Canadian Geeks and people who have been to Canada

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Marlise

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Hi,

I have been given the opportunity this morning to go to Canada for 2 weeks for my 30th birthday for a "driving" holiday.

Our options are to fly into Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Halifax, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary.

I'm not that familiar with Canada and was wondering if any Canadian Geeks or people who have been to Canada could tell me which would be the best place to go to for a 2 week driving holiday ?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated !


Marlise
 
hi it depends what you like ???, for me its the mountains !! there isnt much that i have seen that can totally make me speechless but seeing the rockies is truly amazin
we are going to winnipeg in august but are having about a week in calgary too , i can only advise on where i have been but if you fly to calgary its only about an hour from banff which is truly stunning , plus calgary has the calagry tower which is ace , mega high and you c**p your pants walking on the glass floor hundreds of feet above the floor
it also has a connecting system that joins most of the city together , its for when the weather is bad but is fab like a big gerbil tube joining up everything i can email you some pictures of calgray and banff if you want , just email me at [email protected]
hth dee xxx
 
I have been alllllllllll over Canada.

I personally prefer the scenery in Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton). Also, there are no language barriers there as everyone is english. The land is absolutely beautiful, etc..

Winnepeg is flat... they say if you lose your dog, you can still see him 3 mths later... it's so flat:lol:

Vancouver, while interesting is wet LOL It rains A LOT.

HOWEVER for tourist attractions, and interesting sites and cultural experiences; Montreal is the place to be. Quebec (province where Montreal is located) has lovely scenery too, just no mountains. The heart of Montreal is a fantastically interesting place to be with underground-interconnected shopping centers. Old Montreal has the charm of cobblestone streets (original to their era) and other old places. L'Eglise Notre Dame is where Celine Dion was married and it also houses other churches within. It has a huge ceiling with REAL gold stars painted upon it. St. Joseph's Oratory. Botanical gardens, Man & His World (from expo 70-something), Mount Royal (a dormant volcano), the Insectarium, the Bio-dome, Old Montreal, the "Vieux Port" (old port), Cirque du Soleil is based here, tc etc etc.
For food, we can't be beat. You name it, we have it. We have an ENORMOUS mix of cultures.
We have the "Just for Laughs" festival, known world-wide. We have the "Jazz Festival",also world reknown.
Top Montreal Tourist Attractions

There is soooooooooo much to be said, so much to be seen....

PLUS I'm here and you can visit me :lol::lol::lol::lol:

My best advice to you is to google all these places, and see what tourist information you can pull up, and see what most appeals to you.

hth's
 
I went to Canada years and years ago backpacking. Flew into Toronto, up to Ontario then Montreal and Qubec (The French quarter - DONT MISS IT!) Then back to Montreal and caught a flight to Calgary, then bus to Banff (gorgeous - dont miss The Rockies!). Then bus to Vancouver. I can recommend all these places, they are beautiful but I see you didnt mention Montreal and Quebec in your initerary and it would really be a shame to miss them as they are unique. If you can get to the Rockies inbetween Calgary and Vancouver - DO IT. Beautiful scenery. You will love the Canadians - they are lovely. I am so jealous. Have a great holiday!!!
 
hi it depends what you like ???, for me its the mountains !! there isnt much that i have seen that can totally make me speechless but seeing the rockies is truly amazin
we are going to winnipeg in august but are having about a week in calgary too , i can only advise on where i have been but if you fly to calgary its only about an hour from banff which is truly stunning , plus calgary has the calagry tower which is ace , mega high and you c**p your pants walking on the glass floor hundreds of feet above the floor
it also has a connecting system that joins most of the city together , its for when the weather is bad but is fab like a big gerbil tube joining up everything i can email you some pictures of calgray and banff if you want , just email me at [email protected]
hth dee xxx

I'm 110% with Dee on this one. This WAS my holiday last year....Long weekend in Calgary followed by 10 days based in Banff (Try the Inns of Banff - they have an incredible outdoor hot tub, overlooking the mountains, but no where near as expensive to stay there as the Banff Springs Hotel), snowboarding in Sunshine, and driving all round the Rockies, up through the Icelands Parkway, and lazing about in Radium Hot Springs. I've done Canada 3 times now, and this one was the best.
 
Victoria Canada ( not Vhunter LOL) is a tourist spot and is where I went for my honey moon.A beautiful and historical City. But Canada is a Gorgeous area to see no matter where you go. Botanical gardens are a total must!
 
Well I just had to reply!
We have just emigrated over from the uk to Calgary and it is fantastic. We came over in 2003 to look around and drove from Calgary to Vancouver and saw the most amazing scenery. You have to take in the Rockies they are amazing.

When are you likely to come?
Lake Louise is a very pretty site and walking across the lake when it is covered in snow is an amazing experience. Banff is Also beautiful with great ski resorts and the Banff hot springs. There is an amazing cable car ride there that will take you up to see views of all of Banff.

Edmonton has the biggest shopping mall in all of Canada with a theme park and water park in the centre - thats got to be worth a look.

Plus I am here so you can come vist me!!
 
