Moving across Canada

I'm leaving Victoria (if you can believe anyone would) for Ottawa (again, sounds crazy). But there is work to be done in Ottawa and I must be there. So I'm driving, Feb. 25th. I want to know if anyone has done this here and how far to drive and where to stay. What b and b's are recommended? Leaving Victoria, what’s a decent amount of distance to drive? How much am I going to spend on gas, and if it is possible to take in all that Saskatchewan has to offer in two days. I think I can make it less than 10 days at a leisurely pace. I'll visit some relatives along the way too. So, who's done it, what have they learned, and how many hours of therapy did it take to recover.

gonzo....tell us you're not moving for good are you? is it just temporary insanity with dollars involved?

man, i don't think i could do more than about 15 hours a day in a car. i get car sick, so i'm probably not the best person to ask. i usually just zoom to where i am going and then zoom back. usually travelling in darkness. honestly. not so many cars on the road. don't know if i can do it now though, night vision and all. i guess i could get night vision goggles...

good luck buddy, and make sure to write. hey - send us a daily update - that would be so kewl.

I'm going to take pics of the whole journey, from the mountains of BC to the majestic flatness of the prairie provinces. I'll put them up on photobucket. I'm sure it'll be a shock driving through snow again, especially after the weather we've been having in Victoria. I must be mad. But it is a dollar thing. Money talks (and moves you to colder climates).

I did Vic to Ottawa in 5 days. I had my brother with me to share the driving, so we went pretty much all day, finding cheap motels at dusk.
We went via the US, took the I 90 pretty much the whole way. Pretty nice scenery going that way, with the Badlands being the high point for us. Sturgis was cool.
You save a heck of alot in fuel costs, its soo much cheaper down there.
Only problem with the US is that its full of Americans , and if you got a dark complexion, dont be doing any sight seeing around any nuclear reactors, etc.

Gonzo don't forget about the borg and stay in touch with us and keep us posted on your trip..you should start a blog over in the community centre of your trip.

I have been across canada many times, all my cousins and kin live back there..my parents came out in the wagon train to settle the wilds of Vancouver island :P They have good fishing in northern ontario...I caught a big muskie there once visiting my nanny on the shores of lake huron. Nice country northern ontario...course the trees are tooth picks but nobody's perfect :P

I drove Thunder Bay to Edmonton in one day. Not much to see in Saskatchewan. Although, if you can time it to be driving through the prairies at sunset, you should, they have absolutely amazing sunsets.

Stop at Kakabekka Falls in Thunder Bay too. I bet this time of year it would be just beautiful, and quiet (tourist wise)....

You can hit the giant nickle too if you stay on the Trans Canada (I had a friend who was crazy about the "biggest crazy things" in Canada, so I had to stop at the giant nickle for her)...

I think I might know of a couple of good B&B's in Kenora, Vermillion Bay & Dryden area. give me a day or two to find some business cards...then PM me.

Hey! Gonzo

I've travelled alot of miles in Canada.

If your single ....
Put an ad in the paper and advertise that your travelling to Ontario and see if someone else wants to go-along and share the gas money. Otherwise; it is pretty boring sh?t.

The worst is Kenora, (Northern Ontario). Up hills and down hills and around corners for miles and miles. Travel that area at night so that you can sort of cruise.

Put a construction hardhat in your back window so that the cops will leave you alone. Not a white supervisors hat .... some dirty ol' yellow hat.

Drive Toronto to Ottawa during the day. Most all the cops are in court. Drive really slow when going through Kingston, Ontario. The cops there could be absolutely criminal!

Fill up your car with pot and tobacco products and I'll meet you at 666 Hide-Away-Lane, in Toronto.

Oh! Yeah .... Sell your umbrella. You won't need it in Ontario.

