Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto in June 2006

I’ve been looking for a while and once again our recommended company to book flights with comes tops again! The £452.80 fare is based on you flying out of Gatwick on 11th February 2010 – getting you to Canada in time for the opening of the games, and after a week of experiencing the games in Vancouver flying back on 18th February. This is why i always book my flights to Canada with Canadian Affair.. They are the absolute cheapest way for anyone in the UK to get out there and experience Canada for themselves.

So you’re thinking about that flight? here’s how to find it:

Outbound: Thu 11 Feb 2010
departing London Gatwick: 10:30
arriving Vancouver: 12:40
Non-Stop
Thomas Cook A330

Return: Thu 18 Feb 2010
departing Vancouver: 10:30
arriving London Gatwick: 12:40
Non-Stop
Thomas Cook A330

So, what about my experience with Canadian Affair? Well every time i have ever visited Canada, i have always booked through Canadian Affair. This is because back in 2005 i went hunting for the best prices and Canadian Affair won hands down every single time. Since then I’ve been on 12 separate flights booked by Canadian Affair and I’ve never had any major problems what so ever.
What I’ve found on review sites are a few people who mention Overbooking being a problem.. I have only ever seen this happen twice out of my 12 flights. Canadian Affair’s method to deal with overbooking is very generous and they try to make it as fair as they possibly can – The first time i knew my flight was overbooked was my flight out in May this year. An apologetic person went through the check in queue asking for Volunteers, letting people know the flight was overbooked and offering them if i remember right over £100 off their next Canadian affair flight and accommodation for the night if they would take the offer of going on the next flight out to Toronto. It is entirely voluntary – BUT do as i do. ALWAYS get to your check in when it opens, just because you have 3 hours to check in doesn’t mean you can get there an hour after it opens – if you get there first, whether you have booked seats or not, you will always be guaranteed to fly out on the flight you booked.. Oh and the second time? My return flight last Saturday, this time the apologetic Canadian woman going through the queue was offering £250 off the next Canadian affair flight, as well as accommodation for the night if someone would volunteer to transfer flight. £250 was the entire amount i payed for that flight! So as you can see Canadian Affair do all they can to be fair and honest to their customers.

A My Travel A330 - my outbound flight in 2006

How about the quality of the flights? Well, I’ve flown on Thomas Cook and Air Transat as I’ve mentioned before (as well as My Travel before they were bought by Thomas Cook) and the food – in my opinion – for airline food was top quality. Thomas Cook, being a British airline company will usually serve two hot traditional style meals (such as a chicken dinner or pasta bake) or, depending on the time you’re flying a hot meal and a snack – usually of a small sandwich, crisps, cheese and biscuits and a branded chocolate bar. Air Transat however are a French Canadian Airline and the food you find on these flights are usually different, with a nice french/American twist to their meals – for example a carrot and cinnamon muffin for breakfast, and a portion of three bean salad with your hot meal. On either Airline you fly with i have always found the service by the crew very helpful and polite, and in the case of my flight back last Saturday very patient, since my partner kept accidentally pressing the “call” button on the armrest!

Entertainment varies on your flights greatly. It’s very difficult to say that there is good entertainment on specific flights simply because everyone has different preferences as to what they want to watch. Most of the flights operated by Air Transat or Thomas Cook in my experience have TVs that come down from the roof, so offer only a single channel of TV. These usually include two recent movies one oriented at kids, and another oriented at Family, or in the case of when i was flying back last Saturday on a Thomas Cook A330, we had three films which pretty much filled up the whole flight – Pink Panther 2, 17 Again and Aliens Vs Monsters. If you’re lucky – some of the Thomas Cook A330 Planes have back seat TVs built in, which gives you a much greater choice of what you can watch – but my tip is if you’re pretty specific about what you like to watch, try take a PSP or small DVD player with you, or maybe even a good book, for the programs or films you may not feel like watching

The GPS Map Channel on Thomas Cook A330 Aircraft

My experience with Canadian Affair has always been positive, speedy response to queries be it email or telephone, kind personal responses which make you feel respected and valued, great quality service and flights and the absolute best prices.

