Canada dream motorhome holiday (1 Viewer)

[Tim P]

We have just put a deposit on renting a motorhome in Canada. We are experienced with motorhomes and are currently on our third one. We have previously travelled extensively in Europe.
We pick up and return in Vancouver and intend driving a loop over the Rockies and back.
Has anybody done this and if so do you have any suggestions for a route and/or any recommended campsites to use. I notice that both Campercontact and S4S have numerous campsites and motorhome service areas listed. We are in Canada in June 25 for 3 weeks with the hire van for 16 nights.
All suggestions gratefully received, including the flippant ones!
Ta in advance
Tim

 

[Puddleduck]

Have a great trip.

Me, jealous??? More than a little bit.

 

[Figaro]

Sounds like a great trip.
Have a watch of Tread the Globe on YouTube, they did BC / Vancouver and Rockies in their PVC

 

[Tim P]

For the record the motorhome "RV" is a "large" ie C30 = 30 ft long (9.1m) as it is cheaper to rent than a "standard" C25 (7.5m). My current van is 7.5 m ( 8.2 with bike rack). but I used to drive trucks so not phased by the length but it looks one helluva overhang!

 

[MaidinDevon]

I did it in a rental car ftom Vancouver to Calgary, many years ago. Absolutely loved it, but wouldn't be able to recommend anything, as it was a long time ago and we stayed in motels.

Enjoy. I loved Vancouver, we stayed 3 nights. Hired bikes in Stanley Park and drove up to Whistler.

Very jealous.

Karen

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[StephenW]

I’ve not hired a motorhome in Canada but have done a fly drive. Depends how far you want to drive but I did the sea to sky highway from Vancouver to Whistler then on to Wells Grey National Park and the Helmcken Falls near Clearwater. Next stop was Jasper ,although that has now been ravaged by wildfires, and went to Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon. A must has to be the Icefield Parkway between Jasper and Banff. I finished in Canmore before flying home from Calgary. Vancouver is a great city and like Maidindevon, hired bikes to go around Stanley Park and the coast line. I also spent a few days on Vancouver Island, the west coast is stunning. I’d got back in a heartbeat.

 

[Larrynwin]

We rented RVs three times in the US and on one up into Canada, fabulous experience , sorry can’t help on Canada , have a great time.

 

[bobnick]

A lot of Jasper has recently been burnt down.
Kamloops should be your first stop. Lake Louise. Banff. Calgary, South then mostly Highway 3 from East to west back to Vancouver. Hundreds of places to stop along the way.
Trip of a lifetime, your going to enjoy it.

 

[Tim P]

Kamloops is 350km from Vancouver so unlikely to be the first stop. Especially as the hire co dont let the van go until the afternoon and then you have to stop for stocking up provisions. It is on the list, but more importantly which campsites did you use.

 

[bladerunner]

Yes
rented from canadream x2

Strongly suggest full insurance - we had cracked windscreen. Plus with "platinum" or what ever it was, we didn't have to fret about how pristine clean the RV was at the end.

Vancouver island and Tofino was great. - whale watching.
Plus highway one all the way up to desolation sounds where we kayaked.

Distanced are large, so don't expect to travel too far.

You will need to have at least one night after flight - they insist to get over the jet lag.
Don't worry about size of truck - the roads are wide.

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[Trelou]

Our very first experience with a Motorhome (RV) was in the 90,s from Vancouver, Harrison Hot Springs, Osoyoos (US border is on the lake) then up through the Okanagan to Kelowna up to Lake Louise, Jasper taking in the Athabasca glacier (fascinating) Kamloops and Whistler back to Vancouver. Amazing trip. Enjoy

 

[bobnick]

A lot of Jasper has recently been burnt down.
Kamloops should be your first stop. Lake Louise. Banff. Calgary, South then mostly Highway 3 from East to west back to Vancouver. Hundreds of places to stop along the way.
Trip of a lifetime, your going to enjoy it.

