95 hours on Canada’s BEST train! (Vancouver to Toronto on Via Rail)

This is the second longest train journey in the world, and this room is going to be our home for the next 96 hours as we travel from Vancouver to Toronto. If you missed last week's video, we completed 72 hours across the U.S. from New York to Seattle on Amtrak. From there, we took a bus across the border, got one good night of sleep in a stationary bed, and in this video, we head back across North America in the opposite direction. Spoiler alert, this journey on the Canadian is superior in every way. Our room is spacious, the bed is super comfy, the views are stunning, the drinks are unlimited, and the observation car offers us this incredible top-down view of the entire journey. By the end of this video, you'll see why the Canadian quickly turned into our favorite train journey in the world. Train travel does not get better than this. Wow, look at this train. Here we go! We are not on Amtrak anymore, look at this. I love Canada. We definitely rode these two trains in the right order. Doing Amtrak first and then this being the grand finale was definitely the right decision because it would have been a hard reality to go from this to Amtrak. Oh, I didn't even know what I was missing on Amtrak. You know, like, we had a great time, the food was great, yeah, that's pretty much it. Cheers! Our life is going to be very different. It's going to be the best four days ever. Okay, and off we go. Goodbye, Vancouver. It is our pleasure to welcome you on board train number two, the Canadian. We've got a beautiful journey ahead. Okay, now that we're moving and we've settled in a little bit, I'm going to give you a full tour of our prestige class room, starting in here. This is obviously the main event. Starting in here because there's nowhere else to go. First of all, the layout of these seats. They're sitting here facing the window and you have this perfect frame, oh my gosh, look, of downtown Vancouver or because it's like a wraparound couch, you can also sit here right next to the window and have a totally different experience. Like here I can see the tracks, I can see what's ahead. If these pillows are any indication of how comfy the bed is, I think we're going to be in good shape tonight. Speaking of the bed, you might be wondering where it is. This whole wall is pretty much the bed. We've never had a Murphy-style bed before in a train car and I'm very excited to see how that works, but I'm extra excited because we spent the last three nights in separate bunk beds on the Amtrak train. We got to the train station, we actually took our essentials out of our big suitcases and checked them like you did at the airport, so we won't see those again until we get to Toronto. I'm glad I don't have to figure out a way to lift those suitcases up to the ceiling like I did on Amtrak. We have these two cabinets, they don't open anymore, I thought they were just heavy. Looks like we have extra pillows on this side, but all of this is open for our stuff. So I'll put a little bit of my stuff up here, that was like that, right? Below that we have this big shelf, so just any little knick-knacks that you need easy access to goes here. And then the rest of our stuff, we put underneath the seats. This looks like a normal coffee table, but check this out, it's on a swivel, how fun. Oh, sorry, I'm sorry. It's got a little sleeve on one side to store stuff, drawers, and there's even a hidden trash can. Follow me to our control panel right next to the door. Here we have the attendant call button. They're only ever one train car away, and they even walk by this hallway every 30 minutes just to see if anybody needs anything, which is just so different from Amtrak. We pressed our attendant call button twice during our Amtrak trip, and it took them at least 15 minutes to get to our room. Below that is the temperature control, which is always appreciated. We've had some very extreme temperatures on past train trips. I want to save the next button for last, because it's very exciting, so don't look at this one, okay? Don't look. Stop. And then the last four buttons are all light controls. I hate to just keep talking bad about Amtrak, but the door locked from the inside, but not from the outside. Like, when you leave your room, there was no way to secure everything that you have inside of your train car. And not to mention, when you left the room and the train bounced around, the door would just fly open. So not only did it not lock, but it was usually just open. This door, we do not have that problem. Not only does it stay closed, but it automatically locks, so we're definitely going to get locked out of our room before this trip is over. If you'll follow me way over here, we have a mirror, which is always appreciated, a television that has 20 movies on it already. And down here, we have what is labeled