Canadians, I require advice!

[My pseudonym is Ix]

No, I'm not trying to move there

This summer, my brother finishes school, so my mum wants to take a big holiday- and thus far, Canada is looking to be the front runner regarding where to go. Current plans are very theoretical but the idea as it stands appears to be to fly to Vancouver, spend a few days seeing the sights there, then to slowly head east seeing Things before winding up around Calgary (where some family of ours live) a couple of weeks later before heading home. I'm trying to persuade them of the benefits of a day trip or more to Victoria, for entirely selfish reasons

However, that's about as far as plans have got at the moment, and seeing as I have at my disposal a resource of wonderfully generous forumites, many of whom reside in or know (to some greater or lesser extent) the ins and outs of the great nation of Canada, I thought I might approach you regarding advice. Is it worth taking a trip over to Victoria? Are there any things along the way that we simply must see, or any places we might not have thought of? Are there any of you living in the vicinity who might want to meet up for a drink? That sort of thing.

Not looking for anything definitive at the moment, just ideas if anyone's got any. Thanks guys!

[Elomin Sha]

Victoria is nice for a quiet day visit. Their is Butchart Gardens, a good museum and Craigdarroch.
I would recommend Whistler, but at this time of year good luck getting a room and it can be expensive during skiiing season (Summer is really good). A few days in Vancouver is a good idea. You have the aquarium, several musuems and a nice place to walk around.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Wrong end of the country from me, sorry.

[Matt]

I definitely think Victoria is worth a day trip, if even only for the ferry ride to and from.

Whistler is a nice enough spot in the summer, depending a bit on what you intend to do there.

Between Vancouver and Calgary there's the Okanagan - Penticton is a great little summer vacation town. Rent a motel right on the lakefront. They have swimming, mini / real golf, a nice leisurely canal ride via inner-tube, boat rentals, water-slides, etc.

Also in that area is BCs wine country, so, wine tours are a good use of time for those interested. Other cities in that region: Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon, & Osoyoos (hottest weather in the county).

Outside the Okanagan: Manning Park, Lake Louise (DEFINITELY STOP HERE - possibly one of the prettiest places in the country.), Banff.

While in Calgary, a trip to Drumheller wouldn't hurt. They have a cool dinosaur museum.

-m

[Jamfalcon]

Yeah, I agree with Matt and Elomin. I haven't travelled to extensively, but from what I've seen and heard:

- Nobody ever seems to regret visiting Victoria, even ignoring the LRR connection.

- Maybe this is nostalgia speaking, since I haven't been there since I was 12 or so and it's pretty kid-focused, but Science World in Vancouver is worth at least looking into if you're into generally neat science stuff.

- Speaking of sciency stuff, if you (or someone in your family) is into electricity, there's an old hydro dam that's been turned into a kind of museum, about an hour out of Vancouver (in my general neck of the woods), which you can take a look at [https://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas/stave_falls_visitor_centre.html]here[/url]. Also a frankly obscene amount of parks and lakes right near it, if you're into hiking or swimming. Not that Canada has any shortage of places to do either.

- It's not really on the way to Calgary, but one of the big tourist attractions in BC is Barkerville, a gold rush-era town. Never been myself, and it'd probably take at least a day out of your trip to see it, but again, if it's up someone's alley, probably worth the trip.

- Obviously it'd be dependant on schedules and whatnot, but I'd be up for a possibly meetup (though I'm not much of a drinker) if we can make it work.

[Lord Chrusher]

Depending on your mode of transport a day trip from Vancouver to Victoria would be a long day. If you do want to visit Victoria, it might make sense to fly into Victoria then head over to Vancouver after a couple days.

Travelling from Vancouver to Calgary sounds like an excellent trip. You would travel through a wide range of terrains and climates. Hiring a car is likely your best bet for travelling in Canada. While you can get to a lot of places using other forms of transport, having a car with give you the most flexibility.

The Okanagan is worth a visit. I suggest taking the scenic route from Vancouver up the Fraser Canyon or the Hope-Princeton rather than the more direct route along the Coquihalla highway.

[Atifexe]

- It's not really on the way to Calgary, but one of the big tourist attractions in BC is Barkerville, a gold rush-era town. Never been myself, and it'd probably take at least a day out of your trip to see it, but again, if it's up someone's alley, probably worth the trip.

