Could I drive to the arctic circle from Toronto in a hire car, what might be the problem with that?
Question by MtotheR MIGHTY RA!: Could I drive to the arctic circle from Toronto in a hire car, what might be the problem with that?
The only decent way to travel independently and cheaply from the UK to Canada is with Canadian affair I have found, but my only destination airport is Toronto and though I am sure there is a lot going on in this great city, I hate cities and cannot really do much more than a day in one. I am not a townie.
I would like to hire a car and travel for about 10 days, where would you head?, What would represent to you a decent 10 day fly drive holiday to Canada?, with the pick up and drop off airport being Toronto. I am single man and am comfortably off, but that doesn’t mean I like “pampering” or any of that nonsense. I like driving.
I like the wild, even camping, but I am not that fussed about digging a pit to have a crap in (but I would, if my hand was forced, by a top class adventure),
I am OK in the fitness dept, swim strongly but I am going to be on a holiday, so no route marching, climbing, or heavy portage, or boot camp.
You must have some ideas, please help.
Best answer:
Answer by GSinG
The Arctic Circle is quite out of the picture, and a 10 day rent-a-car trip from Toronto leaves you in the most populated part of Canada, but…
…go west to the shore of Lake Huron, north along the coast, up the Bruce Peninsula to the end at Tobermory, take the ferry to Manitoulin Island, explore Manitoulin to the western end, back to the main highway, north over the swing bridge to the junction with the Trans Canada Highway, east again past Sudbury southeast through Algonquin Park, then south through Muskoka and down hwy 400 to the airport again. You can do all this in much less than 10 days if you drive long hours, but you can slow down and look around, take time to just be still for a while.
Stay in relatively cheap hotels, eat in roadside diners- though you might find a few better restaurants. There’s a place in Tobermory called “Acres” (if it’s still there and kept up its standards) that might surprise you.
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Many people, especially those from the UK, cannot fathom the sheer size of Canada. For example, if someone were to land on the eastern most part of Canada (populated part of Canada) and start to drive west it would take them 11-12 days of long driving just to reach our other coast. And that doesn’t include the return trip or any trips off the developed east/west road network. Starting in Toronto it can take you 3-4 days of driving west just to leave the Province of Ontario. From Toronto you could probably drive north for 2-3 days (if you don’t mind logging roads and dirt trails) before you would run out of road and either have to stay or fly further north to reach the arctic circle.
If you want wilderness, land in Toronto and grab a 4×4 rental vehicle. Drive to Algonquin park with some rental camping equipment and a canoe, park the car and take off for a bit. Other then that, learn to like cities.
The only way to drive over the Arctic Circle is to take the Dempster Highway, leaving from near Dawson City (right by my house!), heading towards Inuvik. However, from Toronto to here is close to 6000km (4000 miles), and it is another 300 and something to the Arctic Circle. There is no way you could do this in 10 days. If you flew from Toronto to Whitehorse, and rented a car there, it would be possible; then it is only about 800 something km to the Arctic Circle. However, the Dempster is gravel, and flat tires are not only common, they are expected. Many companies do not allow rental vehicles on this road.
To realistically do what you suggest, it would be much better to change planes in Toronto, and head someplace else, or even just fly directly to another Canadian city. Toronto is a huge city, and southern Ontario is the most densely populated area of the country. If you drive north, you can get into wilderness areas in a couple of days, but, it is not as really nice as other parts of the country. Flat, rolling lands, with swamps, rocks, and trees. Many foreign visitors come for the mountains, which are mostly in British Columbia, over to the Alberta border (and of course, up here in the Yukon). A trip from Vancouver to Calgary and back, passing through Banff and Jasper would take all of 10 days (about 3000km of driving), and pass you through rain forest, desert, flat lands, and mountains galore.
If you must fly to Toronto, you could do the “city” tour: head east to Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. This is a nice trip, but, you won’t get much wilderness. Well, by English standards it will seem so, but, not by Canadian ones!
Another option is to head north on the Quebec side; on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. There is very little there: forests, and native villages. You can certainly get to Arctic type climates, although not as far as the Arctic Circle by road.
Canada is HUGE. For a 10 day trip, you need to concentrate on a small area only, even on a driving holiday. Being restricted to Toronto means cities, and built up areas. So, head for Edmonton and go north, or Vancouver and go east, or even Halifax and explore Nova Scotia, although this will not look all that different from where you are now.
