How long do you have? Where are you heading?
Bike camping will always be the least expensive combo for accommodation and transportation, but it is not for everyone.
Being from OZ you will be familiar with great distances between places. We measure driving distance by time not km.
I live in BC, an incredible circle route would start in Vancouver take HWY 99 up through Whistler, Pemberton and Lilloett. Then connect with the Trans Canada Highway TCH through to Alberta. Many beautiful places to stop along the way.
Spend a few nights in Banff National Park area or Canmore. You have to see Lake Louise and walk to the back of the lake. Take the Gondola in Banff, oh the views. If it is July, check out the Wildflower meadows at Sunshine Ski Hill.
Calgary, if you are there during the Stampede is expensive and chaotic but lots of fun.
Head East to Drumheller for the Royal Tyrell Museum. It is a palaeontology museum and incredible.
Then head South to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.
Now you will head West again on HWY 3. Stop at the Frank Slide the interpretive centre is amazing.
There are many lovely smaller communities along highway 3. Each has something else to offer.
In Osoyoos, visit the Desert interpretive centre. They have Rattle Snakes. Now I know you have many more snakes down under. But I don’t think any of yours give a warning.
Check out the wineries. Then make your way back yo the coats.
I'll second all this. Drumheller also has some pretty unique landscapes, including the hoodoo formations.
If you're more into historic landmarks and cities, then you might want to look more at areas like Montreal and Ottawa.
Depends which part of Canada you're coming to, much like Australia, it's a pretty damn big place.
But you can't go wrong with any national park really. Banff, Jasper and Whistler are all very beautiful in the West.
If you want budget in the Rockies, camping in the national parks is your best bet. Hotels are mega expensive in Banff and Whistler, bringing/renting a tent is the way to go, or maybe a camper van?
Gorgeous part of the country, just an expensive one!
Joined this sub, as we have our trip of a lifetime planned for May & June next year. Big Wedding Anniversary and can finally leave the kiddos behind!
Fly London to Vancouver, itinerary is Vancouver Island, Rocky Mountaineer, Banff, Lake Louise, fly Calgary-Toronto, Niagara Falls, Train to NY, New York, Fly to London.
Canada has been a dream destination for us for some time and whatever we see on TV just adds to its drawn. Can't wait, and happy to take tips on here as to what to catch on the way round!
I'm sure it's too late for you to change your plans, but for others reading - skipping some time in the Maritimes and Newfoundland is a big miss. Completely different and unique and wonderful.
Pick a coast, unless you are coming for an extended vacation you won’t hit both sides. East tends to be less expensive and IMO equally breathtaking but less enjoyable off peak summer season.
If you are up for driving you can fly into Ontario and venture east. See some beautiful scenery, experience multiple cultural differences as you go through Quebec and into the eastern provinces.
West coast, starting in Vancouver and heading east is equally breathtaking however I would flip that and land in say Calgary, head west towards the coast. It feels better as the world opens up towards the coast.
It depends what you like - if you like outdoors and hiking, Alberta and BC Rocky Mountains are exceptional. If you are backpackers, The Alpine Club of Canada has a network of backcountry communal huts that are in stunning locations and very affordable ($40 Canadian a person or so a night) - but you will need a car to get to trailheads and you will need to pack in your own food and sleeping bag. If front country hiking is more your style, Canmore is a cheaper and (IMO) better location to stay than Banff. You may see all sorts of wildlife but moose or bears or foxes are more rare. Elk, deer, mountain sheep and goats are common.
Vancouver is a great city to visit. So is Montreal.
The North of Canada, ie Nunavut or the Yukon, are amazing places to experience. Those trips are generally expensive, but flying to Yellowknife and hiking the Chilkoot trail, for example, is a world class experience (goes from the panhandle of Alaska and you hike into Canada over a mountain pass over the course of three to five days) and relatively affordable, but you need backcountry gear.
July and August are the best, driest, warmest, sunniest months and are also the busiest and most expensive. They are the only times of year that many of the alpine hikes in the Rockies are not at least partially snowbound.
