Author Topic: Frugal vacation in Canada?  (Read 3269 times)

StockBeard

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 649
  • Age: 42
Frugal vacation in Canada?
« on: March 18, 2016, 08:38:59 PM »
I'm trying to prepare a trip to Canada with my wife and 2 young kids (5 and 2). We'll be going somewhere around June.

I'll probably ask for more in this thread, but for now I'm looking for a reasonably cheap place to rent a car in Vancouver, for 6 days. We'll probably need a GPS and 2 car seats for the kids. I can't find anything that I find reasonable. (We don't own a car and will be reaching Vancouver most likely by train from the US)

Any suggestion?

kimmarg

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 750
  • Location: Northern New England
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2016, 08:49:41 PM »
www.viarail.ca

stick to the train!

StockBeard

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 649
  • Age: 42
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2016, 09:03:37 PM »
www.viarail.ca

stick to the train!
Hmmm, my wife wants to go to a place named "Whistler", viarail doesn't seem to know about that place. Thanks for the tip though.

YK-Phil

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1173
  • Location: Nayarit (Mexico)
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2016, 09:46:11 PM »
There are really no cheap car rentals company, it depends on the season, the location, the type of vehicle. I always find the best prices at carrentals.com, whether at home or abroad.

With young children, you might want to look into renting a small camper van (or a larger RV if you prefer). Campers are a bit more expensive than a car but you save on hotels which can be pricey in BC. Check Wicked Campers, they rent small camper vans that come fully loaded with everything you need for a nice camping trip: http://www.wickedcampers.ca/

abcdefghijklmnop

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2016, 11:40:05 AM »
Hi Wololo, Whistler is great - you can take a shuttle there from Vancouver (either downtown or the airport) see: http://www.whistler.com/getting-here/road/shuttle/

You don't need transportation while in Whistler depending on where you stay - the villages (upper and lower) are totally walkable and the town is really bikeable (you can rent bikes lots of places) and there's also some transit. 

Activities at that time of year are hiking, walking, golfing, biking (including downhill) and you can also go up the mtn and sightsee and do the peak to peak chair.  There's also a great playground in the Olympic Village (you can't miss it, very easy to find) that your kids will love.

Not sure how long you are thinking of staying there but you can do Whistler in a day or 10.  You can see lots in a day for sure if that helps with your planning.

Now you don't need a car if you are going to stay in Vancouver either.  Transit and Skytrain are amazing.  In fact I travel there frequently (grew up there) and if you are downtown I won't do anything but Skytrain.  See: http://www.translink.ca/en/Schedules-and-Maps/SkyTrain.aspx

Have fun!

MandalayVA

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1569
  • Location: Orlando FL
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2016, 12:10:36 PM »
+1 for Skytrain.  Mr. Mandalay and I were in Vancouver a few years ago and used Skytrain pretty frequently.  It was like riding the monorail at Disney World.

PharmaStache

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 274
  • Location: Canada
  • Peg City 'Stache
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2016, 12:13:32 PM »
If you are a costco member, their travel site has the best rates I've found (and I've been obsessively pricing rental cars for 2 Canadian locations later this year).  I also check often- the price is constantly changing.  You can book with them and just cancel and rebook whenever you want.  It's also cheaper to book a non-airport location, which you're already doing.  Normally I'd suggest bringing your car seats along but I'm thinking that's not an option on a train!  You *could* get by without a car (especially if you're just doing centrally located things)- what about just renting a car for a couple of days?

tobitonic

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 549
Re: Frugal vacation in Canada?
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2016, 01:11:18 PM »
Bring your car seats if at all possible, or be prepared to buy new ones. Many rentals will stock expired seats.