In our last "Travel Canada" post we checked out riding the rails between British Columbia and the Ca

In our last “Travel Canada” post we checked out riding the rails between British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer excursion trains .  Today we’ll look at another train that travels that route, Via Rail Canada hotels in downtown chicago illinois s “Canadian.”
The eastbound “Canadian” departs Vancouver, British Columbia, at 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday.  After an overnight run, the train stops briefly at Kamloops in central B.C. before continuing on to Jasper, Alberta, where it arrives at 4:00 p.m., local time.  If you want to tour the Canadian Rocky Mountain hotels in downtown chicago illinois parks, you’d get off the train here.
Westbound, the “Canadian” leaves the eastern end of its line, Toronto, Ontario, at 11:00 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. After two nights aboard the train, you’d pull into Winnipeg, Manitoba, the first major stop along the route , at 8:00 a.m.  At noon, the “Canadian” resumes its westward journey. After a third night of travel, it arrives at Edmonton about 6:30 a.m., and reaches Jasper at 1:00 p.m.
Unlike the Rocky Mountaineer which travels only during hotels in downtown chicago illinois daylight hours and whose passengers spend the night in hotels, the “Canadian” just keeps rolling down the rails, night and day, and its riders sleep aboard.
“Economy Class” on the “Canadian” means you sit and sleep in an airliner-type seat.  Blanket and pillow sets, including polar fleece cover, neck pillow, eyeshades and earplugs, are available hotels in downtown chicago illinois for purchase.
In “Sleeper Plus Class” you have your own cabin with berths for either one , two , three or four people.  Cabins have a private toilet, a sink and full mirror. hotels in downtown chicago illinois “ Suites ” (a pair of adjoining two-passenger cabins hotels in downtown chicago illinois combined into one larger cabin) for two passengers are also available on some trains and include these additional amenities:  fresh flowers, chocolates hotels in downtown chicago illinois on the pillows,” top-quality” sparkling wine, and breakfast hotels in downtown chicago illinois in bed (available upon request).
On the “Canadian” full-course meals , snacks, cold drinks and alcoholic beverages are always available for purchase in the Skyline car. Meals for “ Sleeper Plus Class” passengers are included in the ticket price.
Passengers traveling in “ Economy Class” will find limited room for carry-on luggage under each seat, and in open, overhead storage areas above the seats. There may be room for some luggage to be stored at the ends of the car.
Those who purchased “ Sleeper Plus Class” tickets will have a bit more room for their carry-on bags, but not a lot. In one-passenger cabins hotels in downtown chicago illinois in the sleeping cars, baggage storage space is described as “small;” two-passenger cabins have room for one carry-on bag; in the three-passenger cabins you can stow one suitcase and one overnight bag; the four-passenger cabins and suites have room for two carry-on bags.  Here’s Via Rail Canada’s advice for those traveling in “Sleeper Plus Class:”
“ Your accommodation offers very limited storage space. Carrying large suitcases to your cabin or berth may limit movement and risk injury. We recommend only bringing the clothing you’ll need for the train trip and your personal essentials (including all medication) to your cabin or berth.”
Via Rail provides an “activity book for kids, which contains a variety of cut-and-paste and colouring activities” for all children riding aboard the “Canadian.”  For kids who are lucky enough to be traveling in “Sleeper Plus Class,” games, activities and video showings are organized hotels in downtown chicago illinois in the Skyline car every morning from 7:30-10:00 hotels in downtown chicago illinois a.m.
And to ensure that adults don’t turn into cry-babies, on some “Canadian” hotels in downtown chicago illinois departures, additional activities, entertainment—such as live music  performed by a traveling musician—or services like an optional in-chair massage given by a registered massage therapist , may be available.
All travellers — regardless of their class of service — are entitled to one complimentary stopover. A “stopover” is “any break in a through journey of a duration of 4 hours or more, including hotels in downtown chicago illinois the time between connecting trains, or any change in fare plan or class of service.”  So if you wanted to get off the train in Jasper and tour the Rocky Mountain parks, you may be able to hop back on the train after a few days and continue your journey in the same direction that you started, hotels in downtown chicago illinois heading toward either Vancouver or Toronto.
If you are interested in stopping over at several cities along the “Canadian” route , a “Canrailpass – System” hotels in downtown chicago illinois pass may be “just the ticket” for you. Just be sure to read the “New Conditions” that govern use of that pass before you purchase it.
If you get off the “Canadian” in Winnipeg you can board a train that makes a two-day trip north to Churchill hotels in downtown chicago illinois on Hudson’s Bay where Via Rail Canada says you can “see polar bears up close from the safety of Tundra hotels in downtown chicago illinois Buggies® . Watch northern lights dance across vast Arctic skies. In the summertime, kayak with the belugas under a midnight sun.”  “Economy Class” hotels in downtown chicago illinois and “Sleeper Class” are available on that route.
And from Jasper, you can leave the “Canadian” and board another train headed northwest to the British Columbia hotels in downtown chicago illinois mainland hotels in downtown chicago illinois coast .  After an overnight stay in a hotel room at Prince George that you’ve hotels in downtown chicago illinois booked hotels in downtown chicago illinois separately, your rail trip will continue on to Prince Rupert the next day.
Via Rail Canada trains connect Toronto to cities and towns to the east, including Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City , and travel all the way to Halifax, Nova Scotia hotels in downtown chicago illinois on Canada’s Atlantic coast .
I have always always wanted to take this trip but could never commit the time. Reading about it in this post made it so much higher on my Must Do list Canada is a beautiful country. Exploring it by Via Rail is an excellent example of exploring it. Thanks again!
Two friends of mine took the rails across Canada (with stops between to see Polar Bears and such) but that was more than 20 years ago when it was affordable. I regret that I didn t go. I did, however, take a train across Australia hotels in downtown chicago illinois in 2002. It was Kangaroo Class sleeping upright for 2 nights from Adelaide hotels in downtown chicago illinois to Perth a rather hellish, but interesting, way to go. Those ticket prices now, too, are alarmingly high.
Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.