I need help planning a trip to Canada...for a group of HS students!

Mar 14, 2007 at 4:14 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 34
wnewport

wnewport

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My friends and I are seniors in high school. We are looking to visit Canada this summer for about 18 days.

None of us have been there, and we don't really know what we are doing. We have traveled to Germany together before, but it was lightly guided by our school and a teacher.

Right now we are all in Kansas City. We would fly out of KCI and probably land in Toronto. From there we are looking to visit Montreal, Quebec, and possibly Halifax in Nova Scotia.

We would take a train to the different cities as none of us are 21 years of age to rent a car.



We don't have any specific destinations or places to see/eat at/experience. We are a diverse group of kids, and will probably divide up to do different things some days. (Like if some of us want to see a museum while the others want to visit a zoo or something
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The trip would take place in June. Each of us are prepared to spend around 2,000-2,600 dollars. We would rough it in cheap hotels by sharing rooms, sleeping on the floor, etc.



Any advice?
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:28 AM Post #2 of 34
Not many people know about this, but Canada is really only British Columbia and Alberta. The other provinces are used in bargaining tools, with Quebec, the other nation inside Canada. These other provinces were made so that Quebec never got close enough to Alberta and B.C


Um, if I were you, try and get over to the West Coast
eggosmile.gif


Nah, Toronto is a great place, and you gotta checkout the islands, just as PEI, Newfoundland, and all that. I would guess coming out West would burn the bank account, as for me to live here, its hard enough


See Niagara Falls, see the Blue Jays beat the rest of the AL East
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:42 AM Post #3 of 34
Man, I'm envious. You should be really excited about such a trip. You're going to have a great time.

It might be tough to make it out to the west coast on such a short trip (unless you fly, but that doesn't sound like it's in the budget), so your plan sounds great to me. I would try to see more of the Maritimes though than just Halifax. PEI and especially St. John's Newfoundland. The people there are just incredible.

In 18 days, I would suggest that you spend about 4 days in T.O., 4 days in Montreal, 2 in Quebec, and then the remaining 8 days in the Maritimes.

Don't know what you are into so it's really hard to suggest what to see, do, where to eat etc. Give me a little more info and I'll try to point you in the right direction.

Rob
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 5:06 AM Post #4 of 34
I'm not sure how it is on the east coast, but here in Vancouver, taking the train is insanely expensive because the economies of scale don't exist (not enough people take the train). I believe that taking the train from Vancouver to Toronto is more expensive than flying. It seems that the rails are almost strictly for cargo. If this is the case in the East, it looks like your only option would be to Greyhound it. Also consider Greyhounding across Canada. I would guess that it would take 8 or so days to cross Canada from Halifax to Victoria at non-stop speed for 10-12 hours a day. If this distance is covered at night while you sleep, you still have all day to do all the major cities and tourist attractions, plus you get to do Calgary (random hailstorms in the middle of summer), Banff (spectacular views), Vancouver (most beautiful city in the world with great multicultural dining), and Victoria (most english city this side of the Mississippi).
My family drove from Quebec City to Victoria when I was 5, it took us 12 days, and we spent 4 of them in Winnipeg, but we drove during the day.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 11:43 AM Post #5 of 34
The train ride from Montreal to Halifax takes about 20 hours, runs overnight, and is a very nice and relaxing trip. If you can afford the upgrade, getting a berth in a sleeper car makes a huge difference to the enjoyment versus a seat in coach. I used to ride the train back and forth from university, and it was reasonable with an ISIC card (look into this: it will save you money on the train). Not sure what the ticket goes for now.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 12:27 PM Post #6 of 34
Quote:

Originally Posted by TopShelf /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not many people know about this, but Canada is really only British Columbia and Alberta. The other provinces are used in bargaining tools, with Quebec, the other nation inside Canada. These other provinces were made so that Quebec never got close enough to Alberta and B.C


Um, if I were you, try and get over to the West Coast
eggosmile.gif


Nah, Toronto is a great place, and you gotta checkout the islands, just as PEI, Newfoundland, and all that. I would guess coming out West would burn the bank account, as for me to live here, its hard enough


See Niagara Falls, see the Blue Jays beat the rest of the AL East


Toronto? A great place? Man the only time I feel comfortable in Toronto is at night, because nobody is out (I mean like 1 in the morning) otherwise you never know whats going to happen. I hate the city and Ill be glad when I am gone in 1.25 months.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 2:01 PM Post #8 of 34
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pm@c /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Toronto? A great place? Man the only time I feel comfortable in Toronto is at night, because nobody is out (I mean like 1 in the morning) otherwise you never know whats going to happen. I hate the city and Ill be glad when I am gone in 1.25 months.


