Is there value for money when it comes to touring Canada

[WTTG]

Just for some convoluted fun I googled up Travel Canada on the UK search engine.

Here’s the first site I got on the list—prices look like they’re in pounds sterling.

http://www.canadatravelspecialists.com

Here’s a tour that shows a stop in Kelowna.

http://www.canadatravelspecialists.com/holidays/brewster-coach-touring/canadian-rockies-elements-vancouver-island


The day I did this, 1,000 pounds sterling equaled 1,831.28 Canadian dollars.

And the bus trip that includes Kelowna started at about $4,393.25 per person Canadian.

It’s 13 Nights/14 Days, doesn’t look like it includes airfare.

• Visit Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria, Tofino
• Hotel accommodation including taxes for 13 nights
• Transfer from Calgary Airport to Banff
• Sightseeing excursions of Banff and Jasper
• Banff Gondola
• Banff Lake Cruise (seasonal - May 9 - October 5, 2014)
• Ice Explorer on the Athabasca Glacier Glacier Discovery Walk
• Souvenir photograph at either the Banff Gon-dola or the Columbia Icefield
• Exclusive sightseeing between Lake Louise and Vancouver
• Admission to Hell’s Gate (when starting from Calgary)
• Winery tour in Kelowna with take home gift
• 1 breakfast and 2 lunches between Lake Louise and Vancouver
• Vancouver City Tour
• Victoria City & Butchart Gardens Tour
• Tofino Whale Watching Tour
• Luggage handling at hotels
• National Park fees

Now, for fun, if you’re from Canada and you’ve similarly toured other countries (I haven’t), pretend you’re in someone’s shoes from the UK who’s never been here.

So as an insider, comparatively if you've taken similar tours of other countries, or just for the heck of it if you haven't, what do you think of the value for product if you were spending your money to take this Canada tour or any of the others?

Please, it’s just my goofy curiosity. I mean this thread to be completely open ended.

[StraitTalk]

I'll bite. I think the price is outrageous, but I don't think the people coming to Canada are coming here on dimes they picked out of their couch cushions, I think they're scraping it off of their mountain of savings and as such, tour agencies know they can charge a premium. Just a theory of course, but I have to compare this to my only formal "tour" which was of Cairo. For two people we paid less than $300 which included a 2 night cruise from Cyprus to Egypt then a day long bus tour through the northern countryside then the downtown core of Cairo, the royal Egyptian museum, the pyramids of Giza and some shops, then the trip back to Cyprus. The part that baffled me was the military escort for the entire thing. We're talking shutting down entire avenues in the downtown area for a parade of buses to drive through. It was surreal, and I felt as though the people there weren't seeing a dime of it, so I don't think I'll be going back.

Canada certainly cannot be compared to Egypt, and so obviously it is more expensive here, but I really don't feel you need to spend that much to get as good of or an even better trip.

[Always Sunny]

If you check out the accommodations portions of that site, most of the places they list are Fairmont type hotels. There are lesser options as well, but the majority definitely lean towards a certain clientele. This group in particular certainly isn't catering towards the backpacking type.

All of the hotels, transportation, attractions, etc. need to make a profit. The travel agency itself does as well. There's a big markup there for sure. If you average that out over the 13 nights you're looking at around $338 a day. That figure doesn't seem totally out to lunch when you consider the costs of hotels like the ones on their site (assuming the use the same caliber in their tours), plus 2 weeks of charter bus transport, attractions (gondola = $36.95+tax, Banff Lake cruise = $46, glacier tour = $50, whale watching can be quite pricey too).

As a local/Canadian I could see this all for a fraction of the price. However, I would be driving my own car and staying in a lot of hostels.

[LoneWolf_53]

Yeah I was going to say that for two weeks, and staying in fancy hotels, plus eating and whatnot, it's not really that outrageous of a price.

One can't compare a tour like that, to what a person would spend if they were doing it on the cheap.

Even still I think you'd also be surprised, at how much money you'd spend doing it yourself in a car, staying at those hotels, accounting for fuel, costs at some of the stops, ferry crossing fees X2, eating in restaurants for two weeks, hitting souvenir shops, and so on. Things add up pretty fast.

[Queen K]

Have traveled extensively in all those areas, I assure you the price is good.

But the price for the "hurry, hurry hurry" may be a small price to pay. Think about the fact that you can't just stop where ever you'd like, no matter how great the conditions or light (for photographs).

I look at that list and feel myself having to down a cup of coffee quickly, having to hurry, very little relax time.

You're on the bus constantly. From Parksville to Tofino alone is a two and half hour drive, and that's in a car without seeing various attractions. (Did that drive last Sept., it's spectacular and should be done by ardent Canadian travellers).

I have more to say but will have to after work.

[WTTG]

. . . I have more to say but will have to after work.

It would be great to hear more.

But what would get me on a tour like the one in the OP would be if you came over the hill from the BC side to see Mt. Robson, and . . ..

