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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Canada 2023

12 replies

Merula · 06/09/2022 11:27

We're thinking of going to Vancouver and Vancouver Island next year (due to covid, we had to cancel a planned 2020 trip) but we were wondering how covid issues will affect our trip. I know it's a long way off and no one has a crystal ball, but can anyone who's been recently report back on how covid restrictions have impacted on their holiday? Thank you.

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Sandgroper · 06/09/2022 17:33

Hi

We have just returned - 3 weeks in Vancouver, The Rockies and Sunshine Coast (visiting friends) with our teens.

Check out the official Canada government website before your planned travel dates as I am sure the requirements will have changed by next year. It will give you an idea what they require.

to be honest it didn’t really impact our holiday too much but we did isolate a bit with the kids before we flew and did a lateral flow test the day we left the UK. Also took some tests in our suitcase through we didn’t use them😂

We were all immunised and had our paperwork up to date. Take the time to fill it out correctly and don’t try to do it late at night like we did! It was our first long haul flight since COVID so we were a bit paranoid and were more worried about our flight being cancelled.

our main worry was the random COVID testing they did once you arrive at Vancouver airport. They would send you a text message within 15 mins to ask you to comply. take you off for a PCR test and if you test postive you have to isolate for 10 days. Luckily we didn’t get a text, as our holiday would have been over.

Other requirement was flying BA we had to wear a mask for duration of the 9hr flight and also at Vancouver airport.

We did have masks with us at all times and took extras, hand sanitiser etc and weren’t asked to wear them anywhere else - despite us asking. We did an internal flight and had to wear mask on the flight and at the airport. Not required on the BA flight home, though I did, guess we are so over it in the UK.

its an amazing country to visit, the people are very friendly but it is very expensive everywhere (we did 2000 kms driving over 10 days). Was so worth it as was the trip on a lifetime and we will go back again.

chipsandpeas · 06/09/2022 18:04

Sandgroper · 06/09/2022 17:33

Hi

We have just returned - 3 weeks in Vancouver, The Rockies and Sunshine Coast (visiting friends) with our teens.

Check out the official Canada government website before your planned travel dates as I am sure the requirements will have changed by next year. It will give you an idea what they require.

to be honest it didn’t really impact our holiday too much but we did isolate a bit with the kids before we flew and did a lateral flow test the day we left the UK. Also took some tests in our suitcase through we didn’t use them😂

We were all immunised and had our paperwork up to date. Take the time to fill it out correctly and don’t try to do it late at night like we did! It was our first long haul flight since COVID so we were a bit paranoid and were more worried about our flight being cancelled.

our main worry was the random COVID testing they did once you arrive at Vancouver airport. They would send you a text message within 15 mins to ask you to comply. take you off for a PCR test and if you test postive you have to isolate for 10 days. Luckily we didn’t get a text, as our holiday would have been over.

Other requirement was flying BA we had to wear a mask for duration of the 9hr flight and also at Vancouver airport.

We did have masks with us at all times and took extras, hand sanitiser etc and weren’t asked to wear them anywhere else - despite us asking. We did an internal flight and had to wear mask on the flight and at the airport. Not required on the BA flight home, though I did, guess we are so over it in the UK.

its an amazing country to visit, the people are very friendly but it is very expensive everywhere (we did 2000 kms driving over 10 days). Was so worth it as was the trip on a lifetime and we will go back again.

dont think thats a BA issue but all aircraft leaving and entering canada wearing masks, i had to wear one on a aircanada flights in June
i cant help with covid restrictions when i went in june as they stopped random testing when i was going over due to the airports having problems and only needed to prove vaccination and cant help as i was on the east coast at toronto/niagara and montreal

Merula · 06/09/2022 18:45

Thank you for taking the time to reply @Sandgroper and I'm so glad you had such a great time. We're all fully vaccinated but I'm not sure I can deal with the stress of worrying about what would happen if one of us was called for random testing and tested positive! I really hope that changes soon but who knows. We love BC - we lived in Vancouver for a year before we had kids and we really want to go back and show them some of the amazing places and the wildlife. There also seems to be a lot less holiday places available to rent than pre-covid eg on airbnb. I'll do some more thinking/investigating!

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Merula · 06/09/2022 18:46

Thanks @chipsandpeas . Hope you enjoyed your east coast trip too.

