Anyone hired a motorhome in Canada / Rockies
Hi all,looking for anyone with experience of motorhome hire in Vancouver/ Calgary area in Canada,any tips and pitfalls to be aware of and whether you would recommend it as a good idea. Thanks and appreciate any input.
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We rented a motorhome in Vancouver from Cruise Canada and toured the whole country, from west, Victoria Island, to Newfoundland, covering 14,000km in total and can only recommend them. A minor technical problem that we had with a water valve was fixed within an hour while we were passing through Calgary. They also supplied extra bedding free of charge as we expected cooler weather en route.
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We haven't done that trip in a RV, but were in Banff a few years back and very envious of some of the mega-sized vans parked up there. We were there in September, great weather and probably cool enough to mean no mozzies!
If you do get to Banff, don't miss the cable car ride up Sulphur Mountain and do make a bee line for Melissa's diner for huge breakfasts and, if you're a meat eater, the most fantastic steaks!
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Quite a few cobbled streets in Quebec City. That'd get the percussion section going.
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And if you're heading to Lake Louise, it's well worth taking a detour to Morraine Lake - we were on a coach so you'll have no trouble in a RV. It's a bit less busy than its more famous sister but if you clamber over the rocks from the car park you'll get the most fantastic view - the water really is that blue! The club even use it to advertise their tour in the Rockies.
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We only had a problem parking the RV in Toronto. My wife wanted to go up Toronto Tower and there was a big car park right next to it. Unfortunately, there is also a baseball stadium nearby, too, and as there was a game that evening, it was reserved for stadium visitors. Nevertheless, they would have let us park there, but at a price, $100. We gratefully declined. The only other city where it was a bit difficult was Boston, but then Independence Day was only a day later.
To be honest, though, we didn't visit Canada (and bits of the northern USA) to see the big cities. As far as we were concerned, apart from Vancouver, Victoria and Ottawa few on our route were really worth spending a lot of time to do much sightseeing. We went for the smaller towns like St. John's, Newfoundland, and the scenery.
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In the October (2019) edition of MMM (Motorhome Monthly Magazine) there was an interesting article on a trip to Canada and the USA where the writer shipped his motorhome across to North America from Liverpool if you fancied a longer trip it might be as cost effective? He spent 94 nights there plus a further 16 nights on board ship ( I assume he didn't like flying?) Total cost £14566.78. It made a very interesting read.
David
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That’s interesting,thanks David. I’m not keen on flying either but too tight to go to that extreme! Would love to go for a big trip across the pond but sadly our grandson needs a lot of help with care so our plans to see the world have taken a back seat for now.
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It’s not just me then! I never thought I would see Oz but younger daughter in Perth so have managed 2 trips now and extended to include a month in NZ last time. I manage to block out the fear when pressing the button to book,then there’s no turning back. It’s only (omg) 9 hours to Canada,haha.
Thanks for all the contributions,everyone.
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Flying is so tedious. Having recently done transatlantic both ways, I wonder if Cunard could manage a mod at their next refit to accommodate a few MH's as cargo?
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Just goes to show how different folk are, CY. We've only relatively recently started "long haul" flying and I love the experience. Days on end at sea on a cruise would drive me up the wall, even with all the activities provided on ship. I like "feet on the ground" able to get out and about exploring.
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A Dutch guy I used to be in contact with shipped his car and caravan over to the USA and travelled on Cunard both ways and then picked up his outfit at both ends which travelled a slightly different route. At least you have 6/7 days of luxury at the beginning and end of the holiday!
David
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I like "feet on the ground" able to get out and about exploring
Pick a big enough ship and your penchant for exploring should be well satisfied, particularly in the absence of a satnav. I thought a week at sea would drag but the time just flew by.
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No, I've seen some of those mega-sized cruise liners and, honestly, for me, I can't think of anything worse! We have done a couple of cruises on smaller ships, including a fantastic journey up to Glacier Bay in Alaska, but even there the 1 "sea day" drove me up the wall - I ended up going to a cookery demo (mind you, only to make sure Mrs M didn't fork out for any expensive kitchen equipment!)
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You could always take some back issues of the club mag to read.
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Friends visited New Zealand using a similar method back in 2008/9. The guy was born here but his family emigrated when he was 2 and he did not come back till he was 20, for a holiday,he stayed here and wanted to make a 6 months visit to see family and friends.
He bought a MH, then had it shipped out. He used it for the 6 months and then sold it.
He reckoned that whilst not as good a deal as he had been expecting he almost broke even, on the shipping costs, due to the higher prices over there.
Good to read of peoples trips and certainly food for thought.
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