Car Hire Links

Car Hire Home >>

Whether your passion is skiing, sailing, museum-combing or indulging in exceptional cuisine, few countries in the world offer as many choices to the traveller as Canada.. Visit Western Canada for its stunningly beautiful countryside; Eastern Canada has the flavor and charm of Europe mixed with the hustle of trendy New York; wildlife viewing is best in Northern Canada; You will be surprised by how much more there is to this country than just maple syrup and Mounties.!!

Places to Visit in Canada

Well, as we all know, America is a vast country with just about every imaginable topography and climate within it’s borders. Having said that, if you are in the vicinity of any of these, you must visit the

• Banff and Jasper National Parks...Towering peaks, tumbling glaciers, baby-blue lakes and an ark's worth of animals.
• Toronto, Canada's biggest, busiest and some say, best city to eat, shop and drink in.
• Niagara Falls, Still a world wonder (despite the crowds and the architectural scars.)
• Québec Old Town.
• Queen Charlotte Islands.. Isles of beauty, mystery and the returning of the Haida culture.
• Northern Peninsula..A rugged coastline with drifting icebergs, geologic curiosities, moose burgers and remnants of the last of the Vikings.

My favorite things

• 100% real Canadian Maple syrup (yum...)
• 100% real Canadian Whiskey (sorry couldn’t resist throwing that in there!!)
• Canadian Salmon
• RCMP (they always look so cute up there on their horses)

Driving tips/rules.

In the province of Québec, roadsigns are in French.
Diamond Lanes..reserved for local buses, sometimes taxis and bicycles
Many areas (except Montreal) allow a “right turn on Red” (after stopping of course)
In British Columbia, a (slow) flashing green light means the traffic light is green (you can go) but it is controlled by the pedestrian. The light will remain flashing green until a pedestrian pushes the button to cross the street. When you see a flashing green light, traffic coming towards you will also see a flashing green light. In Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia, a (fast) flashing green light indicates advanced turn, signaling the driver can make a left hand turn across oncoming traffic because oncoming traffic has a red light.
At crosswalks and corners, the pedestrian has the right of way but this law is not as widely enforced in Toronto or Québec City as it is in other areas of Canada.
In certain provinces, the fines for using a mobile handset while driving can be very steep. Using them while stationary is also illegal. The only time it is legal is to dial emergency services.
Some provinces have drink-drive limits of 0.05%. The national Criminal Code limit is 0.08% - a foreign national exceeding this can expect to be deported.!!

Interesting facts

• Canadians eat more Macaroni and Cheese than any other nation on earth.
• Québec city is surrounded by a 4 meter high wall. It is the only walled city in North America.
• The belief that the North Pole is owned by Canada is false. No country owns the North Pole.
• Canada is also home to the world's smallest jail, located in Ontario. It is only 270 square feet.
• Canada produces so much energy, that it provides it to the USA also.
• In 1883, the baseball glove was invented in Canada.
• And..thank goodness it’s cold there because..In 1988, the largest ice cream sundae in history was made. It was made in Edmonton, and weighed in at over 24 tons !! (Wonder if they covered it in Maple Syrup after??)

Local food/drink

Bet you didn’t know this........ Time was, indigenous Canadian cuisine consisted of what was readily available prepared as imaginatively or as simply as circumstances allowed. Some of the original Indian recipes were roast polar bear, boiled reindeer, moose meat soup, sweet pickled beaver, squirrel fricassee, fried woodchuck. Stuffed whale breast, steamed muskrat legs, boiled porcupine, boiled caribou hoofs. Baked skunk, dried buffalo meat, baked salmon, roast or boiled corn, and acorn bread.!!

Today, of course recipes for these are mostly impossible to find as the palate of the Canadian Nation has evolved to a more worldly tastes... Newfoundland is famous for its wild partridge berries and seal flippers.

Prince Edward Island has it’s cultured mussels. They are plump, contain virtually no sand and are larger than their natural counterparts. Nova Scotia is famous for its lobster, scallops, smoked mackerel, and Belon oysters. Ontario is justly famous for its splendid corn fed pork, and back bacon.

Of course, as with any large, sophisticated country, just about any types of cuisine are available.

Weather

Canada is VAST...so obviously no one climate can be given. It’s climate is not as cold as one is given to believe. In winter, the temps will fall to below freezing but the southwestern coast is relatively mild in comparison....but in the Arctic Circle, temps are below freezing for over 7 months of the year!! During summer, the southern areas can be a little humid with temps that can be 30 degrees celsius!! The west and South East of Canada has a lot of rainfall, but in comparison, the prairies are very dry with only 250-500 mm of rain per year!! (Yes that’s millimeters not centimeters).

Get the best price for Canada car hire - fill in the form below!