American here, thinking about taking a train ride across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto, through Montreal, Quebec City, and finally Halifax. I've never been to Canada before (except Niagara Falls but that doesn't count) but I'm somewhat familiar with the country, and I've also never rode on a train before, so I'm thinking it could be a cool experience.
Would this really be the trip of a lifetime? Which cities should I stop in? I'm personally very interested in seeing Quebec and everything east of it, like Nova Scotia. Would it be worth it?
Forgot to add, reason I'm not doing this with U.S. trains is because I've seen mostly everything the US has to offer. I'm bored of the US. I've been to all the major landmarks in every region.
I would be a 19 year old male traveling solo. Other option would be doing the entire trip on my motorcycle, but I don't know if I have the stamina.
Train from Winnipeg to Toronto was one of the worst times of my life. Fuck all to see and takes forever. Best part is stopping every few hours to let a freight train pass. Rails aren't continuous welded either so is a constant clunk-clunk-clunk.... forget sleep
>>1132479
Well, I would be in my own cabin.
>>1132480
Just go Vancouver to Edmonton, then fly east to pick it up again. The prairies and northern ontario by train are not a sight to see.
>>1132473
Might want to skip the Edmonton-Toronto part and just fly. Edmonton-Winnipeg is a bunch of fields, and Winnipeg-Toronto is the forests of BC, but without the mountains. Unless you like mountains, maybe just start in Toronto.
VIA rail is a lot more expensive than Amtrak. 'Worth it' really depends on your financial situation.
I'd say the most interesting train ride in Canada is Winnipeg-Churchill, if you've never experienced Tundra before.
>>1132499
>I'd say the most interesting train ride in Canada is Winnipeg-Churchill, if you've never experienced Tundra before.
Would it still be interesting around this time of year?
>>1132502
There's constant daylight, and boat tours on hudson's bay for belugas and polar bears.
Tundra in the winter is the same as grassland, just big fields of snow. When there's no snow you get how it's just a big giant bog.
>>1132473
As a 19 year old, how do you intend to pay for this trip? Are you aware of the costs?
>>1132543
If I wasn't prepared to pay for it, I wouldn't have made the thread.
Seconding the other anons, I live in Montreal and take the train to Quebec and Toronto sometimes and it's pretty damn boring, couldn't imagine how bad it would be in the prairies.
Maritime provinces are GOAT, though.
Are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland worth visiting? (Newfoundland being like St. John's)
>>1132862
One of them is. Nova Scotia is easier to get to, and a lot cheaper than Newfoundland. There isn't much difference between Cape Breton and and Newfoundland, except it's a lot easier to get off Cape Breton.
>>1132473
You'll really hate the plains in Manitoba. Nothing but flat land as far as you can see. Very boring to travel through.
>>1132473
>Toronto
There's your mistake Anon
Avoid like the plague
t. Toronto Etobikosa
Anything to worth checking out in Winnipeg? I'm going to be there in a few weeks. Landmarks, food, bars, interesting neighborhoods, anything really...
>>1133724
Getting shanked by a drunk native
>>1133724
I'd only recommend it if you are into architecture. The downtown is interesting a lot of turn of the century stuff. I'm from a place a lot younger than Winnipeg. The only part of Canada that really has that widwest feel to it.
>>1133739
>The only part of Canada that really has that widwest feel to it.
You've obviously never been to anywhere in rural BC or the Yukon. Idiot.
Toronto is has plenty to do, ignore the peanut gallery of bitter small town yokels. Canadians suffer hard from Tall Poppy Syndrome, and of course 4chan is full of angry basement dwelling edgelords. A very toxic mix.
The prairies have some spots of interest if natives, grain elevators or bison are of interest. Imagine North Dakota, only 10 times more of it. Not super exciting, but some of the wild prairie biomes are beautiful as fuck, and watching a thunderstorm system roll in from the horizon across the blowing grasses is worth seeing once in your life if possible. But the train ride will ever long and boring, yes.
>>1132552
Rich daddy?
>>1133770
OP here, I'm kind of revising my trip to look more like this:
> Vancouver -> Jasper -> Toronto -> Quebec (maybe) -> Halifax
I'm particularly interested in seeing eastern/oceanic Canada, including Newfoundland.
>>1133770
No, toronto is a really mediocre big city that's cancerously PC/Liberal, dull, lifeless, gentrified and full of obnoxious redditors. There is nothing special or remarkable about it, really smaller places like montreal, portland, austin, even like Ann Arbor, or Hartford have way more individual culture and attractions than Toronto. It's just a shitty cash grab clone of other big cities, you know when local "culture" consists of a couple chinese cake shops and curry joints that havent been priced out of business, that you're in nowheresville. It's boring, shitty, cold, and grey.
Go to Montreal instead.
