Backpacking, working, living in Canada - the definitive guide. (Canada)

Member Name: Jersey-Soph

Product:	Canada
Date:	10/09/03 (1208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning varied scenery, Super friendly nation, Easy for backpackers

Disadvantages: Looooooong distances

When I tell people that I spent a year in Canada, their response always seems to be ?ahhhhh, I?ve always wanted to visit Canada? or ?ahhhhh, you?re so lucky, it?s such a nice country?! And they are so right. Canada is an amazing country with so much to offer everyone. It is breathtakingly beautiful, overwhelmingly friendly, has such extremes within the huge country from the vibrant and cool cities of Toronto and Vancouver to the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, to the barren and treeless tundra in the far far north.


Canada is enormous (almost the size of Europe!), but about 90% of the population live along the southern border. To be honest, after you?ve experienced a Canadian winter, you can see why! Fair play to those who can brave it further up north, they do have nice little added extras, for example in Churchill, North Manitoba, you can see Polar Bears wandering around, and the summer in places such as Dawson City has over 22 hours of daylight a day, but winter would be way too dark and waaaay too cold for me!


I spent a year in Canada having got a BUNAC work visa (available to those who apply whilst still a student), and travelled and worked my way across the country from Toronto to Vancouver. I have such superb memories I would do it all again tomorrow if I could. I lived in 4 places, Toronto, Montreal, Banff and Vancouver and loved them all. I met wonderful people, had great fun jobs (I am now a ?coffee shop queen? and can whip up a mocha like no mans business!), and really got a feel for the Canadian way of life and the cool spots to go and places to see in each place.


Unfortunately New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Northwest/Yukon Territories remain unchartered territory for me and many backpackers alike, which is a huge shame as I have heard from friends who have ventured that that far that I am missing out on a great deal. New Brunswick is a haven of unspoilt countryside. Nova Scotia is famed for rugg
ed coastline and small fishing villages with Cape Breton Island being a highlight for many visitors.


If I had to pick 5 Top Spots in Canada, I think they would have to be Montreal, Banff, Vancouver, The Islands off Vancouver (Salt Spring, Bowen and Vancouver Island) and Toronto. There is however a lot more to see beyond and companies such as Moose Travel are an excellent way of seeing a great deal in a short space of time and joining a crowd of similar minded young people to do it with. I generally travelled independently in Canada, (I know Greyhound busses almost too well after the mammoth cross country trek!) and listed below is what I consider to be an ideal itinerary for someone with a few months in which to explore Canada.


A Groovy Itinerary:

**Toronto A great city to first experience Canadian life ? super friendly, super clean, and super skyline! The CN Tower (which has, much to the locals disappointment, recently lost its World?s Tallest Building status) is the overwhelming sight no matter where in the city you are. It is well worth going up ? superb views as you would expect, but also the chance to jump on the glass floor and test its strength 1000 feet in the air! Toronto is huge, but luckily has an excellent subway system to get around the differing neighbourhoods. My personal favourite hang out areas are Bloor Street (between Spadina and Yonge ? check out the awesome Chapters bookstore where I worked!) Yaletown (for the classy and upmarket feel), The Beaches (for a relaxing sit in the sun and watch of the world going by) and the Toronto Islands (for a fun day out with pedalos, tandem bikes and a funfair!). Try and catch a baseball game at the Skydome too, the stadium with its movable rooftop is worth the visit in itself!

Toronto Hostel Tip: Canadiana, 42 Widmer Street. www.canadianalodging.com


**Niagara Falls No trip to Toronto would be complete without a day trip to Niagara. The Fall
s are so much bigger and more spectacular than they ever appear in a postcard. The Maid of the Mist boat ride takes you right in close to the falls and it is an exhilarating (and depending on the wind something very dampening) journey. Niagara is not worth spending that much time is as the town is full of dreadfully tacky shops and ?attractions?!