If you book with them for your next Canada Trip please email them and let them know if you’ve had a great flight and service, also feel free to leave a comment here to let everyone else know what you think! The funny thing about us British is we’re always quick to complain, but we very rarely take the time to complement – and Canadian Affair, certainly over my last 12 flights deserve all the compliments they can get! So let me know your experiences with Canadian affair by leaving a comment!

One final question.. Why are they so cheap? The truthful honest answer i can find to that question is simply that they want to be the one company which anyone in the UK thinks about using if they’re traveling to Canada.. to offer people flights to parts of the world people could only dream about – at more than fair prices.

If you want to look for the latest deals, the cheapest flights are made easier to find, when you get to the home page after clicking the link to Canadian Affair below – check the “Special Flight Offers” section on the right, it’ll take you to the list of all the lowest priced flights and which dates they’re on, so go check it out at Canadian Affair!

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Fancying a week away in October? Canadian Affair are doing outbound flights from Manchester to Toronto for £129 on 13th October and a return flight on 22nd October for £131.50 – 2 return flights to Canada for 2 people coming to an incredible £522.80, INCLUDING all taxes!

Toronto as seen from the CN Tower

Or, if you’re planning on booking for next year – try May
Flying from Gatwick – flying out on Sunday 2nd May the flight to Toronto is only £129 and if you fly back May 16th – 2 return flights to Toronto would only cost £648.40 including all taxes.

Flying from Manchester – flying out on Saturday 1st May the flight to Toronto is again only £129 and if you fly back Sat May 15th, again two return flights to Toronto would only cost £648.40 including all taxes.

Check out the prices for yourself at their Website!

So, what about my experience with Canadian Affair? Well every time i have ever visited Canada, i have always booked through Canadian Affair. This is because back in 2005 i went hunting for the best prices and Canadian Affair won hands down every single time. Since then I’ve been on 12 separate flights booked by Canadian Affair and I’ve never had any major problems what so ever.
What I’ve found on review sites are a few people who mention Overbooking being a problem.. I have only ever seen this happen twice out of my 12 flights. Canadian Affair’s method to deal with overbooking is very generous and they try to make it as fair as they possibly can – The first time i knew my flight was overbooked was my flight out in May this year. An apologetic person went through the check in queue asking for Volunteers, letting people know the flight was overbooked and offering them if i remember right over £100 off their next Canadian affair flight and accommodation for the night if they would take the offer of going on the next flight out to Toronto. It is entirely voluntary – BUT do as i do. ALWAYS get to your check in when it opens, just because you have 3 hours to check in doesn’t mean you can get there an hour after it opens – if you get there first, whether you have booked seats or not, you will always be guaranteed to fly out on the flight you booked.. Oh and the second time? My return flight last Saturday, this time the apologetic Canadian woman going through the queue was offering £250 off the next Canadian affair flight, as well as accommodation for the night if someone would volunteer to transfer flight. £250 was the entire amount i payed for that flight! So as you can see Canadian Affair do all they can to be fair and honest to their customers.

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto in June 2006

How about the quality of the flights? Well, I’ve flown on Thomas Cook and Air Transat as I’ve mentioned before (as well as My Travel before they were bought by Thomas Cook) and the food – in my opinion – for airline food was top quality. Thomas Cook, being a British airline company will usually serve two hot traditional style meals (such as a chicken dinner or pasta bake) or, depending on the time you’re flying a hot meal and a snack – usually of a small sandwich, crisps, cheese and biscuits and a branded chocolate bar. Air Transat however are a French Canadian Airline and the food you find on these flights are usually different, with a nice french/American twist to their meals – for example a carrot and cinnamon muffin for breakfast, and a portion of three bean salad with your hot meal. On either Airline you fly with i have always found the service by the crew very helpful and polite, and in the case of my flight back last Saturday very patient, since my partner kept accidentally pressing the “call” button on the armrest!

