Canada in August

[MandyFl0ss]

This August!
Family of 4
Where do I start?!

Airline tickets?

Nice one June, I wold have never thought of that!! But where to?

We did Vancouver and Whistler last summer. It was fantastic!

I’d also looked at flying into Calgary and doing a drive/train combo to Vancouver then flying home but DH/DC family don’t do well on overnight trains so abandoned that idea. You don’t need to rent a car to do Vancouver/Whistler.

We’ve booked for August. We are going to Montreal, Quebec City and then to Sherbrooke near the hills/lakes. Hoping for good weather. Both DCs want to study French at university, so feels appropriate. Really looking forward to it. Never realised Canada was quite so big! We are just scraping the surface in two weeks there.

I think the weather can be mixed in Canada in the summer. We were in Ottawa last summer and it was the wettest July 25th since 1969!! We got so wet, it was like standing in a shower fully clothed!

I asked this exact question last year! We booked a week in Vancouver, a few days in Victoria a few more on Vancouver island and a few in Whistler.

Could have quite easily spent the whole time in Vancouver, there was so much to do! Found Whistler a bit touristy but the drive there from Vancouver was stunning!

Weather was perfect in August.

Thank you everyone
@Lemoncurd
Where did you stay?

We did Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island last summer and it was amazing! I much much MUCH preferred it to the west coast. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City are also great.

I've just come back from Banff and it was breathtaking.

I would love to go back and explore in the summer. It would be beautiful with the lakes, mountains and trails nearby.

I recommend Vancouver, Tofino, Victoria, Jasper, travel the Ice Fields Parkway to Banff then finish in Calgary. Great road trip and loads to see and do on the way.

We also did another road trip from Calgary, Banff, Shuswap (sp?), Oliver, Nelson, Waterton and back to Banff. It was also an excellent trip but the first one had the more stunning scenery.

We did 2 weeks in and around Toronto in August a few years ago. The weather was fabulous and we had an amazing time. Would thoroughly recommend.

We had a great trip in August as a family of 4; flew in to Calgary, hired a car, then travelled to Jasper along the Ice Fields parkway, then a stay in Wells Gray Provincial Park, a quick night in Whistler, then across to Vancouver Island, finishing in Vancouver itself where we flew home.

Highlights were definitely Jasper and Vancouver Island, including Victoria on VI which is a lovely city. But the whole trip was great. Weather was much warmer than I expected, the jumpers sat in the suitcases pretty much the whole trip!

Would also echo what PP have said; it sounds so obvious, but it's easy to underestimate how big the country is and the distances/time to drive between places. When you look at the map we barely scratched the surface, but there were a couple of very long driving days during our trip!

We went to Vancouver and the Rockies end of July into August
The weather was really really hot no rain at and there were lots of forest fires. I think it was an unusually hot summer though. Vancouver was good but not worth spending more than a few days in and the drive to the Rockies was quite long.

Vancouver island for sure. Start in Victoria and make your way up island. Maybe stop at parsksville and then head up to Uculet & Tofino. Beautiful scenery & lots of lovely lakes in the way. The west coast trail is spectacular. You are pretty much guaranteed sunshine & temps in the mid 20's.

Thank you everyone. Anything you'd recommend accommodation-wise?

Depends on budget of course. One thing I would say is book ahead - especially in places like Jasper, where they maybe isn't quite so much accommodation available.

We used Air BnB in Victoria which worked very well.

And here is link to where we stayed in Wells Gray PP, which was a fantastic wilderness experience.

wolfwoodsurvivalschool.com

Really depends on what you're looking for there is everything from budget motels, cabins to luxury retreats. Check out the tourist info for each place they usually break it down to accom type. Also look at Air bnb & VRBO. Book asap. I live on the island and most peope i know have already got thier summer planned & booked. Wherever you go enjoy, its a great country. I've been here 10 yrs & ive prob only seen 10%

We had two weeks in Toronto and the Muskoka lakes in August two years ago. It was fabulous. Me, husband and nearly 4 y/o daughter (at the time). We booked everything through Air BnB, we spent about 4 nights in Toronto, then at the end of that we got a hire car and drove to a cabin in the woods for a week. Then on to Prince Edward County (not to be confused with Prince Edward Island, which i hear is amazing!), where we stayed in a small town for another 3 nights, explores all the little towns with their flea markets, ice cream parlours, Sandbanks provincial park (gorgeous beaches on the shores on Lake Ontario). We drove back via Toronto zoo, as we had a late evening flight, so that was a nice way to spend our final hours in the country! I really couldn’t recommend the whole thing enough - I would happily go back and do the exact same holiday again, and that is something I rarely say! Although we think we might try Vancouver this summer or next, considering actually flying to Portland or Seattle, and taking the train up. We’ll see!

How old are DC, OP?

Make sure you try canoeing/kayaking loads of places rent the boats and also there are lots of guided trips. Even better try some 1 to 1 training, a great hobby suitable for adults and kids alike.

DS will be 15 and DD will be 12

can I ask what this kind of holiday costs for 2 weeks in August for 4, roughly? We've done West Coast USA for about 9k, for four of us, including a couple of expensive days out at theme parks (which we wouldnt be doing in Canada)

What is your budget for accommodation, OP? Hotels in downtown Vancouver can be expensive, but if you don't mind going to say North Vancouver you can get something cheaper. If you go to Tofino I'd recommend getting a VRBO/rental cabin. With older kids it's nice to have a bit more space.

Hi im new to mums net. Please can anyone tell me how to start a discussion. I could really use some advice xxx