Looking for advice about Canada

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  • cbear017
    cbear017 Posts: 345 Member
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    Unless you are serious fans of the cold I would highly recommend postponing your trip until the summer. I LOVE our Canadian winters (mostly because I do a lot of winter sports like snowshoeing, snowboarding and ice climbing) but if you are not accustomed to temperatures ranging from minus 10-40 celcius don't bother. You'll be under-dressed and miserable!

    That being said, I would focus on one or two provinces if I were you. Canada is a massive country and you can't really experience it like you should all in one go. If you come to Ontario you should try Kingston (Wolfe Island) and Prince Edward County. I went there last year and fell in love with the area. I'm now considering moving there. If you are coming to scope out possible places to live then you're going to want to visit major cities because frankly that's where the jobs are now. Of course, it depends what you two do for a living :)

    One more suggestion: Tobermory in Ontario. It is part of the Brue Peninsula/Trail and it is spectacular!
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    As you're thinking of emigrating and are interested in learning what the country is like, I suggest you avoid Vancouver unless you're expecting to be earning seriously big bucks. Yes, it's a wonderful place to live, but housing costs are stupidly high.

    Seeing Montreal / Toronto / Ottawa in February is an excellent plan, it's something I need to do myself before making decisions. Check out the Winterlude events in Ottawa in February; the weather in Toronto won't be quite as severe.

    DO make sure you get suitable clothing before you leave the UK, or if you don't have money to throw away on our crazy prices, ensure that one of your first stops on arrival is somewhere like the MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) or even a big supermarket to pick up some inexpensive down jackets etc. Having suitable clothing will make all the difference between enjoying yourself and staying indoors until you can get the next flight home!
  • kmaclpn
    kmaclpn Posts: 59 Member
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    Hey, I'm from Fredericton New Brunswick Canada eh!!!! p.s we do say ehh!! but not after every sentence haha Prince Edward island is BEAUTIFUL as well as Nova Scotia.. st. Andrews umm the coastal drive is beautiful:) so much to see Canada is GORGEOUS<3 I'm proud to be Canadian for sure.. its hilarious watching t.v and how they portray Canadians.. umm not a very close resemblance
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    I'm proud to be Canadian for sure.. its hilarious watching t.v and how they portray Canadians.. umm not a very close resemblance
    Agreed. Anyone thinking of moving to Canada should do a YouTube search for "Red Green Handyman Corner" to get a better picture of life in Canuckistan. :bigsmile:

    (Edited to fix quotes)
  • danger_kitteh
    danger_kitteh Posts: 301 Member
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    Also if you're looking for another month besides February to visit the Ottawa region, the month of May brings the Tulip Festival which is pretty gorgeous!
  • jaretspencer
    jaretspencer Posts: 19 Member
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    Canada in Feb is the middle of freakin winter with most of the country being in a deep freeze -12 to -21C it is a miserable month. I suggesy you come in sept, oct very pretty that time of year. My suggestion for city"s to visit are halifax, quecbec city, ottawa niagara falls. out west is banff and victoria
  • messyinthekitchen
    messyinthekitchen Posts: 662 Member
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    Thanks everybody!

    We're planning on coming for two weeks in February next year - time to really get a feel for the cold!!

    On the provisional list is:

    Fly to Montreal
    Rent a car and drive to Ottawa
    Drive to Toronto
    Fly to Vancouver and maybe then Victoria

    I was tempted by the escorted tours, but I really want to get a feel for Canada as it would be day to day, rather than doing all the tourist attractions, if that makes sense?

    Ok, poutine is definitely on my list!!

    The ferry ride over to Vancouver Island is incredible!

    I second that
  • kelly_a
    kelly_a Posts: 2,010 Member
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    I'm from the Midwest/US and my dh family has a cabin near Ear Falls, Ontario. I've gone a few times in the summer, but his family has owned this cabin over 50 yrs. Lots of wildlife....moose, bald eagles, black bear....Pine trees EVERYWHERE, love it! I think Calgary and Vancouver would be beautiful (winter Olympics!)..Also, been to Niagra Falls, viewed from Canadian side, gorgeous! Enjoy!! what a fun time!
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
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    I grew up near Niagara Falls (on the US side). Another idea for flying in might be to fly into NYC or Buffalo, NY then take a cheap puddle-jumper flight to Toronto. If you flew into Buffalo, you'd land really close to Niagara Falls, albeit the American side. While the Falls are pretty in February, the winters in Buffalo-Niagara Falls (with Toronto right across the lake) are B-R-U-T-A-L.

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