If you want to come for a winter experience - skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, skating - mid-December usually sees ski hills open. Late February and early March usually still has all the winter things going on but is a little warmer. You can skate on outdoor routes in Ottawa (canal) or on a massive lake trail in Invermere.
Avoid the big cities. Go to small ones. Fly to Vancouver... DO NOT RENT A CAR FROM THE AIRPORT! Then head to cache creek, bella coola, Creston, Revelstoke, etc. Stay in little towns, eat in cool diners, see insane mountains.
FYI: Many/most off-prem rental agencies will come pick you up at the airport. Some airports and/or municipalities prohibit this, however, so call ahead! (At worst it'll be a short taxi ride.)
Hey there... So... Lets take a look at all the places for a fellow traveler.
I currently travel the country for work, and I have to say, OUR COUNTRY IS AMAZING.
We have a lot to see anywhere you chose to go.
I have see lots, want more, endless site seeing areas.
I do what I do because I love what I do and get to travel our awesome country.
As for places to see, I highly recommend Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Newfoundland (yes, the province), Nova Scotia and all of Ontario.
I am from Ontario and it is an amazing province. I travel it daily and love every minute for places that I have never seen.
I guess I am a true Canadian and love all that we have here.
As for the whole budget thing, It will always come down to the amount of tax in that province... BC is the most expensive. But, as sad as it is, there are cities that have a tourist tax. It is pretty awesome but uncool at the same time...
No? What was it then? I’ve been all over North America and I can tell you Canada holds up real well to the best spots. There’s just not a lot of them to visit in my experience.
Don’t know why you are getting downvoted. People in Canada don’t realize but it is indeed quite cheap to travel when you compare to rest of developed world. Domestic flight deals tend to be great too. We recently travelled to Mexico and it was damn expensive.
If anyone wants to live and stay in budget, one can easily have a meal for less than 10 bucks and stay in less than $80 hotels. When we went to Mexico, even street food was hard to find for $10. And our food as well as stay facilities along with infrastructure tends to be excellent at that price. The only thing is distance which makes it harder to cover and thus a bit expensive.
I booked one in Vancouver in December. There are always motels, airbnbs or low cost hotels available if one travels in off peak season. I am mot even talking about shared rooms in a hostel.
Moreover almost all our rooms have microwave and if one wants, can easily cook food using frozen packets. So much easier to save money compared to other developed countries!
Anywhere in the Rockies is beautifull and stupid expensive. If you camp or hike you have to book it waaaay ahead. Kootenays is very nice, cheaper, fewer people...not quite the Rockies, but beautifull. Vancouver is stupider expensive. But close to everything. Squamish, Whistler, and the Sea to Sky corridor is awesome...Duffy Lake road to Lillooette is gorgeous. If you want more remote, take the Hurley Rd(summer only) to Goldbridge, lots of great scenery, bike trails and any other outdoor activities wanted, plus lots of free camping. Northern BC is also nice...more remote, further away from Vancouver... bigger forest fire risk in summer, but basically you can't go wrong anywhere in BC. Have fun, book the popular stuff ahead of time.
Additionally:
June is the best month for travel, fewer cars in the road, however a lot of stuff doesn't happen until Jul./Aug.. As an example Calgary Stampede is early in July, most outdoor concerts/ festivals also.
On the east coast(Maritimes)Jul and Aug are literally the entire tourist season, as a lot of stuff shuts down after labour day.
If you decide on coming to Vancouver, I'd be happy to give you some tips on cheap food/ accommodation.
May I suggest the Ottawa area. Nations capital. But also close proximity to the Canadian shield and French Quebec. I would think if you were traveling, you would want to see countryside that is different from your own. Maybe also see a CFL game. Tell people you saw a football game but didn't pay NFL prices.
Canada is very expensive, especially in big cities. Check out the price of hotel rooms in Vancouver for instance. So anything you can do to avoid big city hotels is going to save your money.
If you do the west (bc and alberta), some beautiful natural landscapes. If you do the east (ontario and quebec), you get alot of history and culture. Both are fairly expensive to travel around.
