Destination Realities: Canada

Sooo... I spent just over 2 months in Canada. It's a huge country. Really huge. With that in mind, how did my time there match up with my original plans?

I only really planned the beginning and very end of the trip, so here goes.

The Maritimes

1. Nova Scotia

Man, I had huge plans for Nova Scotia - Bay of Fundy, Lunenburg, Joggins... I only ended up spending about 5 days in the province, courtesy of ending up an a very short notice road trip with a fellow Brit I met on the first day. I did get to explore a bit of Halifax and I did see the Bay of Fundy and whales in it to boot. Didn't see much else of the province though.

2. Newfoundland

I would have loved to visit Newfoundland. However, while getting there would have been easy enough - ferry from Nova Scotia - getting around once I got there would have proved difficult and expensive. So Newfoundland will have to wait for now. I need someone who can drive...

3. New Brunswick

Not really part of my original plan, but I did end up spending a couple of days there. Admittedly, I spent that time mostly in the hostel (because it was raining) or in the station (because, woo, midnight train). Hmm...

4. Prince Edward Island

I'd not planned on visiting because I "didn't want to rush myself". Out of all of the maritime provinces, this is probably the place I felt least rushed. I spent nearly 3 days there, enjoying how quiet it was even despite the kitschy madness of Green Gables.

Quebec

5. Quebec City

I'd originally only planned on a week in Quebec province, but after rushing through the Maritimes in just over a week, I was ready to slow down. Which meant I ended up spending 4 days in beautiful Quebec City instead of the day or 2 I'd originally thought. As a result, I had much more time to go exploring the city's history. Great stuff.

6. Montreal

I spent 5 days in Montreal, the longest I'd stayed anywhere since I left Iceland. It would prove to be the beginning of a pattern - 4-5 day stays became my default as much as possible for the rest of my time in Canada. I'm glad I slowed down so much - Montreal had plenty to offer, even if it did rain some more.

7. Outdoorsy things

Yeah. I didn't end up doing any of those in Quebec. Getting caught outside in a torrential downpour doesn't count.

Ontario and the prairies

I didn't actually plan anything for this, really. I mostly just pootled through the big cities (Ottawa, Toronto) and revisited places from my previous trip (Kingston, Niagara, Hamilton). More on that in a bit.

As for the prairies, I hadn't really planned on anything there. I knew I wanted to take the train across from Toronto to Vancouver, but originally I was going to go non-stop. I decided 4 days on a train didn't sound like fun (says the girl who just booked a 51 hour bus journey), so I ended up stopping in Winnipeg and Edmonton and I'm very glad I did. Both cities just a little bit off the main tourist trail, but well worth visiting.

Vancouver and the Rockies

8. Vancouver Island

Yeah. That didn't happen. By the time I arrived in Vancouver I wasn't really in the mood for doing anything much. Despite breaking up my train journey, those nights trying to sleep on the train really seemed to screw with my brain.

9. Capilano Suspension Bridge

This did happen though. Success!!

10. Lake Louise

This also happened. It rained quite a bit and a big fucking bear scared the shit out of us at the campground, but we did see Lake Louise.

11. Burgess Shale

Didn't happen. We drove past it. And past the turn off for the Stanley Glacier trail, which runs past another outcrop of the same fossil-bearing shale. I made do with a few random museumm exhibits and the faint hope of spotting a fossil at Marble Canyon.

12. Riding, rafting, kayaking

Wow, I had all the outdoors things in mind for the Rockies. And we managed most of them (and more). Ziplining, canoeing, rafting, riding, bobsleigh (yes, bobsleigh). Plus a whole bunch of really nice walks. Success on that count.

13. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

This is a World Heritage Site south of Calgary and ultimately turned out to be just a bit too far out of the way. A shame, but it'll have to wait for another trip.

On first glance, it looks like I missed out on a lot of the things I originally planned or wanted to do. But I also did a lot more that I didn't intend. I took a road trip with someone I'd only just met and anyone who knows me will probably understand that that's quite a big deal for me. My time in Canada, while obviously amazing and great fun, also proved to me that I can deal with social situations and I can actually hold a conversation with people I don't know. It's lovely.

Now, things to bear in mind for anyone wanting to repeat the above. Because clearly everyone wants to take 2 months to travel Canada.