Entertainment varies on your flights greatly. It’s very difficult to say that there is good entertainment on specific flights simply because everyone has different preferences as to what they want to watch. Most of the flights operated by Air Transat or Thomas Cook in my experience have TVs that come down from the roof, so offer only a single channel of TV. These usually include two recent movies one oriented at kids, and another oriented at Family, or in the case of when i was flying back last Saturday on a Thomas Cook A330, we had three films which pretty much filled up the whole flight – Pink Panther 2, 17 Again and Aliens Vs Monsters. If you’re lucky – some of the Thomas Cook A330 Planes have back seat TVs built in, which gives you a much greater choice of what you can watch – but my tip is if you’re pretty specific about what you like to watch, try take a PSP or small DVD player with you, or maybe even a good book, for the programs or films you may not feel like watching

The GPS Map Channel on Thomas Cook A330 Aircraft

My experience with Canadian Affair has always been positive, speedy response to queries be it email or telephone, kind personal responses which make you feel respected and valued, great quality service and flights and the absolute best prices.

If you book with them for your next Canada Trip please email them and let them know if you’ve had a great flight and service, also feel free to leave a comment here to let everyone else know what you think! The funny thing about us British is we’re always quick to complain, but we very rarely take the time to complement – and Canadian Affair, certainly over my last 12 flights deserve all the compliments they can get! So let me know your experiences with Canadian affair by leaving a comment!

If you want to look for the latest deals, the cheapest flights are made easier to find, when you get to the home page after clicking the link to Canadian Affair below – check the “Special Flight Offers” section on the right, it’ll take you to the list of all the lowest priced flights and which dates they’re on, so go check it out at Canadian Affair!

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Greyhound Bus

BY BUS

Greyhound (403/260-0877 or 800/661-8747) serves areas throughout Canada. Travel by Greyhound is simple–just roll up at the depot and buy a ticket. No reservations are necessary. Greyhound bus depots in all cities and towns are centrally located and linked to other public transportation (or, at the very least, cabs meet all arrivals). Always check for any promotional fares that might be available at the time of your travel. Regular-fare tickets are valid for one year and allow unlimited stopovers between paid destinations.

Greyhound’s Discovery Pass comes in many forms, including passes valid only in Canada, in the western states and provinces, and in all of North America. The Canada Pass is sold in periods of seven days ($275), 10 days ($345), 15 days ($415), 21 days ($455), 30 days ($515), 45 days ($575), and 60 days ($655) and allows unlimited travel west of Montreal. The Domestic West Coast Pass, valid for Greyhound travel through western Canada and the western U.S. is valid for 10 days (US$285) and 21 days (US$385). You can buy the passes at any bus depot. In the U.S., the pass can be bought from most travel agents. From outside North America, passes can be bought online; with advance purchase, a small discount is applied.

Our Crysler 300 which we hired in 2005

BY CAR OR RV

Most visitors to Canada travel in their own vehicle, or rent one upon arrival. Driver’s licenses from all countries are valid in Canada for up to three months. You should also obtain a one-year International Driving Permit before leaving home (U.S. licensed drivers do not require an IDP to drive in Canada). Inexpensive and available from most motoring organizations, they allow you to drive in Canada (in conjunction with your regular license), without taking a test, for up to three months. You should also carry car registration papers or rental contracts. Proof of insurance must also be carried, and you must wear seat belts. All highway signs in Canada give distances in kilometers and speeds in kilometers per hour (kph). The speed limit on most major highways is 100 kph (62 mph).

Renting a vehicle
All major car-rental agencies have multiple outlets in all major cities as well as desks at most airports. To ensure that a vehicle is available for you when you arrive, book in advance, especially through the busy June-Sept. period.

