Travel in Canada, some observations

[Acheron2010]

I've been in Alberta about a month now, with a side trip to Saskatchewan, thought I would share some experiences.

Access over the road from Montana at the Coutts border station is easier now that overland Covid regulations have eased. Download and enter information on the ArriveCan app before crossing. I've been across twice and have not been inspected, however, please observe all regulations regarding travel to Canada.

I am amazed that in over 20 different campgrounds, I have yet to use any leveling device. Camps seem to average about $50CDN per night, mostly 30 amp and water. Gravel most of the time, and spaced about like a KOA.
Harvest Hosts are not that prevalent, but I highly recommend Pivot Distillery in Rolling Hills, not far from Medicine Hat. Lions Club has a huge presence here, managing most munincipal camps. I am writing this in late June, and if a baseball tournament or local rodeo, camps will be full. Airstreams are rare, with maybe one sighting per week. Lot of small 5th wheels.

Gas is about $1.90 per liter, or about $200 to fill my 39 gallon tank. Diesel is something over $2.00 per liter. If considering any travel on the Trans-Canadian highway, start with a full tank. Stations are few and far between.
Alberta has some convenient pull-off-the-road break areas with no facilities, but welcome for short bathroom or stretch breaks. Roads are generally in better condition than the US, with little or no litter. At least in these summer months, days are long, with sunsets after 9PM.

Grocery stores will accept your American Visa card. Bring your own bags. Costco's will only take MasterCard. Food prices are overall generally higher, with less of a selection. I found some small price savings by finding a neighborhood butcher shop, where fresh bacon might go for $7CDN a pound.
Do not worry about liquor or beer. There is a liquor store every 100 yards, er, meters. Oh yes, learn how to change your speedometer from MPH to KPH before crossing. Canadian Tire stores are like a super-Ace Hardware, with appliances, kitchen and home accessories.

Internet access is a challenge. Upon crossing the border, my UnlimitedVille router no longer functioned. I picked up a Skyroam Solis router from Walmart, with international access priced at about $1 per GB, and could pull over 25Mbps near cities, and about 5Mbps in the country. Amazon knows where you are, and you get "Amazon.ca" with less of a selection, significant delivery issues, and heavy censorship of video streaming. For example, you cannot watch Yellowstone, or Casablanca, or Jesse Stone. And, when renting a video you can only charge to a Canadian MasterCard with a Canadian billing address. Download videos before crossing.

I am experiencing problems with regular mail delivery. I am staying with a friend in Alberta, and mail from my daughter in California, estimated to take 4 days, is still missing after two weeks. Amazon packages never meet their estimated delivery, and usually end up in the local town distribution center rather than your front door.

Canadian people are warm and friendly in Alberta and Sask. Mostly conservative, and seem more knowledgeable of US politics than Americans. Cities, towns, highways and campgrounds are pristine. Weather at the moment is gorgeous, but, wait 15 minutes. Forecasts are mostly attempts at humor, and seldom accurate, but keep an eye on radar for your own weather knowledge.

I like it up here. Might stay awhile.

[Cyclist]

Re: "Costco's will only take MasterCard."

That is an annoyance. Costco used to accept American Express in both countries but when that relationship ended, the U.S.operation went with Visa, the Canadian operation went with Mastercard.

BTW - membership (Executive) fees are $120 in the U.S. and $120 in Canada (in Canadian dollars). We found that out the hard way several years ago when in the U.S.. An employee of Costco in Ontario told me U.S. residents can renew their memberships in Canada.

[azflycaster]

In 2019 Costco in Newfoundland would accept the Costco Visa card issued in the US. We are currently on Deer Island in New Brunswick and plan to stop at the Costco in St John, NB and will try to use our US Costco card again.

Our service provider (Verizon) allows .5GB per day of high speed internet at no additional charge. We are currently getting internet service from Eastport, Maine and we are catching up with no limits.

Passing into Canada was pretty easy this time as we had all the required documents and used the ArriveCan App on our mobile phone.

[jcl]

While Costco in Canada doesn't accept most credit cards, they accept debit cards.

Our Amazon deliveries are very predictable and reliable. I suspect it may be your specific location.

