Anyone driven the Canadian Rockies??

SoozyJ22

I'll just miss you in Halifax - I leave there on the 23rd to go to Moncton. Where are you staying?

Definitely don't resign yourself to being teetotal - there's alcohol in bars and restaurants and beer stores, and I know in Vancouver the bar attached to my hotel would let you buy cans of beer to take away.
When I go to the Safeway in Vancouver they always ask me if I have some kind of loyalty card which would give a discount on everything. I don't have one and sometimes they'll give me the discount anyway if I'm making a small purchase and explain that I'm on holiday and don't have one, but that would definitely be something for you to look into getting if you're going to be using supermarkets a lot.

I think you're probably right about food being more expensive on PEI given how expensive the tolls are for the bridge that must put up the costs of transporting food there.

angel

I often drive between Canmore and Banff and have never paid for a parks pass. All of the locals drive through the road on the right that hasn't got a gate, if I get stopped, which has only happened once, you have to say that you're driving straight through as this is free. My boyfriend lives in Canmore and drives to Banff several times a week and has never paid a penny.

mobystax

we went to canada last june booked a motorhome through www.moterhomebookers.com well good deal.:D they compare the prices for you and get the best deal they where even cheaper than booking direct with the moterhome firms. we flew with zoom airlines and had great flights. landed in calgary and flew back via vancouver. we traveled for three weeks in the motorhome which was 2 months old. and spend one night either side in an hotel, I perfered to stay in the moterhome as all the rv parks have all elec hook ups and our moterhome had everything we needed. an the surroundings the mountains, rivers and wildlife that you would miss in an hotel room. the shops are better in the big malls which you would find in the main tourist areas except near Lake Louise so stock up before you go there. jasper has loads of places to eat out and two supermakets. pity you are only going for 7 days. we traveled from Calgary to Banff. rv park near enough to walk into Banff but the are buses in the centre to take you where ever you want to go and stop outside the RV park. from banff we went to Lake Louise. from the RV park we catch a taxi from the visitors centre, who are very helpful, located in the very small village centre, (so stock up before you go there) to Lake Louise. due to the fact that it was uphill to walk but we where able to walk back to the rv park. then on to the icelands parkway what a journey the views are fantastic and the wildlife, make sure if you see a car or van parked at the side of the road stop they will more likely have spotted a bear or a moose. on the way to jasper we stopped at a lake (cant remenber the name) it was in the shape of a wolfs head, icy blue in colour. then on to jasper the rv park is about 10mins in a taxi to the centre or if you go for a small motor home like we did (although we went for the delux) you would have no problems in parking. from jasper we did the hot pools which where great surounded by mountains. we then went on to go up as far as prince rupert near Alaska where we catch the inside passage ferry to vancouver island (saw loads of Orca Whales) then traveled down vancouver island takin in a couple of indian reservations. then over to vancouver to fly home.

to look at RV parks go on to canada parks web site

Hope you have a great time I know we did :j

LondonDiva

thanks for all your helpful replies!:D:D:DDD:DD::D:D:D

urbancookie1

Some great advice here, im going to keep this in mind as were thinking of going to Canada & The Rockies in Sept :beer:

nuttyrockeress

Lake Louise is beautiful!! Make sure you go - I have a fabulous picture of DH and I on honeymoon in September.

We stayed in apartments at a place called Fairmont Hot Springs. We flew into Cranbrook. In Cranbrook they have a Safeway and a Wallmart.

Some of the more local stores - one in Invermere called Sobeys - this had loads of choice and was reasonably priced.

If you visit Banff and if you are meat eaters, I reccomend going to Banff Grizzly House it's fab!

Enjoy!!

morg_monster

AH so jealous! We spent 2 weeks driving from Edmonton to Vancouver over the rockies last september, with a few days in edmonton with family at the start and a week and a bit with friends and a family wedding in Vancouver at the end. It was the perfect holiday.
can only echo what others have said.
For food, try the Real Canadian Superstore, HUGE stores (the workers go around on rollerblades!) good value for food and they sell everything, not liquor as others have said but often there's a companion liquor store next door which if I remember correctly has pretty good prices (though not quite such good value as it used to be as the $CA is stronger these days). I know there's a Superstore in most towns/cities in BC and Alberta but not sure about further east.

If you get a chance in Edmonton, go for a canoe down the river. It's so beautiful and quiet, you'd never know you were in the middle of a city. I know lots of people say Edmonton is boring, but I really love it!

missyg_3

It's such a wonderful holiday to take - I'll remember ours forever. Having the motorcaravan is just SOOO convenient! Park up anywhere and stop for a drink and snack, being able to freshen up whenever you like, no hassles with your luggage....!

We had two bears cross the road right in front of us, do watch out for them and other animals!

SoozyJ22

Hi from sunny Halifax. I've found a supermarket for you - it has a big sign saying 'Atlantic Superstore' but is actually called Barringtons. It's at the end of Hollis street - right next to the train station. Prices aren't that cheap, but not that bad either and I have nothing to compare them with so far. I've just bought a 'small' salad (which is more than enough for a meal for me and came with a free sachet of dressing) and a 'small' fruit salad and a little bag of brownies and it came to $8.10 which is just over £4.

Petrol seems to be about $1.34 a litre most places.

If you'll be here next Tuesday then the Maritime Museum is free on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 - 8:30 so if you were planning to go then that would be the best time to go.

I'll let you know if I find out anything more over the next couple of days.

johnrd

Hi - sorry to gatecrash the thread without answering your question, but I was wondering if anyone can help?

We've got the flights booked to Calgary, back from Vancouver 21 June - 6 July. And now I'm trying to work out if we should hire a motorhome + camp sites or car + B&Bs.

Can anyone recommend the best place to hire a motorhome for a 1 way drop off pls?

Thanks, John