cooler cabinet, not a refrigerator. Looks like a bridge, sounds like a bridge, but it's really just a cabinet with a fan inside. And now, for the grand finale. This is labeled, washroom heat boost, or chauffeur d'arceler saillé de veine. Everything here is labeled in English and French, because that's the way things work in Canada. So before you take a shower, you press this button, and not only does it heat the water for your shower, but also the floors, heated floors in the bathroom. I cannot wait to take a shower, and I don't think I've ever said those words so quick. At the beginning of the year, we posted a life update video where I shared that 2023 was kind of a rough year for me, and this year my goal was to prioritize my mental health. Which is why we just spent a few days in Mexico with dear friends, soaking up the sunshine. Taking time between trips has seriously made a world of difference for me. So first, I just want to say thank you so much for your patience and your encouraging messages. You have no idea how much it means to me. It took me way too long to finally realize that I needed to start prioritizing my mental health, and now I'm so glad I did. And I'm also so happy to thank BetterHelp for sponsoring this video and supporting our channel. Because if there is anything hindering your happiness, big or small, I am here to tell you that someone is there to listen and help you. BetterHelp is the world's largest therapy platform, and they have a network of over But the best part is, it's 100% online, so you can communicate with your therapist from anywhere in the world whenever you need to, and in whatever format you feel most comfortable, whether that's a video chat, a phone call, or a text message. All you do to get started is answer a few questions about yourself on their website, and BetterHelp will match you with a therapist that they think best meets your specific needs. But if for some reason it's not working out, you can always switch to someone new for free. We've been promoting BetterHelp for a while, and we've gotten some awesome feedback from y'all, but one person said that we could share her review. She said that her therapy sessions feel like I'm talking to a friend that pushes me to challenge myself and continue to grow. And that just makes me so happy, because we all need someone like that in our lives, whether we think so or not. So if therapy sounds like something you could benefit from, go to betterhelp.com forward slash K and N, or choose KarenNate during sign up to get a special discount off your first month of therapy. Coming in the bathroom, we have these really nice towels with this pretty texture and design on them. Look at how many amenities they've provided us with. Earplugs. For sleeping. That'll be great. Conditioner. Shampoo. Body wash. And lotion. Goat milk cleansing bars. What is this? Gantt L'Estrelle. It's like a microfiber cloth. Maybe for removing makeup? This is amazing. Oh. It's in English on the other side. It's a Schumann. Excuse me. Looks like we have storage. Hair dryer. Yes. This is a typical train toilet. Use it like a regular toilet, and then when you flush it, it sounds like a spaceship is taking off. Wow. This light is very nice. Nope. Big, nice mirror. Sink that works like a regular sink. I'm really scared your foot is going to hit that button. Okay. The big red button that says. Help! Aid! And the real grand finale. The shower. We have these nice glass doors. There's no duct tape. There's no stains. There's no toe warmer stuck in the wall. Nothing's rattling. Luxury. Best of all, it's not a wet bath. So there is a button that you have to press every 60 seconds to keep the water going. Apparently, a long time ago, there was a guy who took a shower and then didn't come back in the bathroom for five hours and forgot to turn it off, and he used all the water in the whole train, and that's why there's a button. I feel like we're being a little harsh on Amtrak, so I will give them bonus points for one thing. Actually, two things so far. This window is amazing. It's gigantic. It's huge. But the first Amtrak train that we rode on had two windows, and I feel like they could have squeezed another one up there. And also the Amtrak lounges were surprisingly nice. I think we got here a lot later than we should have today. Like we didn't even have time to go to the lounge. They just immediately brought us onto the train, but I did have time to quickly peek into the lounge, and Amtrak's lounges have VRL beat. But in fairness, you really can't compare the two because Amtrak doesn't have a luxury offering, whereas Prestige class that we're riding in now, it costs $10,000 to get from one side of the country to the other. It is obviously being sold as a luxury product, so that's what you would expect it to be. Wow. This is epic. Whoa, look at that train going across that thing. Whoa. Wow. This