1. Canada is huge

Yes, I know this should be obvious, but it's worth mentioning. Getting around can take hours or even days unless you're going to focus on just a little bit of the country. A bus from the capital in Ottawa to Toronto takes about 3 hours. A train from Campbellton, New Brunswick to Quebec City takes 8 hours. And a train across from Vancouver to Toronto takes 4 days.

Yup. Huge. Maybe just focus on an area - Ontario around Toronto or Quebec & Montreal are probably good ideas.

2. Inter-city buses are pretty good

Greyhound's network runs from Ontario across to British Columbia. East of that connections are run by smaller provincial companies. Getting between the big cities is pretty easy and it's even possible to get a bus from Toronto out west to at least Calgary - I know, I met someone taking it. It took her 3 days.

3. Canadians really are friendly

I know it's a stereotype, but I've found it to be true. From the helpful attendant on the Toronto subway to the chap who parked the RV for us the first night we had it, the stereotype has held true and it's been absolutely lovely.

4. It's worth brushing up on French

I thought I would be all right in Quebec, Canada's French-speaking province - I learned a bit of French a very long time ago and I'd made sure to learn a couple of useful phrases like "I'm sorry, I don't understand." and "Do you speak English?". Oh, and I can say please, thank you, hello - all that malarkey.

However, in Quebec City at least, outside the tourist hub in the Old City, it's maybe worth knowing a little more. When I went to try poutine, the girl at the counter had to get her English speaking colleague to help because my French didn't stretch to understanding "eat in or take away?

That said, other Quebecois seemed quite amused by my appalling pronunciation of bonjour and were quite happy to talk to me in English.

5. Maple syrup

You have to try it. Proper maple syrup, not the stuff labelled "pancake syrup" or "original syrup". Maple syrup. Preferably with pancakes and bacon. Sausages are also acceptable. It shouldn't be so good.

Budget

Just to clarify: I've cut the last 2 weeks of my trip out of this because that was spent with my mother and sister and a lot of things had already been paid for.

Accommodation: worked out at less than £20 a night. I think this is pretty impressive given that I had to pay for a hotel for one night that cost me several times more than a hostel. Congratulations, me. Hostels in Canada range around the £15-£20 area, generally, with price spikes in Toronto over the summer, or so my hostel owner informed me. Out of the way places may also be more expensive - I paid $30 a night for a pretty basic place in Winnipeg, but it's the only hostel in the city.

AirBnB is pretty popular in Canada and some places you can find rooms cheaper than hostels. This is particularly good for places like Kingston, which have no hostels. At all.

Food: less than £5 a day. I'm pretty pleased with this considering I did treat myself to a couple of delicious brunches (looking at you, Original Pancake House...) and several trips to Tim Horton's. Fresh fruit and veg seems to be relatively expensive in Canada, but tinned goods are similarly priced to the UK. Plus, several of my hostels provided breakfast, which helped keep costs down.

Transport: less than £25 a day. This is hugely bumped up by the fact that in my first week I went halves on a car hire (at about $300 each) and then in August I took the train across the country which cost me nearly £500. Fortunately, the train had been budgetted for, although I loathed paying that much. If you don't take the train, transport can be done pretty cheap. A bus from Ottawa to Toronto costs about $20-25, and prices are similar between the other large cities in the east. City transit systems are pretty good - most will charge you about $3 for a single trip ticket.

Activities: about £5 a day. Obviously, this varied a lot. In Ottawa I bought a museum passport which covered all the big national museums and cost $45 (just over £30). Similarly, in Toronto I got a CityPass which covered the CN Tower, the Zoo, aquarium, Royal Ontario Museum and Casa Loma. Other costs mostly related to museum entry fees and the tourist trap that is Niagara Falls. Whale watching came in at a remarkably cheap $50 - that's £30 for a good 3 hours of sailing and a pod of fin whales right next to the boat.

Anyone else been to Canada? Is there anything I've missed that you think should be included? Let me know!

Destination Realities: Iceland

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might have read some of my Destination Daydreams posts about the things I really want to do while I'm travelling. Now that the first destination, Iceland, is very much done and dusted, I thought I'd revisit my original ideas and see how it panned out.

1. I planned on 2 weeks

But the cheapest flights out of the country to Halifax, Nova Scotia were on Thursdays and Saturdays and I figured that with the costs in Iceland in general, 10 days should do. And it has.