Calm

Take the Yellowhead through Saskatchewan. It's got some rolling hills and stuff. It's a much nicer drive in the winter...not much traffic except for you and the truckers. There's not much to see in that part of Saskatchewan this time of year though. There's the potash mine at Esterhazy, but they've limited access to it so you can't get your friends to give you rides in the buckets of the big loaders anymore.

If you were coming through in the summer I know a few little tourist attractions, like the Luthi House. They shut down in the winter though.

Mind you, if you stop in S'toon there's the Western Development Museum...that's cool. Then you can pound the 8-1/2 or 9 hours to Winnipeg. While here you should check out the Museum of Natural History and walk around the Exchange District a bit. The Exchange District is the part of town where they shoot the movies because it looks like 1920's Chicago. There's also The Forks, where the rivers come together. There's a really cool walking bridge there. Again, not much going on in the winter. You're coming just a little too late for Festival du Voyageur.

Give me a call when you're here, we'll grab a beer or something.

When you pull out of Winnipeg, plan on making Thunder Bay...that's another 8 or 9 hours. You won't see much but rocks and trees once you hit the Ontario border. At first you'll think it's pretty, but soon you'll realize that it's dead boring. You'll be tempted to speed. Don't. There are a lot of moose on that road, they come up to lick the salt in the winter, and if you hit one you will be killed. Also, the truckers are all insane, so be careful.

Definitely check out Kekkabekka falls when you are in Thunder Bay. It's very cool, especially if there's some ice on it. I used to stay in a hotel that was just south of town in Thunder Bay...nice quiet little place. It's a Best Western, but I can't remember the exact name.

Next time you come through, make it in the summer. There's a lot more going on.

i am moving from victoria to barrie this august. i dont think i am crazy..i am really looking forward to the true canadian seasons! I am mainly concerned about costs of renting a uhaul or what not. I have a vehicle i need to get there. in addition, i have a couch and bed and then some random stuff but not too much. Anyone know the cheapest way to do this???
(I noted the US route..good point and thanks!)

Unless you are really attached to your couch and bed, sellem, and buy used when you get to Barrie. Pack the car full, and throw everything else away.
Camp out on the way. Bathe in streams. Eat wild berries. Poach game and fish.

Cheap enough??

Enjoy the good life in............"Barrie"?

Well, it's been over a year since I moved to Ottawa and I'm glad. Look at the weather in BC now!! The drive was expensive though. I could of sold allot of stuff I dont need and shipped everything else home and flew. Would of been cheaper, but I wanted to see Canada. Now that I have a good job (couldn't find one in Victoria) I want to drive back again as a vacation and see all the sights I missed. I'd like to stay longer in the rockies, and drive up north to the Yukon.
For some reason, when I was driving my U-Haul to Ottawa, I was pulled over twice by the cops in Ontario. For no reason!!

Hey gonzo,

How long did it take you to do this, how many hours a day did you drive. I am leaving in September to Toronto from Van and am having a hard time finding info. I want to have a fast trip but will be with kids. How much in Gas did it cost?

You can skip Northern ontario by crossing the border and coming through Sarnia.Be careful there because the people are mostly in-bred. Alo,you have to take in Moose Jaw,erotic capital of the world.They have what is supposed to be underground tunnels supposedly used by Al Capone, The rest of Canada calls them sewers.Enjoy!!

I drove for about 10 hours a day, except my last day which I drove for 14 hours to get home. It was fun. No kids. Just a cat. I wanted to see most of Canada so I took highway 1. You should take more then a week to do it. Ontario goes on forever. The roads are dangerous there. There are hotels along the way but plan to be in a city in the prairies. Theres allot of nothing there.

I think I am gonna drive from Van to Winnipeg, cross over to the US instead of driving through Ontario, then cross over in Sarnia. I would like to do this in 6 days driving. Is that to much to expect?

Does any one know how much the motels are nightly along the trans canada, any really cheap ones that are just a warm place to sleep?