Should be ONE of your first stops

 

[Bessy765]

We did Calgary to Vancouver one way for three weeks, on ours prolonged braking caused the wheel trims to come off and. They. Wanted $120 each was in 2010. We did the ice fields parkway and got the snow coach to the Abathsa Glacier (not sure if I have spelt it correct. Distances are greater between places, we also got the ferry to Vancouver Island and saw the Orca’s swimming alongside.

 

[Jewellbags]

We have just put a deposit on renting a motorhome in Canada. We are experienced with motorhomes and are currently on our third one. We have previously travelled extensively in Europe.
We pick up and return in Vancouver and intend driving a loop over the Rockies and back.
Has anybody done this and if so do you have any suggestions for a route and/or any recommended campsites to use. I notice that both Campercontact and S4S have numerous campsites and motorhome service areas listed. We are in Canada in June 25 for 3 weeks with the hire van for 16 nights.
All suggestions gratefully received, including the flippant ones!
Ta in advance
Tim

Years ago we flew into Calgary for the Calgary stampede - fantastic event . Picked up the motorhome in the same town then headed west to the Rockies taking an anti-clockwise route via Banff. Lake Louise , milk falls , jasper , (can’t recall all the stops ) , the Athabaska ? Glacier , down the west side to Vancouver to drop the van off after 1200 miles then stayed in Vancouver hotel for a few days and caught a bus to the coast to go killer whale watching - found ourselves in a rib with a super pod of orcas porpoising around us - memory of a lifetime . All in all best holiday ever - and a very easy drive

 

[Jewellbags]

We did Calgary to Vancouver one way for three weeks, on ours prolonged braking caused the wheel trims to come off and. They. Wanted $120 each was in 2010. We did the ice fields parkway and got the snow coach to the Abathsa Glacier (not sure if I have spelt it correct. Distances are greater between places, we also got the ferry to Vancouver Island and saw the Orca’s swimming alongside.

lol did you follow us ?

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[Bessy765]

Ours was a 23 ft 2 year old petrol 9 mpg lady thought we had done well as most get 7 mpg (6 cylinder petrol)
Beware of the big rigs getting a run at hills they don’t hang about. We joined the KOA for discounted stops. If the weather should turn bad (hope not) and you are near Edmonton one of the larges shopping malls is there has a giant indoor swimming pool one end and submarines holding 20 people that go down and around an artificial lagoon (again that was 2010) Banff did have a park on the edge of town for RV’s and a free bus in.

West Edmonton Mall | North America's Largest Shopping Mall

One stop destination for entertainment and widest variety of retailers with over 800 stores and restaurants, 12 world-class attractions, and 2 hotels.

www.wem.ca

 

[bladerunner]

0ther points:

The sites within about 100 miles of Vancouver have many long stays. They decorate their "garden" in interesting ways: Names, coloured stones, lights, gnomes, and even model railways.
So although not particularly wild or peaceful, and evening stroll can be fun with the wood smoke and the flashing lights.

An advantage of canadream is you have your own food etc. IMO outside Vancouver, the hotels are pretty dull and the food carb heavy.

Take care if walking from Vancouver centre to china town (only a mile or two) , it passes through a seriously rough druggy area with zombies.

Vancouver Granville island market is great.

Whistler was great with a wild water ride. (can see bears from the chair lift).

 

[Brianmor]

Funnily enough we have just received an information pack from Canadian Affair quoting £5800 for a 3 week trip including flights, motorhome and campsites, so will be very interested on comments on this topic.

 

[Tim P]

This trip is with Canadian affair through an independant travel agent (notjust anytravel.com)..... Vikki
Direct flights Gatwick to Vancouver
2 nights in downtown hotel bnb 16 nights van hire with 2500km 2 nights same hotel bnb total 21 nights ( the last one is on the return flight) departure date 07/06/25 some £500 cheaper! Give Vikki a go ( ooh er missus) she might get you a discount.

 

[Tim P]

Hi Brianmor, 1 the Campsites packages are currently not available due to the wild fires in Jasper National park where 3 of the nights are. All existing bookings in Jasper have been cancelled!