AIBU to try and visit West and East of Canada on one holiday?

[Budleaxoxo]

Considering flying to Calgary from UK for a week in order to see Banff and Rockies. We would then take a plane to Montreal and would stay here a few days before hiring a car and driving to Quebec City and Toronto (also seeing Niagra Falls). We would hire a car at Montreal and drop it off in Toronto.

Is this too much and would it be better just to do either the west or East of Canada?

You don't say how long you plan to spend in Ontario & Quebec. In any case, it's probably doable but i would feel constantly rushed.

When you arrive in Calgary you probably want to plan in a day or so to get over the jetlag, then a day to drive back to the airport/get your flight to Montreal and suddenly you'll only have 5 or so days left to see the Rockies, which is really not very long.

IMO it's not so much that you can't, or shouldn't do both sides of the country in one holiday but more about how much time you have overall and ensuring you have enough time in each location. After the initial week, plus a few days which you have outlined, it's unclear how much time you have remaining before going back to the UK.

We did East and West in 2019 over 16 nights. We flew to Toronto and spent 6 nights there (including Niagara Falls visit). We then flew to Victoria and had 3 nights there, then onto Vancouver for another 6 nights, drove to Whistler for an overnight then back to Vancouver to fly home. We originally had a massively over-ambitious plan which included Banff and Jasper too but soon realised we'd just be rushing from place to place and not getting any benefit from each location. Due to work commitments we had no option to extend the time we were away so are hoping to return to do a Rockies-themed holiday in the next few years.

I advise planning out what you want to do in each location and how much time you need. Be aware you'll need to set aside days for travel, including internal travel - it's a long flight and there's a time difference so you will lose hours there - and then decide if it's possible to do it all justice in the time available or whether you need to focus on an area.

It sounds like a lot, so it is a case of whether you want to spend that much time travelling too.

We did the West Coast over 10 days, Vancouver then over to Vancouver Island (Victoria then on to Tofino), before flying back out of Vancouver. We did lots of activities, whale watching, bear watching, sea planes, went up Grouse Mountain and to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Could have stayed longer though!

Why not look up the activities and things you would want to see and do in each place, and go from there?

You haven't said how long you've got so it's impossible to say. If you decide to drop one though then definitely drop the East coast because the West is just mind blowing. You could easily do more out east, Jasper, Vancouver (far preferred this to Toronto), Vancouver Island. I've been to both coasts and I'd go West again in a heartbeat but wouldn't go to the East coast - oh and the area around Niagra falls is crappy and touristy, I wouldn't bother but I understand that it feels like a must see.

flying to Calgary from UK for a week
Do you mean you have 7 full days there?
Or something else?
You aren't being very clear but your itinerary would be very tight even if you do have a full 7 days.

We did similar - flew to Calgary and had a week in the Rockies then flew Calgary to Toronto for a week with a daytrip to Niagara. We did lose a whole day with the flight from Calgary to Toronto - a four hour flight and a two hour time difference but otherwise it was great.

We had already done the East coast on a separate holiday.
I preferred Toronto to Vancouver personally but Victoria and Vancouver Island were lovely. Yet to do Montreal and Quebec though.

It really depends how long you've got.

We flew to Toronto and then just got a flight straight to Calgary from there (bear in mind the Toronto-Calgary flight alone takes around 4 or 5 hours). We had a couple of nights in Calgary then drove from Calgary to Vancouver, staying in Jasper, Banff, a night in a glacier view hotel on the Icefields Parkway, Kamloops, Victoria and then a few nights in Vancouver. We crammed in a lot in the cities as well as in the Rockies but I should warn you that it was A LOT of driving. I don't mind that (I can't drive, but I'm happy to be a passenger and the scenery was stunning) and DP loves driving, and we hired a massive SUV thing - but we're a couple with no kids, so late nights, long drives, random meal times etc are no big deal for us. And we were there for almost two full weeks.

It was probably the best holiday I've ever had - absolutely jaw-dropping scenery, wildlife watching outings, stop offs at glaciers, lake walks etc, and then we really enjoyed seeing Victoria and Vancouver too. But there's no way we'd have done it justice if we'd done the East Coast as well.

Honestly, however big you think Canada is, I guarantee you that it is about three times the size that you think it is! It's mindblowing.