is beautiful. Should we say it again? This is so much better than Amtrak. Ooh, I am full. Should I do a bed test? What? Chocolate. I can't. Once the bed comes down, it takes up basically the entire room. There's about two feet of space right here, and then the bathroom ... Oh my gosh. Also, dinner. That was our first meal of the next 15 that we are going to eat in that dining car over the next four days. So it was a pretty big deal, and it lived up to the hype. We were sitting with other passengers, and so of course we wanted to be courteous of their experience. But at some point, we will have to tell you about the amazing food on board. Good morning. The world outside looks completely different than it did last night before the sun went down. A couple we sat with last night had done this train multiple times, and they said if there is one morning that you should wake up early, it should be today. So I took their advice. I'm about to go grab some coffee, and this morning, we are going to be passing through the Rocky Mountains. So I was talking to one of the train attendants when I went to get my coffee, and he said that the train has actually been delayed four and a half hours since we left Vancouver. It sounds like a bad thing, but it's actually a good thing because we haven't even gotten to the mountain yet. Normally, we would pass through at least a portion of the mountains while the train was still in the dark, and we wouldn't be able to see it. But now it's going to be light outside the entire time we're passing through the Rocky Mountains, which will be, no doubt, the most beautiful part of this journey. I think the middle of this train ride is going to look a lot like North Dakota, maybe with a little more snow. Whoa, that is an epic van. B-R-E-A-K-F-A-S-T, breakfast. Oh my gosh. I don't know if I've ever been more excited for... Sorry, my brain's not working. Breakfast. That's the word you were looking for. We ordered tofu scramble for breakfast, and it's sauteed veggies, big chunks of tofu, and laid on a bed of hash browns. We've just made it to the town of Blue River, which means that we are officially entering the Rocky Mountains. So after we checked into our room yesterday and saw how nice it was, we kind of thought we'd never leave and we'd just spend the next four days in there. But it turns out, the observation car on the back of the train is pretty incredible. This one actually has a little bump that sticks up above the rest of the train, so it gives you this really cool top-down view. You can actually see the train, like, winding down the tracks. The sky's starting to clear up, we're getting to see all the frosted trees on top of the mountains. Train travel does not get better than this. Somehow, it is already time to eat lunch. I feel like all we've done since we've been on this train is eat, but I'm not complaining. Tofu for breakfast this morning, veggie burger for lunch, and Indian food last night. It's like someone told them what all of my favorite foods are and then served them three meals in a row. This is our first lunch on board and I have a feeling it's going to be just as good as dinner and breakfast were. And so far, just the two of us. This train journey is currently rivaling the Glacier Express for the best views that I have ever seen out of a train window. This is absolutely stunning. I don't think we've mentioned this yet, but all of the alcohol and food is included in your prestige ticket. I thought the views couldn't get any better. We're passing Mount Robson right now, which is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 feet. Once again, it's like somebody is whispering to the chef all of my favorite things. We are completing our lunch with a chocolate brownie paired with black coffee. To not hurt. Okay, there's still so much of the train we have left to show you. However, these views are no doubt the best views we're going to get the entire trip. So we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying these views and we'll show you around the rest of the train tomorrow when the scenery isn't quite as exciting. So much for soaking in the views. Here you go, sleepyhead. Oh, how the tables have turned. Did you have a good nap? That was great. Over there. Almost exactly 24 hours after leaving Vancouver, we have just stopped in Jasper for our first fresh air break. We have 30 minutes to get out, walk around, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and we're going to get as many steps in as possible because we have not held back in the food department. Also, I think this is the furthest north in Canada that we've ever been. We got really close to Jasper a few years ago when we drove the Icefields Parkway in a van, and then we stopped at the Columbia Icefield, which is a little south of here and got out and walked on this incredible glacier, but it looks like we should