San Fran and then to Vancouver...Canada?

[PLANT]

Looking at flying over 19th June.
After some help with Itinerary for tripSan Fran for 3 days? 20th--->23rd leave?
To do: Alcatraz, Bridge(how to get there from downtown, Zig Zag road, Cable car and Wharf.....anything else?
Accom YHA or what under $100 a night?23rd fly to Vancouver
3days here to 26th?
What to see: Stanley Park, Capilano suspension bridge, Grouse mtn?Then Pickup car and DRIVE East....Maybe Vennon overnight before into Lake Louise 27th.29th Drive to Banff for 2 nights..what to see? Parks,walks right?
1st July Banff to Jasper(Calgary not required?) How long in Jasper?
....not sure form here should I drive down to Whistler(or somewhere)
Get back to Vancouver the next day and fly somewhere else in Canada?Have until the 15th July depart LAX​

 

[PLANT]

Yep so update is looking at being back in Vancouver 4th and leaving 5th.
Would you fly to Toronto, Montreal then to Boston, Chicago????
Come on guys...HELP

 

[Hvr]

To get to Alcatraz from the city centre catch a tram to pier 33. Try and book ahead if you can, when I went there recently they were booked out for the day and I had to wait until the next day to get to Alcatraz.

Walk the Golden gate Bridge, it is magnificent. Only about 5 miles from pier 33 so a good walk that is very scenic.

 

[PLANT]

Someone on here recommended Air Canada to fly in Canada because 1. Good flights 2. SQ points rewarded.
Why is it $330CA from Montreal to Boston when 1hr15min flight?
What is JAZZ Air Canada about?

 

[dfcatch]

Someone on here recommended Air Canada to fly in Canada because 1. Good flights 2. SQ points rewarded.
Why is it $330CA from Montreal to Boston when 1hr15min flight?
What is JAZZ Air Canada about?

Your Canadian driving plan has a lot of backtracking.

I would spend a day seeing sights in Vancouver, I would drive to Whistler and spend 2 nights there, then you could drive east if want and do Banff, Jasper etc, then I just would have flown from Calgary to Toronto.

Or you may have found it cheaper to to Montreal, then Toronto, and from Toronto to Boston/Chicago/New York. Usually cheap flights from Toronto City Airport to Montreal and return.

Of course even cheaper would be driving from Toronto to Niagara (maybe spend a night at Niagara on the Lake), then drive to Buffalo and take an uber-cheap flight from there

Depending on your priorities.

I would rank Whistler as a must do, Calgary can be skipped, but Banff is great. Jasper nice, I would rank it in with Kelowna, Kamloops or Fernie. Vernon is not really a destination IMHO.

San Francisco I would do Alcatraz, Lombard St, Cal Academy of Sciences, Ferry Building, drive over the Golden Gate to Sausilito, Painted Ladies, Pier 39, and I'm biased to the Cheesecake Factory at Union Square . Two days of activities including Alcatraz.
Other options include Berkeley, Napa, Half Moon Bay if you need a 3rd day's activities.

Golden Gate pics best taken from Fort near Marina or headlands on the Marin County side.

 

[PLANT]

Really appreciate your input dfcatch.
Folks just did the car trip..so following there itinerary...they said scratch Calgary too...but flying out not such a bad idea if Car hire not to much to ONE WAY?
Same price one way...any One way car hire places?

Air Canada does not permit flight searches which have both an origin and destination in the United States. Buffolo flight? UBER CHEAP flight with WHO?
Folks thought nothing of Whistler...shops, more expensive shops and expensive car parking?

Victoria island hit or miss?
How long in Toronto and Montreal you reckon?​

 

[dfcatch]

Really appreciate your input dfcatch.
Folks just did the car trip..so following there itinerary...they said scratch Calgary too...but flying out not such a bad idea if Car hire not to much to ONE WAY?
Same price one way...any One way car hire places?

Air Canada does not permit flight searches which have both an origin and destination in the United States. Buffolo flight? UBER CHEAP flight with WHO?
Folks thought nothing of Whistler...shops, more expensive shops and expensive car parking?