Algonquin Provincial Park might be something ideal for you. You could easily travel there by car in a day. You could camp with tents or cabins, stay in B&B’s or hotels, and it’s DEFINITELY away from the city! If you’re coming from Toronto (GTA), click on this link and read up on “Traveling from GTA”;
http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/visit/general_park_info/directions-to-algonquin-park.php
Some activities you can do here;
* Backcountry Camping
* Backpacking
* Biking
* Boating
* Camping
* Canoeing
* Dog Sledding
* Fishing
* Hunting & Trapping
* Interpretive Walking Trails
* Picnicking
* Skiing
* Snowmobiling
* Swimming
* Whitewater Canoeing
* Wildlife Watching
Canoe and Kayak rentals are really cheap! The air and water is so pristine and clean and it is SO quiet! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! Pictures do not do this place justice!
If you’re looking for an eco tour company, there are plenty of those around, but I’d rather use the $800 that most charge to rent what I need and make my own tour and not be rushed!
http://www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/4398/algonquin-park-tours-canoeing-and-moose
Good luck and enjoy your trip!
You won’t have time to drive to any part of the arctic in 10 days from Toronto, so that won’t be a problem. If I were you, I’d just head north from Toronto. Check a map. There’s the Grey-Bruce peninsula which has a hiking trail, there’s Algonquin Park where you can find outfitters who will take you on canoe trips, or just follow highway 11 north and then west right around to Thunder Bay and then head back to Toronto. I don’t know how easy it would be, or even if it’s possible, to rent camping gear somewhere, but there are campgrounds all through Ontario. You can find them by looking at Ontario Parks.
As the other posters have said Canada is a big place and depending on how long you drive per day it can take a minimum of 5 hours just to drive out of the province to the east from Toronto and 2 to 3 days going west. Even to Canadians there are degrees of wilderness the people from Toronto think Algonquin park is way out in the boon docks but to others it is too developed. Just a few hours out of Toronto you should start seeing nothing but rocks, tree, and bush along the highway (motorway).
I’ve pasted a couple of links below for white water rafting, I’ve been with both of these companies years ago and both were excellent although I prefer Esprit (first link). I’ve also taken my Kayak certification with the kayaking link and they were great too, they have tour packages in the 1000 islands. There is Jet Boating in the Montreal area (5-6 hours east from Toronto) but I haven’t done it and therefore can not offer an opinion other than it looks fun. Quebec city is a nice place of see it is a UNESCO World Heritage site (new by UK standards only 300 years old)
A word of warning though DO NOT tell the hire car agency that you are taking the car out of province as they will charge you extra, and keep the driver’s door towards the centre of the road to be on the correct side and look left when crossing the streets.
have a good time here and safe home
You won’t be able to drive a car from Toronto to the arctic circle because there are no roads from Toronto to the arctic circle.
But yeah, you could rent a car and drive around bits of Canada for 10 days. Ontario and points west or Ontario and points east. If you check out the internet, you could plan a driving tour and stay at B&Bs.
You could depart from LB Pearson Airport (“Toronto” airport — it’s actually just in Mississauga) and go Niagara Falls and drive west along Lake Erie (visiting Canada’s most southern point along the way, Point Pelee) to Ontario’s “Western Shore” (Lake Huron) and up the Bruce Peninsula, taking the Chi-Chemaun ferry boat across to Manitoulin Island (the largest freshwater island in the world). After seeing the island, you could drive the northerly route and visit the tri-towns Haileybury, New Liskeard and Cobalt, or see some mines (open pit ones). Visit garbage dumps up north and you’ll probably see bears. Lots of provincial parks to visit. Come down and visit Ottawa (Capital of Canada, in province of Ontario) and visit Gatinue (however you spell it!). Drive down towards Kingston and drive back to Toronto via the Heritage Highway. Stop in Prince Edward County.
That would probably take more than 10 days if you took your time.
Check out the internet — there is lots to see and do and you know your interests best!
You will not get to the arctic circle from Toronto in 10 days. The only road that goes there is the Dempster Highway in western Canada. It would take you 10 days just to get to the southern end of the highway and back from Toronto.
I hate Toronto too, big cities suck. Algonquin park is a nice place only a few hours from Toronto, you could also drive around Lake Superior to Thunder Bay. There are a few nice national and provincial parks along the way.