I am thinking of taking the Canadian from Vancouver, BC to Toronto, but I've noticed that most posts and videos are from Toronto to Vancouver. Is it more scenic to go east to west or does it matter?
Ditto!I prefer Vancouver-Toronto.
1. Under the current timetable, the spectacular views just east of Jasper are in the pre-dawn hours. They are often on or close to schedule there because of the massive amounts of pad in the schedule and the scheduled 4 hour dwell at Edmonton westbound (they only need a hour). Eastbound, you get all the good Rockies viewing from Valemount to roughly an hour east of Jasper.
2. While they let you stay onboard until 8 am and they serve full breakfast, I don't care fot the early morning arrival at Vancouver. It often arrives around 5 am. I prefer the mid day arrival in Toronto.
3. In spring and summer, you get at the least the lower Fraser River Canyon in BC in daylight eastbound. It is pre dawn westbound.
4. Price. BC doesn't charge a provincial tax on tickets. Ontario does. So if you originate in Vancouver, you can save like $100 CAD.
If things are fully back to normal, you still have the domes, the Park car, an Artist on Board, and excellent dining, which make it more than just another train journey IMO. At least, more than just another Amtrak train journey.Having done the trip several times I personally find the eastbound a bit of a letdown once out of Alberta. With the main scenery gone it becomes just another train journey, which might be less of an attraction for a first-timer.
The Provencal Goods and Service Tax is added to the Fare before Check out!( BC doesn't do this,Ontario does)im looking at a possible trip this winter, prob in mid january. likely doing coach. last time i rode the canadian (also in coach) i lucked out and no seat mate the entire way. Only having one possible coach this time has me worried my luck might not be so good. 5 day trip with someone next to me might not be so fun. though maybe id have an empty seat next to me at least some of the time.
Re the earlier post "Price. BC doesn't charge a provincial tax on tickets. Ontario does. So if you originate in Vancouver, you can save like $100 CAD." when i plug in toronto-vancouver and vancouver-toronto in january, gives me same basic price of 514 CDN for a coach seat. id prob go vancouver-toronto if i saved 100 CDN but right now the system isnt showing that for me.
It won't be $100 CAD on a $514 coach fare with taxes not included. The tax is a percentage and I book roomettes at a higher fare.So if you originate in Vancouver, you can save like $100 CAD." when i plug in toronto-vancouver and vancouver-toronto in january, gives me same basic price of 514 CDN for a coach seat. id prob go vancouver-toronto if i saved 100 CDN but right now the system isnt showing that for me.
thanks for this infoI prefer Vancouver-Toronto.
1. Under the current timetable, the spectacular views just east of Jasper are in the pre-dawn hours. They are often on or close to schedule there because of the massive amounts of pad in the schedule and the scheduled 4 hour dwell at Edmonton westbound (they only need a hour). Eastbound, you get all the good Rockies viewing from Valemount to roughly an hour east of Jasper.
2. While they let you stay onboard until 8 am and they serve full breakfast, I don't care fot the early morning arrival at Vancouver. It often arrives around 5 am. I prefer the mid day arrival in Toronto.
3. In spring and summer, you get at the least the lower Fraser River Canyon in BC in daylight eastbound. It is pre dawn westbound.
4. Price. BC doesn't charge a provincial tax on tickets. Ontario does. So if you originate in Vancouver, you can save like $100 CAD.
thank you, now i see it. Amount isnt as great on economy but hey, ill try to save what i can. So i may just do Vancouver-Toronto. I did find a "sale" page on sleeper plus on VIA's page. It only offers November bookings but shows some sleeper berths as low as 600-650 CDN. Now for that price i may just look into a sleeper berth! I will keep an eye out to see if any such sale fares are offered for January, when I plan to ride. A RT sounds intriguing--could do coach one way and sleeper the other if i can get one of the cheapie sleeper births i mentioned. However, since I now live in Vermont, going RT out of Vancouver would require me to fly RT to Vancouver from Vermont. A RT out of Toronto would definitely be more easy on the schedule but then id have the Ontario taxes to contend with. Will see. Still might do it if i can get a cheapie sleeper berth for one way.It won't be $100 CAD on a $514 coach fare with taxes not included. The tax is a percentage and I book roomettes at a higher fare.
There is a toggle to display fares with all taxes included on the website. The default is not to, change it and you'll see the difference in total fares with taxes included. I just ran it. TRTO-VCVR is $580.82 CAD Economy with taxes included and VCVR-TRTO is $539.70 CAD. The difference is BC doesn't charge a provincial GST/HST so you only get hit with the Federal one. Ontario hits you with with theirs, and you still pay the Federal one, too.
The other cool thing is if you are doing a round trip you get charged taxes based on your point of origin, so VCVR-TRTO-VCVR is quite a bit cheaper than TRTO-VCVR-TRTO because of no provincial GST even though you will be boarding the return leg in Ontario.
thank you, i did westbound the one last time i rode. Im fine with either direction. I am from Montana so big mountains ive seen before, dont mind if comes first in trip. I am hoping to see Mt Robson on the trip, however.We have done both directions, either is good. One consideration: the scenery gets more impressive as you travel westbound. The "boring" part is early, and then anticipation builds as you approach the Rockies.
The Sleeper Plus Sale page is a "distressed inventory" sale. It only shows specific accommodations between specific city pairs on specific dates that they don't think they can sell at normal "discount" prices. Inventory only shows up on it roughly 4-8 weeks in advance. Chances of open section berths being available on it for January departures are probably pretty good if you can keep your plans open.I did find a "sale" page on sleeper plus on VIA's page. It only offers November bookings but shows some sleeper berths as low as 600-650 CDN.
