Hey y'all,

Wondered if anyone knows where I can get a detailed map of Alberta in UK shop or a website that may be able to help me.

Also, want to do a road trip through Alberta (including Calgary, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Edmonton, etc and back down to Calgary via the rockies to relax!). Has anyone done this and, if so, what advice can you give? Also, would a car + motels/B&B be best or an RV? (We have a 4 year old who will be coming with us).

Aim of the trip will be to explore areas to decide where we want to live and look at property availability and prices.

Also (not asking for much!!), if we want to do this trip after we get our visas but will be coming back home after 3 weeks, we won't want to actually 'land' at that point (we won't have our funds in place as we will still need to sell our house) - is this possible after a visa has been issued in passport or will they automatically 'land' you on your next trip to Canada?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Deb

I would use the CAA / AAA triptik website, its great for that kind of thing and you can overlay different attractions, events, restaurants, lodgings, campgrounds etc, and you modify your route to include something off the beaten path. It also factors in known detours/ construction/ closed roads and stuff like that based on the latest info AAA/CAA has.

I suspect it might be a members only thing, but if you are coming to canada permanently its probably worth being a member anyway. Check out www.caamaps.ca for the regular nonmember version and membership options.

You will have to enter a "local" post code, but you can google for any old alberta post code I guess. I think the full features are only enabled for members, but it does allow for multiple destinations.

An RV will be expensive to run, and slow going up the passes, and most of the rental ones I have seen are only 100km a day or 1000km a week or so before you start to rack up additional charges, which is a joke in a country this big.

Many people with visas in hand chose to come as a visitor before coming back to land later. Just explain at the point of entry that you dont wish to land quite yet, and be prepared to wait patiently while the IO explains that you only have so long before the visas expire

Not sure where in the UK you could get an Alberta roadmap, but every petrol staion over here will have them, if you don't get chance to buy one before departure.

We did a loop trip from Calgary, through the Rockies up to Edm and back down again to Calgary via Red Deer back in 2002.........in an RV. Brilliant way to do it and we had a 2 yr old at the time. Can stop whenever, wherever, for loo breaks, food breaks . Camping is cheap with full hook ups for the RV, but depending on your mileage it could work out a little pricey as I know fuel costs are more now than they were.

If you did hire car and motels, then there are plenty around. Bog standard motels are cheap and cheerful. Plenty of accomodation of all levels in both Banff and Jasper. Many with kitchenettes too, which is handy when you have little ones.

I have just bought a great map from Borders bookshop in cheshire oaks near chester, covers B.C and Alberta . Its by Insight Travel and is called "Canada West" mapcost £5.99.
try www.insightguides.com if no borders near you.

We stayed at the Windtower in Canmore and has in room laundry facilities which was a great help with kids, highly recomended.

Download Google earth and plan it and then visualize it with the drive thru feature

Try mapquest.ca

That site will also give you driving directions. It helps to have addresses/postcodes. You won't have those, of course, so go onto canada411 and search for "Smith" in the towns you're looking to travel between.

http://www.travelalberta.com/ did a nice package inc. map and itinerary suggestions, you could download or request one by post. I can't open pdfs today so no idea if their current offering is any good or not, but might be worth a look?

My only advice is would be to head to the mountains on HWY 1 from Calgary - imo, the view is 'more awesomer' (Tidge, 2006 ) approaching the Rockies on that route as opposed to the southern or northern routes (though it's still is beautiful on those routes). And it's even better if you leave Calgary before the sun comes up and catch seeing the rising sunbeams lightup the mountains and mist. Not a guarantee every morning but if the conditions are right, wow!

And don't miss Drumheller.

Do you live anywhere near a Borders bookshop? We got an Ontario map and maps for different places in Europe there.

Try www.mapart.com

We purchased a streetmap of Calgary and Atlas of Canada whilst in England, but they have Alberta Road Atlases on there website.

But one thing to note, if you buy from England, the price you see will be charged in Us dollars, not Canadian!

Regards Jon

We did 2 weeks in and RV we stared in Calgary, then Lethbridge, through the Rockies via Nelson and Revelstoke, (taking in the sights at Banff/Lake Louise and a must see Moraine Lake) Out to Drumheller back through Stettler and Red Deer and made our way back down. Bit of and odd trip but our initial thoughts were to go to Nelson BC. We fell in love with alberta and the Albertans though We went 120 pounds over our mileage and had a fab time. We picked up a map here for about $9 and soon found out that where you think there would be a road there isn't (because there is a damn big mountain in the way)

We got our RV through Canadian Affair, it worked out the cheapest B&B/motels (if not all booked up) work out between $80 and $150 per night.

Have a great trip

Does it let you collect virtual Timbits on the way?

Thanks everyone - excellent responses as usual. I've printed off the info and will get hunting. Keep it comin'!

Hi Deb

Take a laptop and get a copy of Microsoft streets and trips all of Canada is mapped if you also buy yourselves a little GPS receiver to plug into laptop you can see exactly ware you are and even voice directions.