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Normandy144 · 06/09/2022 19:00

We just got back from a visit to British Columbia last week. While we were there we didn't have any issues with needing masks/proof of vaccination etc as that is all gone. The only pain was the requirement to wear a mask on the flight to Canada. Actually we were lucky in that we flew via the US with an American airline so no mask required at all apart from they did ask us to mask up on the shorter flight from US to Vancouver. Unfortunately on the way home we flew air Canada and they insisted on masks (although they weren't particular about enforcement to be honest) so I think they're just following the rules but not too hard. My advice would be to fly a non Canadian airline to avoid this. Who knows they might have dropped the public transport mask mandate by then but don't guarantee it.
The other really annoying thing is the random covid test on arrival which it you're positive then messes your holiday up. We did lateral flows the day before just to be sure and luckily we didn't get picked for the testing. If you have had covid in the 180 days prior then you are exempt from the random airport testing BUT you need to prove that you have had it and they will only accept PCR, which of course we now need to pay for in the UK.
Overall I'm still glad we went but it did add an extra layer of worry.

Sandgroper · 06/09/2022 19:36

Mercula

i agree with you but we thought it was worth the chance and also we had travel insurance. Probably coupled with the fact we hasn’t had a proper holiday for 2 years. Am sure the rules will change as weirdly enough they relaxed them the 6 weeks prior to school holidays, then enforced them again towards the end of July!

wow lucky you having lived there. I loved it, def lived up to my expectations.

Our friends who live there gave us so much help, it was invaluable. My DH was born in Ontario and wants to go for his Canadian citizenship as he thinks we should buy land and retire to Pender Harbour where our friends are. He (and I) fell in love with that area, just worry about the bears. We had one go past our bedroom window two nights running.

I know what you mean about the lack of choice with accommodation, also given that a lot of people book it up a year in advance. We only booked ours in Jan this year so it was somewhat limited and £££ for what it was. Also I normally use Airbnb but not loads of choice. Our friends (they have an Airbnb apartment below their house) said the laws are different where they are and a lot of places have to have the owners live onsite. The apartments I looked at in Vancouver were pricey. Did a mix of hotels, lodges, Airbnb apartments and a fab B&B. We ended up using booking.com for a lot of it due to their great cancellation policy as was very close to our departure dates and didn’t get stung with all the extra Airbnb charges you now have but we did manage a few Airbnb places.

Merula · 06/09/2022 19:48

@Sandgroper The Sunshine Coast is stunning - we had some great trips there and included it in our 3 week itinerary as a must-do! We didn't see bears there, but saw them a few times up at Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, and on the Island.

Coincidentally, my husband was born in Montreal and also has a Canadian passport. That's interesting that you had similar issues with accommodation. I've also started using Booking.com and will probably sort something through them if we go ahead! Thanks again.

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Merula · 06/09/2022 19:51

Thanks @Normandy144 It definitely does add an extra level of stress! I'm glad you had a smooth trip though.

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inthewest · 15/09/2022 16:34

I'm from Canada and we went to British Columbia for a month this summer. We had no travel issues, although a very nervy situation as fiance caught covid 10 days before we flew. As it stands, Canada is randomly selecting all vaccinated travelers. If you've recently tested positive you are exempt. All non-vaccinated travelers require a test. You don't need to quarantine while waiting, but would have to do a 10 day quarantine if you were to test positive.

My parents live in a lovely little lake village so we spent most of our time catching up on rest and didn't need to pay for accommodation. We did try and book some nights away but found it our budget at the moment (he's going back to uni for a year and we're getting married). I'm sure there are some options available, but we had a few things booked in with friends and family prior to leaving and were unable to find anything on the other days.

As for things to do, you will be spoiled for choice if you're more of the outdoorsy type as over the course of a month we hiked 7 days, climbed for 3, wakeboarded, paddleboarded, swam, trail ran, kayaked and cycled. Look into rentals as some places are quite expensive. We lucked out as my family is just as adventurous as us and the only thing we needed to hire was the mobi bikes around the city (similar to santander).

When in the city I would do the grouse grind, a very sharp 2.5k hike up a mountain (the other option is a gondola at double the price) where there are all sorts of activities such as birds of prey shows, rescued grizzly bears, lifts to the peak, a lumberjack show and incredible views of the city all for $20. It's easy to get to by car and bus (seabus ferry from downtown and a bus from the quay). Do rent the mobi bikes and cycle around Stanley Park. The views are incredible and the set to many a film. Also very cool to watch the seaplanes. Gastown has cool restaurants, bars and shops. Main Street/Mount Pleasant is really hip and has cool shops, bars and restaurants. Vancouver is host to the Vancouver Canadians baseball team which is the Blue Jays reserve team. Tickets are cheap and it's a super fun time out for all ages.

