Canada fo Holidays...

[Heilandee]

After reading the other thread on working and living in America/Canada it got me blethering wi Mrs Dee, the upshot being she has now decided Canada is oor next Holi destination!!! so the question for Scotty ,Canada Bob ,Pimple etc is where do we head for,wher's a good base(dinna want to book and end up in the Methil of Canada) what are the must see's, is hoose swap a good option,lot of folk seem to do it over there,any comments appreciated.

[Kingsmills]

The west coast is wonderful. Vancouver must be one of the most attractive cities in the world. The people of British Columbia are among the most friendly and welcoming I've ever met..

[+The_Sponge]

I was recently in the USA & popped over to Toronto for a few nights, impressed with the place & intend going back again at some point.

[Scotty]

I have never been to the West Coast but I am told it is very beautiful. very wet, but very beautiful. A Scottish style climate and the backdrop of beautiful mountains amidst lush greenery. I am sure Pimple will elaborate.

The 'bit in the middle' is largely forgettable - hundreds if not thousands of miles of prairies and flat land with only Calgary and Edmonton worthy of a mention. Alberta is a booming oil province right now so everything is really expensive, and I read somewhere that the 'average age' in the major cities was something like 27 !! In fact, jobs are so plentiful that even menial jobs are paying high wages compared to the rest of Canada but the cost of living is supposedly very high too.

I have also been told I should get myself further east to Nova Scotia but have never been yet. Some say it is more Scottish than Scotland and the scenery both there and in Newfoundland and Labrador is stunning. Was speaking to someone at a Barbecue at the weekend who was telling us about boat trips round Icebergs, Whale watching and such like so if you like nature and scenery, thats a good shout. Canada Bob is probably the resident expert on that part of the country.

Which leaves me with the Toronto - Ottawa - Quebec 'corridor'. Whatever you do, dont fly into Ottawa, they are fascists in that airport. last time I landed there 1/2 the plane was taken in for full luggage searches (no rubber gloves luckily) and many of us missed our connection to Toronto. Ottawa and Montreal are fairly historic with plenty of old buildings, architecture and traditions you can see. Ottawa of course also contains the houses of parliament. Montreal is a bit of a party town but it would help to know at least some rudimentary French so they will like you a little better ! great food supposedly.

That leaves Toronto - which is huge, sprawling, and financially broke ! It is a good place to base yourself but if you do, then think a little laterally and stay away from downtown hotels as they will cost you a fortune. There is a decent transit system so for about $9 each per day you can have unlimited access to buses, streetcars and the subway (tube) and from the edge of the subway system to downtown is only about 20-30 minutes max. If you cant find a decent priced normal hotel, "apartment hotels" are a good option - you rent them by the week (usually 2 or 3 week minimum rental) and its just like having your own place but in most you will have some of the amenities of a hotel (security, room cleaning, clean towels/sheets every few days etc). As for sights - obviously there are places like the CN Tower, SkyDome (now called Rogers Centre), Toronto FC, Eaton Centre (for the wife), as well as various eclectic neighbourhoods and districts like Chinatown (7 of them), Greektown, Queen St, Little Italy, Little Portugal etc. Further afield you have Niagara Falls of course or Niagara-on-the-lake which is famous for all its vineyards - Ontario IceWine is world renowned.

Apart from the 7 or 8 major cities in Canada, the rest of the country is vast expanses of countryside and small towns ... I cant speak for other parts of Canada but in Ontario there are thousands of little getaway places if all you want to do is get back to nature and go fishing, camping, shooting etc ....

I guess the first thing you need to decide is what you want to do ...... that will pretty much point you in the direction of one location over another.

[The Mantis]

Somehow Alan I get the idea they will be unfamiliar with the concept of 'Methil'.....

I'll bow to Scotty's Superior (sorry, bad pun) knowledge and give my tuppence worth.

I stayed 3 weeks in Kitchener, Ontario, which is a sort of twin star with Waterloo.

That meant Niagara, Toronto and Tobermory on Lake Huron were all quite driveable.

The Skydome is a magic experience, especially at night. Almost as good as Dens Park.

I have to say Kitchener was the epitome of bland but never mind. I was encouraged to drive 10 hours north to Timmins where apparently the flat scenery of Ontario would change, and this was the home of the unknown Shania Twain who I was assured would be the next big thing.

However I think we will visit Montreal or Vancouver for a big anniversary sometime.....

