Is it cheaper to book car or rv rental or just turn up on the day? Vancouver Canada

I'm going to Canada in April next year.
I'm going to rent a car or RV for 2 weeks around British Columbia. Is it usually cheaper to go into a vehicle rental company on the day and see what they have or is it cheaper to book well in advance?
Also any recommendations for cheap car/campervan company's in Vancouver? I'm aiming to do this as cheap as possible. Possibly an RV or car and tent as apposed to hostels. Any tips at all are welcome.
Thanks!

You need to post this on the Canada Branch, this is Central America, as in Guatemala to Panama.

Hi and welcome to Thorn Tree dangrav!

As @mrmoto has recommended, I've moved this one over to the Canada branch for you so our experts can help you out.

Cosima1

Thanks!
I didn't realise.
I blame Iphone screens

Book a car in advance. Then either tent, stay in hostels, or sleep in the car (if feasible).

RV's are not really budget friendly. Cost more to rent, use much more gas, and a campsite costs as much as a hostel bed. There are cheap/free forestry campgrounds all around BC, but they often have nasty access roads and small sites not suitable for RVs.

Would the nasty access road be nice on a adventure bike or sturdy SUV? Just curious...sounds nice, I really like limited access tent sites, even if you have to walk-in 15 minutes. Are there crazy mozzies up there too like Minnesota/Wisconsin or does it vary depending where you are, time of year and elevation?

Remember that April is still very early in the spring. Vancouver is likely to be cold and damp, but up in the mountains it will still be winter. It won't be biking season - it will still be ski season. The higher resorts can be open until May, depending on the weather. Certainly in the far south areas it may be warmer, but it's not going to be full on spring anywhere. And so no, mosquitoes won't be an issue - still well to early for them.

I believe the requirement for winter tires is only through March 31, but you don't want to be driving an RV in inland/mountain areas of BC in early to mid April unless you are comfortable driving in the snow. Early April can be a bad time for avalanches, which can shut or cause major delays in the high mountain passes. So a bike or SUV isn't going to do you any better - most of us drive regular sedans. If the weather is too bad to be out in car with solid snow tires, you probably shouldn't be on the road anyway.

You also need to check to see what campsites will actually be open - because of the weather, many (most?) don't open until at least early May or the May long weekend (mid to late May). Those that are open are likely to have limited services - i.e. pit toilets and no hookups or running water. Free camping is forbidden other than on crown land, and I suspect that in April, many of those locations will not be accessible or will still be very mucky/muddy/wet from the spring melt.

I think BC is fairly similar to AB - if so, you're not going to find campsites that are more than a minute or two walk from a car park unless you are in the backcountry. Certainly there are places with tent only sites, but they are set up so you can easily carry stuff from your car. And as mentioned, many, if not most, campgrounds will likely be shut.

april possibly worst time of year for just travelling around. not much going on anywhere. if the buck no worries then sure RV but rule out any camp site, in snow season the ins rule is 4 matching snow tires or your not covered. in bc. if a tires blows then you must replace with same type.

Okay thanks for the info.
So will it be hard to find open campsites in April. How about early May? I'm flying in to Toronto in the first week of April and I'm thinking of being around Quebec area for around 2 weeks. I'm considering getting the greyhound bus over to Vancouver or booking a flight if it's not much more expensive so I'll probably be in BC in early May.
Will it be a bit extreme to camp in a tent in the mountains due to cold weather?
I'm not bothered about tours etc I'm going to experience the outdoors and see the country. Hmm

only experienced winter campers would camp in the mountains in april in a tent. you'll need to bring along alll the required winter gear and an excellant sleeping bad and something to keep you off the ground. many campsites don't open until the 3rd week of may. check out average temperatures and check lows for the various places you are considering visiting. also, if you are renting a car, are you experienced driving in winter snow / ice. while it can be nice and warm some days, we can still have blizzards in april.

+1 to ltt

April and early may is not the time for tent camping other than for backcountry skiing and only if you have experience and gear for winter camping. You need a winter tent (NOT cheap), very warm sleeping bag, thick sleeping mat and lots of layers of down/fleece etc. Plus stove and lots of fuel for cooking and heating water. I've had subfreezing nights even in mid May up near Banff NP - and that was not at a very high elevation.

As mentioned, most campsites won't open until mid to late May - those that have early dates may be open but with no services and quite possibly no running water (water pumps are often not turned on until the risk of a freeze is over). If a campsite is shut for the winter, there may or may not be firewood in place yet for the summer.