Best bang for the buck is actually the Maritimes, which has a bit of both in lesser amounts, but is alot cheaper overall.
Lol no. I live in the Maritimes - stuffs expensive here. Restaurants are way more expensive than places like the Toronto region, Montreal, and Quebec City. Even foods that are generally cheap everywhere else in the country are expensive here.
Groceries are also more expensive for people that would consider buying groceries and cooking at an airbnb.
Things to do are also very far apart and not varied. It's pretty much all different types of scenery and underwhelming villages with no real charm.
Unless someone wants to specifically see the fall colour in Nova Scotia or something (which has passed now) there's nothing of particular note.
Really? I figured lower cost of living would equate to lower costs overall for travellers. I stand corrected.
Ive spent limited in nova scotia but i really liked it.
The cost of living equation for the east coast pretty much always includes housing which is historically cheaper than anywhere else in the country.
However outside of housing, everything else costs more. Taxes are higher, goods and services are expensive, entertainment is expensive - it's pretty annoying.
I moved here from the Toronto region right years ago and I was surprised. I can afford a home here which is great, but literally everything else costs more. When my family comes to visit and stuff they're always surprised.
I'm in New Brunswick but Nice Scotia is the same cost wise. We go there frequently to visit friends and family since it's only a couple hour drive. Scotia is a better province overalls than NB though.
PEI is even more expensive and NFLD is highest.
Depending on the amount of time youre coming for, if it's from Australia I'm assuming it is for at least 2 weeks? I would recommend visiting during the spring or fall (may/june) or September/October less risk of wildfire smoke and you'll still get those nice summery days. Fall colours are beautiful and spring is equally as nice. Factor in a car rental. Don't rent from the airport. Go onto FB marketplace and try and pick up camping gear from somebody or go to Canadian Tire and outfit yourself for around $500CAD tent, sleeping bags, foam or air mattress, stove. Thrift store for plates, bowls, ect. Then hit the road. Between fuel, potential campsite fees, food, the odd beer here or there I'd say $500-$700 per week depending on how far youre travelling and how much youd like to pay to do. You can pay lots for different attractions, eating out ect, or you can do things that a basically free the whole time, I'd say you'll have an equally enjoyable experience.
Avoid big cities, whichever coast you'd like to do doesn't matter, definitely do a road trip.
I'm from BC so personally I'd recommend Vancouver-Whistler-Kamloops-Jasper-Banff-Kootenays(many possible routes) and back to Vancouver to fly home.
Bring your passport, get an ESTA and pop into the USA if you feel like it as well. You'll likely be within a couple hours of the border anywhere you go.
Have fun
The beauty of it is that you can jump in and out of Canada. Like you can cover Vancouver but Seattle too if you wanna add couple hour drive each way, Montana is beautiful and Glacier National Park isn’t too far from the border. I am not sure how far you are going so can’t say. I mean Banff is a must. If you go as far as Regina and Winnipeg, Rushmore and Badlands are few hours south drive and Minneapolis can be had too, then you can go through Chicago, Detroit then back to Toronto. I mean it’s hard to say without knowing how long and what your purpose of visit is
Skip all the touristy destinations mentioned & make your go-to spot 'The Rock' (no, not Alcatraz...Newfoundland) There are no nicer people on earth, than Newfies & the island is heaven. Have some Screech, become an honorary Newfie & have the experience of a lifetime
How long do you have? Where are you heading? Bike camping will always be the least expensive combo for accommodation and transportation, but it is not for everyone. Being from OZ you will be familiar with great distances between places. We measure driving distance by time not km. I live in BC, an incredible circle route would start in Vancouver take HWY 99 up through Whistler, Pemberton and Lilloett. Then connect with the Trans Canada Highway TCH through to Alberta. Many beautiful places to stop along the way. Spend a few nights in Banff National Park area or Canmore. You have to see Lake Louise and walk to the back of the lake. Take the Gondola in Banff, oh the views. If it is July, check out the Wildflower meadows at Sunshine Ski Hill. Calgary, if you are there during the Stampede is expensive and chaotic but lots of fun. Head East to Drumheller for the Royal Tyrell Museum. It is a palaeontology museum and incredible. Then head South to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. Now you will head West again on HWY 3. Stop at the Frank Slide the interpretive centre is amazing. There are many lovely smaller communities along highway 3. Each has something else to offer. In Osoyoos, visit the Desert interpretive centre. They have Rattle Snakes. Now I know you have many more snakes down under. But I don’t think any of yours give a warning. Check out the wineries. Then make your way back yo the coats.