The Rockies, Banff, Lake Louise .... all stunning, and beautiful places to visit.
 
ok now I have to put in my two cents......I'm originally from the States and have been all over the map there .....the rockies are the BOMB!!!now that I'm in Canada ....the farthest east in Canada I have been is Alberta so I cannot comment on what is farther east ...but I can comment on here on BC ....fly into Vancouver take a week exploring there on the mainland......people,culture,wildlife ,scenery ...... then come to Vancouver Island !truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been ......and I'm lucky enough to live here .....see all you can cram in..... historical,views, botanical gardens,wildlife,sea life,( just a little know fact).....Vancouver Island has the most trees per square mile than any other place in Canada.....I'd have to be biase and say the West Coast is the best place to be ...oh and now that it's spring/summer .....it doesn't rain that much.......not to hot...not to cold!
 
Okay I'm from Calgary so of course I'm going to say that I live in the most amazing city!! but it really is. If you come here at the begining of July you will be able to take in the greatest outdoor show on earth... the Calgary Stampede. Our city turns into cowboy central for 10days of yeehaw partying. We are about an hour away from the Rocky Mountains. (Banff, Lake Louise, Columbia Ice fields, Jasper...the list goes on) 3 hours from Edmonton, 3hours from the Canada/US boarder and the state of Montana.

There is so much to see and do here in Calgary I'll try and keep the list short :)

Calgary Tower
Glenbow museum
Fort Calgary
Heritage Park
The Calgary Zoo
6 large shopping malls (plus many outdoor malls)
Calaway Park (theme park for the kids)
Spruce Meadows (horse jumping)
Race city (drag racing etc..)

hth
SC
 
Thanks for all your replies girls, much appreciated !

Sorry that I'm only responding now, but I haven't been well the past couple of days and am feeling sorry for myself :cry:

It seems that my birthday plans are going from one extreme to the next. We were originally going to go to Krakow for a week as all our friends were coming with for the big day and have a huge party. These plans were originally made Dec. last year.

Since then a hell of a lot has changed and none of our friends are able to make it anymore. So now all the plans have been thrown in turmoil.

As we were mainly going to go to Krakow because it was cheap and everybody could afford it, now that no one is going, my partner seems to think it's pointless still going.

We are able to fly to Canada for £200 return through his work, and he has a cousin that stays in Toronto that would happily put us up for two weeks.

However, it's a damn long flight just for two weeks and it seems a bit pointless to go all that way just for two weeks. I feel that if we are going to do Canada, we really should go for a month and do it properly !

So now we are back to the drawing board and I still don't have a clue as to what or where I should go for my birthday.

It's only 2 weeks away and I'm starting to freak out over it. I just want to be somewhere else that is nice and different and say that for my 30th, I did something nice......

Any suggestions would be most welcome !


Marlise
 
How long is the flight to Canada??? It can't be that bad, can it?
 
hey we flew last yr with a 5 yr old and a 4 month old and it wasnt that bad :lol:,and we are going again in august :green:
i am sure its less if you fly to toronto (about 8 hrs i think) whereas its about 10 to calgary :eek:
it really isnt too bad at all, and if you can get flights so cheap then i think you are mad not to go ! we had to pay 1600 to go :eek: just for flights !!
if you think you will be bored just take a portable dvd player , ipod etc.. even though they show films on board they might not be to your taste *(usually pretty good ones though ) :green:
 
we have friends in calgary i was there for six months it is realy a gorgous place we used to travel at weekend to banth in the mountains witch is breathtakeing you if you go to calgary you should go and have a visit up calgary tower and get brunch lovely x
 
Heck, I'd go for a long weekend given half a chance, and have done Calgary/Banff several times for a week!

I can't see its a particularly long fight? Are you having to change somewhere with a long delay somewhere?
 
Definately agree with Zingara on this one,:)

Canada is a really beautiful place and well worth the trip.
 
HEY ! you guys have sold it to me i'd LOVE to go.

I'll keep dreamin'....and saving !

AMb xxx
 
I went to Vancouver and the island last august for two weeks and it was fine.

It depends on how you plan your flights as to how long it takes. Ours took 12 hours but it was the cheapest way we could get there. Usually the cheaper flights take longer because more stop offs and not as direct.

For £200 return I wouldn't complain at all about only having two weeks. You can cram a lot in in that time and have a fantastic time. Three weeks mite be better if you want to travel around.

I went all over B.C in 1990 and 1995 and it is beautiful. Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, are all fantastic.

Do it, you won't regret it.
 
My Aunt lives in Alberta, we went for 2 weeks and it was great, didn't feel it wasn't long enough at all. Just plan your trip well
 
Thanks for all your replies.

I just dont' know what to do ..... I was diagnosed with Vertigo on Monday and have been feeling like crap.

It feels like I'm walking on a trampoline whilst someone is spinning a merry-go-round very fast !

The doctor said it could take a couple of days to clear, it could take weeks :irked:

Now my partner is saying that if I feel like this, will I be able to handle a flight ? I agree with him and don't want to book anything, just in case I don't feel well and then we lose all our money.

I've been hoping to do something great for my 30th for so long and now it seems like I'll be doing nothing at all :cry:


Bum, bum and bum !


Marlise
 

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