have kept driving. Jasper is a super cute little town. I think they said like 4,000 people live here. Seeing this giant engine that they have displayed right outside of the train station reminded me that the day before we left Vancouver, which feels like a lifetime ago, but was actually yesterday. I went on a run and just happened to run by the very first engine that pulled passengers all the way across Canada, and I thought that was a pretty fun coincidence considering that I was about to ride my first train all the way across Canada. As if there was not already enough food to eat on this train, they have served afternoon canapes, which are little triangle grilled cheeses. Oh my gosh. We've come back up to the observation car because we have a few more hours of the Rockies, and our train attendant, Martin, told us that these views were the best of the entire trip. So we're going to stop talking for a little while and let you just enjoy the views. Wow. This trip has turned into a safari. Before the snow moved in, we managed to see elk, bighorn sheep, and two bald eagles. It's the middle of winter. I didn't expect to see anything. What a treat. So if you're traveling in Prestige class on the Canadian, they do a great job of making you feel really special. These appetizers that we're eating right now are only served to Prestige passengers. They reserve seats up in the observation deck. There's special canapes for you in the afternoon. It is over the top, make you feel special. This might be the healthiest dinner I've ever been served. We've learned from talking to some of the staff that they attempt to serve as many Canadian-made products as possible while on board, so all of the wines are Canadian. We were chatting at dinner and we figure we've spent over a month of our life, and I think this might have been the best day on a train ever, and we still have two and a half more days left. On a more important note, we are about to watch the finale, so... Kara's in a bad mood tomorrow, it's because this didn't end well. I don't want it to be over and I hate finales. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're doing this. Alright, we'll see you in the morning. Good morning. We have woken right outside of Saskatoon. It's a completely different world out there than what it was yesterday. Also, according to my phone, it is negative 10 degrees outside. Everything is just completely frozen. But the sunrise is absolutely beautiful and it's amazing that at 8.30 you can still get a sunrise. When I take a big deep breath in, I can feel my nose hairs freezing together. It's warmed up a bit. It's negative one degree Fahrenheit now. I do not understand how a train stays on the tracks. Do they wipe the train tracks off? Or is the train just like heavy enough that... It doesn't matter? You're welcome. So Martin was just telling us that each of the trains have a small plow in the front. If there's a big snow storm, then there is actually a plow that goes through and knocks the snow off the tracks. Accurate. That actually makes me feel warmer. I thought that was just going to be a fresh air break, that we got to stretch our legs, but it was so much more than that. This is our new friend Andre. He's from Kiev. Hi guys. He's here in Canada studying, but he's from Ukraine and he brought us local gifts. Apparently, Saskatoon, the city that we're in, is actually named after the berry. And bear postcards. That's very sweet. Andre, you made carrot steak. Also prairie berry handmade soap. I'm so excited. Andre, you are a legend. Okay, it is finally time to give you the official full train tour. We're going to start in the very back and then go all the way to the front. Here we have a nice little seating area where it seems like nobody ever comes, so I feel like we have this all to ourselves like 90% of the time. This is where Nate comes and gets my coffee every morning. It's here all day long. Upstairs is the observation deck where Nate has taken a bajillion hours of video out the little dome window. This is one of three observation cars on the whole train, but it is no doubt the fanciest one. And down here, this is the bar where if you are staying in a prestige room, you can get any drink that you want all day, every day, included in your ticket. And then the end of this car has two prestige rooms. Also, if you thought I was joking about how cold it was, this is what the floor looks like in between all the trains. The inside of the train is actually frozen. In the next car, we have all prestige rooms. Ours is the first one right here. I actually don't know how many prestige rooms there are in this car, so we'll count one, two, three, four, five, six. So there are eight total prestige rooms. This is going to be the awkward part of the tour, so I'm just going to walk quietly. Okay, I feel too awkward. I'm just going to point it at my feet as we walk