Hi Canadians, I am giving up on web search and rely again on actual people.
I want to go to Canada in Summer for about 5-6 weeks. I already asked a travel agency for a quote for renting a RV, but thats STUPID expensive. I used to go couchsurfing. the website is no more (i think), i am registered on BeWelcome now but haven’t looked into it.
What’s the best ways for someone with little money to still travel most of the country? renting a car there? buying one and selling it later? RVs? couchsurfing (and how)? hostels? camping?
I am grateful for all hints and tipps and connections :)
edit after some comments: I’m from Germany. My budget is not high. I think I can maybe push it to 4000$, but that’d be pretty high for me.
Used to be able to get an open rail ticket, looks like that’s not a thing anymore? I did find this, but I’m not awake enough to figure out how good a deal it is. Rail is definitely one of the more memorable ways to cross Canada. Can get a trip from Toronto to Vancouver for $1300+ with stops in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Kamloops. That’s only a 5 day trip, so you’d have to figure something out for the other weeks.
Railpass is something i didn’t know about, so thank you so much for the suggestion. The price is stupid expensive, but maybe there’s some catch or discount i can find.
Hope you’re able to get something worked out, there’s a lot of really beautiful bits of Canada. Have a great time, and be safe!
Looking at some of the comments above, I’ll just add my 2 cents. The $900/week for a car must be with chauffeur and champagne because a quick Expedia search confirms that $350/week with unlimited mileage seems fair. And rail outside of the Toronto - Montreal corridor is a waste I think. Especially as they now charge you as though you are flying, with baggage fees and weight limits.
The other comment that noted staying in BC and Alberta for 5-6 weeks makes good sense. You could rent a car in the where you fly in and out of, and just travel cheap from there. Bring a tent and you’ll find lots of camping areas in both provinces. And along with Jasper and Banff, make sure you hit Drumheller and the Royal Tyrell Paleontology museum, one of best in the world!
If you want more cities, then just focus on the Toronto to Quebec city corridor. Lots of beautiful sights and places to see.
hey thanks for weighing in. 350$ a week for a car does seem reasonable, depending on the car. but could i maybe buy one for that price? (6 weeks makes that around 2000$)
what is it about Saskatchewan and Manitoba that makes them “forgetable”? i’d like to see Montréal and Toronto and Vancouver. But is there nothing in the “between-states” worth visiting?
It’s very flat, very prairie, and very samey. I remember driving from Saskatoon, SK to Prince George, BC once and somewhere between Saskatoon and Calgary started to get a bit weirded out because I swear we passed the same fence gate every 15 minutes for 5 hours.
sounds kinda interesting as I’ve not seen this kind of landscape in my life