[greghoro]

For those without Mastercard, one can purchase a Costco gift card (aka Costco Shop Card) in the US and use it in Canada.

Currency conversion is done with no conversion fee.

Only physical cards are available at this time.


Greg

[coasttocoast]

I’m currently sitting at a recreation center at 100 Mile House eating breakfast and getting ready to head north and then to Banff. I plan to be in Nova Scotia in a couple of weeks and then Newfoundland. I’ve been in and out of BC and Alberta for a couple of months now. I’m only staying at campgrounds when I have no other choice. Boondocking is easy in most places, and there are free dumps in many places.
One cool place that I ran into was Sandon, BC which is a ghost town with a small hydro plant which was built in 1895 and is still working. Hal and Vida are most accommodating and will give you a tour. The equipment is fascinating and is thought to be the same as was used on the Titanic. Tesla may have visited. Vida’s Insta is @sandonbc.
I did go on a whale watching tour out of Victoria and saw some whales but no Orcas. It’s getting quite warm in the day if you are in the sun which has hastened my decision to head east. I tried getting to Tofino but got rained out. I got to spend a few days checking out some classic cars in Qualicum Beach at the Seaside Cruisers Show and Shine.
I have seen many Eagles, a black bear, a grizzly, and a wolf.

[Hermes]

Originally Posted by Acheron2010

I am experiencing problems with regular mail delivery. I am staying with a friend in Alberta, and mail from my daughter in California, estimated to take 4 days, is still missing after two weeks. Amazon packages never meet their estimated delivery, and usually end up in the local town distribution center rather than your front door.

The connection between USPS and Canada Post seems to be a problem, I was told it is the customs clearing process which adds delays; there seems to be fewer problems with FedEx or UPS. As others have said, no problem with Amazon(.ca) 24-48h delivery. Has been very reliable (and we don't live in a large metropolitan area). As for Prime video availability, you are right, there is less of a selection or the releases are not at the same time (it's a contractual thing with the producers, same issue with Netflix). For many it is a good reason for getting a VPN connection!

[JCWDCW]

Re Amazon
You might try Amazon.ca, the Canadian site
There will be slower response out of main cities but we typically get 48 hour delivery unless it has to be shipped from China
Glad to hear you like our country
I typically travelled US in winter. Big difference is most areas are more densely populated. Food could be less expensive but not in Florida!
Much of our fruits and vegetables have to be trucked from US South or Mexico unless you are in a farm belt. Today that adds up.
Happy travels
JCW

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I've had very little trouble with data connections on my various phones running through Canada. Assuming we had a signal, data rates came in ok. Indeed the T Mobile phone occasionally beat AT&T. That happens in the US as well. Others with the same phone / same carrier / same location .... not so good. The fine print details in your plan seem to matter quite a bit .....

If you are "out of town" mail delivery schedules are a "best guess". This applies in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska, and a lot of places. MIA for two weeks happens even in the US ( = it's happened to us within the last month ....).

Fun !!!

Bob

[MSL]

Just got back from Perce and Bonaventure Island a week ago; had a great time! In all my trips to Canada, I have found all campground people, as well as other campers and store personnel to be the absolute nicest. I might be imagining it, but I believe the drivers are more courteous as well; no highway merging right into you and no passing you then pulling in front of you with about a car length to spare ... literally none of that!

We downloaded a bunch of movies and series to watch from Prime, Netflix, HBOMax, and the only issue we had was the HBOMax app popped up a message that I couldn't stream in the area I was in, I had to watch downloads. However, the app hung and I couldn't do anything other than close it. A minor inconvenience.

I tried to stream the NBA finals; hit my 0.5 GB limit after 1st qtr. Paid $5 US for another 0.5 GB ... got me to half time. Gave up ... it seems the Celtics did too ...

Up in the areas I was in gas was about $2.16/liter; certainly not bad enough to keep me home.

The ArriveCan app worked fine. I was asked a few questions and sent on my way. Coming back to US, the agent took my keys to unlock the trailer and he did a search, didn't find me bringing anybody in. Sent me on my way with a slightly bent key ... next time I'll unlock the trailer before I pull up to the booth.