forward. I've seen enough of the dining room already. Okay, we did it. You would think after filming ourselves for eight years, I wouldn't feel this awkward still, but I do. This is the next observation car. It's not as fancy as the first one, but it is kind of fun. Let me show you. There are some board games. They have some books. Bingo at three o'clock. Trivia at four fifteen. Coming to win. We have never won trivia in our lives. We have another seating area all to ourselves and another observation car. The next four train cars are all sleeper cars. There are five different tiers of tickets that you can book for this train, and we're going to try to show you all five. Anyone who isn't in a prestige room has a shower like this at the end of their car. The shower is actually quite large. Pretty nice. Yeah, not bad. Also, there are two toilets at the end of the hall. That's hot. Keep going. Literally snowing in here. That's my breath. No one's in this one. Welcome to the sections, as they call them. These seats are probably the most like normal train seats. So you have one passenger here, one passenger there. You may or may not know this person. During the day, it's just like a normal train. But at night, these cushions come together and become bed number one. And then this comes down to be a bunk bed on top. Bed number two. Hi. Here's the section restroom. There's a sink and a toilet. Soap. Yeah, this is probably the most space I've ever had in a train bathroom. Yeah. You've even got a little seat in case you just want to come hang out in here. If you need some privacy, if your neighbor's a little weird. I feel like it's weird that we're both coming out here. Let's go before somebody else comes. For the record, there's coach, which is just like a normal seat. Second tier is this, the section. Third tier is the roomette, which we're going to look for next. Yes. No one's in here. As you can see, this is the roomette. You've got a giant chair facing the window. You have your own toilet. This is like a Murphy bed. You grab this handle, this pulls out, and then your bed takes up this entire area. All right, now this is observation car number three. The last one on the train. So now they're just a little hangout area. Hey, folks. Hi. Are you at the back? They are, yeah. Yeah. So you guys aren't allowed to come over here. Oh, okay. Now I know. This is just for coach. So we were trying to make our way all the way to the front of the train, and we just got stopped in our tracks. Get it? It's not a straight track. So apparently the third and final observation car is reserved especially for people who are riding in coach. So if you're in the seats going across Canada, you have your own special observation car, which I appreciate. They should give you something for making your way all the way across the country in a seat. So we've turned around, and we'll just show you the pictures online. Here's what coach looks like. And I think their observation car is the exact same. All right, so I think we ended up getting everything except for room, so we will keep our eye out for an opportunity to show you one of those sometime in the next day and a half before we get to Toronto. So that's it for the tour for now. Got to go gear up for bingo. That means get a coffee. I'm exhausted from feeling awkward. Someone's got to do it, Natan. Very fancy bingo cards. We're on bigs. We both got two because there are prizes. And I don't think I can handle more than two. You got this. I-24, G-52, G-46, I-23, O-65, B-10, B-1. Bingo! I get a postcard, something for the loot bag. This is all like old train stuff, which is actually pretty cool. Souvenir spoon if I want that. I think the hockey stick keychain. What do you think? Nice one. I-22. I have one left and two boards. B-7. No. G-51. Bingo! Oh my gosh! I didn't think it was my first time to ever win anything. After somehow both winning at bingo, we enjoyed happy hour and canapes with pretty much this exact same view on repeat until it was time for dinner. This is without a doubt the most tofu I've ever seen on a single plate. Also, we realized that we are almost exactly halfway through this journey, which feels insane. It feels like we've been on this train forever. We are currently in Yarborough, Canada. Also, I don't know if we've said this explicitly, but freight traffic has priority here in Canada, so every time a freight train passes, we have to either slow down or stop to let it pass if that's what's causing the delays. Like, this is a tourist train. You don't necessarily take it if you get from one place to the next all the time. You take it for the experience. Speak of the devil. This carrot cheesecake looks next level. I know it's only been in my mouth for two seconds. By far the best thing I've had on a train. You're acting like me right now. Honestly? Go on. Show me the happy dance. Nice. Comment below. Whose