@BestIsWest

We did similar - flew to Calgary and had a week in the Rockies then flew Calgary to Toronto for a week with a daytrip to Niagara. We did lose a whole day with the flight from Calgary to Toronto - a four hour flight and a two hour time difference but otherwise it was great.

We had already done the East coast on a separate holiday.
I preferred Toronto to Vancouver personally but Victoria and Vancouver Island were lovely. Yet to do Montreal and Quebec though.

We had already done the WEST coast on a separate holiday sorry.

Thanks everyone for all your posts. Sorry, should have said that we had thought about doing two weeks on the Eastern side of Canada (after having spent a week on the West Side). It would be a 3 week holiday in total, provided we can get enough annual leave to cover it!

That is a LOT for one trip.

I once did a day trip from Ottawa to Montreal and 3/4 of it was driving the most horrendous motorway I've ever seen. Montreal to Quebec City is a full day's drive. To then do Quebec City to Toronto (which means going back through Montreal) is three full 8+ hour days of driving on six lane highways that are always busy. You'll spend the majority of Eastern leg of the trip sucking exhaust and looking at flat scrub land.

I would stick to the West. There is so much to do in and around Calgary, the Rockies and Interior B.C. You can fly in and out of Calgary doing a loop drive through Banff National Park and either go north to Jasper and back down or you can go Southwest from Banff to Radium and the invermere valley. Or you can follow the Trans-Canada through Revelstoke and then turn south to the Shuswap and okanagan valley. Everywhere you go is beautiful scenery, cool tourist attractions, lakes and hot springs.

I might be biased because I grew up in Calgary but my DF lived in Ottawa for years so I've seen both. While the East is beautiful, the West is definitely more bang for your buck.

@Budleaxoxo

Thanks everyone for all your posts. Sorry, should have said that we had thought about doing two weeks on the Eastern side of Canada (after having spent a week on the West Side). It would be a 3 week holiday in total, provided we can get enough annual leave to cover it!

In that case it should be a piece of piss.

Sorry, just saw your update. If you have 2 weeks in the East then you would have enough time for travelling between cities. Eastern Canadian cities are more similar to European cities, especially Montreal and Quebec City. Toronto is not renowned for being terribly exciting but Niagara Falls and surrounds is really lovely.

p.s. visit Niagara on the Lake and the niagara escarpment if you go. Get away from tourist area right around the Falls if you can.

Sounds amazing! I have done both sides and loved Montreal and Vancouver Island the most, plus the Rockies - Lake Louise was beautiful. Did a canoe trip to see whales and surfing from VI which were highlights.

Should be fine in 3 weeks. I loved Niagara Falls as an experience but you need to keep looking towards the water and ignore the tacky and sin town which has built up around it. Don;t linger - just see the falls and then move on to Niagara on the Lake for a much more pleasant experience - highly recommend an ice wine tasting session there!

We're doing similar over 3 weeks. Flying into Toronto, Bruce Peninsula for 2 days, Algonquin area for a week, Niagara area for 2 days then flying to Calgary. Then spending 9 nights around the Rockies, then finishing up with Dinosaur Provincial Park and Drumheller before flying home from Calgary. There's quite a bit of driving, which we will share, but with some no/low driving days built in.

I've done East and West with my mid-70s mum! We flew to Vancouver for a few days, then caught the TransCanada train to Saskatoon to visit where my mum was born (hire car), stayed for a week then back on the train to Toronto where we traveled to several places including Ottawa and Niagara, etc (another hire car). It took just over 3 weeks. It's perfectly doable.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

Last time we went in 2019 we did 2 nights in Calgary....5 night in Banff....3 in Jasper....4 in Edmonton ( seeing family) then flew to Toronto for 4 days....did the city as well as Niagra .....so 18 days....it felt like we were always packing to move on.....but enough time to see everything we felt....we had my mum with us too....she was 83 and managed just fine

@Kitkat151

Last time we went in 2019 we did 2 nights in Calgary....5 night in Banff....3 in Jasper....4 in Edmonton ( seeing family) then flew to Toronto for 4 days....did the city as well as Niagra .....so 18 days....it felt like we were always packing to move on.....but enough time to see everything we felt....we had my mum with us too....she was 83 and managed just fine

Yes, I am a bit worried that it might feel like we are constantly packing and unpacking!