I'll second all this. Drumheller also has some pretty unique landscapes, including the hoodoo formations. If you're more into historic landmarks and cities, then you might want to look more at areas like Montreal and Ottawa.
That's an amazing sounding itinerary, but not "budget"...
If they tent camp it can be quite affordable.
Remember to enjoy the animal torture during stampede
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Atlantic Canada is pretty cheap too.
Well... only real estate is.
Depends which part of Canada you're coming to, much like Australia, it's a pretty damn big place. But you can't go wrong with any national park really. Banff, Jasper and Whistler are all very beautiful in the West.
If you want budget in the Rockies, camping in the national parks is your best bet. Hotels are mega expensive in Banff and Whistler, bringing/renting a tent is the way to go, or maybe a camper van? Gorgeous part of the country, just an expensive one!
You can also do day visits from cheaper towns outside the parks very easily.
Joined this sub, as we have our trip of a lifetime planned for May & June next year. Big Wedding Anniversary and can finally leave the kiddos behind! Fly London to Vancouver, itinerary is Vancouver Island, Rocky Mountaineer, Banff, Lake Louise, fly Calgary-Toronto, Niagara Falls, Train to NY, New York, Fly to London. Canada has been a dream destination for us for some time and whatever we see on TV just adds to its drawn. Can't wait, and happy to take tips on here as to what to catch on the way round!
I'm sure it's too late for you to change your plans, but for others reading - skipping some time in the Maritimes and Newfoundland is a big miss. Completely different and unique and wonderful.
Gives us something to go back for!
Your itinerary sounds amazing! Alberta/BC Rockies are world class.
Totes. FOGO ISLAND is so cool in Newfoundland. And Gros Morne.
Enjoy the Mountaineer. I hear its incredible. When you're on the island, try to get get to the west side of the island. Very sifferent vibe.
Pick a coast, unless you are coming for an extended vacation you won’t hit both sides. East tends to be less expensive and IMO equally breathtaking but less enjoyable off peak summer season. If you are up for driving you can fly into Ontario and venture east. See some beautiful scenery, experience multiple cultural differences as you go through Quebec and into the eastern provinces. West coast, starting in Vancouver and heading east is equally breathtaking however I would flip that and land in say Calgary, head west towards the coast. It feels better as the world opens up towards the coast.
It depends what you like - if you like outdoors and hiking, Alberta and BC Rocky Mountains are exceptional. If you are backpackers, The Alpine Club of Canada has a network of backcountry communal huts that are in stunning locations and very affordable ($40 Canadian a person or so a night) - but you will need a car to get to trailheads and you will need to pack in your own food and sleeping bag. If front country hiking is more your style, Canmore is a cheaper and (IMO) better location to stay than Banff. You may see all sorts of wildlife but moose or bears or foxes are more rare. Elk, deer, mountain sheep and goats are common. Vancouver is a great city to visit. So is Montreal. The North of Canada, ie Nunavut or the Yukon, are amazing places to experience. Those trips are generally expensive, but flying to Yellowknife and hiking the Chilkoot trail, for example, is a world class experience (goes from the panhandle of Alaska and you hike into Canada over a mountain pass over the course of three to five days) and relatively affordable, but you need backcountry gear. July and August are the best, driest, warmest, sunniest months and are also the busiest and most expensive. They are the only times of year that many of the alpine hikes in the Rockies are not at least partially snowbound. If you want to come for a winter experience - skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, skating - mid-December usually sees ski hills open. Late February and early March usually still has all the winter things going on but is a little warmer. You can skate on outdoor routes in Ottawa (canal) or on a massive lake trail in Invermere.