happy dance is better? There are literally hundreds of deer. Those aren't an offense. They can't be kept in by offense. They're just hanging out out there. Good morning. Once again, we have woken up with a completely different landscape outside the window. We're going past these beautiful frozen lakes. So last night before we went to sleep, we decided to test out the TV and watch a movie. There are speakers in the headrest of this chair right here, and your head is right in the middle of it. It's like the best surround sound speakers ever. I felt like I was in a movie theater. Not sure Dune gets 10 out of 10, but the viewing experience is 10 out of 10. Kara's not a big sci-fi fan. She also doesn't like to have to work to understand things. None of it made any sense. So on this journey, we are passing through five provinces in Canada, and this morning we woke up in our fifth, which is Ontario, and we still have a day and a half of this trip left. 66 hours into this train journey, and it is finally time to test out the shower. The floor is nice and warm in here, and hopefully that means the water's hot too. Wish me luck. The floor in here is gold. Turning it all the way hot, obviously. Water pressure is strong. Besides the button, it was a 10 out of 10 experience. The water was so hot. Water pressure was good. And we're on a train, in case you forgot. So at some point in the middle of the night last night, we rode through Winnipeg, and your crew on this train got off, and a whole new crew came on. It was actually really sad not waking up to our friends that we're used to seeing every day. So all new friendly faces, and that includes the chef. You know how much I love the food up to this point, so I'm a little concerned that the chef won't be as good as the last one, but as soon as my plate hit the table, a lot of my concerns disappeared, because this looks awesome. We got falafel wrapped in pita with a side of baba ghanoush. There was nothing to worry about. 10 out of 10. They toasted the pita. Couldn't have made it better myself. During hour number 74, 75, 76, and 77, we decided just to embrace the slow-paced lifestyle of the train. If we're being honest, we were a little bored, but not in a bad way. In like a relaxed way. Kara spent the afternoon reading a book, drinking a latte, and I stared out the window and counted the cars of the freight trains that passed by. 152 cars. We've got to that point of the journey. Are those human footprints? That's not a bear footprint, right? It looks too big for either. Dinner time! Woo woo! She set our table up for us. On the last night, we have a private dinner. Yay! Dennis, our new waiter, insisted that he take our photo and he post us. So, here's that for you to enjoy. For our last meal, we have lasagna. I would call this deconstructed lasagna. This is what lasagna would look like if I made it. Fantastic dinner to end on. But look at this pink sky. Look at it. As sad as it is that this is our last night on board the Canadian. Not just our last night on board the Canadian. The last of seven nights on trains traveling around North America. It feels absolutely crazy that this journey is coming to an end. But at the same time, I cannot tell you how ready I am to sleep in a bed. That isn't moving. I would give our sleep over the last week like a six. That's what I said day one. Which means it hasn't improved. I don't know. I think we're getting old. I don't remember having trouble sleeping on trains. I did just turn 33. Nate's about to turn 35. Hey. Yeah, I think we're getting old. All right, we're going to go watch our movie. Enjoy our last evening. Good morning from Capriol, Canada. This is only my third time getting off this train in five days. We're only stopped for a few minutes, but it was good to walk. The train was scheduled to arrive at some point within the next hour. Apparently, we are five to six hours late. I'm not complaining about more time on the train, even though we're 90 hours late. This feels weird. It's like we're leaving our home. 96 hours and almost 3,000 miles later, we have finally made it to Toronto. And even though we were five and a half hours delayed, I still think this is one of the best three train journeys of my entire life. The only two that I can even think of to compare are the Maharajas Express and the Orient Express. Doesn't count. But if you take value into consideration, this train was half the price, which might make this the best train journey in the world. I think it is. All right, see you in the next one. Oh, I just stared at that light, and now I can't see anything. I just see spots. Should I do a handstand? Oh, that was embarrassing. I used... Oh, that is the shakiest moment of our journey so far. Kind of feels like... Kind of feels... Beautiful views on the table. Beautiful views out the window. Beautiful views to my left. All right, that's enough.