4

My girlfriend and I are planning to go to Canada in March/April. We wanna travel from Vancouver to Toronto and all this cities there. But we also wanna see the nice landscape of Canada in the center. But last Friday we were in a travel agency and they say us that in this time Canada is really dead and we can't see anything and the weather is also not that nice. This make us really unsure. Now we are searching on the internet about bloggers or forums they are write something about this time in Canada but we can't find anything.

Can someone tell me is this true or we shouldn't go to Canada at this time and save the money for an other trip?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    I was once in Banff (Canadian Rockies) in mid-April. It looked beautiful, and the main road was clear. I'm not sure how much there is to see in the Canadian prairie at any time of year, depending on your interests. "Dead" also means significant discounts on hotels. – Andrew Lazarus Jan 10 '16 at 19:09
  • 2
    Regardless of the weather, your plan seems very ambitious. Canada is a huge country and the areas you're talking about are very far in between. – blackbird Jan 10 '16 at 19:22
  • 1
    How are you planning to travel? Drive all the way? You might want to consider to take the train for longer distances, then make stops and rent a car in places you wish to explore in more detail. I took the train once and it's very scenic. Takes a while but a lot faster than a car as it doesn't stop for resting, peeing, eating, or sleeping. – gerrit Jan 11 '16 at 14:49
  • This question is surely far too broad to be well-answered here. What do you consider "nice" weather? What are your planned activities? Moreover, there is a huge difference in climate between Vancouver, the Rockies, the plains, and Toronto. – choster Jan 11 '16 at 15:56
  • Thank you for all you're answers. @choster nice weather means we don't wanna have rain/snow/cloudy all days, but snow some days or snow on the floor would be nice. We would like to see some bears, moose, whales but also the auroras. Other activities some confortable hiking tours to see the blue/turquoise glacier lakes. – Simon Jan 11 '16 at 19:31
8

March and April are interesting times in Canada. Much of the country is still very cold. You will find snow in most of the country in March except the very temperate parts (which is essentially the extreme West coast). Even in the warmer parts like Toronto the temperature averages around 10C in April. There might well be snow. In the central cities like Winnipeg the average temperature is below freezing, even in April. In Most parts of the country, including Vancouver, people will be still skiing in March.

Whether you will find the place 'dead' depends very much on what you want to see. If you are solely visiting cities, then most museums and other indoor attractions will be open. If you are looking for outdoor attractions then many will be closed, and many more on reduced hours. Most parks will probably not be open (or open only for winter activities), and conditions on hiking trails will be treacherous, even if open. If you are looking for winter attractions (ski resorts etc.) then they will be coming to the end of the season, but should still be open at least through March.

It's perfectly possible to have a great vacation in Canada at this time, provided you are dressed for the weather (and potential bad weather), and are not expecting outdoor activities. And as blackbird57 says, be aware that Canada is a huge country. Simply driving from Vancouver to Toronto will take a week, without allowing for any time to stop and sightsee.

If you have only a week or two, but really want to travel at this time, you might consider staying in the BC coastal area (Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Rocky Mountains). The weather is much milder there; there is more than enough to occupy you for two weeks, and the scenery is better than the prairies (sorry Saskatchewan!)

I'm also not sure who told you about the "nice landscape in the centre". The prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta) are extremely flat. People go there for many reasons, but not often for the landscape. Although tastes may vary.

Improve this answer
2
  • As a kid I drove (alone) Toronto to Vancouver in about 2-1/2 days. I didn't sleep much and speed limits were about 10% higher. To drive through Calgary, Edmonton, Banff, Kamloops, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg takes about 49 hours (pure driving time- ~4700km) according to Google maps. More if you want to visit Medicine Hat or Moosejaw. A reasonable person might take 2-3 weeks to do that. The prairies are pretty boring and flat, but the Rockies are fantastic and Northern Ontario (almost 2000km of it) is at least interesting for a few hours. – Spehro Pefhany Jan 10 '16 at 20:39
  • I took the train from Toronto to Jasper and I can't agree with comments about the prairies being boring. The train through the Qu'appelle river valley and nearby areas is pretty scenic if you like remote wide open spaces, and Grasslands National Park has been on my bucket list for a while now, although I certainly wouldn't go there in March. – gerrit Jan 11 '16 at 14:47
5

I've lived in Calgary all my life, and I can tell you that although it's a beautiful country, I do not recommend you come now; wait until summer. Winters here can be extremely cold (it hit - 35C here yesterday), and it would suck if that ruined your trip. This suggestion of course doesn't apply though if you like skiing/snowboarding, as BC and Alberta are rich in places to do that.

To partially answer your question though, I recommend Banff. In the summer, it makes for amazing hiking and camping. The mountains themselves between BC and Alberta also make for nice scenery.

I have to agree with the other poster too though. Canada is huge. I wouldn't expect to do a lot anywhere if you're travelling a ways. It might be better to pick an area and enjoy it instead of feeling like you need to cover ground.

Improve this answer
0

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.