Its a great place if you have money, or know what your doing, just like New York, Boston, Vancouver, etc.
If you don't have enough funds, and are dropped off in the middle of nowhere, then by all means, its one big mess, with everyone around you, in the rough parts, noisy and all that.

I love the big cities, if your prepared and ready for it. If not, then I would rather take a small town.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 2:03 PM Post #9 of 34
Strip clubs in Quebec City. =] I went when I was 15 and when I was 16, lol. It was quite a fun trip. I went to Toronto during Summer of 2004 for like, 14 days or something and it was fun. There's way too many Chinese people there though, lol.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 2:43 PM Post #10 of 34
Please try to disregard the negative (mostly tongue in cheek) comments. I'll agree for once with Pm@c that Torontonians are generally jerks, but the city is beautiful and there is lots to see.

Some resources for you:

www.viarail.ca - This will be your transportation source from city to city.

Toronto

http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/ - This will be your transportation source within Toronto. Most major attractions are accessible by the subway, though a bus and streetcar network is available. Daily and weekly passes, for single or group use, are available and will save you big money. Single fare costs $2.75

www.toronto.ca - Information site for the city of Toronto and surrounding areas.

http://www.torontozoo.com/ - World class Zoo (nothing like San Diego, mind you) and a lot of fun.

http://www.ago.net - Art Gallery of Ontario
http://www.rom.on.ca/ - Royal Ontario Museum
http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/ - Ontario Science Centre
www.cntower.ca - CN Tower
http://www.rogerscentre.com/ - Rogers Centre site for information on sports and events while you're in town.
http://aircanadacentre.com/ - Same idea, but for the Air Canada Centre.

Ottawa

http://www.octranspo.com/ - Curious to Ottawa, the city opted for a network of bus- and cab-only freeways over a subway system.

www.ottawa.ca - Information site for the city of Ottawa and surrounding areas.

www.gallery.ca - Canadian National Art Gallery
http://cmcp.gallery.ca/ - Canadian Contemporary Photography Museum
http://www.warmuseum.ca/ - Canadian War Museum
http://www.civilization.ca/ - Canadian Museum of Civilization (In Hull, Quebec - minutes from Ottawa)
http://www.hauntedwalk.com/ - Haunted walks (also in Kingston, ON)
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/visitors/index-e.asp - Canadian Parliament

Montreal - Haven't been more than twice since I was a kid, so I'm a little out of touch

http://www.montreal.com/ - Information site for the city of Montreal

http://www.stm.info/English/a-somm.htm - Transportation source while in Montreal

http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/B2C...ML/1161_EN.asp - A good article outlining some fun things to do in the city.

[EDIT] - Try to give us a little more info on your group's interests.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 3:01 PM Post #11 of 34
It's too bad you're going to miss Western Canada...that's where the beauty of the country lies. But, since you're hitting Montreal, I would prepare to not sleep for a couple of days if you want to get lots of stuff in. By day you have museums galore, the Biodome, shopping on St Catherines. By night you can go to the touristy Crescent St to some bars or to the awesome St Laurent for everything imaginable. You can eat a different kind of food every night, visit a different bar every night (or two or three!). Plus, there's always concerts going on, events and whatnot. My advice would be to make a plan every day, or else you're just going to stand in the middle of the city bewildered and maybe not do as much as you'd like. Oh, yeah, also, get a place downtown. Although transportation runs 24/7, in the wee hours of the night it doesn't run as often. Walking around lets you see more and you're not tied down to anything.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 3:57 PM Post #14 of 34
When i was 17 I drove in my own car to St. Catharines, ON from Minneapolis, MN and it wasn't that bad. My vote is for you guys to just drive there. It will save you some cash, and you end up having a car while you are there. It won't be so bad if you split up the driving and gas money. It only took us 16 hours with stops to get there.

Anyways there is the fun of the road trip; half of the adventure happens on the road.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:10 PM Post #15 of 34
I had no problem taking a cab everywhere in Quebec City. Cab fair was very affordable, especially when splitting between 2 or 3 other people.

But my trip to Toronto we rented a SUV and a sedan instead because no one wanted to put miles on their cars, nor does any of my friends have a car that can fit more than 2 people comfortably (IS300, GTI, Eclipse, CL55, Integra). Rent a car if it's not too expensive. Just remember to close the gas cover before you return it or else your check engine light will be on. =T
 
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