“Well, that was it, somewhere in that cloud.”

But then I guess it can happen anywhere.

“Sorry, the Mona Lisa is out for maintenance.”

“Oh well, there’s still the Statue of David . . ..”

But then again, maybe not as often as in the Rockies, and maybe much worse for the 'megabucks' bus crowd?

“Luvvy, what can I do? I mean, the driver says they’ve taken the mountains and glaciers down this week to re-paint them.”

“Hrumph. Good thing I talked you into buying travel insurance. That's covered, isn't it?”

And if not, I wonder if there’s something on offer as an alternative to see.

[Queen K]

I know that feeling. I'm in Naples, going to see Pompei, but NOOO, they're on strike and it's closed. Am I going to get back there? No.

No one can guarantee anyone the weather right? Which mountain is going to be viewable when is unpredictable, like saying such and such place is a good birding area, only when YOU are there, there are no birds. Okay, a Robin. That's it.

What I'm saying about structured tours is that I can't even breath properly reading the itineraries. I like stopping where I want, when I want and for how long I want, a wee bit too much.

The value here is distance and different eco-systems you'll be going through. Seeing all of kinds of cultural stuff too. How the light and weather is going to play out while you are there is another matter.

And are there stops listed in the brochure that you aren't adding? Petroglyphs are just outside of Port Alice, stopping there? Cathedral Grove? I hope so. Tofino is nice but are you seeing Long Beach? It's the easiest accessed beach unlike some of the others, Schooner Cove Beach is a 1.5 km hike on raised wooden platforms.

Adding in Moraine Lake? Or JUST Lake Louise? Peyto Lake? Pyramid Mt in Jasper? I take it Edith Cavall lake is off the tour, too bad because seeing those glaciers float around in it is so stunning. Going down the Yellowhead is a good drive, to me, not much there but then, I hope the views are good from a bus.

[WTTG]

It would be great if people came back--hope the budget wold allow for that.
But then, I've met kids from Japan who's grandparents and parents were on similar tours way back in the '70s.
They want photos taken in the same spots.

[Dizzy1]

For most of the friends and family I have in Europe, Canada doesn't provide value anymore, its simply gotten to expensive. I know of several friends who just did 2 weeks in Australia ... airfare from Europe plus 2 weeks with a little RV for 800 Euros per person. Canada was very popular for Europeans in the 90s and 00s but many tend to go where the value is which isn't here anymore.

[WTTG]

Uh, huh. From some of the accommodation prices I see in Banff and Jasper, including B&Bs and campgrounds, as well as for the cost of restaurant meals, along with the 'tourist taxes,' sometimes I think were hoping for whales and letting the schools of little fishes swim on 'over there.'

[Dizzy1]

When we had visitors from overseas back in the 90s, we'd take them all over the place but now, we usually just head down to the US and do stuff down there. Had friends come over the other year and we drove down to California and did LA, San Francisco, Napa and the Oregon coast for the same it would have cost us to do a bit of touring around here.

[Queen K]

I have to agree that seeing Canada has become one expensive proposition. We've made a point of seeing what people fly from all over the World to come and see, and it is getting to be expensive.

We battle this by doing some things that even a few years ago we would have scoffed at.

1. Make sure your room has a fridge and freezer. We look for that now and NO not all of them do, not even in big tourist centers with high hotel prices. Lake Louise for one, not even at the top of the hill, near the village, very disappointing.

For dinner we order a large pizza. Half for dinner, half for breakfast. Or if not breakfast, a lunch later.

We took our smoothie maker with us to Vancouver Island. We packed our protein powder and bought fruit where we stayed.
That saved some time and money.

2. Deli's are our new best friend. We buy samosas, or sushi, or ?? and go have it on the beaches or in the parks.

I love mom/pop restaurants and after a long day we seek them out and order big. Take leftover to the fridge in the motel room.

3. We've discovered B&Bs. I figured for the $80/night in Coombs which was on an organic blueberry farm we got a good deal for the most part. It was our first one so I would not use one where they provided the food and you cook it again. Wasted an hour and half no matter how we cut it. But the food was fresh farm eggs, home baked bread and fresh picked blueberries, which we used in our smoothie maker. So figuring good breakfasts are running us $30/breakfast, we got the room for cheaper than average and the best possible food.

Can't get back that time though, darn it.

4. We packed our own very small package of Tide for laundry. Saved on buying those rip off laundry mat things. And we have lots left for the next trip. Gotta remember not everyone is accepting HE soaps.

5. We take all the extras on trips, Clearwater boat tour? YES! Because I don't want to feel like we have to go back and do what we didn't do after spending a small fortune getting there. So Waterton Lakes has The International boat tour. Jasper National Park has the Maligne Lake tour to Spirit Island, and on and on. We do it and feel good that we didn't stand at the shores and come home feeling like we have to go back to do it.

6. Same with stopping at sights, we stopped a Lussier Hotsprings, even for the few hours, and don't feel like we rushed past everything.