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Road trip from Calgary to Vancouver to San Francisco

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Member
Jan 2, 2009
256 posts
102 upvotes
Toronto

Road trip from Calgary to Vancouver to San Francisco

Planning on taking a 3 week road trip this summer from Calgary to Vancouver and then down to San Francisco. Never been to western Canada or northern California before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on best places to stay, visit, and best routes to take.

The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
16 replies
Newbie
Nov 28, 2013
50 posts
2 upvotes
North York
07Ex wrote: Planning on taking a 3 week road trip this summer from Calgary to Vancouver and then down to San Francisco. Never been to western Canada or northern California before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on best places to stay, visit, and best routes to take.

The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
Can't give to much advice on what to visit but Seattle is nice for a day or 2 and maybe try and visit the San Juan Islands off the Washington coast. Also visit the Giant Red Wood trees in Northern California, there is a tree so big you can drive your car through it which is pretty cool.

Be careful with a one-way rental between Canada & the U.S, you'll most likely be charged a pretty hefty one-way drop off fee
Deal Addict
Aug 12, 2004
4511 posts
2168 upvotes
Calgary
07Ex wrote: Planning on taking a 3 week road trip this summer from Calgary to Vancouver and then down to San Francisco. Never been to western Canada or northern California before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on best places to stay, visit, and best routes to take.

The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
You will pay a couple of thousand. Ran Calgary to San Francisco on Enterprise's website just of curiousity. If you don't mind that type of charge, it would be a great trip, but expect it to cost 8-10K when accounting for accomodations and food.

Price Details
ESTIMATED TOTAL
CAD3,965.14
VEHICLE CLASSCHANGE VEHICLE
Intermediate
For 3 week(s) - CAD 1,072.50 / week
CAD 3,217.50
VEHICLE KILOMETRES
Unlimited Kilometres
Included
TAXES & FEESLEARN MORE ABOUT TAXES AND FEES
CUSTOMER FACILITY CHG 6.00/DAY
CAD 42.00
CONCESSION RECOVERY FEE 15.61 PCT
CAD 504.22
VEHICLE LICENSE FEE .60/DAY
CAD 12.60
CA GOODS/SVCES TAX ALBERTA (5.0%)
CAD 188.82
Deal Expert
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Jun 12, 2007
20807 posts
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London
I think international one-way to non adjacent locations is really $$$.

Maybe try to break it up into segments like one way yyc to yvr, then take transit to sea or bli followed by a one-way rental to sfx ?

Edit
Corolla size May 23-June13
YYC-YvR may 23- May 31 $1300
YVR-BLI May 31 $200
BLI-SFX May 31-june 13 $1300
total $2800 cdn
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Sep 21, 2004
11413 posts
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Calgary
07Ex wrote: Planning on taking a 3 week road trip this summer from Calgary to Vancouver and then down to San Francisco. Never been to western Canada or northern California before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on best places to stay, visit, and best routes to take.

The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
As others said, the one way drop off will be very expensive. However if you rent a U haul truck in Calgary it will greatly reduce your rental cost (the estimate is $1600 compared to $4000 in Enterprise).

I did the same trip a couple years back. Places worth spending time in:

Banff/Jasper National PArk
Revelstoke
Vancouver
Seattle
Portland (no sales tax; shopping is great)
Crater Lake National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Reno/Lake Tahoe
Yosemite National Park
Monterey/Carmel by the sea
San Francisco of course

I took I-5 on the way down and PCH most of the way back up. Ocean scenery is great but it is not sunny sandy SoCal beach.

Also, Oregon State park has really cheap Yurts and Cabins. It cost $40 a night for a well equipped cabin. You can't really beat that type of rates. http://oregonstateparks.org/?do=reserve.dsp_cabinsyurts

Edit: you can even put a mattress at the back of the truck to save a ton of accommodation cost. :D
Sr. Member
Dec 12, 2005
984 posts
398 upvotes
Richmond
What about driving from Calgary to Vancouver and then Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, rent a car in Seattle and drive to San Francisco?
Member
Jan 2, 2009
256 posts
102 upvotes
Toronto
ai_c wrote: What about driving from Calgary to Vancouver and then Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, rent a car in Seattle and drive to San Francisco?
Wow, I didn't realize that renting a car in Calgary and dropping it off in San Francisco would cost so much. The idea behind renting a car in Calgary and crossing the Rockies was to sight see along the way rather than taking a flight (or train). We want to stop in different areas along the Trans Canada Hwy (Banff, Lake Louse, etc.) and take as much time as we want, rather than rush. Once in Vancouver we also wanted to go to Victoria and spend a couple of days there.

I do like your idea of renting in Calgary and then dropping the car off in Vancouver, and then renting again in Seattle and dropping the car off in San Francisco. I wonder how much we would save if we were to do that.