[SMEE]

Ad love to see US and Canada. Maybe one day

[Scotty]

Kitchener's recent claim to fame is that its where the Blackberry device hails from as thats where RIM are based. Funny you should mention Kitchener as that is where we were for the BBQ as one of our friends is a corporate lawyer for them.

If you want serious blandness then another hour or two west of Kitchener is Windsor ! it borders Detroit and is a small town in every respect - shudder at the thought of the place.

[Heilandee]

The Skydome is a magic experience, especially at night. Almost as good as Dens Park.

"Almost as good as Dens Park"....streching credibility a bit there are ya no Mantis?

:015:

[Canada Bob]

Don't know where I'd start, in the last 26 years weve lived in Ontario for 6 years, Quebec for 2 years, 17 years in Nova Scotia, and last year in Prince Edward Island, other than that we've visited the rest of the Provinces from time to time...

As mentioned by Scotty, the middle bit {Saskatchewan & Manitoba} is an ocean sized prairie, Farmers and the like round there.

Alberta has lots of nice places to see, but it's "Costa Tropo" these days.

So, starting from the West, and working towards the best, grin, here's a brief review from me.

Hard to beat the natural beauty of BC, long as you don't spend all yer time in Vancouver or Victoria, yet you could easily do that and have a great time, the views from the ocean towards Vancouver are spectacular.

Between Vancouver and Victoria on Vancouver Island {that confuses folks}, in the Straights of "Juan de Fuca" {named after an unpopular Diego I'm told}, you have the Orca {killer whales, and salmon almost as big}. The whales aren't whales at all though, they are a species of Dolphin, magnificent beggers though. To see them leap clear out of the water is an experience you'll never forget. There's lots of great sea fishing, and I think that even for a non resident it's free to fish in the ocean, but check on that first.

For "further & betters" check out the link below...

http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/default.htm

The downside of going from Scotland to western Canada is the cost of the flight, and the time in the sky, probably looking at 12-14 hours, looks like Zoom fly Glasgow to Vancouver and to Calgary. If you went with Air Canada, BA et-al, you'd be dipped in it...

Leaving out Alberta, mostly due to the flight times and the expense, the next place to consider would be Ontario. No ocean there, so no free fishing, no whales and so on, but the Great Lakes would fool you into thinking you were "at the seaside".

I'd be here all night going on about "Upper Canada" best to take a look at what the Ontarians have to say for themselves, via this link...

http://www.ontariotravel.net/TcisCtrl?site...amp;language=EN

Lots of places to see in Ontario, most folks take in Niagara Falls, and although it's an hypnotic sight, its gone the way of Blackpool, "kiss me quick" and all that.

Other places to see would include Toron'o, you'd have to take in a Baseball game there, {when in Rome and all that}, but there's lots to see and do there...

Other places to see would include, Kingston and Ottawa.

To get to Canada the airline of first choice for me is Zoom, out of Glasgow, modern 'planes, well maintained, and fares that can't be beat...

http://www.flyzoom.com/index.cfm?fuseactio...Dsp.dspRouteMap

If we don't fly Zoom then we book through Canadian Affair...

http://www.canadianaffair.com/

Quebec, well, Quebec City has it over Montreal for me, but Montreal is great, especially if the fireworks competition is on, THE BEST fireworks display anywhere in the world ! nowt like it...

Some absolutely beautiful places in Quebec, including...

http://www.ssadb.qc.ca/en/index.htm

I don't kick with me left foot, but this church is the most magnificent church that I've seen in North America, it certainly has a spirit of its own.

This place is the North American Lourdes, with a reputation to match.

I dropped on the village gassing the car up one time, on my way from Ontario to Nova Scotia. I decided to take the "alternate" for that read the quite/scenic route, on the left/north bank of the St Lawrence Seaway... That was about 15 years ago, now it's the only way I travel through Quebec, a very beautiful route that follows the St Lawrence.

Crossing at St Simeon {towards New Brunswick} on the ferry is the best way to go, you're likely to see the Beluga {small white} whales...

http://www.quebecmaritime.ca/vacation-acti...rry_202_ang.cfm

Lots of places in PQ that deserve a mention, but again check their link...

http://www.quebecweb.com/tourisme/introang.html

Only one warning about Quebec... stay away from the women and the mosquito's, both are know to "eat Men with strange accents"  they eat 'em alive, and I'm not kiddin' they are the fastest women on the planet, they like our accents the broader the better, and we tend to like theirs, grin... Best not get into that, or we'll get right off the beam...

