Canadian vacation choices ???

[9327]

I would like to hear from someone who lives or has vacationed in Canada - we are looking at planning a trip for 4 couples in 2007. Many are interested in the train trek across Canada - I am not sure what website is best for that info - - due to time we would not do the entire trip - so what areas of the trip would be best?

 

Or -- some are wanting to do a NE cruise -- if so, what ships are best for this cruise and what ports are NOT to be missed? Best itinerary?

 

Any help on these 2 topics will be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[grouchy]

some ideas-

 

http://www.viarail.ca/tourists

 

I am not a train fan-find it uncomfortable and expensive-here are some other choices.

 

Are you planning on getting off and exploring or hiking?

 

http://www.tctrail.ca

 

http://www.travelandrvcanada.com

[9327]

Thank you very much for those links. Yes, we would get off the train and do as many activities as possible - I have NO idea how that works - would not want the train to run off and leave us!!

 

I think the ones "voting" for the train envision the clear top and traveling thru gorgeous scenery all day and night. The ones "voting" for the cruise envision the train to be as you described.....uncomfortable and I'd add confining.....and the pricing I saw was quite expensive - -and I vote to spend it on a cruise!

 

But then, if we cruise, we have to decide what line is best and ports that are a "must".

 

We would have about a week - with 2 weekends we could stretch it as most of us still work - at least one spouse in each couple still has a job to return to. :( With that said - I think it would be best to fly to a port and spend all the cruise time at destinations and not sea days getting there.

 

I think you see the type of Canadian vacation I am leaning toward -- but promising not to be biased, I agreed, along with another wife, to scope out the train idea and give all facts and figures to the group upon completion of investigation!;)

[SarahQ]

Hey there 9327,

 

I'm thinking the train your friends have in mind is the Rocky Mountaineer which travels through British Columbia and Alberta - you can find lots of info here: http://www.rockymountaineer.com. I haven't had the pleasure of doing this trip, but from what I've heard its fantastic. On the matter of comfort, that's going to vary based on the class you choose to travel in - the train can be very comfortable and a wonderful vacation...but it is indeed very different from a cruise.

 

I can't speak about Eastern Canada and the ports there, as I'll be visiting Atlantic Canada for the first time myself in June (2 week road-trip...not as fun as a cruise, but definitely less expensive!).

 

Whatever choice you make, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time :)

[9327]

Thank you, Sarah, for the link - I just glanced at some of the intineraries and my goodness for what a 4-nighter train trip would cost we can go on a week cruise! gee whiz.

 

But I promised to bring forth info on both trip choices so will do my best to research it all fairly!:rolleyes:

 

Thank you all for helping me with the links....that definitely speeds up the process.

[NapTown Jim]

I visited Montreal for the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix. I loved it there so much I'm going back for my honeymoon and then boarding a cruise ship bound for Boston. Its bound to be a trip to remember. Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes are wonderful.

[Scotia5443]

I would like to hear from someone who lives or has vacationed in Canada - we are looking at planning a trip for 4 couples in 2007. Many are interested in the train trek across Canada - I am not sure what website is best for that info - - due to time we would not do the entire trip - so what areas of the trip would be best?

 

Or -- some are wanting to do a NE cruise -- if so, what ships are best for this cruise and what ports are NOT to be missed? Best itinerary?

 

Any help on these 2 topics will be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

 

I am from the Canadian NE (currently living is Halifax) and think that this is a beautiful area to explore. Lots of scenery, quaint towns and wonderful people! I can't comment on some of the ports, but do know that Halifax & Montreal are wonderful! Of course, I am biased ;)

 

If you do want to check into NE train travel, check out the Via Rail website. They travel through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick on to Quebec, Ontario and beyond. Not sure about their rates, but you're sure to see some beautiful scenery.

 

If you have any other questions, ask away...:)

 

Denise

[9327]

Thank you -- I am SOLD on NE Canada! From the pictures it does look like something from a postcard -- can't wait!

[dam1050]

While I still prefer cruises, we have taken the VIA rail "Canadian" from Vancouver to Toronto and then transferred up to Ottawa. We found it to be a fantastic vacation and very comfortable in the 'Silver and Blue Class' with a sleeper. Great food and service and beautiful scenery!

 

As mentioned in earlier post - the "Rocky Mountaineer" is also an event to behold for a shorter destination.

 

You can also do a web search for the various Provincial tourist bureaus to narrow down areas of particular interest to you.

 

Another idea you might want to consider (which many of the cruise lines provide) is a cruisetour which provides BOTH sightseeing and trip from Rockies to Vancouver and then a cruise to Alaska ........... WOW, what a way to get the best of both worlds.....

 

Have a great trip!

