CA Canada: how to get around

However, in the early 2020s, ultra-low-cost carriers have gained popularity in Canada, so airlines such as Flair Airlines now offer comparatively cheap fares for no-frills services. Complaints — mainly cancelled flights and awful customer service — are rather frequent though.

Northern Canada and the Interior are serviced by their own set of specialized scheduled and charter airlines. Unfortunately, flights to these destinations are often quite expensive. In some cases these small airports are served by the major carriers' regional operations, Air Canada Express and WestJet Encore, but they are the exception.

Most major airports are served by public transit. This consists of trains and feeder buses running at peak frequencies ranging from five to fifteen minutes or less (Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa). Service may be spotty or non-existent late at night or on weekends if you are outside the major centres. To travel to the city centre/downtown, one or more connections are required in all cities except Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg and Ottawa, making a taxi or shuttle a better idea for large groups or those with a lot of luggage.

Domestic flights in Canada are generally similar to those in the U.S. in terms of service levels; airlines charge economy class passengers for meals and check-in baggage, and these are only included in the ticket price for business class passengers or frequent flyers with status on them or a partner airline, but you do get lounge access for domestic travel if you are flying business class, or have elite status with the airline.

Air courier travel is a dying phenomenon. It was once common to deliver urgent documents and parcels more quickly by using the checked baggage allocation of a passenger ticket on frequently-travelled routes (such as Paris to Montréal); as checked baggage must have a corresponding passenger, the seat would be offered with carry-on luggage only to a traveller at a reduced rate. With rare exception, any time advantage has been eliminated by airlines improving their cargo operations and by major parcel carriers (such as FedEx and UPS) moving the bulk of their cargo on their own aircraft.

Travel by intercity bus is available between most cities in Canada. They can be found under the applicable listing for the region or city. The timetables and fares of many Canadian intercity bus companies are included in busbud, which can help find a suitable ride.

Most routes do not operate overnight, coordination of routes between carriers should not be expected, multiple separate bookings with different bus operators may be required to reach longer distance or less popular destinations, and some destinations may not have daily service.

Prior to travelling between regions of Canada by bus, it would be prudent to:

• Understand what bus services are available, how much they cost, and when they operate.
• Understand what, if any, facilities will be available, if transferring between buses.
• Compare travel options including by plane. Despite Canada's reputation for high-priced airfare, flights between distant major cities are often less expensive than a bus.

Canada is a very car-dependent country, and many visitors rent a car. Many of Canada's famed natural attractions are only accessible by car. Although somewhat expensive if you are travelling alone, this can be economically reasonable if you are sharing the costs with others. However, there are many limitations and drawbacks on car rentals in Canada, including:

• There can be very high surcharges associated with dropping off the car at a different location than where it was picked up.
• Unlimited kilometres are usually offered for the province you rent it in only. As soon as you enter another province, even for a few kilometres, your entire trip gets limited (mostly to 200 km a day).
• Driving is usually permitted on paved roads only.
• There are no manual transmission rental cars available in Canada.

In some cases, frugal travellers may be able to "earn" budget automobile travel by delivering a car across Canada. The option is not common. Nor does it offer the opportunity to spend much time stopping along the way. However, it can be a cheap way to cross Canada while seeing the interior. Canada Drive Away and Hit the Road are options.

Throughout the mainland of North America including Canada, traffic moves on the right with most cars being left-hand-drive. The only areas of North America that do not drive on the right are on some Caribbean Islands.

The Trans-Canada Highway is a network of paved roads crossing the country from coast to coast. Most of it consists of four-lane divided highways or two-lane undivided highways, and it is only a freeway for relatively short stretches near the major cities. The road network is considerably less developed in northern Canada, and many communities in the north are not accessible by road at all.