Next Province heading East is New Brunswick, 50% of the salmon caught in Canada are caught in the rivers of NB, mostly around the Miramichi...

http://www.wilsonscamps.nb.ca/atlantic-salmon-fishing

I know one of the best ghillies in New Brunswick, if you're into fishing then Darrel Warren is your man...

http://www.flyfishingatlanticsalmon.com/guides.html

For most folks New Brunswick is fishing or hunting, just fishing for me, I c*nt shoot anything that hadn't held political office, to me a bear looks better in the woods, than on a mantlepiece...

Saving the best till last, grin... take a look at the link...

http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx

You can make a case for almost anywhere in Canada to see "how the other half live", or to taste the Canadian Experience, but Nova Scotia makes a lot of appeal if you want the short hop, just 5 hours or so across the pond, GLA to YHZ {Glasgow to Halifax}, and quite often the return tickets run less than ?200 plus taxes etc.

I'd be hear alnight singing the praises of New Scotland, the beauty of the place, the great sea food, lobster second to none, and oysters that

are the envy of the world.

It starts at great food, and great accomodations, then add the micro breweries, the fishing and sailing, more whales than I've seen anywhere else, 35 in 5 hours, 5 different species, including 50 to 70ft Humpbacks, that let you come to within 10ft of them, gazing eye to eye, that's another memorable {to say the least} experience.

The fishing is again free in the ocean, no license needed for that, I've never seen a Permit Man in the 26 years I've been here...

Part of Nova Scotia is Cape Breton, the Cabot Trail is a must see...

http://www.cbisland.com/index.php

and you can't miss going to see the Bay of Fundy, where they have the biggest tides in the whole world...

http://www.bayoffundytourism.com/tides/

Or the Highland Games and the Pipe Bands...

http://www.halifaxhighlandgames.com/festival.asp

Or the golf...

http://www.golfnovascotia.com/

Aye, I'd say that Nove Scotia is more Scottish than some parts of Scotland, the Pipes, the Games, the Lassies, what more could you ask for...

http://halifaxhighlandgames.com/games.asp

Spoilt for choice is how it is, I've not even mentioned Prince Edward Island nor Newfoundland, nor the Via Rail train that travels from Montreal to Halifax, one of the classiest rail journeys in the world, still silver service on the train...

http://www.viarail.ca/trains/en_trai_atla_hamo.html

I guess it all depends on what turns your crank, if you like fishing or sailing, or what, but the link above should give you some idea.

If there's any way I can help just let me know, I'm sure that you'd like it here, enough to stay for most folks...

If I knew a better place, I'd be living there...

Canada Bob.

[Heilandee]

Wow, plenty food for thought there Bob,cheers for your time guys, much appreciated.I 've had a wee thing to visit Canada for years now, should have been posted out there in my RAF days when stationed at Alness, a posting came through for me to Gooose bay in Labrador but the CO at the time refused to let me go unless a replacement came and as the unit was closing in 6 months the powers that be decided this was not cost effective and someone else got my posting.On such decisions lives change,that said ,there would be no Mrs Dee and wee Dee as most of  guys i knew who went there bought themselves out and stayed in Canada,one works in the local jail ,another is a golf pro,wonder whit i'd have ended up doing?

[Caley Mad In Berks]

I lived in British Columbia for two years many years ago, and have been back on holiday at least 8 times, as recently as earlier this month.  I'm therefore biased towards the west coast, although I've travelled throughtout most of the provinces.  I would say that for a first time visitor, a journey through the Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver is a must.  If you've time take in Jasper as well, perhaps a side trip in the Okanogan Valley (Vernon/Kelowna/Penticton) and definitely a trip over to Victoria on Vancouver Island.  On my last trip I found the cheapest fares through Canadian Affair. Good luck and enjoy.

[DJS]

Not sure I can add anything other than just GO!

Plenty flights from Scotland to Toronto and they're not usually too expensive.  It's a great city, too, so maybe the best place to start.

[Glebeict]

  Being a native Scottish Canadian ,my best trips were to North Carolina and Florida in the USA, the Carribean and of course 2x to

  Scotland.

  I was brought up in Glengarry which is !/2 way between Ottawa and Montreal, and ended up in Ottawa.

  All the places mentioned above are worth seeing ,but you may be bowled over by the distances.

  By car it takes over 2 hours from Ottawa to Montreal ,and  4 and 1/2 hrs from Ottawa to Toronto.

[RiG]

Very interesting thread indeed as I have long wanted to go to Canada. Some good stuff here that just makes me want to go even more!

[beachcomber]

Only ever been to Vancouver which was fantastic. It struck me that the setting was similar to Sneck with the city looking onto the bay, and North Van on the other side. The way the mountains slope down to the water is similar, Sneck has even got its own impressive bridge.

