August is almost here, which means our massive cross-country move is finally happening! I'm currently busy mapping out the itinerary and route for our road trip from British Columbia all the way to Oakville, Ontario.
We’ve already sorted out the heavy lifting—our U-Haul transit containers are scheduled to leave Surrey on July 23rd. With the logistics out of the way, we get to focus on turning this cross-Canada relocation into an epic family road trip. Given my MBTI personality, I’m not the type to plan every single detail down to the minute. I prefer to sketch out a broad outline and adjust things on the fly depending on our mood and the situation!
📌 Table of Contents
1. Our Bucket List: Must-See Spots Along the Way
Before hitting the road, my wife and I sat down to list our absolute must-dos.
👨 My Picks: Columbia Icefield, West Edmonton Mall (the largest in North America!), and Drumheller.
I also tried to look up some hidden gems in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but finding reliable travel information for those stretches was surprisingly tough. I guess we'll just have to enjoy the endless prairie views!
Realistically, looking at our tight schedule and driving route, I might have to give up on the Icefield and West Edmonton Mall. Also, personal vehicles are banned from Moraine Lake now, meaning we have to book a shuttle bus from Banff town. I still need to figure out the reservation system before deciding if we can make it work.
2. Accommodation: Saving Big with Marriott Points
Once we had a rough route, I immediately started booking hotels. I’ve been steadily collecting Marriott Bonvoy points for a while now, and thankfully, I still had a good chunk left over from a few years ago.
Honestly, without these points, this road trip would have been financially impossible. Summer hotel rates in Canada are no joke, so using points is the core strategy of our "budget-friendly" relocation tour.
3. Realistic Route Adjustments (Days 1 to 3)
We had to make some heavy adjustments to our initial plan to balance driving times and fatigue.
- Day 1 (BC to Revelstoke): Initially, we planned to sleep in Kelowna and head to Banff the next day. But to shorten the grueling drive later on, we decided to push through. We'll just pass through Hope and Kelowna, driving straight to Revelstoke for our first night.
- Day 2 (Revelstoke to Banff to Calgary): We’ll park our car in Banff town and take local transit to Lake Louise and the hot springs. If we manage to snatch a shuttle ticket, Moraine Lake is on!
🚨 The Reality of Summer Prices in Banff
I searched everywhere for an Airbnb or hotel in Banff or Canmore for our second night. Because it's peak season in August, there wasn't a single place under $500 CAD a night! To stick to our budget, we decided to use our Marriott points to stay at a hotel closer to Calgary instead. A little extra driving saves a lot of cash!
Day 3 involves driving from our Calgary hotel back toward the Banff area, but we’re still debating our exact moves. Do we go back into Banff, head up to Edmonton, or maybe take a relaxed detour to see the dinosaur fossils in Drumheller? Drumheller might actually be the smartest choice to reduce our driving burden for Day 4.
4. Final Details & Excitement for the Cross-Canada Journey
Now that the skeleton of the trip is built, I need to figure out where we’re going to eat and, more importantly, where to rest. Once we pass Calgary and enter the endless plains of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the stretches between towns get incredibly long.
The bright side? Since it's a summer road trip, the driving conditions will be perfect. Plus, the sun doesn't set until around 9 PM here in Canada, giving us plenty of daylight to explore our stops even if we arrive a bit late in the evening.
Once we successfully complete this massive journey and settle in Oakville, I plan to compile all our expenses and share a detailed budget breakdown here on the blog.
I’ll probably never do a cross-country drive like this again in my life, which makes this relocation road trip both daunting and incredibly exciting. Time to get everything perfectly prepped!
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