vancouver Island for a final week touring round the beaches, whale watching etc.

Thoughts on this ? Does it seem a bit rushed ? Spending my too much time in Alberta at the expense of BC (I’ve been to Vancouver city a couple of times so know the immediate vicinity) ?

Also, anyone used Trailfinders ? They seem to have sourced me cheaper flights (cheaper than I can book direct) but figure I must be missing something ?

Cheers.

[wrencho]

chrisdk said:

Also, anyone used Trailfinders ?

We used TF for 2 weeks in SF and Canada (Banff for skiing). Couldn't fault them and no idea how they managed to get it priced so competitively. They do "leave you to it" a little bit in terms of making sure you've got all of the documentation you need but anyone with a brain that travels a bit should find it straightforward.

[chrisdk]

Thanks, we’re very confident independent travellers and wouldn’t consider an agent but the prices do seem too good to be true.

[wrencho]

they seemed pretty knowledgeable too other than lwetting us stay at the Fairmont Lake Louise for a couple of nights....which is a bit st. Should have stuck where we were in central Banff...

[RDMcG]

Toronto is now a big city compared to ten years ago. ; lots of new reatuarants, some funky streets like Queen Stree West. Niagara is a hole as many have mentioned but Niagara-on-the-Lake is really pretty among some very good vineyards; lots of places to stay and nearby. Just visit Niagara Falls to see the actual falls. The best was to see them is not well known to everyone...take the Power Station Tour and there is a very long tunnel that leads straight to the water's edge and you are very close. Need to book this:

https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/attractions/nia...

[chrisdk]

RDMcG said:

Toronto is now a big city compared to ten years ago. ; lots of new reatuarants, some funky streets like Queen Stree West. Niagara is a hole as many have mentioned but Niagara-on-the-Lake is really pretty among some very good vineyards; lots of places to stay and nearby. Just visit Niagara Falls to see the actual falls. The best was to see them is not well known to everyone...take the Power Station Tour and there is a very long tunnel that leads straight to the water's edge and you are very close. Need to book this:

https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/attractions/nia...

Oh wow, I’m a massive power station nerd but didn’t know about this - this is DEFINITELY going on the itinerary ! Cheers.

[Silvanus]

I can definitely recommend Algonquin Provincial Park.