Vancouver Island is beautiful too - Victoria is more British than Britain, and the Pacific West coast of the island is gorgeous, I particularly remember the beach and harbour at Tofino. I must get back there sometime.

[PullMyFinger]

   Being a native Scottish Canadian ,my best trips were to North Carolina and Florida in the USA, the Carribean and of course 2x to

   Scotland.

native Scottish Canadian  :017: WTF?

[Glebeict]

 

  Thats what we are called over here . There are French Canadians, Irish Canadians etc. I am 6th generation , so native.

  The family left Glenelg in 1815. There are almost 5 million Scottish Canadians

[Scarlet Pimple]

Well, where do I start? Scotty has given you all an in-depth look at his hunting ground in the East--Ontario --which I really know little about.This Province has  major political influence due to it's size and the no. of Federal  parliamentary seats it yield. A similar situation pertains to Quebec , a Province where French and English is spoken, althoght outside the cities I undertsand that french is the spokern language.

I have always wanted to visit Montreal and if you ever get a chance to see The Cirque de Soleil do NOT miss it. A spectacular , glittering circus of artistry and breathtaking stunts second to none. You have to hand it to the French --they are warm, artistic to a fault and very interesting people and places.The Cirque has several touring companies --in Britain ?...I don't know. When out hiking one weekend with a social club many years ago  we were down in the US  and this nice French girl from Quebec turned to me as we were walking up this old village road with the group and said to me  that we should have had an affaire by now.. I was slow in these days so we never did  have an affaire but she and her  new Austrian husband did downhill ski a lot and she was as fast on the hill as in the romance department as well. Boy we did have some fun "on the hill".

Canada Bob's knowledge of this vast country (3000 miles from East Coast to West coast) is stunning so I will confine my comments to the West. Saskatchewan is a Prairie Province and the breadbasket of Canada --wheat forever,very cold in the Winter and stifling hot in the Summer with Mosquitos galore.Not my cuppa tea but you can get a big house there for a fraction of the cost of a similar residence in Vancouver. Alberta is the oil province with the massive Tar Sands project about to produce incredible buckets of  oil and money This spectacularly wealthy Province has already paid off all their Federal debt . Jobs are going abegging and pay a fortune if you are interested.Waitresses start at $25 an hour ( about 12 pounds )plus tips. Not good for a lingering holiday I would say, though.

So, to Vancouver, a very cosmopolitan city-where do I start?

Take a float plane on a very short journey from Vancouver harbour to Vancouver Island(about 1000 miles from tip to tip--this is not a small piece of land despite what it seems on the map)and just exist and drink it all in.

Whale watching, walrus and sealions watching are all awesome activities.Or take the same float plane and fly  North rising up the side of sheer cliffs to land on a  glacial lake set in a bowl in a forest of pine, camp in the cabin overnight and then hike back down the mountain the next day. That will tire you out and no mistake! Wow!.

To the North spectacular scenery , very high mountains (sorry, Vancouver is  nothing like Inverness except for the fact that  Vancouver is surrounded by the Pacific ocean to the West and Mountains to the North and South), incredible fishing, surfing,  hiking  trails galore with views so breathtaking that it will stun you. Cross country ski in the Winter until you drop or downhill ski on  the local mountains also till you drop. You can cruise (fast downhill runs ) or just ski with the fancy turns in deep powder which is a sensational feeling once you get used to leaning back on the skis and NOT forward which is  the opposite posture to downhill skiing. And you can also come to Maple Ridge where I stay some 50 K. to the East of Vancouver and  get a horse to ride around on from the many stables situated here. Or you can go a short distance from here to a dude ranch for riding lessons.

Vancouver itself has adequate transport, the Skytrain (elevated fast track) to whisk you all over the area and into the downtown where you can shop or enjoy a lazy day sitting outside a cafe looking across the inlet  to the high mountains and watching the float planes fly in and out . Victoria, the Capital of the Province of British Columbia, is  indeed classed as a very English city with the magnificent Provincial Legislature parliamentary buildings themselves being a major attraction. The wood

panelling inside is awesome.

The journey up Howe Sound from Vancouver , across the high spectacular Lions Gate Bridge over Burrard Inlet, which leads into the British Properties once owned by the Irish Guinness family and  being the most expensive Real Estate in Canada, then up the Sea to Sky Highway along a route winding along the coast of the Pacific Ocean  with quite stunning views of the ocean until it turns inland and onwards to the massive Whistler, Blackcomb skiing resorts. This is where the Winter sports will be held in 2012 and you will probably see plenty of this area on the T.V. at that time.