 

Dave

[Bramcruiser]

Welcome to Canada. Its a lovely country and very vast so you really need to decide what part to settle on and then go from there.

 

The Train? I'm a train fanatic - probably more so than a cruiser. Via Rail is Canada's national passenger service and it operates from coast to coast. The "Canadian" is Via's full service flagship train that does a 4 day journey from Toronto to Vancouver (or reverse) 3 days of the week. It comes complete with dining cars, sleepers and the famous bullet shapes lounge cars with the domed roofs. Its expensive and mainly oriented for tourists except the locals in remote locales. Have never done the trip myself but its supposed to be the ultimate for train fanatics. The "Rocky Mountaineer" is a tourist train operating only within the west between British Columbia and Alberta giving daylight only viewing of the mountains and an overnight stopover at a hotel. This is an alternate variation of the trip. The mountain train routes are definitely the one "must" of any train trip and if you don't want to cross the whole country I recommend taking either of the two above between Vancouver and Calgary (the RM)or Edmonton (Via).

 

If cruising definitely pick Atlantic Canada. Halifax is a must due to its deep maritime roots and its connection with the famous 1917 explosion which destroyed the city and its connection with the Titanic. Quebec City is a true must as its the most European of all cities in North America and is the heart of french Canada. Most cruise ships that do Eastern Canada visit Halifax - even the QM2! Quebec City gets a lot of visits too. I think Holland America is the only major line to do Montreal (further inland) regularly. Montreal is a big city of over 2 million, bilingual and has a certain joie-de-vivre that a lot of other North American metropolises don't have. A lot of the cruises to the province of Quebec visit the Saguenay River/Fjord which is beautiful in itself.

 

Whatever your group chooses you can't go wrong. I may be biased as I am Canadian but its quite a interesting country that offers a little of everything.

[9327]

Thank you dam1050 and bramcruiser -- you both provided exactly the info I needed! Thanks to all of you who have provided your expert opinions - it is all very helpful in helping to make our decision.

 

I believe the group has decided to investigate the train much more thouroughly before making a firm decision. I am partial to the HAL cruise that goes on into Montreal and The Sag river area........some may do one or the other....whatever fits schedules and budget. Personally I am sold on the cruise so I am sure to do that at some point.

 

Thank you again!

[BCHappyGal]

If you have never visited Canada before you have a wonderful trip in store for you.

 

However you need to pick east coast vs west coast vs prarie provinces vs Ontario & Quebec.

 

If you have never been here before and want to combine rail & cruise I would suggest you start witht he west coast and an Alaska cruise combined with a Rocky Mountaineer train trip thru the Rocky Mountains to Alberta. Yes the Rocky Mountaineer is expensive but you travel only during daylight hours so do not miss any of the wonderful mountian scenery. If you want to save some money and still see the Rocky Mountains you could substitute a car trip thru the Rockies instead of the train trip.

 

On the east coast I would skip the rail portion and just do the cruise from either NY or Boston to Montreal.

 

The most scenic portion of the TRansCanada rail trip is the portion thru the BC Mountains. In most other parts of CAnada you spend too much time travelling thru industrial areas of the numerous cities.

 

Vancouver & Victoria are both great cities for any visitor to explore with lots of attractions + many parks and hiking trails and of course we have Whistler home to the 2010 Winter Olympics. We have wonderful restaurants offering up cusines from all over the globe.

 

However the Maratimes have many attractions as well, lots of history is found in Halifax, PEI, Quebec City, Montreal; drive the Confederation Bridge that connects PEI to the mainland. Yes from the centre of the bridge you cannot see land in either direction! Both Quebec City & Montreal have some beautiful cathedrales.

 

Hope the above helps you.

[9327]

On the east coast I would skip the rail portion and just do the cruise from either NY or Boston to Montreal.

 

The most scenic portion of the TRansCanada rail trip is the portion thru the BC Mountains. In most other parts of CAnada you spend too much time travelling thru industrial areas of the numerous cities.

 

 

:) Thank you so much for this info! The above is especially helpful -- now I see the cruise is definitely a trip we want to take and another trip could be the western Ca train portion - thank you for helping me get it straight and to narrow our focus. I will be in Vancouver this summer prior to a RT cruise - am looking forward to a few days to explore - -thanks again!

