Canadian Vacations

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

beyond a shadow of a doubt, Niagara Falls (particularly Clifton Hill) is the tackiest place in Canada.

As I said recently in another thread, Niagara Falls is Canada's Las Vegas.

[megadude]

Regarding the hotels in Toronto, I too have seen the prices creep up, okay skyrocket, in recent years. That’s just based on what I hear from coworkers or consultants, etc. that come in from out of town. Can’t afford the very closest hotel and have to put them up in some place a 10-15 minute walk away. I too remember checking priceline and all that for other cities on my sports trips and can’t find those prices downtown anymore.

One coworker, who was not in a higher up position, was put in a hotel in North Toronto/North York. He took a cab to work the first day. I asked him where he was staying and it turns out he was like a 2 minute walk to the subway. He worked in the Kingston office and he had no idea about that. Though the people doing the booking should include that information. Another not senior level coworker was put in an air BNB, but at least that was only like a 7 minute walk.

I also think suburban is a good option. Sure, we’d all rather be able to walk to every attraction, but on most my sports trips I stayed by the airport, which had the most lodging and therefore price options. I’d have to drive in, but I’d usually find parking for no more than $10 USD. But I did not dare try that in NY or Chicago. I stayed suburban in Chicago and took commuter rail. NY though, I was staying at my cousin’s brownstone in the UWS, and that was super convenient. No way I would have paid for a hotel in Manhattan. And when I stayed in Slough, in Greater London, at my cousin’s house, I did take the commuter rail into Central London. It’s not the same when you’re tied to a schedule and can’t just come and go from the hotel right downtown, but given the costs, I couldn’t justify it to myself.

If air BNB close to DT TO at a reasonable rate wasn’t an option, I think I’d stay somewhere like the couple hotels next to Oakville station, on the Lakeshore West GO line, also serviced by VIA. One is a 5 minute walk and the other a 10 minute walk. No more 32 minute rides downtown like pre covid as it’s 42 minutes with no express trains, but at least trains run every half hour and some are more frequent during rush hour. And it’s like 20 hours a day. And damn, is the GO ever comfortable. Plus, any visitor staying for a while will have the option of taking the GO to Niagara in the summer or take the VIA if it’s not summer.

And it’s not very confusing, especially since you can buy one way or round trip tickets on your phone and there’s only a couple of platforms to choose from with the TV displays making it painfully obvious where you need to stand. Plus, the GO stations are not packed with people. Very easy to talk to the attendant. Though, if they are not there during off hours like in a lot of stations, there’s ticket machines all over.

Not to mention that Oakville itself is a good place to spend a couple of hours. Though you’d have to take a 15 minute bus from Oakville station to get to downtown Oakville.

[esquire]

^

Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I think I'll just cash in some travel points to cover off at least a couple of the nights. That will soften the blow a little. But yeah, wow, $250 is about as low as it goes for hotels in downtown Toronto, realistically around double that which is extremely high. It seems that there are so few to choose from for a city of that size.

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

beyond a shadow of a doubt, Niagara Falls (particularly Clifton Hill) is the tackiest place in Canada.

The tourist strips are tacky, but the actual waterfall and surrounding area is a wonderful place. It's a place to visit and see once but not a place to return to... I find the tourist ripoffs obnoxious, like the crazy parking rates even during low seasons, the insane breakfast ripoff joints (very easy to avoid with a bit of googling) and what not.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Top destinations for people in France this summer:

https://www.facebook.com/lechotouris...3847986295615/

Does this mean that we should stay away from Montreal? I worry about the emotional impact of surly French people sneering at us provincials and our rustic habits!