2. I wanted to see the Golden Circle in summer

Achievement get. This was the first trip I took and it was as wonderful as I imagined. Save for my camera breaking, but we'll ignore that for now.

3. Jokulsarlon and Vatnajokull

I would have loved to see both of these places - Jokulsarlon is a lagoon full of icebergs, Vatnajokull is the glacier they calve from. Unfortunately, day trips there are more expensive than I'd have liked and to do it on public transport would have meant having to stay overnight in somewhere like Hofn where accommodation is extorionate.

4. The North East

I listed Husavik for whale watching, as well as Akureyri and Myvatn. Turns out I could go whale watching from Akureyri, which is easier and cheaper to get to and it was awesome. Myvatn and its famous hot pools was just too awkward to do on public transport and there was plenty to keep me occupied in Akureyri for the couple of days I was there.

5. Snaefellsnes

I'd added a visit to Snaefellsnes onto my original plans as a sort of afterthought. I'm so glad I took a trip there though, even if it did rain all day! It's a beautiful, wild place and so quiet.

Overall, I think I managed to accomplish most of my original goals for Iceland. Now, things to bear in mind for anyone thinking of planning a trip there.

1. If you can go self catering, do it

Eating out is prohibitively expensive, not just in Reykjavik but across the country. I treated myself to a few small meals and every time I winced at the cost. There's a supermarket called Bonus which is incredibly cheap by Icelandic standards - go there instead.

2. Don't just stick to Reykjavik

Iceland feels like a huge place once you get out of the capital. It's worth getting a bus, or a car if you can afford it, and exploring a bit. The public bus to Akureyri works out at about £50-60 one way and it's worth it for the views alone.

3. Visit some of the museums

Reykjavik is dotted with an assortment of museums, as is Akureyri. Just don't expect them to be free - 1500 krona seems to be fairly standard.

4. Get out and walk

There are loads of green spaces in the cities and good footpaths run along the shore in both Reykjavik and Akureyri. Once you're away from the city centre, which is pretty small in both cases, it's super quiet and you might even get the area to yourself, at least for a little while.

5. Embrace the weather

Us Brits famously love talking about the weather. Iceland's weather is changeable - seriously changeable, to the point that the Icelanders like to tell tourists, "don't like the weather? Wait 10 minutes."

When I walked out to the Grotta lighthouse, the weather changed within the space of a couple of minutes from bright sunshine to rolling fog across the bay. By the time I walked back to the city it was blazing hot again. Madness.

Budget

OK, so bearing in mind I'm travelling solo and aiming to be on the road for a year, here's a few figures to give you an idea of cost.

Accommodation: worked out about £25 per night, even staying in hostels. The one in Reykjavik worked out more expensive than my room in Akureyri, despite it being a 24 bed dorm. Also useful to bear in mind is that many (if not all) hostels in Iceland will charge you extra for linen, so it's helpful to take a sleeping bag wih you.

Food: I think I did quite well here and even with eating out 4 or 5 times, my food bill worked out at less than £8 a day. I shopped at Bonus, which is the closest Iceland gets to a discount supermarket, and when I ate out I went for soups, smaller portions (which are still pretty good sizes) and ate during the day instead of the evening when prices tend to go up.

Transport: in the cities, I walked - most of the attractions in Reykjavik are within easy walking distance of the centre and this is even more true of Akureyri. The public bus in Reykjavik costs 400-420 krona for a single trip, which is a bit more than £2. Intercity buses cost 9240 krona one way, which is about £56 at the moment. Not too bad for a 6 hour plus bus trip in a notoriously expensive country. Plus, the scenery is awesome.

Activities: My biggest expense -  £343, give or take. This covered 3 day trips with Reykjavik Excursions and a whale watching trip from Akureyri, plus several museums and a trip to the cinema. Clearly the biggest expense was the day trips, but if you don't drive, this is the easiest way to get out of the city and see Iceland's beautiful landscapes. Also, whales. I will never say no to whales. I failed to find a single free museum in Iceland. The cheapest was the Akureyri City Museum, at 1200 krona - about £7.25. Most in Reykjavik are 1500 krona, unless you're going to the Phallological Museum which is a bit cheaper and totally worth it for the gift of being able to say you've been to a museum dedicated almost entirely to giant whale penises.

Overall, Iceland met my expectations with regards to price and more than met them with regards to being awesome.

Anyone else been to Iceland and think I've missed something important? Do share.