Seconded. If you go, be sure to go to the restaurant there for breakfast (which I really hope is still open; it's been years since I visited). The food is fantastic, and the decor and costumes of the staff really make it a memorable experience. When I visited it was necessary to pay at the gate to get into the town, and the money from admission was being used to pay staff for maintenance and operation - well worth it, if only to ensure that the historical site isn't lost to time.

[My pseudonym is Ix]

Aww, thanks for the responses guys- plenty of stuff for me to keep in mind. Keep 'em coming if anyone else has something to add.

Oh and Jam; absolutely up for a meet, I'll drop you a line nearer the time about it

[Metcarfre]

Also, I hope you mean to do this in summer, because the highway(s) between Vancouver and Calgary can be awful in winter and well into spring.

[My pseudonym is Ix]

Yeah, this will be second week in June (or July, I forget which)

[Shandi]

The Victoria bug zoo is my favourite attraction. They have live, giant, many-legged critters from Australia, Africa and Asia. You get a full tour from the moment you walk in, no waiting around or missing out. If you haven't been somewhere like it before, or if you have and liked it, I'd say check out the bug zoo.

[Metcarfre]

I recommend the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

[chaos42]

just don't stay in Calgary too long its kinda a slow place last time i was there. also might want to swing by Toronto its got the ROM and some other nice places and some interesting night life.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Uh... if you're in BC, you don't just "swing by" Toronto.

[My pseudonym is Ix]

Yeah... my mum asked the people in the travel agent's if it might be worth dropping in at Niagara on the way back. They then pointed out that, distance wise, this was like hopping over to Istanbul for a day trip.

[Jamfalcon]

Canada is a bit on the larger side, yes.

[Dutch guy]

Its kinda hard to wrap your brain around just how big it really is though.

I mean, over here, 2 hours drive puts me pretty much on the other side of the country. In 8 hours I can be 3 or 4 countries over.

In Canada that probably gets me halfway through the province.

[Master Gunner]

<- Just drove three hours across the smallest part of the country to get to the nearest larger city (and I come from a ridiculously small city).

[Arclight_Dynamo]

I can help with sizes. Click here for comparisons - pay close attention to the "European Union" comparison.

Or, heck, let's try it another way: let's just look at British Columbia. Here it is compared to the British Isles:



And, for our American friends, here it is compared to the southeastern US:



Now look how small BC is compared to the whole country:



How about we try it a third way? The distance from Vancouver to Toronto is about 3300 km. That is approximately the distance from London to Alexandria.

A fourth way? St. John's, Newfoundland is closer to Rome, Italy than it is to Victoria, BC.

Canada is big.

[Jamfalcon]

Its kinda hard to wrap your brain around just how big it really is though.

Oh yeah, I absolutely get that. It's hard for me to imagine having so many big cities so close, and options for many countries that could be easily visited. Here, I can go a little into the states, or into Vancouver as a day trip, but that's the extent of it for city stuff.

[the amativeness]

Canada is a bit on the larger side, yes.

The sun is warm, the ocean is damp, and Canada is a bit on the larger side.

[korvys]

You know, I had heard something to that effect.

[Garwulf]

Not entirely related, but a bit of a funny story all the same...

When my wife and I were honeymooning in England, we talked to this one fellow working at the hotel who had taken a vacation to Canada and decided that he was never, EVER going there again. Knowing some of the charms of our...um..."little" country, we asked what had happened.

It turns out that he had visited Montreal. In January. If you know the area, you're probably choking back hysterical laughter by now. He'd spent the entire trip snowed into his hotel.

My wife and I just nodded and said, "That would do it, yep."

(Note for those who have not experienced Ontario and Quebec winters...the closest comparison at times is the famous Russian winter...to the point that I've known Russians who have basically seen both and said they're more or less the same.)

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Hahaha! Yeah, okay. I live in Ottawa - for those who don't know, that's a two hour drive from Montreal. So, I know.

Seriously... was this the year that we got, like, fifteen feet of snow here? Or was it just the normal cold and snow?

[Garwulf]

It may have been normal. My father used to live in Montreal, and he had no shortage of stories about snowdrifts that were 6 feet tall.

Still...makes you wonder...considering Canada's reputation for, well, winter, who comes to visit Canada in the winter?