Our summers are short  from  June to September with the rainy season starting in October and then this rain, which can be torrential, stubbornly persists until very late Spring, when the snowpack up country in the mountains starts to melt and  the rivers stsrt running in torrents. The Fraser river which runs through Vancouver and suburbs  was within inches of flooding  round here this Spring and everyone was panicking.But we got lucky and it stopped rising one day from flooding whew!.

My advice to anyone coming to Canada is ..get on the continental cross-canada CN train in the East and enjoy a five to 7 day ride through a changing panoramic scene as you traverse through Province after Province  , then cut across the Rockies in to B.C. On the way you will see geese, wildlife, bears, moose , eagles and countless other animals, trees, and wonderful views on a trip you will never forget.

Then stop and get off in Vancouver and come and see me and stay with us  for a few days if you want. I know the area like the back of my hand since I have been here  for over 32 years. Contact me by Email through Scotty or this site and I will welcome you to Beautiful British Columbia and some. Maple Ridge has a website and so does Vancouver .

Cheers

Scarlet :021:

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

We're off to Cape Breton this week for Celtic Colours. Are there any other ICT supporters over in Sydney? CanadaBob has surely experienced the Blas Festival roots.

On a general note the Alaska Highway from north of the Rockies upwards throiugh the Yukon takes some beating as a civil engineering achievement. I would echo the sentiments about Vancouver and recommend the sea journey from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and then the journey over to the Rockies through Richard Hastings birthplace Prince George.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Just in case you are interested the Province of British Columbia is one and a half times the size of France.

And Prince George lies about a thousand miles north of Vancouver as the Eagle flies.

:002:

[The Mantis]

And Prince George lies about a thousand miles north of Vancouver as the Eagle flies.

Shame it wasn't Prince Philip...

[RiG]

I've been reading up on flights/tours to/of Canada recently. I was quite interested in doing one of these tours that all the young folks do. I came across one company called Moose Tours I think it was. You can get a 3 week tour of the Western side of Canada for about ?400. I'd then probably have a week doing whatever I wanted to do.

Canadaian Affairs can fly you out from Glasgow for ~ ?170 (one way) which seems pretty good!

I was told recently that there might be Inverness - Nova Scotia flights starting next year. Any Inverness folk confirm?

[Johnboy]

So the question for Scotty ,Canada Bob ,Pimple etc is where do we head for,wher's a good base(dinna want to book and end up in the Methil of Canada) 

I've just come across this thread....

What the fcks wrong with Methil...? You ever been to Fintry..?

[Scotty]

I've been reading up on flights/tours to/of Canada recently. I was quite interested in doing one of these tours that all the young folks do. I came across one company called Moose Tours I think it was. You can get a 3 week tour of the Western side of Canada for about £400. I'd then probably have a week doing whatever I wanted to do. Canadaian Affairs can fly you out from Glasgow for ~ £170 (one way) which seems pretty good!

170 for Vancouver? or for Toronto/Montreal? I would suggest also looking directly at Zoom, AirTransat, FlyGlobespan, & Thomas Cook Airlines. I think Canadian Affair tend to use either Globespan or Thomas Cook but I have also seen Zoom offer $199 CDN each way (Toronto) at certain times and that is only £99. Also - with cheap flights available to London, it might be worth looking at things like AirTransat out of Gatwick as they can often be cheaper than Glasgow/Edinburgh/Manchester.

I was told recently that there might be Inverness - Nova Scotia flights starting next year. Any Inverness folk confirm?

havent heard that one over here, but then again, its unlikely to be reported in Toronto !

Canadian skies are not as 'liberated' as European ones so I would guess that if there is such a service coming then it would be operated by someone like BMI (a 'star alliance member') on a 'codeshare' with Air Canada (another star alliance member) so you would end up with Inverness - London via BMI, and then Air Canada to Nova Scotia either directly or via Toronto/Montreal. The involvement of Air Canada would mean it would not be cheap !

one point to note - cheap fares like you get on Ryanair, EasyJet, BMI are not generally available within Canada so get yourself as close to where you want to go as possible .... my friends were amazed when i told them how much our internal european flights cost last year as you have to drop down into the states to get anything half as good as any of those deals.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Spent three weeks in Wiinipeg with my ex-wifes relatives - feckin brilliant holiday - although they did have a log cabin by the Lake and Labatt Blue and JD was on tap.