**Ottawa The capital city and yet often the forgotten little brother of Toronto. Certainly worth a visit for a few days ? check out how similar the parliamentary buildings are to England! The Ottawa River is the divide between French and English Canada with makes for an interesting confluence. Byward Market is a cool place to hang out.

Hostel Tip: Ottawa Backpackers Inn, 203 York Street www.ottawahostel.com


**Montreal I love this place! I lived here for 3 months and did not want to leave. A city like no other in the world as it is totally cosmopolitan with a delightful mix of French and English (in every shop or restaurant you are greeted with ?Bonjourhello?!) I worked in a café and my A-level French 4 years earlier was enough to see me through as most people are bi-lingual (although many a time I was speaking French to English holidaymakers who were determined to practice their languages and I felt I couldn?t spoil their efforts!).

**Montreal is a party town with a superb atmosphere even at 3am on the jammed streets outside. My personal favourites for a night out were the Go-Go Lounge (the funkiest 60s cocktail bar you can imagine) and the studenty club Café Campus. My highlight of Montreal has to be, however, the ?Ladies Nights?. They are superb; many bars have one night where ladies? drinks are free (no catches or quibbles either). Try O?Donnell?s on a Thursday or Peel Pub and Cheers on a Wednesday. Enjoy! (Sorry guys!)

Montreal is a beautiful city with a delightful old town and spectacular views from the Mount Royal (and cool tam tam music making ses
sions every Sunday). The deep red maple trees in the ?fall? are gorgeous. Too many people are put off Montreal because they think it will be ?too French? ? do not let this stop you going. It is one of my top 5 cities in the world!

Hostel Tip Auberge Alternative, 358 Rue St Pierre www.auberge-alternative.qc.ca


**Mont Tremblant A gorgeous ski resort town, colourful, clean and well worth a visit in both summer and winter. Excellent skiing despite being a small resort, especially for daredevil black run enthusiasts!
Quebec City Beautiful old city where ?French Canada? is at its peak. Has the feel of many French or European cities, yet is different enough to know you are in Canada. There is striking architecture throughout the walled city. Old Quebec is a place to relax, contemplate and appreciate?not especially for wild nightlife or the like, although you really should sample the traditional Quebecois pubs!


**The Middle Bit If you are travelling Canada one of the big decisions will be how to get across central Canada and the prairie lands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I took the bus, and to be honest, if I were to do it again I would fly, but I am pleased I?ve experienced the drive once. I stopped off in Thunder Bay (affectionately known by many Canadians as ?the armpit of Ontario?!), Winnipeg and Brandon. The latter two are nice cities in which to spend a day or so. It took me a week to cross from Ottawa to Banff (72 hours driving time in total) and I am sure I missed out on some true highlights ? stunning views of Lake Superior for one. If you are pushed for time however, a flight ticket is not much more than a bus, and this ?middle? area would be the part to miss if something had to be dropped.


**Banff A traveller?s fun town in the breathtaking Canadian Rockies ? the perfect place to work a ski or summer season. There are 3 excellent ski resorts within half an hour of the town (Lake Louise,
Sunshine and Norquay) and I happily spent 5 months working and playing here. I never ever tired of the views and always found time to stop and look around me and think how lucky I was to be working in such a spectacular place. I cunningly worked for one day a week at the Lake Louise ski hill which entitled me to a free ski pass and free ski and snowboard lessons and then had a funky coffee shop job in the town for 4 other days which left me two days a week on the slopes ? ideal! Be warned ? if you are settling in for a while, accommodation is a nightmare to find, but persevere and you end up having the most fun winter of your life (as long as you can cope with the cold ? even your eyelashes freeze together at times!)


**Lake Louise is great for skiing and walking in the summer and has an awesome hostel, but is a much smaller and quieter town. The Lake is simply gorgeous though, and ice-skating in the winter is great fun.