Remember that in the mountains, April and May is not a time when you can really 'experience the outdoors' unless you are skiing, backcountry skiing or ice climbing. Seasonal roads will be shut, lakes still solidly frozen, higher elevations still snowy well into May and many if not most trails not hikeable. In a warmer spring, you may have some very low elevation hiking options in early May, but generally April and early May in the mountains are for end of season downshill skiing, backcountry skiing on the glaciers and resting up for the summer. Not hiking or walking.

If you want to explore the outdoors, you are best sticking with the coastal areas and lower elevation areas in the south of BC (Penticton etc). It will be warmer there with a lot more options for activities.

I would not suggest taking Greyhound across the country in mid April - not only would be it pretty boring (most of it would be white, flat and dreary), but you run a pretty high risk of encountering nasty weather. You could well end up with an unintended extra night or two somewhere in northern Ontario or the prairies. Flying would be much preferable, and a lot safer.

years ago in my youth tented in a closed prov park temp was minus10 had fun getting the old station wagon out as roads had iced over during the night. your time of year not so bad. a good down filled sleeping bag will do the trick. for greyhound book week ahead to get fares heavily, discounted. lots of discounts, but you have to ask though. bus less than a quarter of airfare. plus on arrival no large cab fare waiting for you? (, as your in the middle of no where.). you can get closer to final, destination by bus. . just let driver know. one time in Australia when I arrived in perth by greyhound , at evening, . driver even dropped me off at the hostel.

beg to differ. that time of year 99% no problem cross country by bus. just tedious but quite doable. done it myself twice, even met up with 70yr old lady. she went from bc to maritimes by herself both ways. as she could not afford the airfare. have munchies and liquids plus a good book to while away the time. have camera ready once near Calgary.? when you arrive you will understand. glk. for bus unless you reserve seat its first come first served for seating.

mrmoto: there are plenty of forestry camp sites that are no problem at all to drive into. They are a nice change from the big provincial parks and are a favourite of young people, who like the zero cost.

The mosquitos in BC (at least in the southern areas) are nothing like in Manitoba, where I grew up. It can vary from year to year, but I have never sprayed myself with bug repellant in BC (lived here 14 years now).

I'm going to rent a car or RV for 2 weeks around British Columbia.

What part(s) of BC would this include - Vancouver Island, up to Prince Rupert, the Okanogan Valley, or essentially Vancouver out to the Canadian Rockies and back?

Whatever, we have done three BC road-trips (Vancouver - Rockies, in autumn) over the years, and I can offer the following:

• definitely rent a modest sedan (presumably with winter tyres)
• it will be too cold for a van
• we always pre-book / pre-pay overseas cars using carhire3000.com
• they are competitive, include insurance, and are good to deal with
• stay in either the excellent YHA hostels or budget motels / airbnb rooms
• definitely fly from the east to Vancouver (it will be much cheaper net)

Without knowing your itinerary, it's hard to offer many destination suggestions, however I would certainly recommend the Icefield Parkway between Jasper and Banff - to my mind the best 200km drive in all North America we've seen. Include three nights at YHA Lake Louise too.

We also really enjoyed Whistler for 2-3 nights, but we were there on a very warm September holiday weekend.

Yes, you should definitely fly....that is a very long trip by bus. If you do a flight search on google flights you will see that now a flight for late April/early May from Toronto to Vancouver is about $370 Canadian. In early January there will be seat sales offered and you should watch for a price of about $250 to be on offer, Tuesday and Wednesday flights are usually the cheapest.

I have usually used Enterprise when I have rented cars in Canada (not that often as we have a car) for the best price and service. What I found is that different locations in the same city will offer different prices, sometimes quite substantially different, for the same time period and vehicle. So it can pay to take a bus/taxi to a different location to save hundreds of dollars.

And when I rented a van one time for a family trip with dog etc., I was watching the price and found that on Sunday nights they would offer lower prices for the same rental in the future, from the price offered two days earlier. That was with Avis car rental, don't know if others are like that. But if you have the time and inclination it can pay to shop around.

You will not get winter tires on a rental from Vancouver. The snow tire restriction is from October 1 to March 31 every year.

Good reminder about rental car price differentials ... and we use that carhire3000.com website to make comparisons between airport / downtown / suburban pick-up locations, for a given car and dates. Enterprise is one of the operators they broker for as well.

We have used rentalcars.com for some years now and have been able to get good rates.

Avoid making any changes to the booking - this is inconvenient. More importantly, don't return the car late - you will pay a lot more for the extra time.

Avoid making any changes to the booking - this is inconvenient.

Do you mean once you're on the road?

We've found with years of rentalcars.com / carhire3000.com that making amendments prior to travel is pretty straightforward, and is fairly risk-free, unless your new dates are in a higher price market. And check your car(s) for pre-existing dents and scratches.