Victoria island hit or miss?
How long in Toronto and Montreal you reckon?​

Whistler is simply stunning IMHO, but you have to go up the mountain and do the Peak 2 Peak, assuming zip lining, mountain biking or golf are not your thing.

Victoria Island is a hit.

Flying from buffalo, with whoever, don't limit yourself by airline, just go with whoever has the cheapest fare depending on destination....ORD/JFK/BOS.

Use AC for SFO-YVR, YYC/YVR-YYZ/YUL, YUL-YYZ (or Toronto City is even better). Use any cheap US airline for the short hops or Westjet unless AC is competitive on price.

Toronto city is doable in a day - it's just a city IMO. But drive down to Niagara and see the falls, and stay in Niagara on the Lake rather than Fallsview (a few miles away but nicer town). Simply stunning this time of year.

So 2 or 3 days maybe, depending on needs.

Montreal - probably similar timeframe.

Notre Dame Basilica (where Celine Dion got married if that floats your boat).

 

[PLANT]

Now I'm totally confused of what to do in itinerary....
Had Vancouver 3 days then drive...but you reckon go to Victoria Island (2 days) then comback and DRIVE to Whistler (2 days) Zip, Gondala(have been on one in Lucene Switzerland) then to cut up drive stop Kelwona for night and then to Banff 2 days, Jasper 2 days then drive to Calgary to get flight to Montreal then fly to Toronto, drive to Niagara falls(or bus?) then drive to Buffolo and fly to Boston

 

[dfcatch]

Now I'm totally confused of what to do in itinerary....
Had Vancouver 3 days then drive...but you reckon go to Victoria Island (2 days) then comback and DRIVE to Whistler (2 days) Zip, Gondala(have been on one in Lucene Switzerland) then to cut up drive stop Kelwona for night and then to Banff 2 days, Jasper 2 days then drive to Calgary to get flight to Montreal then fly to Toronto, drive to Niagara falls(or bus?) then drive to Buffolo and fly to Boston

Up to you of course - everyone has different desires to see things - but if it was me with this itinerary I would consider:

Do you have the spare (available) time, if it's tight then maybe drop a day from Vancouver to allow Victoria to stay on the list, as spectacular as Lucerne is, honestly - you will kick yourself if you don't at least briefly see Whistler and do the Peak 2 Peak (of course if weather isn't good - then skip it), I would also think about maybe dropping Jasper (perhaps) if tight on time and no specific reason to go..?? Banff and Lake Louise will give you your spectacular mountain experience.

(I definitely wouldn't keep Jasper in the list at Whistler's expense if its one-or-the-other).

Remember - Whistler is only an hour / hour & 1/2 from Vancouver - it's very close.

I was just talking to my boss last week about Whistler (first time he'd seen snow, born and bred in CNS), and he couldn't stop telling me how amazing he thought it was......(just to balance my personal bias).


Bottom line is with an itinerary like that - you're going to have an awesome time WHATEVER you decide to do with that destination list

 

[PLANT]

I have from after 3 days in Vancouver leaving on the 24th June to drive or goto Victoria Island to 15th July fly out LAX......so If I do the one way drive PLENTY of time...not sure if Montreal worth seeing?

 

[dfcatch]

I have from after 3 days in Vancouver leaving on the 24th June to drive or goto Victoria Island to 15th July fly out LAX......so If I do the one way drive PLENTY of time...not sure if Montreal worth seeing?

Montreal is amazing, and they're French Canadian rather than French - so it's ok

If you have the time I would include it if the budget allows.

 

[Mr Somerset]

I have a similar trip coming up in a couple weeks. We're going to have 5 days in SF (we're first time visitors there), then fly to Toronto to visit a friend. Now just trying to work out the besy way of getting back to LAX from Toronto. (best = cheapest in this instance). By the look of we we may be best to drive into the US then fly to LAX from there?

 

[TraceyK90]

I am living in Montreal at the moment, it is beautiful. What sort of things are you interesed in?