Im so happy I found this thread! My boyfriend and I are planning to do basically the exact same trip - I live in Barrie, he lives in Ottawa, and we're meeting up in the middle, and the plan is to take the Trans Can highway to move out to Victoria! Going through Canada was intentional, so that we could finally see lots of the provinces of our true north strong and free.
Ive heard some things though...ie. That it can be crazy scary driving through the mountains. True? False?
Can anyone suggest some good moving companies to go cross country? We don't have a ton of stuff
Can anyone suggest a good pet moving company? I have a cat that hates traveling, and I really don't know if I can handle him freaking out for a week inside a cage in my car.

Are there any things that I should try and do before leaving Ontariariario? As in official stuff - driving insurance transfers, etc? Any help would be awesome!

I'm happy I hired -- for my last move. I would give them a very high rating. The overall move is what most influenced my rating. Everything was perfect.

As far as pet moving, check online as far as tips. Sorry I can't help there I don't have any pets!

I am going to give you the straight guff on this. I have been from coast to coast for the last 4-5 Winters, both through the States and Canada. I do not do the B&B treatment. I sleep in the back of the SUV for two nights and get a room every third. I don't plan a route, and I have had my wheels in every State but Florida, Hawaii, and Alaska and have not been to the Territories either.

This time of year I would suggest going through the States if you want to get out of the car and do things along the way. Its nice in Vic. but the rest of the country is a snowy, salty snowball. You can take the secondaries through Canada to a point, but they are slipper and if I didn't have a 4x4 - No way I would do it. Spring, Summer, and Fall the only reason I would not travel Canada is the Gas price. Cities are all tight and messy with snow. If it is less then frigid temp take an extra bottle of window washer at all times.

Through the States - I did not check today - Gas is about 25% cheaper after exchange. The highest you will find is in Cali. about 25% higher than the rest of the country. Almost all the roads in the States are paved. (I have been on roads discribed as horse trails over mountains that are smooth blacktop - trailer not recommended there.) As for the trailer get a good crown lock ( Flat locks you see on railway switches) they are hardest to get through. Inventory the items and place a door seal on the trailer at the US border after inspection. Politely ask that the seal be noted on the report, the Canadians will see it when you cross back over ( not that they will mention it. For some reason they still think we don't know their computers are linked. Play along.) If you stay at a highway motel most have security, but if you take secondaries and do the small towns - they are just plain folk.

8hrs you can be below the snow line then pass throught the mountain snow, then you don't have to see snow again till Buffalo and upstate NY. Lower NY is almost Spring now.

I am a bit of a road racer so I like the twisty curvy roads so I take as many mountain ranges in as I can - I can play on without speeding. If you don't feel safe at the speed limit slow down. America is a good place to travel, second only to Canada except in Winter. Stay away from large cities and crime is next to unseen.

This time of year travelling through the States will get you to your destination faster, cleaner, safer, and a lot more relaxed. Any other time of year I think the US is too hot and the scenery is too nice up here.

Hope this helped a bit.

and if it is possible to take in all that Saskatchewan has to offer in two days.

Impossible! But you can see lots. What were you hoping to see? Hwy 1 or 16?

i did this exact drive a few years ago, judging by the dates on the post how did the trip go?? i want to do a cross canada trip again soon

We haven't done the trip yet. Hopefully June or July.

Thanks for all your input.

Trish

Rather ironic that this post came up. We have a family member getting married in Ontario a year from this summer. She is from Vancouver Is. but she feels that her and her future husband would be too tired to fly from Ont. to BC on a Friday night, get married on Saturday and have to fly back to Ont. on Sunday. So, instead, she feels she would like to get married there. If family from here and other BC points are to drive or fly there what it means to us is - WE would fly to Ontario on Friday night or early Sat. and return home on Sunday. Nothing against Ontario but none of us are planning a holiday there and the flight costs now are extremely high. Driving is not an option. The trip would take far too long to go to a place we don't even want to go to. Seems pretty much all family agree on this. The only thing we would want to be there for is her wedding but not bad enough to spend all the time and all the money. My husband and I want to take a long vacation to the British Isles. I have made the decision not to spend the money on my family members wedding because I refuse to lessen the vacation we are planning. Am I wrong in believeing it is better for the bride and groom to be a tad tired and come to BC or for all the family to be super tired (she is young of course and the rest of the family ranges from young to very old)and spend money they cannot spend just to attend her wedding? Maybe I'm out to lunch but we all are feeling that the bride and groom are being more than a little selfish in their thinking. Either that or they are counting on not many people attending because they have to know that at most, only one or two members of the family are going to show up.