[megadude]

No doubt that NF is tacky af. But I’m fine with that. It’s unique and the only place in Canada like that. Good to have a little bit of everything at our disposal. Makes for good options. I like all the tacky and gaudy attractions there. It was a dreamland for me as a kid and is for my kids now. It’s a pleasure to see how happy it makes my kids and I like seeing the smiles on the kids of other visitors. And not just kids. Grownups who visit for the first time or just seldomly are also smiling when walking around. Good vibes. I’d rather not go during peak times so I go either on a weekday or first thing on a weekend. When I went two days ago, I was there for 9:30 and got a curb spot in the biggest lot beside Clifton Hill. If I had to deal with NF at peak time then I might not like it as much. Though it is annoying to see the people filming themselves doing the most pointless things but that’s just a small percentage.

Anyway, one could argue that they could have made better use of the land right beside the actual falls and not made it some tourist trap and have all that carnival stuff somewhere else nearby, but it doesn’t bother me. But I can try and envision it being a national park if they had left the surrounding area to be natural and not built up. It does after all have falls, rivers, islands, gorge, elevation, etc. Would have made for a beautiful national park.

And it’s just not Clifton Hill that is tacky. 5 minutes drive on streets like Ferry, Stanley or Lundy’s Ln will take you to another kind of tacky. The tacky billboards, motels and even homes. Off the strip like in Vegas as Moncton mentioned. Or like in Atlantic City.

At least in Niagara Region, outside of the tacky shit, there are options for those looking for something else. Plenty of nature options and non-kids oriented things to do, but those things, admittedly, would have been more spectacular if they were right in the vicinity of the falls.

[MolsonExport]

I will admit to some kind of voyeuristic fascination with the seedy/tacky side of Niagara Falls (and yes, the natural attraction of the falls is fantastic, as well as some of the other nature-focused attractions).

Marineland, however, is a horrible, nasty place.



There is a rumour going round that the owners of Marineland want to sell the property to developers.
https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/01/...le-theme-park/

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by megadude

Regarding the hotels in Toronto, I too have seen the prices creep up, okay skyrocket, in recent years. That’s just based on what I hear from coworkers or consultants, etc. that come in from out of town. Can’t afford the very closest hotel and have to put them up in some place a 10-15 minute walk away. I too remember checking priceline and all that for other cities on my sports trips and can’t find those prices downtown anymore.

One coworker, who was not in a higher up position, was put in a hotel in North Toronto/North York. He took a cab to work the first day. I asked him where he was staying and it turns out he was like a 2 minute walk to the subway. He worked in the Kingston office and he had no idea about that. Though the people doing the booking should include that information. Another not senior level coworker was put in an air BNB, but at least that was only like a 7 minute walk.

I also think suburban is a good option. Sure, we’d all rather be able to walk to every attraction, but on most my sports trips I stayed by the airport, which had the most lodging and therefore price options. I’d have to drive in, but I’d usually find parking for no more than $10 USD. But I did not dare try that in NY or Chicago. I stayed suburban in Chicago and took commuter rail. NY though, I was staying at my cousin’s brownstone in the UWS, and that was super convenient. No way I would have paid for a hotel in Manhattan. And when I stayed in Slough, in Greater London, at my cousin’s house, I did take the commuter rail into Central London. It’s not the same when you’re tied to a schedule and can’t just come and go from the hotel right downtown, but given the costs, I couldn’t justify it to myself.

If air BNB close to DT TO at a reasonable rate wasn’t an option, I think I’d stay somewhere like the couple hotels next to Oakville station, on the Lakeshore West GO line, also serviced by VIA. One is a 5 minute walk and the other a 10 minute walk. No more 32 minute rides downtown like pre covid as it’s 42 minutes with no express trains, but at least trains run every half hour and some are more frequent during rush hour. And it’s like 20 hours a day. And damn, is the GO ever comfortable. Plus, any visitor staying for a while will have the option of taking the GO to Niagara in the summer or take the VIA if it’s not summer.

And it’s not very confusing, especially since you can buy one way or round trip tickets on your phone and there’s only a couple of platforms to choose from with the TV displays making it painfully obvious where you need to stand. Plus, the GO stations are not packed with people. Very easy to talk to the attendant. Though, if they are not there during off hours like in a lot of stations, there’s ticket machines all over.

