How to get to Western Canada?
For our family travels to Canada, the up to 10 hours flight time from Europe to Vancouver and Calgary have never been an issue for our kids.
Sure, every child is different and there´s no universal trick, but our kids enjoyed the flights and travels. How old they were, when they first crossed the pond? Well, the youngest was about 3. They packed their own hand lugagge – with assistance – and we packed favourite books, games and stuffed friends for entertainment and comfort. On board they also got some treats and watching a movie or two & sleeping some, the intercontinental flights went by in almost no time.
What can families do in Western Canada?
Western Canada is wonderful for family holidays. For us, it always was just the right mix of sight-seeing, activities and enjoying nature. Even during the sometimes pretty long drives, our kids were entertained watching out for wildlife and hey, they were really good at spotting bears & other critters along our routes!
What’s so dope about travelling to Canada as a family?
- exiting experiences for all ages – wildlife, activities, excursions
- lots of travel offers for family groups – family accommodations, rental car size
- safe travel country
- good health system infrastructure
- very good general infrastructure – you can get most daily necessities
- most towns and a lot of accommodations offer coin laundromats
- travelling from Euro-Countries? The exchange rate toCanadian Dollars (CAD) is still pretty good.
What is the best travel season for Canada for families?
- for a young family with pre-school children, spring time ist marvellous. Temperatures in May can already go up into the mid-Twenties – as they might in Europe. Nature’s awakening and lots of animals end their hibernation time. So, there´s a fair chance to see wildlife close to the roads.
- in spring time, you best travel West to East, maybe Vancouver to Calgary. That way, to travel along with the spring from coast to mountains.
- when fall comes, travel the other way round from mountains ranges to coastal regions. Maybe on the same routing from Calgary to Vancouver. It sometimes snows in the Rockies’ higher elevations and even in some valleys as early as August. While this mostly disappears during the day, snow is known to stick from mid-September on higher grounds and down in the valleys in October. Nights in the mountains get pretty chill by end of September.
- for families with school children it’s mostly summer holidays. June, July & August are definately the most expensive and most visited months for Western Canada. Prime location means prime rates. For families who needs to travel in summer cutting a bit of costs means: shared family rooms, booking as early as possible and try to avoid prime location. Maybe stay in Golden – west of the Rockies – and drive over to Lake Louise and Banff for a day trip.
- You can go during the Easter & Fall Holidays, too. With the right routing – see above – you will have a wonderful journey. Don’t be afraid of some adverse weather – most accommodations have coin laundries, and you do not need to pack more than usual.
- What about winter in Canada? For me it brings back memories of my childhood in Europe, when everyone knew how to skate, ponds would freeze over in winter and we had lots of snow. A lot of attractions and towns have winter offers and programs. Also, most of Canadas Ski Resorts are great for families. Not crowded, almost no lift waits and great beginner areas/programs for kids to enjoy. You can hike through ice-canyons in the Rockies and with some luck catch a glimpse at the Northern Lights. Wildlife as Elk, fox and moose do not hibernate and you can get lucky spotting them.