Road Trip Question

[ODAAT]

Hi there, never posted in this thread nor ever seen it before however just a few questions if I may.

My wife and I are moving to Victoria BC from Halifax in August. We are driving out and are driving strictly through Canada so we can say we experienced a cross Canada trip. We will be travelling with our 6 month old pooch and we have decided that 8 hours of driving time a day is plenty understanding we`ll be stopping every 2-3 hrs to allow our four legged friend the chance to stretch her legs and do her thing and for all of us to grab a snack.

We have our itinerary, we`ll be making stops in Ottawa, the Soo, Thunder Bay then off to Winnipeg where my question lies. We have decided to stay at Best Western Hotels, always found them to be fairly priced, pet friendly, clean and many offer complimentary Breakfast to get our day started. They have a few but for whatever reason, can`t seem to find the one that would be closest to the Trans Canada highway. There is one on Pembina Highway and the other is in a place called Headingly.

While we don`t require a hotel literally on the side of the Trans Canada, we are trying to avoid driving too far off the beaten track to get to one. In towns like the Soo and Thunder Bay, both are so small it`s a short drive from the highway but I`m completely unfamiliar with Winnipeg. Thank you in advance

Click to read more...

 

[NyQuil]

While we don`t require a hotel literally on the side of the Trans Canada, we are trying to avoid driving too far off the beaten track to get to one. In towns like the Soo and Thunder Bay, both are so small it`s a short drive from the highway but I`m completely unfamiliar with Winnipeg. Thank you in advance

Hopefully you tried the Winnipeg board. I'll bet you'll get good answers there.

 

[ODAAT]

Hopefully you tried the Winnipeg board. I'll bet you'll get good answers there.

silly as it is, never thought of it, thanks, will do

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Hi there, never posted in this thread nor ever seen it before however just a few questions if I may.

My wife and I are moving to Victoria BC from Halifax in August. We are driving out and are driving strictly through Canada so we can say we experienced a cross Canada trip. We will be travelling with our 6 month old pooch and we have decided that 8 hours of driving time a day is plenty understanding we`ll be stopping every 2-3 hrs to allow our four legged friend the chance to stretch her legs and do her thing and for all of us to grab a snack.

We have our itinerary, we`ll be making stops in Ottawa, the Soo, Thunder Bay then off to Winnipeg where my question lies. We have decided to stay at Best Western Hotels, always found them to be fairly priced, pet friendly, clean and many offer complimentary Breakfast to get our day started. They have a few but for whatever reason, can`t seem to find the one that would be closest to the Trans Canada highway. There is one on Pembina Highway and the other is in a place called Headingly.

While we don`t require a hotel literally on the side of the Trans Canada, we are trying to avoid driving too far off the beaten track to get to one. In towns like the Soo and Thunder Bay, both are so small it`s a short drive from the highway but I`m completely unfamiliar with Winnipeg. Thank you in advance

As someone who has done that drive before ... in August... with a dog, you need to consider few things here.

1) The Trans Canada highway is two lanes for most of the way between Ottawa and Winnipeg. The speed limit is 90 km/h and the terrain has a lot of hills and twists and turns. So you will spend a lot of time stuck behind Transport trucks waiting for passing opportunities.

2) Road Construction. In August there will be lots of it and it will slow you down. When I drove across canada I lost 2 hrs one day to road construction and couldn't make it to the campground I had a reservation before dark. So I decided to try to find a hotel in Sault Ste Marie. That brings me to another point...

3) Some hotels only have a limited number of dog friendly rooms if they accept dogs at all. So I would recommend booking the room in advance. When I made it to Sault Ste Marie I had to call 4 or 5 hotels to find one that would accept pets. So I would keep that in mind.

Since you seem to be driving in reasonable 8 hr chunks you should be able to make any reservation you have. However, my point here is that it might take you 10-11 hrs with pit stops, traffic & construction rather than the 8 hrs you are anticipating.

The good news is that the prairies will be a super easy and quick drive.

As for Winnipeg, I took Highway 100 around Winnipeg to avoid the downtown core. If I remember correctly there's a big Shell gas station near the junction of Highway 1 & 100 and I believe there's a hotel next to the gas station. I'd also consider maybe driving a little further to Portage La Prairie since its not that much further from Winnipeg. When I was in Manitoba I stayed in Brandon so I can't really comment on the hotels in Winnipeg or Portage La Prairie but it wouldn't hurt to look into those places.

