Canada enthusiasts please give me your insights

[Herbie56]

Hi, we are a family of four planning a trip to Canada this July, with two late teens. We are weighing up West and East, currently thinking East and a two week trip, arriving Montreal, hiring RV and driving a circular route taking in thousand island area, PEC, maybe Niagra, back up via Ottawa, Mont Tremblant, Quebec City. So my question is, whilst this is more sedate maybe than the rugged and majestic West with the Rockies and Vancouver, it is also potentially a lot more affordable and less busy. But does it offer enough of the ‘wow’ factor? On the east we will have bikes on the RV so would be able to explore the area that way, and the road mileage would be less, so more time outdoors rather than driving. But the West clearly offers ‘bucket list’ views and awesomeness.
Any insights would be great. Thank you.

I’ve only been to Vancouver, Vancouver Island and up to whistler. It was an amazing trip, VI in particular was stunning. Highly recommend Tofino. I think it would be fun with outdoorsy teens.

I’m from England and now live in Canada. I asked my son last year if he wanted to go to Disney land and he said he wanted to go to Vancouver so that’s what we did. This summer we’re hiring an RV as my parents are coming over and heading from our home to Kananaskis close to Banff for a few days then over towards Vancouver, stopping over night probably in Revelstoke then to White Rock or Langley as a base. We’re planning a day in the city to explore and a day at Stanley Park. Stevenson for a day of whale watching, we’ll spend some time around and about on day trips but mostly at the beach before heading over to the island and exploring over there. On the way home we’ll drive through Jasper and have a day or 2 there. Banff is usually quite busy but Canmore is just as lovely with lots to do. I haven’t been to Jasper since the fires so I’m not sure what to expect there. White rock is a family favourite and we’ll go for August long for the festival it’s small but being in Alberta it’s nice to be by the sea again and have a chippy. I’ve done this trip a few times now and love it and we’ve also spent a lot of time over the years in Banff and Jasper with visitors. We’re also going to go to Drumheller while they’re here but either get a hotel or camp for the night.

@bumphousebump I think we’ve covered similar ground!

I agree. The teens in Tofino would have a whale of a time surfing… and plenty of whales to watch too!

Amazing place. Lovely food, too.

However, not been to the East coast, so unable to compare.

We started from Toronto and covered more or less the same ground but omitted Quebec as it added significantly to driving time.
Use google maps to get an idea of driving times . Once you’re off the major highways, you’re restricted to 50mph . We also set 16 days aside to ensure we had enough non-travel days. Lots to do and see.

Ottawa is dull, but otherwise both your itineraries sound great! I love Quebec City, and Lake Ontario is lovely too - whichever you pick you’ll have a good holiday. Love Canada, planning to go back there next year.

We did East but skipped Toronto and explored more of Quebec province (have family there), taking in La Mauricie NP, Tadoussac (whale watching) and approaching Quebec City from the North to come back to Montreal. I suspect the driving distance was about the same, but we specifically wanted to go and see whales (and visit family) so decided a Quebec itinerary. Be aware in summer you will probably be affected by wildfire smoke, even in the East. When we were there the haze in our photos is from the big fires from Whistler in the West.
If you're going to spend a lot of time in Quebec, it helps to know some basic French, especially outside the big cities.

Agree about Ottawa, if you really want to "see" it maybe pass through for a day.

We looooved PEC, 1000 Island area, Toronto, Muskokas if you have the time! Beautiful part of the country, would go back in a heartbeat.

great replies thank you everyone. I thought it was going to be a definite swing to the west, but the east gets some great feedback too!
now to decide.

I have been to both sides and the west blows the east out the water by a mile IMO. I wouldn't go back to the east but I definitely would go to the west, some of the most beautiful scenery I've even seen, amazing wildlife - saw bears and wolves as we were just driving along, walked on a glacier. It was just amazing. I really like Vancouver too. I didn't like Toronto or Ottawa nearly as much or the area around Niagara falls.

For me there's absolutely no comparison.

I second this . Absolutely amazing holiday.👌

Mmmmm…the pendulum’s swinging westward! 😁