Tips on Road Trip from Toronto to Vancouver

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Planning on a long road trip with family should be fun! But during Covid? Many will be terrified. But we did it anyway! Because that was the best option for us. I was living in Toronto as an international student. Last September 2020, my family and I decided to move to British Columbia because of a job offer from an employer. Of course, the decision to move was tough. We felt we were a bit settled already in Toronto and initially refused to entertain the idea. The decision came after we weighed in all our options.

For this long trip, we only had a month to prepare. I was busy cramming for final projects before my graduation while my husband was still working full time. Sadly that time, I did not find a lot of information on cross-country travel, especially during Covid.

And I felt it would be good to share some tips for cross-country travel in Canada from Toronto to Vancouver during Covid. A few co-international students have been asking me how we did it and if there are restrictions. Hopefully, you’ll find this blog handy.

So here are six tips if you are going on a roadtrip with your family from Toronto to Vancouver:

1. Know the travel restrictions and exemption of (all) the provinces you will go to. Our first concern was this because we were going to travel during Covid and most provinces are lockdown. We checked every provinces’ rules and restrictions we will stop by. There are no federal travel requirements when traveling between provinces/territories. However, you need to know the travel restrictions and exemptions for each province you will visit. You can get more detailed information on requirements or restrictions here.
2. Consider renting a car for cross-country travel. Otherwise, if you are using your car, know the possible scenarios during a long drive. In our case, we opted to rent a car at Alamo Enterprises as they offer the cheapest fee with full travel insurance. Also, traveling 4,800 kilometers would for sure test the car’s durability.
3. Get yourself covered with travel insurance as well as for your car. We rented a car and opted for full coverage that includes travel insurance for myself, my husband, and my daughter. The insurance package also covers 24-hour emergency assistance in case the car broke down on the road. The car rental company can rescue us and will have a car replacement. So, we did not have to worry we will get stuck in one place or the road with no help.
4. Reserve your accommodation in advance. Honestly, I was not able to reserve our accommodation early. I would recommend to book at least a week or two (or more) in advance for the trip. What happened was, I booked our campsite reservation one day prior. Luckily, there were plenty of available campsites during that time and understandably due to Covid as well. We opted to sleep overnight in most provinces at Sault Ste. Marie, Thunderbay, and Winnipeg because we were afraid to check-in to a hotel due to Covid. We feel much safer sleeping in our camping tent. The only places we booked a hotel were in Saskatchewan (because I could not find any campsite available on the same day. And at Alberta (because we wanted to rest for two days and enjoy Banff) before heading to our final destination, British Columbia.
5. Plan your travel route in advance. Don’t just rely on Google Maps. Also, know that some areas have zero networks and so have a separate hard copy of your route and map ready in your car. This is highly important as you don’t want to run out of gas in the middle of the road and nowhere. Also, it is good to know the gas stations ahead of time before your travel. You can probably use some mobile app like GasBuddy that can help you find the cheap gas around the location and track your fuel. Although, we didn’t use an app but have heard of a co-international student using this. 
6. Ready your travel essentials for long-haul travel. This includes from personal stuff, food, emergency kit to camping gears, and emergency kit. I will share the complete list of camping essentials we brought along in our long road trip from Toronto to Vancouver here once I’m done and you can also download it if you want. 

Below is the summary of the tips for your next long travel from Toronto to Vancouver:

1. Know the travel restrictions and exemption of (all) the provinces you will go to.
2. Consider renting a car for cross-country travel so you don’t have to worry when car broke down.
3. Get yourself covered with travel insurance as well as for your car. 
4. Reserve your accommodation in advance (at least a week or two in advance)
5. Plan your travel route in advance (print our free downladable trip from Toronto to Vancouver)
6. Ready your travel essentials for the long-haul travel

READ ALSO:

Travel route and accommodations we took traveling from Toronto to Vancouver

Top 3 Places for Family Summer Getaway in Vancouver

Have you experienced cross-country traveling in Canada? Let me know other helpful tips in the comment box. Thanks!

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