Canada or Japan?

[AliasGracie]

I would love to go to Canada and visit all the places in Race Across the World , or as many as is possible. What is the best way to do this? Use an agency to plan it all and book hotels and car hire, or a tour that is planned by them, or do it all myself? OH is nervous about driving despite the fact that he's used to driving abroad.

Other option is Japan.

Use me to work out a route, based on your likes and dislikes, and ask for recommended hotels along the route, based on requirements and budget. Consider booking the car through the airline.

Canada is amazing east and west but the middle is sparse. We did Vancouver through the Rockies staying at air bnb and hotel mix. Best holiday ever.

Can you tell me more about how you booked it and whether you hired a car ?

I used skyscanner to find flights then booked direct with British airways as they were coming up cheapest. We had a few days in Vancouver then hired a car and drove to Calgary but we had 3 stops on the way. One was a cheap/basic motel, the next was 3 nights on a farm in a cute log cabin then the final night was fairly near Banff in a ski lodge type hotel (in the summer so no skiing). If I were you I’d go up to Jasper as Banff was very affected by fires. Then we went down the highway from Banff to Calgary, saw bears 🐻 in the field beside us, and we stayed in Calgary for a stampede (not the big one but a smaller town nearby). I’d also recommend Drumheller and the dinosaur museum because the landscape is just so different.

My brother lives in Calgary so we stayed with them.

My only regret is not going to Vancouver island. But we did go whale watching from Vancouver city.

I’d love to visit Japan but haven’t managed that yet.

Agree with teenlifemum, do the East, then do “the Canadian” train through the plaines & Rockies, (4 days, with cabin, restaurant, glass roof. etc) then do the West, including Vancouver island.

Japan will be much cheaper if that is a factor.

You can fly direct to Quebec City with
Air Transat (cheapest)

I've been to Canada once and Japan twice. Personally- and I do think this is very subjective- Japan is almost literally the only place on the planet that would get me back on a plane with no second thoughts.
I adore it.

Why is that?

Because food and accommodation is cheaper than Candad

Japan is significantly cheaper than UK. Canada the same or more. Have a Google.

So take this ai summary with a pinch of salt -but it largely does reflect my experience though. People don't seem to realise just how cheap Japan is to holiday in.

Japan is much cheaper for a holiday regarding accommodation, food, and drinks compared to Canada. A traveler can expect to spend roughly 35% to 50% less daily in Japan, primarily driven by a highly favorable exchange rate and a culture of affordable, high-quality dining.

We have just got back from an RV trip across the Rockies in BC. It was fantastic. We picked up 'the beast' in Calgary and delivered it back to Vancouver, 2 weeks of amazing scenery. Happy to offer any advice or help if interested. Also been to Japan and that was phenomenal too. I struggled with the food a bit in Japan and I'm not that fussy but I like to know what I'm eating...and sometimes I didn't

Jasper was also effected by fires a few years ago, they are still rebuilding. Didn't take anything away from the experience, it's just very sad to see the devastation. Loved Vancouver and the along Icefield Parkway is spectacular

We need an RV trip in British Columbia this year. We loved it. Planned and booked myself. I used a mixture of Chat GPT, some Facebook groups and Google to book it all myself. No different to booking stuff anywhere else. Campsites/hotels/airbnb all can be booked online.

We are planning to return to Canada and we don’t often go places more than once. That said we also plan Japan in next couple of years. I’ll do the same and book it ourselves.

Japan is just amazing. It keeps me coming back over and over. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it. There’s such a variety of different landscapes and it’s so easy to travel around and sample all of the things it has to offer. I’ve now been to 20 of its 47 prefectures and have plans to visit them all.

Canada also looks great, but would cost a lot more.

Flights to Japan can be really expensive at peak times but accommodation, food, attractions etc. are all really inexpensive. Don’t bother with the tour operators, their mark-ups are insane for Japan for some reason. You can self-book easily.

When we visited western Canada with young children we flew with AirCanada and we were able to add an internal flight with AC to cut down the driving very cheaply. If I recall the internal flight was £125 for 4 of us. We planned our itinerary and then booked through an agent to get ATOL cover, so they sorted out the flights etc. If you need or want to skip the dull bit in the middle, that may be an option for you too.

I agree that the Icefield Parkway is spectacular. We drove Banff to Jasper direction.

We’ve also been to Quebec more recently and would recommend it. It’s not as spectacular as the Rockies but it is scenic and outdoorsy. Quebec city is beautiful. We found prices in Quebec similar to the UK for most things. Coffee and petrol were cheaper, but that was all. I’ve heard from a couple of friends that British Columbia is considerably more expensive and harder on your budget than Quebec province. Sales tax is set by province and added at point of sale so you need to check that & factor it into any local prices you see. It was 19.75% in Quebec.

Japan is the most incredible destination. We went in 2024 and loved it so much we went back this year. I usually like to visit different places but for Japan I’d return as many times as I could! If you have the chance to go I really would take it! Message me if you want ideas 🇯🇵
Just a caveat: I’ve not been to Canada so I can’t compare and would love to visit Banff and have heard good things about Canada too.

How long have you got OP? Canada is clearly huge and easy to travel.
I would pick a Provence and tour that if you only have 2 weeks.
Most people choose BC although it is obviously the furthest.
It's simple to plan a route - the internet and a list of your interests will do it for you. Personally, I love the Maritimes.. fly into Halifax and rent an apartment. Day trips to Mahone Bay , Peggy's cove, Lunenberg, explore the city. Then drive north to Prince Edward Island for time on the coast. It's stunning and like going back in time.

I am desperate to go to Japan but want to see rural Japan and monasteries etc. A day in Tokyo would probably be enough and I don't want to go to Hiroshima. For that reason we have been looking at small group tours but how easy would it be to plan that sort of holiday independently?

@AliasGracie You can spend as much or as little time in Tokyo as you like. We only spent two days in Tokyo on our last two week trip before heading off to Nagano. We then spent a week along the Hokuriku arch followed by 5 days in Tohoku.

Public transportation is excellent and we sometimes use rental cars to get out to places a bit more off the beaten track.

it really is impossible to go anywhere in Japan without stumbling upon shrines, temples and monasteries. There really is no need for a group tour. They are extortionate and I don’t see what you’re really getting for your money in a country as safe and easy to navigate as Japan.

There’s a poster on the Japan Planning thread that had an amazing time in Yakushima not long ago.
The Kumano Kodo or the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage might also be worth looking into. I’m a big advocate of getting off the golden route. There’s no reason why all the tourists need to keep cramming themselves into the same few places in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

@AliasGracie The Japanese prefectures all tend to have their own tourist organisation websites, which can be really useful.

DIY in japan is totally doable. You don't need a group tour, just a bit of time and planning. You get to stay where you want. If you do hire a car driving is super easy as they drive on the left. The bullet trains are the same price whether you book 2 months or 2 minutes before the train. Google translate via you phone camera and an e-sim mean the language barrier is much easier to manage now.

The pilgrimage walk looks amazing! What would be the best way to plan that independently ?