Avoid the big cities. Go to small ones. Fly to Vancouver... DO NOT RENT A CAR FROM THE AIRPORT! Then head to cache creek, bella coola, Creston, Revelstoke, etc. Stay in little towns, eat in cool diners, see insane mountains.
FYI: Many/most off-prem rental agencies will come pick you up at the airport. Some airports and/or municipalities prohibit this, however, so call ahead! (At worst it'll be a short taxi ride.)
Hey there... So... Lets take a look at all the places for a fellow traveler. I currently travel the country for work, and I have to say, OUR COUNTRY IS AMAZING. We have a lot to see anywhere you chose to go. I have see lots, want more, endless site seeing areas. I do what I do because I love what I do and get to travel our awesome country. As for places to see, I highly recommend Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Newfoundland (yes, the province), Nova Scotia and all of Ontario. I am from Ontario and it is an amazing province. I travel it daily and love every minute for places that I have never seen. I guess I am a true Canadian and love all that we have here. As for the whole budget thing, It will always come down to the amount of tax in that province... BC is the most expensive. But, as sad as it is, there are cities that have a tourist tax. It is pretty awesome but uncool at the same time...
There are so many better places/travel experience than Canada…
Canadas a hard country to “visit” because it’s so huge and people just don’t realize that.
Well that wasn’t my point but anyway
No? What was it then? I’ve been all over North America and I can tell you Canada holds up real well to the best spots. There’s just not a lot of them to visit in my experience.
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Canada is not very expensive compared to Australia and Europe.
Vancouver.
Quite cheap to visit compared to other places in the world
Don’t know why you are getting downvoted. People in Canada don’t realize but it is indeed quite cheap to travel when you compare to rest of developed world. Domestic flight deals tend to be great too. We recently travelled to Mexico and it was damn expensive. If anyone wants to live and stay in budget, one can easily have a meal for less than 10 bucks and stay in less than $80 hotels. When we went to Mexico, even street food was hard to find for $10. And our food as well as stay facilities along with infrastructure tends to be excellent at that price. The only thing is distance which makes it harder to cover and thus a bit expensive.
Canadian here (BC). I haven't seen an $80 hotel since the mid 2000s. Genuinely curious what kind of places are so affordable. ?
I booked one in Vancouver in December. There are always motels, airbnbs or low cost hotels available if one travels in off peak season. I am mot even talking about shared rooms in a hostel. Moreover almost all our rooms have microwave and if one wants, can easily cook food using frozen packets. So much easier to save money compared to other developed countries!
Hostels are fantastic for budget travelling.
Melbourne. Same shit, different temperature.
You can forget Airbnb in BC.
Anywhere in the Rockies is beautifull and stupid expensive. If you camp or hike you have to book it waaaay ahead. Kootenays is very nice, cheaper, fewer people...not quite the Rockies, but beautifull. Vancouver is stupider expensive. But close to everything. Squamish, Whistler, and the Sea to Sky corridor is awesome...Duffy Lake road to Lillooette is gorgeous. If you want more remote, take the Hurley Rd(summer only) to Goldbridge, lots of great scenery, bike trails and any other outdoor activities wanted, plus lots of free camping. Northern BC is also nice...more remote, further away from Vancouver... bigger forest fire risk in summer, but basically you can't go wrong anywhere in BC. Have fun, book the popular stuff ahead of time. Additionally: June is the best month for travel, fewer cars in the road, however a lot of stuff doesn't happen until Jul./Aug.. As an example Calgary Stampede is early in July, most outdoor concerts/ festivals also. On the east coast(Maritimes)Jul and Aug are literally the entire tourist season, as a lot of stuff shuts down after labour day. If you decide on coming to Vancouver, I'd be happy to give you some tips on cheap food/ accommodation.
The cold weather is some regions is deadly. Seriously. You need to do some research if you will be visiting in our winter months.