**The Icefields Parkway to Jasper This is (apparently) the most beautiful road in the world. Unfortunately when I drove it, it was foggy. This is (guttingly enough for me) a rare occurrence, so you really should cruise up there and have at look at the glacial expanse, the waterfalls and the encompassing amazing scenery. You are likely to see a lot of wonderful wildlife too ? mountain goats, bears, and the coolest of all?Moose!


**Penticton If you are driving from Banff through to Vancouver, Penticton is a good fun place to stop off. Classed as being in Canada?s ?desert?, it is a great place for hippy cafes, alfresco dining and all sorts of water sports. Other cool trips from the Rockies heading west are Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Kamloops and Kelowna.


**Vancouver Such a superb city ? I could easily emigrate here. Clean, sunny, green, a high feel good factor and everything you could want in a city culturally, entertainment and sporting wise. There are so many beautiful districts
to this almost anglified city?it is so easy to while away time in Kitsalano, English Bay and Jericho Beach.

What is great about living in Vancouver is the number of places virtually on your doorstep where you can have some excellent weekends away.

*Whistler A purpose built classy ski resort town, popular with the rich and famous. An excellent place to work for a ski or summer season when mountain biking and white water rafting are plentiful. Clean and compact as well as fantastic, albeit busy, ski runs.

*Salt Spring Island Relaxing island 1 hour off the Vancouver coast. Hippy and organic the island offers a hostel where you stay in Tee Pees, and a great Tree House Café!

*Bowen Island Great for a day trip. So quiet, with lush countryside and small beaches many of which can only be reached if you canoe round to them!

*Vancouver Island Victoria the capital is beautiful and certainly worth a few days visit. There are so many English immigrants here and I can understand why!?I?d love to retire here! Whale watching from here is good, as it also is from Tofino a small surfy town on the west of the island. A week at least would be perfect to see this large island.
Victoria Hostel Tip: Ocean Island Backpackers Inn, 791 Pandora Avenue
Victoria Restaurant Tip: The Cheesecake café?..yum!


And here endeth my ?Explore Canada? itinerary. It is a country with endless possibilities of places to go and things to do and generally such wonderful scenery and ambiance in which to do it. Canadians in general are all soooo friendly, interested in your travels and jump to your aid if you look lost or are struggling with a heavy bag. It is therefore unlikely you will encounter any major problems travelling around. The hostels do vary and although I have had some dodgy experiences with a few too many bed bugs, I have also encountered some of the most delightful hostels I have ever stayed in, and have listed t
hose above.


Prices in comparison to the UK are cheap, although if you are there for a while, wages are extremely low and saving money is difficult (unless you manage to squeeze 4 people into a 1 bedroom apartment as we did!). If you are shopping for CDs, Vancouver is the city for you with huge stores of outrageously cheap good quality cool tunes.

A few words of warning:

*In Canada you have to tip in restaurants and bars. As alien to you as this may seem, and as against your principles it might be to tip only average service, this is the custom that is upheld by everyone and is not particularly worth the effort moaning about. You will soon find out that if you order your first drink at the bar and do not leave a tip, you will be waiting a long time for the barman to serve you for your second. Harsh you may think, but once you are working in a restaurant or bar earning only $5 an hour, you will see the other side of the coin!

*Streets in Canada, especially Toronto, are long. Do not assume that just because you are standing on Yonge Street you are vaguely near where you want to go. It is the longest street in the world and you could be walking for days! Always check out the exact cross-junction you want to be heading towards and double check you are heading in the right direction.

Canada is an easy and safe place to travel and my favourite country in the world. Whether you have a few days stopover in Vancouver, a few weeks to explore the West or East Coast, or a few months to get a feel for the real Canada and have an action packed visit, you will not regret coming. Don?t miss out!

Happy Travels!


Some good links:
www.bunac.org for the year of your life - How to get a Canadian working visa
www.itchyfeetadventures.com if you are thinking of working in Banff or Whistler
www.moosenetwork.com if you want everything to be arranged for you!

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