Not to mention that Oakville itself is a good place to spend a couple of hours. Though you’d have to take a 15 minute bus from Oakville station to get to downtown Oakville.

Hotel prices are through the roof this summer. Will be in Halifax for a conference in late June and was able to book a conference rate of $229/night at the Marriott Harbourfront. The non-conference going rate is about $450/night.

You mentioned Manhattan in your post. August 2021, took a business trip to Newark, NJ and for ease of convenience, stayed in D/T Newark (that's an experience all in itself!). At that time, hotels were significantly cheaper in midtown-Manhattan than Newark. Could have booked a decent hotel for around $130/night. That's how much NYC was hurting due to the pandemic. By New York standards, the streets were dead; few tourists and mainly locals. Admittedly, it was a good time to see Manhattan without the crowds of gawking tourists!

[megadude]

Originally Posted by esquire

^

Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I think I'll just cash in some travel points to cover off at least a couple of the nights. That will soften the blow a little. But yeah, wow, $250 is about as low as it goes for hotels in downtown Toronto, realistically around double that which is extremely high. It seems that there are so few to choose from for a city of that size.



The tourist strips are tacky, but the actual waterfall and surrounding area is a wonderful place. It's a place to visit and see once but not a place to return to... I find the tourist ripoffs obnoxious, like the crazy parking rates even during low seasons, the insane breakfast ripoff joints (very easy to avoid with a bit of googling) and what not.

A few years ago my wife and I stayed at the Marriott and also got a room for her parents as it was their anniversary (they did their honeymoon in NF too). We did one of those weekday packages and it was early September. Very reasonable rate, like not even $150 for a very good hotel and the package came with a bunch of discounts or whatever and parking was free. We didn’t use meal discounts because even with those, it still would have cost more than going to those same restaurants at home. Like the IHOP in the hotel. The prices are an absolute joke.

For dinner we ate at the cheapest sit down place within walking distance, which was My Cousin Vinny’s. And I made sure they didn’t have the ripoff tourist tax. And I actually only had fries. I offered to go drive 5-7 minutes further down on Lundy’s Ln to a non tourist trap restaurant with regular prices but they wanted to walk somewhere.

For breakfast they went to Country Chalet across the street with my wife. Even now the breakfast buffet is only $11 ($5 coffee lol) but it was probably $9-10 when we went. But food is mediocre. I straight up told them I’m not going with you guys if you go there. Off they went and I walked to the Tim’s down the block the other way and had a regularly priced breakfast sandwich and went back to the hotel.

Even on Clifton Hill, and in Fallsview, Horton’s, BK, Wendy’s, Subway, etc. are regularly priced. Maybe 10 cents more. There are also independent joints and lesser known franchise restaurants that have regular or near regular prices. They just aren’t fancy and/or big sit down restaurants. Of course, they aren’t gonna win any culinary awards, but you’re not gonna get Cuban resort food. Gotta do some research.

[urbandreamer]

I've discovered sleeping in my car in Walmart parking lots is doable/very affordable way to explore Canada. They've got clean washrooms and decent "reduced" items that save even more money. I have a portable power station to keep a fan running & phone charged. As for Toronto, check UofT summer residences - very affordable if you're fine with dorm style.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I've discovered sleeping in my car in Walmart parking lots is doable/very affordable way to explore Canada. They've got clean washrooms and decent "reduced" items that save even more money. I have a portable power station to keep a fan running & phone charged. As for Toronto, check UofT summer residences - very affordable if you're fine with dorm style.

University residence is a summer option in a lot of cities which I've used on several occasions. I've had... 'mixed' results however. The most recent time was in 2017 at the university of Montreal in the CDN area. I would not recommend that one as the room was extremely hot with no a/c and opening the window just let in street noise. My experience in Fredericton was decent though.

