So I was thinking about taking a journey across Canada

[Smeghead]

(well 'mostly' Canada).

So for a few years I've been toying around with this idea of mine without ever taking it seriously until now, and with my vacation coming up in about a month; time for actually making this thing come true is getting a bit... low.

The idea was not to go to one place but rather to cross the country, starting in Halifax overlooking the Atlantic and ending it on Vancouver Island overlooking the Pacific. This using public transportation (buses and possibly trains) over 1-2 weeks, staying in some of the major cities along the way for a day at the most before going on. Also I could not do this without filming a lot and making it into something like a documentary or something, just to big of a thing to pass up on.

I do say 'mostly' Canada as I was thinking about taking a trip down to Connecticut to meet up with some friends for a day or two before going back up to Montreal and continuing.

So, I'm kind of asking for advice or ideas for a European who thinks about taking on this huge task.

[Master Gunner]

Obligatory warning: however big you think Canada is, it's actually much bigger. You say you're thinking of 1-2 weeks, but keep in mind that just driving along the fastest route from one side of the country to the other (which actually goes through the US for half of it) is 57 hours of continuous driving. Taking public transit adds to that time, and assuming you travel for 12 hours a day on a Canada-only route, you're talking 5-6 days of just travel. Driving across Canada is like driving from Stockholm to Tehran. Just in terms of distance, it's Sweden to Mongolia or Northern China (though it would take longer to actually drive most of that route). Adding a detour to Connecticut would add another day of travel on top of that.

So...plan for the full two weeks, or take some flights - especially for the big hops between major cities out West. You could take a flight from Toronto to Calgary to cut your total travel time in half, then take a train through the Rockies to BC. If you really want to hit up Manitoba and Saskatchewan, at least take a flight to Winnipeg - there's really not much to be gained going through Northern Ontario.

As for what to actually see and do in Canada, that really depends on your interests. I could go on about how different cities reflect different eras of British and French colonialism (and according to Tapir12 at least, there is a rather stark difference between Halifax and Victoria despite being similarly sized and situated cities), but architectural history isn't everyone's jam.

If you're more interested in the "big city" feels, plan to spend some extra days in Montreal and Calgary - both are very distinctive cities with different cultures. Toronto is trying too hard to be New York, and can feel bland and indistinctive because of that, but you can certainly find a mish-mash of lots of different cultures there - over half the city's population are first or second generation immigrants.

If you're more the outdoorsy type and want to see what Canada has to offer there...well, I'm not the guy to talk to about that. However Canada's national parks added together are larger than the entirety of the United Kingdom, so I'm sure you can find something. I'd recommend visiting Fundy in Nova Scotia/New Brunswick (home to the highest tides in the world), and out west Banff has appeared in LRR road trip videos a couple times - and for very good reason.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Also, check on local holidays and festivals to see if they happen during your trip. Canada Day in Ottawa, for example, might be worthwhile.

[Smeghead]

I'm not saying it would be limited to 2 weeks. I could go on further but then I think I would have to put it off until next year (which given how little time I have left before my vacation starts; might be the best option).

[Master Gunner]

You could always limit yourself to one part of the country, then come back next year to see the rest. If there's a few places you know you want to see, you could easily hit them all up in 2 weeks and have a grand ol' time. It's just traveling by land that I advise caution on.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Exactly. Not only is Canada big, it has a very low population density. Most of the country is trees. There's no need to spend most of your time bussing through forest to get from one city to the next.

Also? Be advised that passenger rail does not work the same way in Canada as it does in Europe. It operates more like passenger airlines, here.

[Master Gunner]

Just took a look at what taking a train from Halifax to Vancouver would be like - five day trip (changing trains in Montreal and Toronto) for $725 on the cheapest economy fair. Change that to the cheapest sleeper class fares - $1700. If you want a cabin with a shower...$5000.

Outside of limited short-distance routes, in North America passenger trains just can't compete with airlines.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

And it is very much a "book ahead of time" system, like airlines. You generally can't just sidle up to the ticket counter, and be on a train twenty minutes later. It doesn't work like that.

[Smeghead]

So I have been told. Also I don't mind the long traveling time, nor the fact that it is mostly forest. As for the cost; well its not really that big of an issue... just not planning to pay 5k for a train though

[Metcarfre]

Middle Ontario to the Rockies pretty much isn't worth your time. And it's a loooong time - I just did the drive from Edmonton to Van last week, that's bad enough.

[Lord Chrusher]

I would like to take the train across Canada some point. But this would be for the experience of crossing the country by rail. I was going to take the train across Australia after I finished my PhD but did not finish in time.

[Hekla]

Last year, when I was in the US, I took the train from Boston to Seattle. I considered the Canadian train, but it was a bunch more expensive, but is supposed to be considerably prettier. But yea, 'tis a huge continent.

I absolutely love long train journeys; just sitting there watching the world go by.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

I've done Ottawa-Halifax by train. That's a 24-hour ride. Had a cabin. Definitely happy I did it.

[Avistew]

The trains in Canada are pretty slow. Not much of an advantage about their bus system. You can get Greyhound from one side of the country to the next. I've used Greyhound a lot for trips within Canada, although my longest trip was only 22 hours, but I've known people who booked 7-10 days long trips. There are breaks and you can buy food and stuff, and if you want to stay in a spot for a while you can get tickets for only a portion of the trip rather than the whole thing.

It's not assigned seating though, if it matters to you.

EDIT: also in my most recent trips, a lot of buses had wifi and plugs for you to charge stuff. So in the most boring stretches of the trip you could play a handheld console or some music and stay charged. I don't know how common those are depending on where you're traveling though, but it might be worth looking into.

[Smeghead]

We'll have to see. the journey was more the point then the actual stops along the way. In any case this won't be happening this year but probably the next.

When I looked at the map my idea was basically to skip any stops in Ontario and just take a train through it. Nothing against the province but for the sake of time something had to be cut out.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

Well... er... Ontario is kind of where most of the stuff is in this country.

[Jamfalcon]

Certainly a much higher percentage of the stuff than places like Saskatchewan or Manitoba. I remember my mom telling me about driving across Canada when she was young, and that the middle has nothing of interest unless you really, really like old forts.

[Smeghead]

Well... er... Ontario is kind of where most of the stuff is in this country.

Sorry, I meant western and northern part of Ontario, like between Toronto and Manitoba

[Elomin Sha]

There's that tourist trap bar you could go to where you can have an alcoholic drink that has a severed toe foating inside.

[Master Gunner]

The Sourtoe Cocktail is found in Dawson City, Yukon...a fair ways away from the rest of Canada. Roughly 2000km NW of Vancouver, or a 3000km trip by car.

[Smeghead]

I've heard about that. think it was mentioned on an episode of QI.

[Elomin Sha]

It was.

[Metcarfre]

My father-in-law partook of it last year. Apparently you need to sign a $5000 waiver as the toe has been swallowed... multiple times.