Going back to Canada this fall: Fundy, Cape Breton Island, and back to Bonaventure Island. I uploaded a couple of pics from Bonaventure Island ... fun place if you're into birds.

[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by jcl

While Costco in Canada doesn't accept most credit cards, they accept debit cards.

Our Amazon deliveries are very predictable and reliable. I suspect it may be your specific location.

I agree. I often get things next day on Amazon, but I'm on the edge of the Greater Toronto Area with an urban area with a population of about 6 million.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by DavidsonOverlander

I agree. I often get things next day on Amazon, but I'm on the edge of the Greater Toronto Area with an urban area with a population of about 6 million.

Hi

Out in the wilds of PA, we stopped getting Amazon stuff "next day" back sometime in 2019. That "feature" has never come back. It is *very* location dependent.

As an example: If I order something into Anchorage AK right now, it should get there in about 4 days. If I want it in Valdez AK, add another 4 days to that. Yes it depends a lot on what you order and what time of day you order. The magic estimate when you order may pull in a day (or two) by some magic. Reality just might stretch it out by a day or by two weeks ... who knows.

Bob

[azflycaster]

Shopped at Costco in Saint John's, New Brunswick today and you can use your US Costco Visa card.

[Ndcctrucks]

Thanks Acheron2010 for starting this thread.

Our adult family of four will be traveling to Banff, Jasper, then Juneau for the first time. We’ll be pulling a 2004 International CCD.

Thanks to all others posting info on prices, border crossings, and etc.

We won’t be staying anywhere long enough to receive mail nor deliveries.

Hope to post info later.

Best Regards
-Ken

[blkmagikca]

Just remember when travelling the Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario that fuel stations may in some cases be almost100 miles apart. Particularly in Northern Ontario there are nice rest areas, some alongside a large lake. I've overnighted in the overload areas of Canadian Tire stores, all of which have certified mechanics as well as parts on hand for most vehicles. In fact Canadian Tire is the only shop in Canada that can certify vehicles that are imported into Canada by individuals for purposes of the Registrar of Imported Vehicles -- I imported both my truck (1999 Dodge Ram 2500HD) and my 1987 Airstream Excella 32-ft from the USA into Canada.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Only 100 miles apart? That's close

The big gotcha is when the "helpful sign" ( in the US or Canada ) says "next fuel 100 miles ( or something in kilometers ). You chug on down the road and that fuel stop is nowhere to be found. It's not that they ran out of fuel. They seem to have had a change of heart / fire / avalanche / landslide / foreclosure and no longer are in business. They may now sell weed though ...

Also, as a helpful gentleman at one of our stops in the Yukon mentioned: If it's hunting or fishing season, they may just take off random days and go do their thing. Again nothing to do with fuel availability, they just took a vacation day.

All of this is likely less of an issue if you stay fairly far south. Multiple stations in towns and a more plentiful supply of labor tend to reduce these sort of odd happenings.

Bob

[Ndcctrucks]

“They may now sell weed though ...”

Ha ha ha! Such a critical resource today

Thanks for posting all of the above Bob. I will be carrying 3 or 4 Jerry cans of extra gas, so hopefully will never run out. Great point to note that stations do not not necessarily exist nor are staffed.

-Ken

P.S.: I thought it was ALWAYS hunting and fishing season up there!

[Acheron2010]

another Canada tip. In the US, with Progressive insurance, I've used Safelite in the past to repair windshield rock chips. Well, no Safelite in Canada, you are refered to Belron, which I believe owns Safelite, and they can find someone in Canada to do the repair. Progressive was not very helpful, but my FCIS agent rocks.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Ndcctrucks

.....

P.S.: I thought it was ALWAYS hunting and fishing season up there!

Hi

Since that apparently is true ( for locals, not if you are a non-resident ), the stations can be closed just about any time of day / week / year.

This is not really the knock that it might seem to be. There are indeed folks up here ( quite a few ) that depend on what they "harvest" to keep them fed through the year. If this or that happens to be running in the creek, heading out to grab your limit is not the optional exercise that it is for folks who can afford a nice new Airstream.

Bob

[greghoro]

Did you need to make any arrangements for medical insurance coverage while in Canada and if so, would you share the name of your chosen provider?

Greg