Tell her to marry wherever she wishes, but to send a vid of it if it isn't where her family can be. If she isn't too tired, that is. Seems a bit selfish to want everyone to bend over backwards because you might be tired.

sounds like no body is going to the wedding. I had a similair problem when I got married here. I did not expect people to show up. Happily, my mother, brother and sister came. They are not being selfish, as it is their day. I wouldn't get offended. Just send a card with some cash and wait for the pictures. Hopefully they will come out after the wedding and you can get the family together at that time.

The one thing you need to do is get letters from your insurance companies for your auto insurance. I didn't, and when I got to bc they insured me as a new driver even though I have been driving for 20 years.

You have 30 days to change your insurance and you should do your lisence as soon as you get to BC.

Also, here in Bc you pay for your medical insurance. It's called MSP, you will have to register asap to get your health card. Don't worry, they bill you quarterly. Its 108 a month for a family plan. Some work places pay this, but not all, mine doesn't.

The drive through the mountains is fantastic, but over the passes you can run into snow. When I lived by Banff it snowed every month in the summer months. The roads are in good shape, so no worry there. Just take your time.

I'm not sure on the moving companies yet as I am still investigating. Have a great drive, it's a fun one!

Does anyone know how to go about moving across Canada by rail in terms of cargo.....companies, or who to contact? or have anyother ideas instead of selling our stuff, renting a truck, or using a moving company? Thanks

I doubt that could happen. I guess you could try searching BC Rail. I do know that a couple of years ago we looked at taking a train ride - just a ride for 3 children and 2 adults and it was cost prohibitive.
Unless you have stuff that you cannot bring yourself to part with, I'd sell anything you can. No matter which route you take, I think it all costs by weight. Unless you rent a truck and move yourself. It's cheaper to return a truck to it's original location so you might try thowing out an ad on Craig's List to see if anyone is moving to or near your location from BC and will let you rent the truck coming back. That way you both save.

Hi Stacey, well, having just done this in the summer. We had two vehicles , a small eco car and a dodge ram. With the ram we pulled a uhaul trailer. We got one that wasn't closed in, so we could pile it high. We also had a six month old and 5 year old. Just for fun! The uhaul trailer rental was cheap, maybe 200 hundred bucks for the 11 days. We tarped and shrink wrapped the trailer to keep it dry. It worked. Our trip from Vancouver to London Ontario area took 9 days because of the kids and the two vehicles. We staying in motels on the way. I'd say the whole trip with gas, motels, food, was about 3000.00., We didn't take much furniture , just the kids stuff, but it was mostly stuff, clothes, tools , toys and toys. We left our furniture because it was worth to ship, it was all bought second hand anyways. The gas that we paid, 40 to fill up my car, 100 for the truck, daily, would of just paid for plane tickets for the family. And then you still have your stuff. There are container companies, that drop the container in front of your house and you fill. The container rental is cheap.. it's the cost of shipped it that was a killer. I got a quote for around 7000 in total. For rail, contact cp rail. I know it was more than I was willing to spend.

I think we choose the cheapest way possible for us, but it was a long and slow trip as the limitations of towing a full trailer. But , the trip was awesome, I wish I could drive across canada yearly.. just for fun. I hope this help. Feel free to contact me for any info. Oh ya... I found trip adviser was pretty spot on with motel and hotel reviews. If they say it sucks.. trust them, it sucks.