It is so much nicer than Toronto, which I think someone else pointed out is just a big city. Everyone greats you with Bonjour/Hi and you answer in your prefered language. A few words in French are useful. Lots of parks, great public transport over 30 museums. We are coming into festival time, jazz,comedy, francophile, indie etc. F1 is on this week, told the hubster to take the offer of the free tickets. Currently have massive student protests, every now and again they shut the metro down or ralley through the streets but they are pretty well behaved.

Go to Niagara but stay on the Canadian side, way nicer. IT is worth it. We drove down, took about 8 hrs but had three kids and a major traffic delay, and a gps that didn't work. I'll put a pic on my blog to convince you.

Winter although this one was mild was NOT fun walking kids the 1km to school in driving snow, minus 29 is cold, really cold.

 

[TraceyK90]

oh and air travel in Canada is expensive, just like it was at home before the days of Jestar and Virgin.

 

[PLANT]

Thanks Tracey90 I'm a budget traveller that Flys in and does as much as possible in the day for the cheapest price..so any tips, recommendations would be great?
To give you an example(this may be frowned upon) I flew in to LA and did Magic mountain, Universal, Knox and Disney land\ California adventure in 4 days( I covered both Disney\Cal parks in a day, I only paid $70 including hopper pass.)
In NY I used the Donation line in National Museum(National Treasure movie) paid $1 to get in!
Places to eat..any MAN vs Food?
Where to stay Niagara falls?
In saying this I did spend $250 to Heli-fly the Grand Canyon! Huge around $200 a night Accom bill in NY

 

[TraceyK90]

Mont Royal, huge park, free has a massive church, different to the pic posted
Redpath museum at McGill uni is free, small but nice to walk around the campus and see, they do appreciate donations. Recommend five dollars per adult. Took the kids on the weekend, it was graduation day but not super busy. They had a triceratops skull, cool if you are 40 or 6.
Reso, is the underground shopping network, it's like a hidden city.
the basilica in the photos amazing, even if you are not a celene Dion fan, it was breathtaking.
You can get a three day museum pass with unlimited public transport. I think it is 65, I'll try to find the website.
bixi bikes, hire bike stations are everywhere.
Stm metro and buses, you can get a day pass for unlimited trips I think - everything is close to a metro
not sure about YHA but I guess there would loads, it's a huge university town.
food is great everywhere, supermarkets are like French delis. Quebec has great cheeses!
greyline does an open top bus tour
stm bus from PT airport, costs about $7 to town
We stayed at the falls view Marriott - under 200 for the five of us. Best view from a hotel room ever.

 

[PLANT]

Hi all,

Looking at ONE WAY fromn Vancouver to Calgary car hire 7 days.
Used Novacarhire.com for Quote at $306
BUT when enquired about ONE WAY FEE informed that it will be $300!
Is there a better option like we have over here of ONE WAY CAR HIRE?
Or a company that calculates all INSURANCE costs in QUOTE and will get me there without the fee?

Regards

 

[Maca44]

The drop off fees for the hire car will kill the trip. In fact, hire car fees in Canada a a lot more than the US. You might consider looking around Vancouver using public transport for a day, then drive from Vancouver to Banff taking in all the stops on the way for your seven day hire including Lake Louise etc. Do not miss Banff. You can drive from Vancouver to Banff in a day, so if you did the loop over your seven days, and dropped the car back at YVR you would save the drop off fee, and get cheaper flights out of YVR. Vancouver Island is really beautiful, but don't think you will have time to do it. Toronto, although nice, is as others pointed out just another big city, but its right near Niagara Falls. Canada is a beautiful place, so if you can extend your trip by even a week it will be worth it.

 

[PLANT]

Mac44 I appreciate the info...it's a bloody long way from Banff to Vancouver in one day...but considering it due to car hire One way fee. Flights with AC seem to be the same cost from Calgary or Van...If I need to I can go back another time.
Would it better to bus down to Niagara and back in a day or stay overnight?
Fly out of Toronto on PD Porter?
Flight to LA booked so I need to get going with arrangements now ahhhhhhhhhh