I really appreciate everyone's input. Now I'm really glad I asked the question. Hope to get more insight from you guys before taking the actual trip.
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Sep 19, 2005
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Canadia
07Ex wrote: The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
Last time we did a road trip from Calgary to San Francisco and back, we chose to drive straight from San Francisco back to Calgary. Did it in two days.

One thing to be very wary of is that there are geographical restrictions on rentals here. I last rented from Avis several weeks ago. They allow unlimited mileage in any Canadian province, but restrict US travel to states closer to the border. California was excluded.
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
16872 posts
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07Ex wrote: Planning on taking a 3 week road trip this summer from Calgary to Vancouver and then down to San Francisco. Never been to western Canada or northern California before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on best places to stay, visit, and best routes to take.

The plan is to fly out to Calgary and rent a car there. We'd like to drop off the car in San Francisco and then fly back home from San Francisco.
A one way rental from Canada to San Francisco will be very expensive, it's not a popular route because between Portland and San Francisco it's pretty barren.

I recommend you stick with Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Vancouver, and Seattle for this trip. Next trip so San Francisco to San Deigo.
07Ex wrote: I do like your idea of renting in Calgary and then dropping the car off in Vancouver, and then renting again in Seattle and dropping the car off in San Francisco. I wonder how much we would save if we were to do that.
This will be a cheaper rental - about $750 USD a week, but most people fly between San Francisco and Seattle - there is nothing major south of Portland, it's a long and tedious drive. You can take the Pacific Coastal Highway for a more scenic tour, but that's an even longer drive.
Member
Jan 2, 2009
256 posts
102 upvotes
Toronto
Based on everyone's replies, I think I'll be A LOT cheaper to rent a car in Calgary, drive to Vancouver/Seattle, and then return it back to Calgary.

Any suggestions on what route to take back from Seattle to Calgary? I was thinking that, rather than going back via the Trans Canada Hwy, maybe we can try going through the US and hitting some touristy spots over there, too. Someone suggested Okanogan National Forest, maybe Mt. Rainier ... perhaps even go back to Yellowstone. Any other suggestions? Any nice drives along the way?
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Jun 12, 2007
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London
a) US Glacier National Park + Going to the Sun Road
b) Cdn Waterton Lakes National Park
c) Frank Slide
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Jan 31, 2013
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Red Deer, AB
I loved Olympic National Park, west of Seattle and the beaches there. You could stop at Forks, which is made famous because of the Twilight stories (we had no idea about that, when we visited LOL) We also liked Port Townsend, it's prettier than Port Angeles.

Coeur d'Alene is a nice place for a stop over, when driving through the States. The area between Seattle and Spokane is pretty boring, although I have to admit that I've never taken the most northern US route.
Further east, you can hit Flathead Lake / Kalispell/ Whitefish, which is a pretty popular hang out for Albertans during the summer and winter. From Kalispell it's a short drive to the Going to the Sun road, which will take you over the Rockies.
Deal Guru
Oct 6, 2007
11213 posts
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Kootenays
coolspot wrote: between Portland and San Francisco it's pretty barren.
Couldn't disagree more! Hwy 101 is spectacular. I've done it a number of times on a motorcycle. Highlights for me are Astoria, Cannon Beach, Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, Coos Bay, and a terrific coastal drive.
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Mar 4, 2007
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Vancouver
Newbie
Jan 7, 2012
92 posts
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Calgary
This is the general route I recommend for a Western Canada loop driving tour from either Calgary or Vancouver:
https://goo.gl/maps/AwgJT7wnXyS2
3 weeks is about the right length of time for doing that route, though you could easily spend longer. If you do go down into the US to loop back, SR20 through the North Cascades is scenic, as is Going to the Sun road in Glacier, but otherwise the roads are relatively boring compared to what you get north of the border. Driving into Mount Baker is also a scenic little detour you could take.

I've driven Calgary - San Francisco a number of times too using the various routes. While the coastal route is the nicest option, given that the CAD sucks now and that you'd likely have to rent different cars, I too wouldn't recommend it. Better to just make it a separate Seattle - San Francisco trip in that situation.
Member
Jan 2, 2009
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Toronto
Thanks very much guys! Really appreciate the feedback.
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Oct 25, 2009
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Moncton
Google Streetview. Baff is easier if you have a car. But you don't need a car to visit Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle or San Francisco.

If you have 3 weeks, you are going to be tempted to go using your own car. Toronto-Calgary is a once in a lifetime trip because nobody in their right mind would do it twice. That said, it is so stupid and boring you almost have to do it at least once.

Check your credit card for details for how long you can rent in a row. Although 3 weeks is 21 days, so you should be fine.

You'd have no problem justifying trips by plane to San Francisco/California from Toronto. Portland, Oregon, is an other matter. So if you go to Seattle and skip Portland, be forwarned, you may be skipping it for ever. Although interestingly enough, Air Canada is launching a Toronto-Portland flight later this year.
Toronto is a very small part of Canada

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