Driving within Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto is not always practical; these cities are densely populated and parking can be difficult to find and/or expensive. All three cities provide extensive public transit, so it may be better to park in a central location, or at your hotel or lodging, then use public transit. You can usually obtain maps of the public transit systems at airports, subway kiosks, and train stations. Outside those cities, public transport tends to be unreliable or non-existent, so a car is almost essential just to get around at all.

Gasoline in November 2022 costs $1.60-2.00 per litre in most Canadian cities. Debit and credit cards without the "chip and PIN" are not recognized at the pumps, although most companies accept the cards if they are brought inside to the cashier.

In general, foreign visitors are allowed to drive using their foreign licence for up to 90 days if their licence is in English or French, after which they have to obtain a Canadian licence from the province or territory they are residing in. Foreign licences in other languages must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP). Most foreigners are required to take a written and practical test before they can get a Canadian licence, though individual provinces may have reciprocal agreements that exempt some foreigners from testing requirements; check with the relevant provincial government to be sure. Licensing laws and road rules vary slightly from province to province.

Many jurisdictions also have red light and speed cameras that issue fines via mail to the car's registered owner, again via licence plate when the car is automatically photographed running (disobeying) a red traffic light or going above the speed limit. The above warning regarding rental agency policies applies to these as well. As the ticket is sent to the vehicle owner (not the driver) long after the alleged offence, it is difficult or impossible to obtain due process or a fair trial, making these traps a lucrative source of revenue for local and provincial governments.

If you are set on a road trip, an alternative to car rental is to rent an RV (motorhome or campervan). This gives you the flexibility to explore Canada at your own pace and is ideal if your trip is geared around an appreciation of Canada's natural environment. Costs can also be lower than combining car rental with hotels.

Railways in Canada are considerably underdeveloped compared to most of the developed world. Passenger rail service in Canada is often an expensive, slow and inconvenient alternative to other types of transport. There are no high-speed trains in Canada, and delays are common, particularly on longer routes. It may still be faster and more convenient than inter-city buses on long distance routes, as most inter-city routes do not operate overnight and route schedules are generally not coordinated between the various bus operators. Government-owned VIA Rail is Canada's main long-distance rail operator, and provides service to most of Canada's major cities except Calgary. Nevertheless, if you have a lot of time and money, Canadian trains are safe, comfortable and can offer views of some of the world's most spectacular scenery. As of 2024, Hostelling International members are eligible at 10% discount from VIA Rail Canada.

However, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, passing through Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, passenger rail is well-developed.

Outside of the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor there are single-day trains in Ontario and Quebec and four multi-day services outside of the Central provinces. The Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver is the most famous service, and VIA Rail's flagship train. This four-day ride passes through the splendour of the Canadian prairies and the Rocky Mountains, with domed observation cars to allow passengers to take in the magnificent views. The Ocean goes from Montreal to Halifax, passes through the Canadian Maritimes and provides excellent ocean views in its journey in Northern New Brunswick. It takes one day and one night. The Winnipeg–Churchill route takes two days and nights to travel to the shores of Hudson Bay and is the only passenger train service to Northern Canada. In British Columbia, The Skeena travels from Jasper to Prince Rupert over the course of two days and provides some of the best scenery aboard any VIA Rail Canada train. However, this train overnights in Prince George and a ticket does not include accommodation in the town.

There are also some passenger railways not operated by VIA Rail, mainly serving remote communities that are difficult to access by road. The Ontario Northland Railway, owned by the Ontario provincial government, runs the Polar Bear Express between Cochrane and Moosonee in the remote northern part of the province. It is the only train in Canada that offers motorail service (i.e. allowing your taking your car on the train with you). The Keewatin Railway Company is a First Nations-owned railway that travels between The Pas, an intermediate station on VIA Rail's Winnipeg–Churchill route, and Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba, serving remote First Nations communities along the way. Tshiuetin Rail Transportation is a First Nations-owned railway that serves northern Quebec and western Labrador, travelling between Sept-Îles and Schefferville.