 

[member 157595]

Any reason you don't want to drive through the US, rather than using the Trans Canada? Seems like it would save you a bit of time but I'm no expert. I get that you're trying to experience all of Canada but it seems like it may take you longer than you may want to get from Point A to B.

 

[ODAAT]

Any reason you don't want to drive through the US, rather than using the Trans Canada? Seems like it would save you a bit of time but I'm no expert. I get that you're trying to experience all of Canada but it seems like it may take you longer than you may want to get from Point A to B.

simply because we have never done the cross Canada drive and want to see the whole country.

 

[ODAAT]

As someone who has done that drive before ... in August... with a dog, you need to consider few things here.

1) The Trans Canada highway is two lanes for most of the way between Ottawa and Winnipeg. The speed limit is 90 km/h and the terrain has a lot of hills and twists and turns. So you will spend a lot of time stuck behind Transport trucks waiting for passing opportunities.

2) Road Construction. In August there will be lots of it and it will slow you down. When I drove across canada I lost 2 hrs one day to road construction and couldn't make it to the campground I had a reservation before dark. So I decided to try to find a hotel in Sault Ste Marie. That brings me to another point...

3) Some hotels only have a limited number of dog friendly rooms if they accept dogs at all. So I would recommend booking the room in advance. When I made it to Sault Ste Marie I had to call 4 or 5 hotels to find one that would accept pets. So I would keep that in mind.

Since you seem to be driving in reasonable 8 hr chunks you should be able to make any reservation you have. However, my point here is that it might take you 10-11 hrs with pit stops, traffic & construction rather than the 8 hrs you are anticipating.

The good news is that the prairies will be a super easy and quick drive.

As for Winnipeg, I took Highway 100 around Winnipeg to avoid the downtown core. If I remember correctly there's a big Shell gas station near the junction of Highway 1 & 100 and I believe there's a hotel next to the gas station. I'd also consider maybe driving a little further to Portage La Prairie since its not that much further from Winnipeg. When I was in Manitoba I stayed in Brandon so I can't really comment on the hotels in Winnipeg or Portage La Prairie but it wouldn't hurt to look into those places.

Thank you, we have driven to Montreal a few times and going through Montreal was a bit of a pain in the arse. We definitely are banking on construction, especially during summer months. We anticipated if we left each morning at 8:30 ish, we`d arrive in our next destination around 6-7 pm which is ideal for us, that`s including stopping for washroom/food breaks and a stroll for the pooch, construction etc....I have not driven to Ottawa since the AutoRoute 30 was open, I heard it`s pretty quick, we`ll be heading through Montreal on a Sunday, much rather avoid Montreal all together but hoping if the AutoRoute 30 doesn`t enable us to get back on a highway to Ottawa that Montreal won`t be insanely busy on a Sunday but who knows

Thanks again

We have all hotel reservations booked, went with Best Western Plus` all across the country, all dog friendly and many with the free breakfast which is great

 

[member 157595]

simply because we have never done the cross Canada drive and want to see the whole country.

No problem, perfectly understandable.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Thank you, we have driven to Montreal a few times and going through Montreal was a bit of a pain in the arse. We definitely are banking on construction, especially during summer months. We anticipated if we left each morning at 8:30 ish, we`d arrive in our next destination around 6-7 pm which is ideal for us, that`s including stopping for washroom/food breaks and a stroll for the pooch, construction etc....I have not driven to Ottawa since the AutoRoute 30 was open, I heard it`s pretty quick, we`ll be heading through Montreal on a Sunday, much rather avoid Montreal all together but hoping if the AutoRoute 30 doesn`t enable us to get back on a highway to Ottawa that Montreal won`t be insanely busy on a Sunday but who knows

Thanks again

We have all hotel reservations booked, went with Best Western Plus` all across the country, all dog friendly and many with the free breakfast which is great

Awesome!

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[nilan30]

How did it go? If I had seen this earlier I could tell you that Thunder Bay has a Best Western Crossroads Inn right on the highway which I believe is pet friendly.

Anyways interested to hear how the cross country trip went