The Lower Berths in the Sections ( best Bedding Ive ever slept in on a Train)are the way to go since they have a Window and the Uppers don't, but the Uppers can be found for a really Low Price on some days in the Winter.I paid $400 CDN for an Upper in Feb of 2020 from Vancouver to Toronto.thank you, now i see it. Amount isnt as great on economy but hey, ill try to save what i can. So i may just do Vancouver-Toronto. I did find a "sale" page on sleeper plus on VIA's page. It only offers November bookings but shows some sleeper berths as low as 600-650 CDN. Now for that price i may just look into a sleeper berth! I will keep an eye out to see if any such sale fares are offered for January, when I plan to ride. A RT sounds intriguing--could do coach one way and sleeper the other if i can get one of the cheapie sleeper births i mentioned. However, since I now live in Vermont, going RT out of Vancouver would require me to fly RT to Vancouver from Vermont. A RT out of Toronto would definitely be more easy on the schedule but then id have the Ontario taxes to contend with. Will see. Still might do it if i can get a cheapie sleeper berth for one way.
Wow! Those discounts are quite drastic!The Sleeper Plus Sale page is a "distressed inventory" sale. It only shows specific accommodations between specific city pairs on specific dates that they don't think they can sell at normal "discount" prices. Inventory only shows up on it roughly 4-8 weeks in advance. Chances of open section berths being available on it for January departures are probably pretty good if you can keep your plans open.
All fares on viarail.ca are in CAD.Wow! Those discounts are quite drastic!
I don't know why, but the fares on the booking page are in Canadian dollars, but the fares on the sale page (based on the "regular price" displayed) appear to be in U.S. dollars.
So on the booking page, a Senior fare Discounted Cabin for 2 from Toronto to Vancouver is $2,958.00 CAD pre-tax, which converts to $2,144 USD. On the deals page, on 3 dates during the last 2 weeks of November, it's just $1160 -- almost a 50% discount, and less than the Discounted Cabin for 1! That's mighty tempting.
That's a Great Deal!Wow! Those discounts are quite drastic!
I don't know why, but the fares on the booking page are in Canadian dollars, but the fares on the sale page (based on the "regular price" displayed) appear to be in U.S. dollars.
So on the booking page, a Senior fare Discounted Cabin for 2 from Toronto to Vancouver is $2,958.00 CAD pre-tax, which converts to $2,144 USD. On the deals page, on 3 dates during the last 2 weeks of November, it's just $1160 -- almost a 50% discount, and less than the Discounted Cabin for 1! That's mighty tempting.
See my post above. $1160 is really $1740 for single occupancy in a Cabin for 2. Still a good deal, but not the fantastic one it initially appears to be.That's a Great Deal!
Thanks, that wasn't clear to me. I assumed $1160 was the full price.All fares on viarail.ca are in CAD.
40-50% off is pretty much the usual discount on the Sleeper Plus Sale page.
Note that all fares on VIA are quoted per person. VIA does not do the traditional rail fare + accommodation charge method that Amtrak still uses (despite the fact that the current Amtrak.com UI does its best to hide it). With that said, single occupancy in a Cabin for 2 is 150% of the per person fare, that $2958 includes it. The Cabin for 1 fare ($1972) is the same as each person for double occupancy of a Cabin for 2. What you see on the sale page does not reflect the single occupancy surcharge but is the per person fare for double occupancy. 1160 represents about a 42% discount from 1972 so is right in line with normal Sleeper Plus Sale page discounts.
If you go through with booking, you'll find that the $1160 will become $1740 by checkout. Still less than the discounted Cabin for 1, but not quite the steal you think it might be. The 150% for single occupancy of a Cabin for 2 applies no matter what fare you are booking, full, discount or distressed inventory sale.
It is the old "per person, double occupancy" gotcha that isn't limited to VIA.Thanks, that wasn't clear to me. I assumed $1160 was the full price.
I just talked to VIA on the phone, and the rep said that the rates on the Sleeper Plus deals are doubled for occupancy. I specifically asked about 75%, because I had seen that somewhere on the website, and he said that applies to regular bookings, but the Deals are doubled.
It's very confusing. He said that the Deals page says the price is "per person", but IMHO it could be a lot clearer. OTOH, the booking page builds in the single occupancy premium to the quoted price, based on the number of travelers specified.
You were right, he was wrong. I did a test booking from the Deals page, and 1 adult was $1,740 CAD pre-tax, which is 150% of $1,160. That's $1,261 USD, not much more than the $1,160 I had assumed. Still food for thought. I'll see how they look around Jan-Feb next year.It is the old "per person, double occupancy" gotcha that isn't limited to VIA.
I didn't know that they doubled it for the Sleeper Plus Sale page only. I assumed it was still the 150% that they use everywhere else. Too bad Cabins for 1 so seldom show up on the Sale page now.
Every price quoted by VIA is in CAD. VIA is a Crown Corporation wholly owned by His Majesty's government and operating solely within Canada. About the only place they might accept US currency is onboard to pay for drinks and snacks. I am not sure about that since I only use Canadian currency when I am up there, but I've seen USD in the Park Car and Skyline attendants' cash boxes.
I ran it anonymously as an "adult" passenger and got $2958 CAD as well. I don't think VIA applies the senior discount to anything except their undiscounted fare class.From the booking page, Cabin for 2 - discounted for 1 senior was $2,958 CAD.
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