For the Canadians

[catnapper]

Someone I know on another message board is headed to Canada for a trip. She needs to know about such things as car rentals, price of gas, how much tours are and how much the average meal is. That way she could get an idea of how much spending money she would need.

Any of you Canadians know of a website or a place where she could look up the information?

Thanks!

[Lexi_Lover]

There are many places to rent cars, places that are also in The States. By the average meal, it depends where you go, the restauraunt, what province(s), etc. Gas prices are now sticking from 81.2-94.6 around my place. For tours, it depends which company you go to, and what you want to see.

I know of a couple websites, do you know where she is going to be headed in Canada? Or what she would like to see?

[slleipnir]

It really depends where she is going. Some places are a lot cheaper than others. Some can be very pricey (depending on the place you are)

[catnapper]

This is what she says "We would fly into Calgary, Get to Banff and spend 6 days around Banff and Lake Louise...if time permits, I'd love to drive up to Jasper but I ahve no idea how far the drive would be or how long it would take."

She is not from the states. She is from Australia.

[smokey the elder]

Isn't there a CAA, which is like the AAA? She might want to google the Canadian automobile association.

[Lexi_Lover]

Yes, there is a CAA, here. Good idea, that might be a good idea. To check out that site.

[sammy101]

I believe Banff can be expensive.Especially for gas!The drive from Banff to Jasper would be a couple of hours.I just drove through Banff at the end of June,and gas wasnt too bad.But its probably up now because its tourist season there.

http://www.banffalberta.ca/

[wolfsoul]

I know that gas in Alberta is not too bad. It's probably more expensive than anything in the states, but it's 99.9 here in Kelowna, and when Tasha was here (she's from Calgary) she mentioned the gas over there being significantly lower.

With everything else it really depends on where you go. There are tons of really cheap places, but tons of really expensive places as well. It's no different than the states that way. I know that Shelteez2, scteve_d, and Crikit all live in Alberta. Maybe PM them and ask which places are the best.

[Nomilynn]

That will be a GORGEOUS trip for her.. she is lucky! There are places to eat in and around Banff and Lake Louise that are family restaurants but there are also much fancier and more expensive places too - just depends on what she wants. The last time I was there was a while ago but the Chateau Lake Louise is (albeit EXPENSIVE) a gorgeous hotel to look at and dream about

[king2005]

If shes bringing any pets (cat/dog/rodent) I know she needs to contact a Canadian vet to make sure she gets all the proper paper work, cause some animals r banned in diff provinces. I forget wich province, but pet Rats r banned!!

Also for prices, each province has diff taxes. Ontario has GST & PST wich totals 15%. PEI has no tax on clothing. Quebec has an HST tax I have no idea what Taxes r on that side of Canada.

As for Car rentals, We have used Discount. Their cars were VERY nice & WELL kept.. Stay away from the onw with a green sign & starts with the letter "N".. I think its National but not sure.. My friends rented from them & it was nothing but problems.. They had a family car ordered for their trip a month a head of time & when the day came, they got a HUGE truck. Well that shiny truck was junk. The breaks released on it & the father was trying to unload the newborn when the truck started rolling away. The truck nearly ran him over & he had to race to get the door open & hit the emg. break before the truck went too fast & dove into the river at the end of the street!!

After that, the father was well, u know, not happy. He brought the truck back & they gave him a tiny car!! Arrgg, 3 adults 7 a baby had to squeeze in there. I wasn't happy being crammed in the back

Well after we got to Newmarket, the car started stalling out & making all sorts of noise. We had to get a new car in Newmarket. We didn't know the area & got lost in the city. 3hrs later we found it & got yet another crummy tiny car. It was a fancy sports car, but was tiny & was a standard.. So ya.. that company isn't very good.

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by king2005
I forget wich province, but pet Rats r banned!!

Also for prices, each province has diff taxes.

Rats are banned in Alberta. I believe the tax in Alberta is 7% but I totally forget. I believe so though, because in BC it's 14%, because we have both PST and GST, and Alberta only has one of them (PST??) and for some reason I'm sure it's the same percent as BC's GST and PST individually.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by wolfsoul
Rats are banned in Alberta. I believe the tax in Alberta is 7% but I totally forget. I believe so though, because in BC it's 14%, because we have both PST and GST, and Alberta only has one of them (PST??) and for some reason I'm sure it's the same percent as BC's GST and PST individually.

Alberta only has GST, no PST on anything. Banff is beautiful, but it's a tourist trap so she'll pay higher prices there than elsewhere in the province. It is a spectacular place though. Gas was in the high 90 cents per litre range when I was down there a couple weeks ago. Seemed cheap to me since we are paying 1.08 a litre up here!

I always rent through Thrifty Rentals when I get a car. Good prices, never had a problem with the vehicles.