Making changes prior to picking up the car is not a big problem (although if left late can result in confusion). As long as you sort out the plan when picking up the vehicle it's OK. Once on the road, it can be a challenge, although once again, fixable. The trick is avoiding simply rolling up a day late at the end of the rental, in which case the extra day is charged at the full (i.e. maximum) rate.

I hope people are respectful and return their car on time.
We had a vehicle booked from our city far in advance, for a long trip; garbage was taken out, fridge cleaned out, all electronics disconnected, etc. Went to the rental agency and they did not have our vehicle, as the people just decided not to return it on time. I had pre-paid the hotel for the night, 1000 km. down the road....

Touch wood, it's never happened to us, and we've rented dozens of cars.

Rather, it could have happened ... a few times we have had a pleasant upgrade - a couple of times to something spectacular. Could they not substitute your booked car with something else they had ... seems extraordinary they did not.

Well, the thing was that we were renting a van. A family trip, 3 older kids and a large dog....We had two cars but didn't want to drive both of them across the country. They did offer some large SUV, but we didn't want that, we had a Subaru outback of our own.

We got the van a day later, and we realized why they were so popular! Great with a dog.

I see ... yes ... a specific van is a different issue indeed.

We've never rented one, either here in Australasia, Europe, or North America ... although we borrowed a Toyota Hiace in NZ for six weeks once, and it was okay in good weather (hopeless and uncomfortable in rain).

We were sitting enjoying the sunshine last September, in the carpark of Sulfur Mountain in Banff. We were chatting to a nice German guy whose wife and daughters were hiking the mountain.

He was cleaning out the RV - a mid-size rig from CruiseAmerica - and for a very long time he entertained us with his list of what was wrong with it, what he had been through to try and rectify things, his dim view of the rental company office in Vancouver, and his equally glum view of Canada and Canadians generally. He gave us some cake.

We were thankful for our zippy little Ford Focus, at the end of the day.

Yes, the Germans seem to love renting those things. I like "zippy" as well. I was shocked at the prices in Banff when we came out that way with our three kids the first time (I had been many times myself) over 15 years ago: the prices were at levels for the large number of Japanese and German tourists. As a Canadian family it was unaffordable to camp, in our own national parks. Thus have never wanted to do it again.

I didn't know what a Toyota Hiace was, we don't have them here, but I googled it. Very large, the type of thing that they had for sports teams when we lived in the UK.

Minivans became the thing for families in North America a couple of decades ago. My husband and I always thought we were too cool for such a vehicle, lol. Too suburbia. But I also didn't like that the safety standards on them were not as stringent as on passenger vehicles (except for Toyota, I believe) so we just bought a car big enough to fit all of us. When we rented one that time we were surprised how comfortable it was and so perfect for three kids and a dog. It was to be the last time we took a driving trip with the entire family.

Sound like Rover has had some good trips.

Just one correction ... a Toyota Hiace is a tiny little thing ... just big enough for a double bed and some storage.

Quite common in Australasia (not just for travellers), never seen in North America.

Here is a typical one.

I agree, the base Hiace (with which I was familiar in Asia) is a small delivery van.

Perhaps Bcmum found the Granvia (known as the Hiace in Europe) which is a bit bigger.

I just googled images of it earlier. There are different versions, but even the one you posted seemed pretty big to me. Depends what you are comparing it to!

No bcmum, I can attest that it's tiny - just a bed (convertible to a table + seats), maybe a cupboard and space for a small stove. There is no big version of a Hiace - they are just small multi-purpose vans (delivery, people-movie such as a maxi-taxi, and of course, for travellers).

There is a sliding side door, and a rear hatch door. On a lot of rental models, the roof is raised about 350mm - if this is permanent it's called a HiTop, and if it is pushed up by the user, it's called a PopTop. The advantage of this is considerable - you can actually stand in the van without having to stoop.

Here is a good example of a HiTop.

That van is very cute! I would think it could be quite popular in Canada, exactly how it is in the photo. My husband would love one of those to drive and drive and drive....

You can still see VW vans driving around here the odd time. We actually saw one yesterday---my daughter said something about hippies and are they from Quebec? Yup, turned into a parking spot and yes the license plate was from Quebec. They like to come out here to BC and pick fruit.

According to Wikipedia, the Toyota HiAce was first launched in 1967, and has since been available in a wide range of configurations, including minivan (MPV) and minibus, van, pick-up, taxi, and ambulance.

I've seen the occasional Westphalia in North America - sort of like a Hiace and sort of like a VW Kombi, with a pop-up roof.

It is indeed odd how small vans haven't really caught on, given how many hippies there were, and how many Americans love being on the road. They must either get a big campervan, or just a sedan and stay in Motel6.

Different culture to Australasia. There are even smaller vans as well - Wicked Campers.

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