Some tourist trains can also get you to your destination, but their focus is mostly on sightseeing, not transportation, and they are usually much more expensive than an equivalent plane, car, bus, or even VIA Rail trip. The Rocky Mountaineer is the most well known and runs three routes out of Vancouver during the summer (late April to early October). The most popular and arguably most scenic of the Rocky Mountaineer's routes is the First Passage to the West from Vancouver to Banff along the historic Canadian Pacific Railway, taking two days to complete the journey with an overnight stop in Kamloops. However, tickets are very expensive and the service is exclusively oriented towards sightseeing tourists.

Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are also served by commuter rail services carrying passengers from the suburbs and the nearby cities. Some stations may offer park and ride facilities, where you park your car at the station and take the train into the city. Be sure to check schedules, as some lines only operate in the peak direction during rush hour.

While you'll find various ferries crossing rivers around the country and scenic boat trips on lakes and rivers, the main ferry services are on the east and west coasts.

Marine Atlantic provides ferry service between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland. There are also ferries to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, generally from Souris, and much less often from Montreal.

BC Ferries has an extensive network of services along the coast of British Columbia and to Vancouver Island and to outlying islands. Onboard amenities on many of its routes make it a popular choice for travellers to BC's many coastal areas.

Canada can be a great place for hitchhiking, and is still done by younger travellers strapped for cash, or seeking adventure. It's most common in the far western provinces, although popularity is decreasing. Hitchhiking in the urban areas of Southern Ontario and Montréal is not a sure thing as many drivers will not pick up hitchhikers in these regions.

In heavily populated areas such as the Windsor-Quebec corridor, the main route used to be a road that went through every town as the main street. A freeway was built in the 1960s, leaving three options – hitchhike on the old road (slower, and more difficult as most of the remaining traffic is local), stand on the shoulder of the freeway (which is illegal, but not uncommon) or stand at the on-ramp and hope someone getting on at that crossroads is going your way. In less-populated areas (such as the vast stretches of Trans-Canada Highway across northern Ontario), the surface road remains the only highway, giving pedestrians (and hitchhikers) unfettered access at any point.

The small town of Wawa in Northern Ontario was famous in the 1960s and 70s as a place where westbound hitchhikers became stranded, sometimes for days. It might still be wise not to accept a ride that only goes to Wawa; look for one that goes through to Thunder Bay. More generally, look for lifts going to decent-sized towns rather than ones that will drop you in the middle of nowhere. This makes it easier to find your next lift, or food and lodging, and reduces risks of dangerous animals or being caught without shelter in nasty weather.

In British Columbia, the section of Highway 16 between the cities of Prince Rupert and Prince George has been nicknamed the "Highway of Tears" due to the number of people, particularly Indigenous women, who have gone missing or been murdered along this particular stretch of highway. Travellers, especially females, should avoid hitchhiking here at all costs.

Hitchhiking in winter is best avoided (except as a last resort) as darkness falls early and drivers cannot see you easily in snowstorms or hazardous weather conditions.

As anywhere in the world, hitch-hiking carries risks.

Ride sharing is increasing in popularity among users of Internet website Craigslist and dedicated ridesharing sites such as Kangaride, Poparide and RideshareOnline. This method of transport works best between major centres, for example, Toronto-Montreal or Vancouver-Calgary. Generally anything along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor (Victoria, Vancouver, Banff, Canmore, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, St Johns, Halifax, PEI) should be no problem if your dates are flexible.

Some tourist destinations, especially those popular with young people, can be accessed via rideshare, for example: Vancouver-Whistler or Calgary-Banff. People sharing a ride will usually be expected to pay for their fair share of the fuel cost, and may also be asked to do some of the driving on long hauls.

For best results be sure to post a request listing, and start checking for offer listings at least one week prior to your anticipated ride date. Backpacker's hostel notice boards are also a good resource for ride sharing.

Like hitchhiking, some common sense and discretion is advisable.

The Trans Canada Trail covers 27,000 km (as of 2020), stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and to the Arctic Ocean.