My family and I (Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister in Law & myself) live in Australia and are planning a trip to Canada in Dec 2017 for Dad's birthday. I have made a list of places I want to see. The list includes: Vancouver, Calgary (Banff), Toronto (Niagara Falls), Ottawa, Montreal & Quebec City. Just wondering if driving is possible for the Eastern cities? I have driven in snow before (lived in Wisconsin for 2 years) but would only do this if it was reasonably safe roads and not if it was really heavy snow. My plan so far would be fly into Vancouver, fly to Calgary, bus/transfer travel to Banff, fly to Toronto, then drive to Ottowa, Montreal and Quebec. Does this sound reasonable? Looking to spend approx 2 or 3 days in each place. I know that's not long in each place but just want to see the main attractions/tourist spots. I would also love to ski at Whistler for either 1 or 2 days. Any tips would be much appreciated on best ways to travel (or on anything at all really).
:)
It is not the best time of year to travel to Canada but you are very unlikely to be snowbound, while snow is a possibility at that time of year, it is too early for there to be a large accumulation already on the ground, any that does fall will be cleared very quickly and driving will be back to normal within a day or less. All the eastern Canadian cities you are interested in are connected by major highways that will be the first to cleared. Due to a quirk of topography, the Niagara Escarpment, which tends to cause clouds to drop their precipitation, Niagara Falls actually gets more snow that the other eastern Canadian cities although it is the most southerly of them
Thanks Mark. We were hoping for a white Christmas. Any suggestions on where that would be best from the cities listed? Also why is it not the best time to travel there? I just read it can be quite rainy in Dec?
I would think that you are most likely to have snow in the Rockies and least likely to have snow in Vancouver (but almost certain to have rain). Most people would prefer the summer or the spring and autumn than the winter to travel in Canada, all sorts of activities like canoeing in lakes in the woods or even just staying in a cottage on a lake in the woods are just not suitable for winter. Skiing and ice skating are the only particular winter activities but both of these would be much more certain in February than December.
As you know from Wisconsin, snowfall is as dangerous on the roads because of its unpredictable habits as because of amounts. You also know that the Great Lakes influence snow as much as how far north you are located. Snow blown off Lake Erie can land on Niagara Falls as easily as blizzards from Lake Huron socking in Toronto. Be prepared, which means being flexible and staying put rather than trying to drive if the weather turns ugly. My guess is that Quebec City would have the best shot at a white Christmas, certainly better than the Falls. But Niagara has the appeal of a Christmas lights festival, including coloured spotlights on the falls themselves.
Next topic: How do Australians dress for Canadian winters. Layers, of course; a warm hat covering your ears; footwear to keep the tootsie dry as well as warm; even thermal underwear if you plan on being outdoors extensively in Quebec.
a few thoughts while you continue to do your research as dec 2017 is a long ways away
google average temperatures for each place you want to visit. i'd recommend trying to be in banff / lake louise at christmas time...it's special. but, if we get a snow storm, you may not want to be driving until they can clear the roads. average temps would be about -10 but could be as bad as -30. if there is a wind...very cold. do you all have cloths/boots for a canadian winter?
you are travelling long distances. sit down and figure out how many hours you are going to be spending in airports trying to get between so many places.
not uncommon for flights to be delayed due to weather conditions
how many days / nights are you actually planning on
with that many people and luggage, you'll need to rent a van when renting a vehicle.
unless you have a long time, such as 5-6 weeks, i would pick either the west or the east to visit...don't try to do both
check out some accommodation prices in the places you want to see. with that many people you'll need a few rooms or "specialty" rooms. in places such as banff / lake louise...it will be very pricey around christmas.
whistler may or may not have decent snow in december. if you want to ski....do it in banff / lake louise.
One piece of important info missing is that December is the darkest month of the year. Sunrises usually are around 8am and it gets dark again by 4pm. You do not have many hours in the day to enjoy the outdoors. For a white Christmas, Vancouver is not a good choice, and Whistler may not have snow in the village yet.
Please note that it is certainly possible to drive between most of those eastern cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City) you are also able to take VIA Rail between all of them, too. If you buy your tickets ahead of time (a few weeks ahead - or maybe a few months ahead if you are traveling near Christmas) then they aren't even that expensive. Even if you are comfortable driving in the snow it's still a random variable that you can mitigate by taking the train.
Great advice!
A few thoughts. I know you are trying to see as much as possible, but I would probably suggest cutting down the number of destinations.
Firstly, in December you do run the very real risk of weather playing havoc with travel plans. By mid November, there's usually (plenty of) snow on the ground in the Rockies and Alberta/inland BC. And it doesn't take much snow to start to play havoc with flight schedules. As such, I would want to minimize the number of plane trips. Especially around the holidays, rebooking a delayed or cancelled flight could quickly turn into a nightmare.
Also, two or three days in each place means lots of packing and repacking. That can get tiring pretty quickly and take away from your time to enjoy the trip. And with our short winter days, your daytime activity hours are going to be fairly short. The Rockies are truly spectacular, even in the snow, so I would not shortchange that part of the trip. You pretty much have a 100% chance of snow there and of a white Christmas.
As such, I would suggest dropping Vancouver and going directly to Calgary. You can either fly direct to Calgary or connect to Calgary from Vancouver. Vancouver is really much more fun when there's sun and warm weather - if it's wet & chilly, not so nice. For skiing, you are much better off going to the Rockies (Lake Louise, Norquay, Sunshine) early in the season. Most years Whistler takes longer to get going, and you have a much better chance of good snow along the continental divide.
Spend 4-6 nights in the Rockies. You will want to book early if it's close to Christmas, but you have a variety of options from condos (in Canmore only) to great hotels and cozy mountain lodges. You will probably need at least 2 rooms/suites or family style set up. Note that private rentals are illegal in Banff (and non-existent in Lake Louise), but there are some hotels that offer townhouse/condo style rentals.
Lots of things to do as well - dog sled rides, snowshoeing, shopping, good food, ice skating, skiing, xc skiing, holiday festivals etc. I would rent a car - you will want snow tires, but the highways between Calgary and Lake Louise are large and well cleared. An SUV is not needed -just a regular car. Also note that our days are even shorter here - in December daylight is basically 9am or later to about 3:30pm. So your days will be short and you want to minimize driving after dark (snow, wildlife etc). Another reason to allow at least 4 or 5 nights in the area.
Then fly to Toronto. I agree that taking the train to Quebec is probably a great option. Roads there can be crowded and just about everywhere people seem to forget how to drive in snow every year. Best to be snug on the train than caught in a traffic mess on the highway. I think Quebec City is especially charming and worth more time than, say, Ottawa or Toronto.
Note that Niagara Falls isn't so much of a winter destination. They actually turn down the water flow in the winter and the falls can get a pretty good freeze (they froze pretty well this past winter!).
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