[Host Caroline]

I love Canada and it would be hard to pick but I woudl say definitely plan to spend a few days in the Rocky Mountains (Banff, Jasper) area and depending on where you embark... Halifax is a lovely city to spend some time in and get a feel for the real Atlantic Canada.. You could easily tour Nova Scotia for a couple of days at the beginning of your journey. My fav place I do believe though is old Quebec City.. You would probably have to begin the trans-canada portion in Montreal or Toronto but old Quebec has charm, atmosphere and just oozes history

[hvsteve1]

We cruise (not Canada) and also love to visit the Maritimes. I don't think Eastern Canada lends itself to cruising, where you rush off a ship for five or six hours and jump back on. That works fine in places like Alaska, where the ports are remote and there are not a lot of places to travel to while there, unless you fly or go by ship. Canada is another story. We spent a week in Nova Scotia one year and still didn't see everything. We also spent time a couple of years ago on Prince Edward Island, one of the true underdiscovered gems of North America. It is full of beaches and small towns and no crowds. You can't really appreciate the Bay of Fundy and the worlds most incredible tides unless you hang around the 12 hours necessary to visit a point at both low and high tide. A ship will stop in St. John's, N.B. but the really interesting place is the capitol of Frederickton where soldiers in 1700's uniforms change the guard every few hours and hold an afternoon retreat ceremony. A drive along the north coast of N.S. (The Evangeline Trail), introduces you to the Acadian culture. They are French, but not French Canadians. Their ancestors were chased to Louisiana where they became "Cajuns". This area features some of the most interesting churches and cathedrals. Peggy's cove is beautiful and quiet but, as we left, the busses started rolling in, turning the place into a mob scene. People on the busses didn't see the Peggy's Cove we saw. To sum it up, we love cruising but can't imagine seeing Eastern Canada as a port of call.

[9327]

Thanks, HV..., for this perspective -- I can see what you mean -- but it might just give us a small taste of what Canada has to offer and we will want to return for a land-based vacation later.

 

We are looking to cruise places other than beaches - not much of the beach people anymore.

 

BTW, I am married to one of those "Cajuns" you mentioned. :)

 

Thanks again to all who replied - now I have quite a few tidbits to savor as we try to make our decision.

[calvins5]

Last summer, after spending several exciting days in Acadia National Park we took "The Cat" out of Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Then we spent a wonderful week just exploring Nova Scotia. Do not miss White Point Beach Resort, Lunenburg, Peggy's Cove, Halifax, Annapolis Royal and the Bay of Fundy.....finally back to "The Cat", back to Bar Harbor and back home, NYC. Truly a great trip!

[polymerpig]

I'm finding all of this information very interesting. I am planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies, as well as another to the Atlantinc Provinces. I'd welcome any further insight into anything to do with the Calgary Stampede, Banff, Jasper, etc, as well as Nova Scotia, PEI and especially Newfoundland. I have figured out from another thread that only transatlantic cruises stop in both Halifax and St. John's NF (unless there is one I haven't discovered yet). But I am interested to hear about getting from one place to the other - is flying the best alternative? Or did I read somewhere there is a long ferry ride?

 

You can answer me privately off this board if you'd prefer - since technically the Calgary Stampede has nothing to do with cruising!! But if no one minds the off-topic and is interested in Canadian travel in general, it can stay on the board.

 

Thanks!

[Pacific Sandy]

HI -

 

I would recommend that you rent a Motor Home and drive through the Rockies. Stay in Provincial and National Parks and have terrific time.

 

Book everything well in advance.

 

Sandra

[Iwantsun]

As many others have stated, Canada is such a big place that you have to make a choice between the west coast vs the east cost, the prairies, Quebec & Ontario.

If you decide you want to spend some time in the province of Quebec then I would say you will get the best information on the Quebec tourism web site at http://www.bonjourquebec.com/.

 

Everywhere is nice in Canada; it all depends what you are looking for...

[suron]

If you want the best of both worlds then why not follow the itinerary we took in May this year.

 

We began our trip in Calgary (having flown in from Heathrow, London) and took a Rockies Land Tour and this was followed by an Alaskan cruise on Dawn Princess from Seattle.

 

If you are interested you can see my reviews of this trip which can be found as follows:

 

For the Rockies:

hhtp://messages.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=360451

 

For Alaskan cruise:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=19049

 

I linked up with some people on CC who were doing the same trip but they took the Rocky Mountaineer Train as part of the Rockies Tour and they had a superb time apparently (the CC sign on name is Margord if you want to look up the Dawn Princess Roll Call for July 8th). Personally we were glad of the opportunity to get on and off the coach and spend time wandering around all the various points of interest on route rather than just be seated in a train, however luxurious the carriage might be - just personal choice.

 

If you do take a Rockies Land Tour and a cruise to Alaska you will have some wonderful memories for years to come.

 

We are hoping to arrange a Land Tour to see New England in the Fall Sept/Oct 07 and feel this would be the best way to see that part of the world rather than take the Canadian Cocktail cruise which Princess have.

 

Our cruise next year is already booked for the Norwegian Fjords from Southampton in July and we anticipate seeing some more spectacular sights in that area.

 

Good Luck with your plans

 

Suron (in Bristol, England)