In summer, expect to pay around $60 per day for an “Economy” or “Compact” car, $75 for an “Intermediate,” $85-100 for a “Full Size,” and over $100 for an SUV. Between late September and mid-June all vehicles are heavily discounted, with smaller vehicles available from $30 per day and $200 per week. Most major agencies now offer unlimited mileage, but not for rentals originating in Banff or Jasper national parks. Check to make sure about this policy. In all cases, insurance costs from $20 per day and is compulsory unless covered by a personal policy or on your credit card. Charges apply if you need to drop off the car at an agency other than the rental location. All agencies provide free pickup and drop-off at major city hotels.

Remember to check out our reccomended company to try find the best price before you head out – but there are other options for when you’re out there!

Vehicles can be booked through parent companies in the United States or elsewhere using the web or toll-free numbers. Discount (403/299-1202 or 800/263-2355) is a Canadian company with 200 rental outlets across the country. Their vehicles are kept in service a little longer than the other majors, but they provide excellent rates–even through summer–especially if booked in advance. Other major rental agencies include Avis (800/879-2847), Budget (800/268-8900), Dollar (800/800-4000), Enterprise (800/325-8007), Hertz (800/263-0600), National (800/227-7368), Rent-A-Wreck (800/327-0116), and Thrifty (800/847-4389).

A Hire RV

RV Rental
Camper vans, RVs, and travel trailers are a great way to get around Canada without having to worry about accommodations each night. The downside is cost. The smallest vans, capable of sleeping two people, start at $100 per day with 100 free kilometers per day. Extra charges include insurance, a preparation fee (usually around $50 per rental), a linen/cutlery charge (around $60 per person per trip), and taxes. Major agencies include Cruise Canada (403/291-4963 or 800/327-7799, or in the United States, 800/784-7368), Go West (403/240-1814 or 800/240-1814), Canadream (604/572-3220 or 800/461-7368), and C.C. Canada Camper (877/327-3003).

So there you go! Now you should know everything you need to know about getting out and about around Canada!

Credit to http://www.westerncanadatravel.com/ for sourcing all the information you have seen in the last two “getting around Canada” articles

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They pride themselves on the Travelex Price Promise, and if you are looking for conveniance – you can order online and pick up your money at the airport before or after check in – and usually before or after security – as there are usually 2 locations in each airport (but always check travelex’s site to make sure this is the case before you make your decision). So there’s my only reccomendation for Travel money – there simply is no one i’ve found who can match Travelex rates!

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This is a pretty big section, so we’re going to split it into two parts – the second part coming up in a few days time! – But here in part one – we’ll cover Air and Rail!

Air Canada

BY AIR

Regularly scheduled service between major Canadian cities is offered by a number of airlines… Air Canada (888/247-2262) serves the most cities, with many flights operated by affiliated airlines including Air Canada Jazz, linking regional centers throughout Canada.

Canada’s second-largest airline is WestJet (403/444-2484 or 800/538-5956). Based in Calgary, this carrier is one of the success stories of the airline industry, having grown to become one of the world’s most profitable airlines while offering extremely competitive fares, friendly and efficient service, and expanding to serve all of Canada, all since its inaugural flight in 1996. It serves all major Canadian cities, as well as smaller hubs such as Abbotsford, 72 km (45 miles) east of downtown Vancouver.

Rail

BY RAIL

This form of transportation, which opened up the West to settlers, began to fade with the advent of efficient air services. Today, however, improved service, a refitting of carriages, a competitive pricing structure, and the luxurious privately operated Rocky Mountaineer have helped trains regain popularity in Canada.

VIA Rail
One of the many trains is the Canadian, which runs between Toronto and Vancouver via Edmonton and Jasper three days a week in either direction and provides two classes of travel: Economy, which features lots of leg room, reclining seats, reading lights, pillows and blankets, and a Skyline Car complete with bar service; and Silver and Blue, which is more luxurious, featuring a variety of sleeping room configurations, daytime seating, a domed lounge and dining car reserved exclusively for passengers in this class, shower kits for all passengers, and all meals.

