Canada Fly drive

[User1775]

Has anyone done a touring trip around Canada? Keen to see wildlife, prob a car and hotels/motels rather than a motorhome but very interested and keen to hear about any experiences. Thanks

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Any ideas experience very much appreciated. We are looking at Vancover area and would like to see Whales and bears :)

Me and hubby did a smaller one 10 years ago. Flew to Calgary and picked up a car then did a few nights in Banff, the onto Lake Louise then up go Jasper before back to Calgary for a night. We debated going to Vancouver but would have been a full days drive and we decided on more time to explore. I'd fully recommend the Rocky mountain area, it's incredible. We saw bears, wolves, sheep, goats, reindeer, moose and more. The scenery is breathtaking, the people incredibly friendly and it's so easy to navigate (we did it all without a sat nav or Google maps!)

We did similar flying to Calgary. Stayed in Canmore bed and breakfast as cheaper (3 nights) and did days to Banff Lake Louise Lake Minewanka across to Spiral Tunnels to see train etc. Then drove up Icefields Parkway past all the Lakes to Jasper with a stop off to walk on the Athabasca Glacier. 2 or 3 nights Jasper room only then drove across via Wells Grey national park (2 nights in lodge) to Whistler where we stayed in nice hotel for 2 nights. Then drove over to Vancouver Island. Stayed in Tofino 2 or 3 nights. Then back to Vancouver for flight home (although we did do 7 night cruise up to Alaska before flying home) Just over 3 weeks total time

Hey! I’m a Brit living in Vancouver. I would totally echo what PP have said about the Rocky Mountains/Banff/Lake Louise/Jasper stops. Stunning scenery and you’ll almost certainly see bears if you come in the right season. Driving west towards Vancouver, you could stop in Naramata/Penticton for wine tasting. Gorgeous vineyards and lake! For the Vancouver portion, a couple of nights would be great. Lots of amazing restaurants, then day trips to Grouse Mountain (which has two resident grizzly bears), Capilano suspension bridge park, and whistler (you only need a day here IMO). Cycling the sea wall around Stanley park is a must (there is a brewery/restaurant in the park for meals). You can also do a day trip to Bowen Island, which is very cute! A few days on Vancouver Island would also be great. Victoria and Tofino are popular for good reason. There’s also a fabulous hotel spa called the Kingfisher in Comox, which I would recommend. We had an ocean view room and saw orcas swimming by!

What they said! Go West, Vancouver Island, Banff, Lake Louise. Easy driving too.

We did Vancouver, Vancouver island then drove up to Jasper and Banff, flew home via Calgary.
Saw so much wildlife, driving is very easy over there. We used a mix of motels and hotels, but it's all popular tourist areas.

All the west coast itineraries mentioned already are great (not that I've been to all the places listed, but enough of them to know!)

But there's a lot to be said for the east side too - the area around Montreal/Quebec is amazing - lakes, mountains, a fjord... very different from the west side though.

If you want big mountains then go east, but there is a lot more to Canada than that. Just don't be tempted to try and do east and west in the same trip!

There are whale watching trips from Victoria Island, but you're not guaranteed to see whales (we didn't, in the right season too). We did spot a couple of bears, but just a fleeting glance (from the safety of the car, thankfully!).

You're right to not consider a motorhome. We very nearly did but were advised against it by everyone on Tripadvisor and they were right. We saw whales and bears on boat trips from Tofino on Vancouver Island. The whales were a way off as the boats are quite rightly not allowed to get too close but we got close to the bears which were hunting for food right along the water-line. We also saw lots of bald eagles and seals. A very special place. Banff was also stunning as was Whistler.