[esquire]

^ I did the university residence thing at Memorial University in 2000, the one time that I ever visited NL. It was fine as a youngster but I think my university dorm days are behind me, haha

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

University residence is a summer option in a lot of cities which I've used on several occasions. I've had... 'mixed' results however. The most recent time was in 2017 at the university of Montreal in the CDN area. I would not recommend that one as the room was extremely hot with no a/c and opening the window just let in street noise. My experience in Fredericton was decent though.

been there and done that too. UBC and University of Minnesota. Neither was a good experience (I did UBC numerous times, and that first time, something called Totem Park, was just awful...but that was way back in the early 90s).

[esquire]

After over three years of staying within North America, I am looking forward to finally heading overseas again. Next month I will head to the UK with my family for a couple of weeks with a week long visit to London, with the rest of the trip in Southwest England and South Wales. (I'm renting a car for that portion of the trip, I'll have to dust off my driving on the left skills)

I'm looking forward to showing the kids some of the well known sights in London. I even managed to finagle some tickets to a Premier League match which should be a good time. I'm sure my wife will line up a few interesting places to eat. But I am happy to travel somewhere different to me. It feels like it has been a long time coming.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by esquire

After over three years of staying within North America, I am looking forward to finally heading overseas again. Next month I will head to the UK with my family for a couple of weeks with a week long visit to London, with the rest of the trip in Southwest England and South Wales. (I'm renting a car for that portion of the trip, I'll have to dust off my driving on the left skills)

I'm looking forward to showing the kids some of the well known sights in London. I even managed to finagle some tickets to a Premier League match which should be a good time. I'm sure my wife will line up a few interesting places to eat. But I am happy to travel somewhere different to me. It feels like it has been a long time coming.

Just follow the traffic and you'll be fine.

[Innsertnamehere]

i rented a car in the UK in April, it's the second time I've driven on the left.. I always enjoy it.

The main roads are pretty hard to screw up, where you have to be careful is on small side streets without centrelines where old habits can kick in.

One thing that surprised me about that trip was how the UK handled customs - all I had to do was scan my passport at a subway-turnstile like device and I was on my way. No talking to a border guard, etc. Felt almost too easy. Makes me wish the US border was that way.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Just follow the traffic and you'll be fine.

Justement, it's when there is no other traffic around you to give you the "cue" that it's dangerous for us.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Just follow the traffic and you'll be fine.

I did it once before in Australia... the drive from the car rental agency to the hotel was kind of nerve wracking, but after that it was easy peasy. Once I got on the motorway it was pretty simple. The trickiest part was remembering to get in on the "passenger" side

[ConundrumNL]

Originally Posted by esquire

I did it once before in Australia... the drive from the car rental agency to the hotel was kind of nerve wracking, but after that it was easy peasy. Once I got on the motorway it was pretty simple. The trickiest part was remembering to get in on the "passenger" side

Funny story. About 15 years ago, I made a business trip to rural Scotland and had to rent a car for the first time. I was only driving a few years at that point (didn't get a license until I was 20), and the switch to RHD completely screwed me up.

In the course of the trip from the airport to site (a few hour drive): I managed to hit a van with the passenger side mirror (luckily no damage) and flatten both tyres on the passenger side misjudging a jutting curb. Later I got a ticket for turning left (same as right here) on a red, because at the time I thought it was a universal rule.

I also once turned in the oncoming lane turning left off a parking lot due to muscle memory. Luckily, it was rural road with little traffic and I realized it quickly.

As the trip went on, I did get my wits back and got pretty comfortable with driving.

[MonctonRad]

It's the friggin' curbs on the rural roads in Scotland which bothered me the most. The roads are narrow to begin with, and then you remove any margin for error by adding in curbs??? I mean, what the frig!!!

Single track roads don't have curbs, and they aren't universal on two lane highways either, but, they are common enough that you have to keep your wits about you.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It's the friggin' curbs on the rural roads in Scotland which bothered me the most. The roads are narrow to begin with, and then you remove any margin for error by adding in curbs??? I mean, what the frig!!!

Single track roads don't have curbs, and they aren't universal on two lane highways either, but, they are common enough that you have to keep your wits about you.

Curbs? You mean the dry stone walls three inches from the side of your car!