For all VIA Rail travel, discounts of 25 percent (40 percent if booked seven days in advance) apply to travel October through June (applicable to all classes). Those travelers older than 60 and younger than 25 receive a 10 percent discount, which can be combined with other seasonal fares. Check for advance-purchase restrictions on all discount tickets.

The Canrailpass allows unlimited travel anywhere on the VIA Rail system for 12 days within any given 30-day period. During high season (May 15-September 15) the pass is $719, and $448 the rest of the year. Extra days are $61 and $39, respectively. Even if you plan limited train travel, the pass is an excellent deal–but remember, if you travel on a service that, for example, departs at 10 p.m. and arrives at 2 a.m., it counts as two days of travel. VIA Rail has recently cooperated with Amtrak to offer a North America Rail Pass, with all of the same seasonal dates and discounts as the Canrailpass. The cost is CDN$975 for 30 days of unlimited travel anywhere in North America. (For Amtrak information, call 800/872-7245.)

Pick up a train schedule at any VIA Rail station or call 416/366-8411 or 800/561-8630. In the United States, call any travel agent. The VIA Rail website provides route, schedule, and fare information as well as links to towns and sights en route.

Rocky Mountaineer
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (604/606-2245 or 800/665-7245) operates a summer-only luxurious rail trip through the spectacular interior mountain ranges of British Columbia between Vancouver and Banff or Jasper. Travel is during daylight hours only, so you don’t miss anything. Trains depart in either direction in the morning (every second or third day), overnighting at Kamloops. One-way travel in Signature Service, which includes light meals, nonalcoholic drinks, and Kamloops accommodations, costs $669 per person between Vancouver and either Banff or Jasper, and $729 from Calgary. GoldLeaf Service is the ultimate in luxury. Passengers ride in a two-story, glass-domed car, eat in a separate dining area, and stay in Kamloops’ most luxurious accommodations. GoldLeaf costs $1,299 from Vancouver to Banff or Jasper and $1,399 to Calgary. During value season (mid-April to May), fares are reduced by $120-300.

SO! that’s the end of part one! Keep your eye out for part two coming up in a couple of days!

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A My Travel A330 - my outbound flight in 2006, taken through one of the windows in the (now converted into a resteraunt) viewing area at Gatwick Airport

OKAY! Lets think earlyish next year.. In Ontario – particularly Toronto you get some absolutely perfect weather in May – the temperature never gets too hot, and usually is a comfortable teen temperature – with a nice warm sun. Also, booking a holiday in May also helps you save a valuable holiday day – as there are two opportunities to book your holiday over a bank holiday – so you only use 9 days instead of 10 over a two week break! – So! lets get planning!

Right.. So – FIRST UP! — Dates.

1st May 2010 – is a Saturday, so if we’re booking 2 weeks – we’d be flying back 15th May 2010

Now we have some dates, we can start looking at booking our flights etc! – Lets do Toronto!

SO – booking using Canadian affair – flights out from Gatwick Airport to Toronto Pearson – Return, Two people, flying out 01/05/10 return on 15/05/10 cost us £648.40 including all taxes!

Okay, that’s flights – now hotel!
Using Ebookers – The Super 8 Toronto East, ON offers us those dates for £581.56

So that means – effectively you have the basis of a holiday for two weeks, for two people in Toronto, Canada for just £1229.96 – or £614 per person!

Booking early really can pay off though – the prices for the flight above would have been £572.40 had you booked those flights last week!

So chin up everyone! Summer’s not quite over yet! Grab yourself some ice cold beer, cider or lemonade, break out the BBQ and enjoy the remainder of the summer – knowing next year you’ve got a great holiday to look forward to!

…….. of coarse .. this is if you dont take advantage of Canadas awsome skiing season! .. more on that coming up in the next few months!

For looking at Flights to Canada – check out Canadian Affair

And for Hotels – have a look at Ebookers

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There really is no set weather which you can pin point in Canada. In the winter, depending on where you go the temperatures can drop to below -40 degrees Celsius, and in the summer sometimes up to near +40 degrees! Take a look at the contrasting photos below!

