The good news is, you can work out a way to travel across Canada on any budget. If you don’t have much to spend, but still want to see all that Canada has to offer, there is still more than enough you can do. Planning a trip on a tight budget is doable, but it might take a little bit of extra effort. Finding small ways to not overspend on your trip might even be easier than many people think.
Here are a few tips to help you travel across Canada frugally.
1. Rent an RV
2. Travel during the off-season
5. Pack all of your essential items
1. Rent an RV
Canada is a huge country with some of it’s best locations scattered all over. Planning how you’ll get everywhere can be daunting when you’re trying to save some money. Some plane tickets can be extremely expensive. Because of the costs of getting around, you might feel like you have to cut a few places from your list. For traveling across Canada on a budget, the easiest option is renting an RV. This can get you from Victoria to Toronto while giving you the chance to stop everywhere in between. You won’t have to worry about airplanes, paying for extra baggage or getting a hotel room. Plus, you can travel at your own pace, rather than sticking to a train or airline schedule. Traveling in an RV gives you the most amount of freedom for your trip and you won’t have to worry about breaking the bank.
2. Travel during the off-season
For anyone looking to travel frugally, the only time of year to look at is the off-season. The off-season is typically thought of as being from September to March, when the weather is usually less than ideal for most people. Fewer people travel this time of year because of it, so the price for most tourist attractions drops significantly in some places. You can still get to do most of the activities you want, but for a much lower price. Although you might not want to travel during the dead of winter, you can still get weeks of comfortable weather during the off-season if you’re dressed correctly. If you plan on mostly doing indoor activities, cooler weather is definitely worth it for the price reduction.
Anyone who has gone on vacation before knows how expensive eating out the whole time can be. For most of your meals, going out isn’t necessary, especially if you’re trying to save money. If you’re traveling in an RV, you’ll be able to do most of your cooking right there. This includes small things like coffee, which you can make before you leave for the day, rather than buy while you’re out. Of course, you likely have a few popular restaurants you’d like to visit. If you have places you’re really interested in trying, you can go there, but otherwise, cook for yourself. Many places might also have farmers markets nearby with locally grown produce, which can be a much more immersive experience than eating out.
4. Find inexpensive activities
When you travel, you probably expect to spend a lot of money just to be able to do the activities you have in mind. If you plan out your trip carefully, you can find plenty to do that costs little to no money. There are more free things to see and do than you might think, like the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, or some of the Olympic sites in Vancouver. Canada is filled with national parks that have some of the most beautiful views in the world. A visit to some national parks is the best way to see Canada without having to pay a huge fee. Even something as simple as walking around a park or through a new city can be exciting. Many of the most popular museums will also offer free admission on certain days or time of day.
5. Pack all of your essential items
Packing for a trip is something no one enjoys doing and few people would say they really excel at it. When many people pack, they might leave out some smaller things, like toiletries and snacks, thinking that they would just rather get them from their destination. It can be easy to leave out small things that seem easily replaceable, but those costs can add up. By having things like travel-sized containers, you can pack everything you need without having to buy anything new. Since you’ll be traveling by RV, you won’t have to worry about dragging luggage from hotel to hotel, or bags being over a certain weight limit.
