Prettiest trip through Canada

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
junebug

junebug

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Messages
309
I live in Chicago, my son is in California, the bay area. I am sad to say this, but I'm bored with these routes. The California Zephyr to Emeryville. The Southwest Chief to L.A., then the Coast Starlight up to San Jose.

I want to go partly on VIA Rail this time, but as you guys know it is expensive. can fly part way the drive part way, or drive from here to Toronto.

What's the best bang for my buck?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I forgot to say, I have never taken VIA Rail at all. Is it pretty going East? Maybe from Toronto to Québec?
 
Have you considered the Texas Eagle/Sunset Ltd. from CHI- LAX. 3 days and nights and different scenery?

I suggest you look into flying to Winnipeg ( if you can get a good fare) and taking the Canadian to Vancouver!

Its a Loooooong haul from Toronto to Vancouver ( 4 days and nights)and the Canadian is pricey in the Summer! Westbound following the sun is the best way to roll on this route!

The best time to ride the Canadian is in the Winter when 50% off and Express Fares are offered by VIA! Remember the train only runs 2 days a week in the Winter and 3 in the Summer.

The corridor trains between Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City are similar to the NEC in Amtrak but pricier! ( GST taxes are added to the fares) The scenery isn't any thing spectacular but Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City ( along with Beautiful Ottawa, the Capital) are special places!

You could ride the Lake Shore from CHI to Buffalo or Rochester( you'll have time for lunch and a look around these two faded interesting cities),then take the Maple Leaf to Toronto, then ride the Canadian West to Vancouver,this is a nice trip!

If you want to go whole hog, consider going to New York,( requires an overnight) taking the Adirondack ( great scenery!) to Montreal, ( another overnight)then a Corridor train to Toronto and catch the Canadian in the evening! Or just fly to Toronto and catch the Canadian that evening!
 
My vote is Jasper to Prince Rupert. First day is to Prince George were you detrain along with crew and find your own hotel with several within walking distant. Next day to Rupert. Both days are all day time mountains, rivers. Train is small, lunches are sandwiches. Logistics of getting out of Prince Rupert is interesting. One ferry south to Vancover Island, or a couple ferries north to Alaska. Air Canada flies there as does a small regional plane, believe it is Hawk. We took it back to Vancover, BC. It is fun, challenging trip to schedule but not for someone wanting a turnkey trip planner. A very scenic trip.
 
Keep an eye on the exchange rate along with the sales,,,,, We are doing the whole Canada trip but got the 50% sale and got a favorable exchange rate. It helps.
 
Winnipeg actually probably wouldn't be a bad starting point for the Canadian if you're okay missing a couple days of forests (at least from what I've been told.) The Winnipeg - Vancouver trip will be what I take in about a month, and I'm quite looking forward to it. It was only about $400 (after exchange rate) for a lower berth, which includes my meals! It does also save money as the taxes are higher in Ontario than Manitoba (along with the shorter train ride.)

I live fairly close to Winnipeg (Google Maps pegs it at roughly 5.5 hours) and I'm planning on using one of the park-stay-fly packages at the Hampton Inn near the airport. They have a free shuttle to the airport (which helps me out as I'll have to fly back from Vancouver to Winnipeg) and the airport appears to have a fairly frequent bus running to the VIA Rail station. I'll make a report once I get back from the trip.
 
This stuff is great, you guys! I am learning a lot from you. I am on the email list for VIA rail. Thanks, Jim, I think you were the one who suggested that to me.

I thought about doing Windsor to the east coast over the past winter, but sheesh, it's cold enough here in Chicago ;) . I can get to Windsor in about 6 hours by car I think; but it might be cheaper just to fly to Detroit.

This is my idea of pretty :)

The California Zephyr - Denver to Utah

The Coast Starlight - Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo

This is my idea of not so much ;)

The Southwest Chief

The Empire Builder - Seattle to Glacier National Park, then Glacier back to Chicago.

The California Zephyr besides Denver to Utah
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jimhudson said:
Have you considered the Texas Eagle/Sunset Ltd. from CHI- LAX. 3 days and nights and different scenery?
Click to expand...
I had not considered this. My daughter is in Birmingham, Alabama; that might be a good idea :) thanks! I really do want to do Canada too though... maybe just for fun, then.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It looks like Chicago to Winnipeg, the cheapest it gets to is about $350, and about $400 for Winnepeg to Vancouver? Sometime this spring or early summer is my plan.
 
Jim!!!! You have too many amazing ideas, there :) I'll have to do ALL of them, gosh darn it.
 
Holy cow! The Sunset Limited takes 46 hours from New Orleans to Los Angeles? Sheesh. If I have my daughter in Birmingham meet me in New Orleans, it will take me 19 hours to New Orleans from Chicago. That's 65 hours to L.A.... is that trip even nice enough to make?
 
You can sleep most of the way to New Orleans, enjoy the Big Easy, then sleep from Houston to Del Rio ( its mostly desert West of San Antonio to LA except for the Mountains around Alpine)! Still lots of interesting things to see on the Sunset Route!

Some of us have spent 30 days ( or More!!!) On LD Trains! LoL
 
junebug said:
It looks like Chicago to Winnipeg, the cheapest it gets to is about $350, and about $400 for Winnepeg to Vancouver? Sometime this spring or early summer is my plan.
Click to expand...
That sounds about right. Winnipeg to Edmonton appears to be mostly cornfields (so...the CZ through Illinois and Iowa :) ) but I can't confirm that.

What's your limit on drive time from Chicago? You could also take the train to St. Paul, spend the night there, then rent a car and drive up from there to Winnipeg. (You could also drive the whole way...my guess is that it would be about 14ish hours of driving.)
 
Here's something to consider going east: Chicago-Boston-Portland [ME]-ferry-Yarmouth-van-Halifax-Montreal-Albany-Chicago. This is going to require some hotel stays. And Maritime Canada does have some charming scenery, but no mountains. I'm thinking of doing part of this during the Fall foliage season.
 
These all sound awesome! Thanks guys.... but 30 days on trains? Okay, spill the beans here. 30 DAYS?!!!!! I want to hear all about it, you little addicts, you :)
 
Speaking of westbound train through the rockies being late... the last time I took the U.S. train through the rockies, to show someone I was travelling with how cool it was, it was so late we missed the whole thing ;(

You're right Jebr, about the Zephyr being cornfields through the midwest.

Speaking of cornfields, when my kids were little, we moved from a relatively large and urban Chicago suburb, to Aurora, Illinois. I overheard my thirteen year old son describing Aurora to his friends. "Cornfield, cornfield, mall." ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
junebug said:
I live in Chicago, my son is in California, the bay area. I am sad to say this, but I'm bored with these routes. The California Zephyr to Emeryville. The Southwest Chief to L.A., then the Coast Starlight up to San Jose.

I want to go partly on VIA Rail this time, but as you guys know it is expensive. can fly part way the drive part way, or drive from here to Toronto.

What's the best bang for my buck?
Click to expand...
Or just do the Rockies on Via. Fly into Edmonton and take the Canadian from Edmonton to Vancouver. As others have noted, Express Deals and travelling during off-peak times can result in big savings. The weak Canadian peso is also good for American visitors.

Gord
 

Latest posts

Back
Top