Holiday in Canada

[H18 SFR]

Really struggling for ideas of where to go on holiday. Used to love the USA but no enjoyed the last couple.

Has anyone any recommendations of where to go in Canada?

[Colr]

Train across the rockies to Vancouver

[Cataplana]

Really struggling for ideas of where to go on holiday. Used to love the USA but no enjoyed the last couple.

Has anyone any recommendations of where to go in Canada?

Quebec City

[hibs#1]

Been out to Alberta twice,Calgary, Edmonton, Jasper the Rockies etc. Really lovely place probably nicest country I've been in by a distance if you do go out this way check out the Calgary stampede.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

Montreal is just such a vibrant cool vibe city imo. Toronto less so.

[WeeRussell]

I've been to Edmonton, Alberta (cool north american city) and Saskatchewan (lovely relaxing getaway to the lakes). This was around 10 years ago now.

I loved Canada. Would 100% go back.

[JeMeSouviens]

Montreal is just such a vibrant cool vibe city imo. Toronto less so.

I went to Montreal almost 25 years ago for a work trip and loved it. I've also been to Ottawa and Vancouver. Montreal's Frenchness but North Americanness makes it a really different city. Vancouver also great but is more like nearby US cities, eg. Portland or Seattle. The coast mountains are spectacular if you like the outdoors.

H18 SFR - what sort of stuff do you like to do on hols? Might help the hibs.net trip advisory panel?

[kevinc]

I worked in Montreal in 2013, fantastic city with lots to do, also a decent base if looking to travel across the country or venture to Boston or NY.

[Onceinawhile]

Train across the rockies to Vancouver

The rocky mountaineer?

That was on "the world's most scenic railway journeys" a couple of Fridays ago. Looked brilliant.

[LancashireHibby]

Montreal is just such a vibrant cool vibe city imo. Toronto less so.
Never been to Montreal but I sounds like I should do as I was in Toronto for a week last year and absolutely loved it.

[GlesgaeHibby]

Heading west from Calgary through the Rockies and into BC is stunning. We drove from Calgary to Vancouver via Lake Louise and Kelowna (BC wine region). Stunning all the way.

East of Calgary is flat, empty, nothing until you get to Ontario.

[Bristolhibby]

Went skiing in Quebec when I was a teenager. Loved it.

Been to Toronto a couple of times and went on holiday when I was a kid.

Been years since I’ve been there though. Hear it’s more pricy than the States.

J

[stu in nottingham]

I've spent a lot of time in Canada over the years and visited country-wide. Cities visited/stayed in include Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa Toronto and Saint John. Smaller cities include Kelowna, (my favourite), Vernon, Penticton Oshawa, Kitchener, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Belleville, Saint-Anne-du-lac, Banff, Jasper. I came to love it dearly and still think it's a most wonderful country.

I think the first thing to be decided on is east or west. It's such a huge country that it's not practicable to visit both. I personally, in general, prefer the west. Significant exceptions to this are Montreal and the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. The maritime Provinces whilst great to visit are possibly not necessarily what people might think of a 'traditional' Canada to visit, i.e. mountainous and huge lakes. Pretty much the same with Ontario too.

I'd suggest basing a holiday around British Columbia and Alberta for a first visit, maybe even just one of those Provinces. Internal flights between the major cities in those Province are probably the way to go though but can be a little pricey. Don't think about driving from Alberta to Vancouver, say, in the winter. It's long and can be very arduous and testing in the blizzards and intense cold.

Vancouver is a gorgeous city and of course the bonus is it's on the ocean. The weather is much different to most of the rest of Canada in that it's quite temperate - a bit like English conditions and can be a little rainy and not masses of snow like other places. It's extremely cosmopolitan and the eating out options are fantastic due to this. There's an outdoor cafe culture in the winter.