A Cabin in Ontario during a 29 degree Summer day

The same cabin during a -25 degree winter day.. yes that is a foot of snow on the roof!

And all this varying temperature just in one place, with Canada being the second largest country in the world, things can be almost as different from one part of the country to another!

So, with this in mind, here’s what you should expect temperature wise in the following locations!

Toronto: Summer: 15-30 degrees C and Winter -9 to 1 degree C

Ottawa: Summer: 15-30 degrees C and Winter -16 to -4 degrees C

Halifax: Summer: 13-23 degrees C and in Winter -9 to 0 degrees C

Calgary: Summer: 10-22degrees C and in Winter -15 to 0 degrees C

Vancouver: Summer: 12-23 degrees C and in Winter 3 to 6 degrees C

Montreal: Summer: 14 – 24 degrees C and in Winter -15 to -5 degrees C

Of coarse – these huge differences in weather are what make Canada the perfect all year round place to visit, whether you’re looking for warm days relaxing or skiing down a hill slope!

Remember though – if you’re going to Canada in Winter time – it is VERY cold. Always check the weather advice given by the Weather Network – And if you’re in the summer, always keep your eye on the weather, as in many parts of Canada, hurricanes and Tornadoes spring up in places – if you’re a weather enthusiast – this may very well be your dream!

And if you’re in the UK you’ve seriously never seen a thunderstorm, until you’ve seen one in Canada.. infact check out this one from the 9th August this year – filmed in High Definition by Roudy! This storm actually had a confirmed Tornado attributed to it! though you dont get to see that in the video, enjoy the lightning though!

So as you can see, whether you like sun, storms or snow – Canada really has everything you’d ever want – the whole spectrum of weather all in one country!

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The company we’d recommend you having a look at is called Raileasy! As the name suggests, they try to make things easy, and simple when it comes to booking your train journeys online and with some time to spare. I’ve used them a couple of times, their easy to use site, step by step methods are really simple to use and by default it orders all the tickets by order of lowest price first, and makes it easy to select the cheapest method on each given option!

So if you’re looking to head to your outbound airport by rail in the UK- check them out!

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Our Crysler 300 which we hired in 2005

However, as i’ve said before – there are always deals to be found! – On Ebookers, they found a company called Alamo, who will let you pick up and drop off at the airport – providing you’re a driver of over 25, for £353.83
Have a look at the link: here

Now this price is based on a fairly short notice basis.. so prices can vary – But ebookers will always strive to find you the absolute best deals they can find — so have a look for yourself at the link below!

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2 return flights to Toronto (giving you 11 nights there) for £523.00! and your total price including flights and accomodation for two people: £845.86

Toronto sky scrapers

Here’s how to find it! The Flights are booked with Canadian Affair with their current sale that’s on! – Click their logo below and then search for these dates:

Outbound
From: London Gatwick
To: Toronto Pearson
Departing: 24th September 2009

Return
From: Toronto Pearson
To: London Gatwick
Departing 5th October 2009

then select the flights departing London gatwick:

Departing: Thu 24 Sep 2009 11:45
Arriving: Thu 24 Sep 2009 15:05
By: Air Transat
Flight No. TS323
Non-Stop
Airbus A310

Then your return flight:

Departing: Mon 05 Oct 2009 21:35
Arriving: Tue 06 Oct 2009 09:55
By: Air Transat
Flight No. TS142
Non-Stop
Airbus A310

And there you have it! £523!

So – now – the accommodation!

Check out ebookers for those dates, hotel only – and order by lowest price

First hotel is the Motel 6 Toronto Brampton for an estimated £322.86
Second is the Travelodge Richmond Hill at £423.39

Bringing you to a total of £845.86 for 2 return flights to Toronto, and 11 nights accommodation in Toronto! If you can get the time off work, this would be the deal of the year!

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