Kitsilano is also very cool with a beach, bars and shops. We rented bikes again and cycled from Kits along the beach to the Vancouver museum and then stopped at Granville island market for lunch and a wander round the cool shops. (I may be biased as I lived here in Uni). We then took the water taxis to the Olympic village for a drink and a snack (worked at the bakery here in uni so another nostalgia kick). Science world is close to here and a good day out with kids. Science world is just down the road from the stadiums where the Canucks (ice hockey), Lions (CFL aka American football) and Whitecaps (footbal football) play so depending on the time of year you visit, you could catch one (late spring and late summer often lets you watch ice hockey and whoever is playing at the shared football stadium).

A lesser known family friendly activity is the Burnaby Village museum, which is close to metrotown mall. It has a couple streets styled around the area at the turn of the century with many chatty knowledgeable volunteers. We stopped at the village as we had time to kill between meeting friends and I wanted a nostalgia kick as this was a common school trip back in the day.

For trips away I definitely recommend Vancouver island as the ferry to Victoria is beautiful and the city has loads of history. Salt Spring or one of the Gulf islands is fun for a lower key vibe and lovely ocean swimming. Whistler is fun if you're willing to spend... there's loads of better mountains for hiking in the Fraser Valley. Most of our hikes were in the Valley and we often got to 2,000m elevation and had some incredible views.

All in all, definitely worth it if you are active and love scenery. I may be biased as I'm from here. However, it took my fiance less than 48 hours to confirm that he did want to move out there when we raise our children. Also a very nice place to go after 2 of cramped pandemic London living with the most stressful working years I've ever been through.

As others have said, Canada requires masks on flights and in airports. We bought the silicone straps so your mask is off your ears for a bit. Air Canada also gives out really soft ones that were quite cozy after rubbing my nose against a N45 for 10 hours.

Merula · 16/09/2022 12:24

Thanks @inthewest. I agree with all you have said about all the fab activities. We lived in Kitsilano and loved it, and it's where we would like to base ourselves for some of the time while we're out there. We also used to regularly walk the Grouse Grind - hard work! I'm glad you had such a fantastic time - I'm not surprised that you want to move back.

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Whohashiddenthebiscuits · 17/09/2022 11:26

Hi - we arrived back 2 weeks ago and did a cross country trip - Vancouver/Calgary/Toronto and flew between the cities.

I’d completely agree with the PP who states that the current regs added an extra level of anxiety in. However, this is 2022 and I watched the regs get slowly better from when I booked the trip at the beginning of the year up to when we went - e.g submitting a quarantine plan went out the window thankfully for the fully vaccinated.

All in, the paperwork was a bit of a pain from submitting an ETA through to correctly submitting all info on the ArriveCan app. However other than at Gatwick we weren’t asked to show any details, not even on the internal flights. Yes at the moment it’s masks on at the airports and planes but that’s not a biggie. It was tense waiting in the airport for 15 minutes in Vancouver waiting to see if we were one of the random people selected for a Covid test and checking our Hotmail accounts (you get an email if you are) but luckily we weren’t. I was stuck in a queue in Stanley Park in Vancouver behind someone talking loudly on her mobile about how she’d been selected for the random testing and how she wasn’t getting her result for 3 days. If that had been us it would have been a really stressful start to the holiday!

I liked Vancouver - they’ve done a lot of construction work and it’s a very modern city with lots of large glass towers. I particularly liked Gastown and Kitsalano beach (there is a restaurant there, think it’s called the Boathouse - the food was great and it was lovely watching the sun set over the beach and mountains). What I liked less was the number of homeless people on the street which Calgary had too which for a wealthy, first world country like Canada was surprising. There was one street when we walked down from Gastown to Sun Yat Sen park that was literally full of pop up tents with very open class A drug usage. Cannabis shops are everywhere in Canada too so the smell of weed is really common all over the city. My Canadian relatives and friends are all really pro legalisation and there are some good arguments for it.

We didn’t go to Vancouver island but we did do the very easy trip to Bowen Island (bus to Horseshoe Bay, 20 minutes on the ferry). This felt like a completely different environment to Vancouver - definitely recommend going there and I love to go back and rent somewhere there.

Whohashiddenthebiscuits · 17/09/2022 11:31

Sorry - just read some of your later messages! You’re obviously far more familiar with Vancouver than me!

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