Edmonton is a brilliant place for festivals and the people are exceptionally friendly. Winter conditions can be barbaric with -40c not unusual but summers are very pleasant. It's a great sporting city with the Oilers and the Eskimos. Calgary is a very smart city with lots to do and a climate that is extremely changeable - even overnight - due to the Chinook winds. It's only 90 minutes drive from the Rockies though and they can actually be seen from parts of the city. The Badlands dinosaur area is accessible from the city.

Banff and Jasper in Albert are well visited and for good reason, as they'be both absolutely beautiful. Jasper feels a little bit more rural and less commercialised. If it's mountains and lakes you're after you could do a lot worse and not much better.

Perhaps the place I came to think of as home much was the Okanagen area. The lake is around 100 miles long and the summer weather fantastic, very hot and sunny. There are several attractive small cities and I would recommend Kelowna which is a city of around 90,000. It's expensive to live there but as a visitor it has a bit of everything. Surrounded by huge mountains, wineries, soft fruit nurseries. Skiing is an accessible drive in the winter. There are nice bars and restaurants, especially near the attractive Marina. Vancouver is 4-5 hours drive.

If I can be of any help please just let me know.

[overdrive]

My mate moved to Montreal in the summer. Hoping to try and get out their to visit next year depending on how my finances are post-divorce and house move.

Is it easy enough to get to other places from there, like Toronto? Are they decent enough for solo travellers?

[stu in nottingham]

My mate moved to Montreal in the summer. Hoping to try and get out their to visit next year depending on how my finances are post-divorce and house move.

Is it easy enough to get to other places from there, like Toronto? Are they decent enough for solo travellers?

Montreal - Toronto is around 5.5-6hrs drive, Quebec City is about 3-4hrs and Ottawa around 3hrs.

The Laurentian Mountains are beautiful with attractive towns and villages. Well worth looking into.

I wouldn't say Montreal is necessarily the most central place to tour from but it has major destinations like the above which are not 'far' in Canadian terms. It's also a fantastic city to stay in.

[ballengeich]

My mate moved to Montreal in the summer. Hoping to try and get out their to visit next year depending on how my finances are post-divorce and house move.

Is it easy enough to get to other places from there, like Toronto? Are they decent enough for solo travellers?

Hope the finances hold up. If you're happy going around solo in this country you'll do fine in Canada too.

I travelled from Toronto to Montreal by train, buying the tickets from here through the viarail site and picking them up when I got there. I then took a train from Montreal to New York - a fine journey through hilly country. There are plenty trains and buses between the major cities. However, if you're going out into the countryside you might need a car.

[JeMeSouviens]

My mate moved to Montreal in the summer. Hoping to try and get out their to visit next year depending on how my finances are post-divorce and house move.

Is it easy enough to get to other places from there, like Toronto? Are they decent enough for solo travellers?

"Open jaw" tickets can be good for this kind of thing, eg. fly into Montreal, back home from Toronto. Saves having to make the return journey to the original airport.

You can get an idea on sites like Skyscanner using the "multi-city" option and fill in the out and return legs separately. Generally, scheduled flights can be bought a year in advance but they usually drop considerably a few months out and then start to go back up again near the time. 4-6 months before travel is roughly the sweet spot.

Quebec City -> Montreal -> Ottawa -> Toronto would be a great long-ish trip with lots to see along the way.

[Cataplana]

"Open jaw" tickets can be good for this kind of thing, eg. fly into Montreal, back home from Toronto. Saves having to make the return journey to the original airport.

You can get an idea on sites like Skyscanner using the "multi-city" option and fill in the out and return legs separately. Generally, scheduled flights can be bought a year in advance but they usually drop considerably a few months out and then start to go back up again near the time. 4-6 months before travel is roughly the sweet spot.

Quebec City -> Montreal -> Ottawa -> Toronto would be a great long-ish trip with lots to see along the way.

Beware who you buy the tickets from though. Last year I bought from an agent, and had no comeback when our connecting flight was changed.

If I'd booked direct with the airline, I could have avoided a five hour delay by switching flight. The agent wanted a big fee to do it.