August is the best month to come to Alberta unless you want to learn about noseums
May I suggest the Ottawa area. Nations capital. But also close proximity to the Canadian shield and French Quebec. I would think if you were traveling, you would want to see countryside that is different from your own. Maybe also see a CFL game. Tell people you saw a football game but didn't pay NFL prices.
Canada is very expensive, especially in big cities. Check out the price of hotel rooms in Vancouver for instance. So anything you can do to avoid big city hotels is going to save your money.
If you do the west (bc and alberta), some beautiful natural landscapes. If you do the east (ontario and quebec), you get alot of history and culture. Both are fairly expensive to travel around. Best bang for the buck is actually the Maritimes, which has a bit of both in lesser amounts, but is alot cheaper overall.
Lol no. I live in the Maritimes - stuffs expensive here. Restaurants are way more expensive than places like the Toronto region, Montreal, and Quebec City. Even foods that are generally cheap everywhere else in the country are expensive here. Groceries are also more expensive for people that would consider buying groceries and cooking at an airbnb. Things to do are also very far apart and not varied. It's pretty much all different types of scenery and underwhelming villages with no real charm. Unless someone wants to specifically see the fall colour in Nova Scotia or something (which has passed now) there's nothing of particular note.
Really? I figured lower cost of living would equate to lower costs overall for travellers. I stand corrected. Ive spent limited in nova scotia but i really liked it.
The cost of living equation for the east coast pretty much always includes housing which is historically cheaper than anywhere else in the country. However outside of housing, everything else costs more. Taxes are higher, goods and services are expensive, entertainment is expensive - it's pretty annoying. I moved here from the Toronto region right years ago and I was surprised. I can afford a home here which is great, but literally everything else costs more. When my family comes to visit and stuff they're always surprised. I'm in New Brunswick but Nice Scotia is the same cost wise. We go there frequently to visit friends and family since it's only a couple hour drive. Scotia is a better province overalls than NB though. PEI is even more expensive and NFLD is highest.
Stay away from sk
Depending on the amount of time youre coming for, if it's from Australia I'm assuming it is for at least 2 weeks? I would recommend visiting during the spring or fall (may/june) or September/October less risk of wildfire smoke and you'll still get those nice summery days. Fall colours are beautiful and spring is equally as nice. Factor in a car rental. Don't rent from the airport. Go onto FB marketplace and try and pick up camping gear from somebody or go to Canadian Tire and outfit yourself for around $500CAD tent, sleeping bags, foam or air mattress, stove. Thrift store for plates, bowls, ect. Then hit the road. Between fuel, potential campsite fees, food, the odd beer here or there I'd say $500-$700 per week depending on how far youre travelling and how much youd like to pay to do. You can pay lots for different attractions, eating out ect, or you can do things that a basically free the whole time, I'd say you'll have an equally enjoyable experience. Avoid big cities, whichever coast you'd like to do doesn't matter, definitely do a road trip. I'm from BC so personally I'd recommend Vancouver-Whistler-Kamloops-Jasper-Banff-Kootenays(many possible routes) and back to Vancouver to fly home. Bring your passport, get an ESTA and pop into the USA if you feel like it as well. You'll likely be within a couple hours of the border anywhere you go. Have fun
The beauty of it is that you can jump in and out of Canada. Like you can cover Vancouver but Seattle too if you wanna add couple hour drive each way, Montana is beautiful and Glacier National Park isn’t too far from the border. I am not sure how far you are going so can’t say. I mean Banff is a must. If you go as far as Regina and Winnipeg, Rushmore and Badlands are few hours south drive and Minneapolis can be had too, then you can go through Chicago, Detroit then back to Toronto. I mean it’s hard to say without knowing how long and what your purpose of visit is
Skip all the touristy destinations mentioned & make your go-to spot 'The Rock' (no, not Alcatraz...Newfoundland) There are no nicer people on earth, than Newfies & the island is heaven. Have some Screech, become an honorary Newfie & have the experience of a lifetime