Lessons for Driving Across Canada | Van Life

Hi, we're Keith and Deb. This summer we spent six weeks driving across Canada. Today's video is going to be a bit different than our usual videos because we are going to be telling you the do's and don'ts of traveling across the country. If we make it down these stairs. That's true. We're going to start with the don'ts. Right off the bat, the first thing you don't want to do, something that we did, you don't want to wait the last minute to book your ferry. Apparently you're supposed to book the ferry ahead of time and the ferry is full. We've been trying to call the last two days if there's any cancellations. So we screwed up. Devin hung up by accident. You are currently calling A-N. Sorry, O-R-A-N. I might have talked to you earlier today. Thank you. Okay, bye. We're in! Yay! I'm so happy! Oh, that's so good. Wherever you are, if you have to book it, don't wait till the last minute. Don't rely on a 50-year-old stove to cook all of your meals. This thing is from like the 50s. It's like the original Coleman stove. Works better than any new sort of stove. So we're having some issues with our 50-year-old camp stove. So how are we doing, Devin? Not good. It is looking pretty sketchy. It does not look good. We packed, planned, and built our van in less than a week and didn't have time to test our gear and our stove broke. In other words, make sure your gear works. Don't show up to Vancouver's most popular hike without a reservation. This is likely the most, the busiest trail probably closer to Vancouver. What am I looking at? Apparently you need a pass to be here. I think this place is sold out. Well, you need to reserve a day pass to do this Damas Chief hike and they're sold out and we don't have one. Why do we do this? What the heck? Everything requires to be booked. In other words, make sure you reserve for hikes and other activities ahead of time or at least check if they need reservations. Don't night drive or if you can avoid it, avoid it. Canada has a lot of wildlife especially along the Trans-Canada. I just saw a little baby bear on a cliff on the side of the road. And even more specifically, avoid in Northern BC between Keverton and Lillooet. Do not drive that passage at night. It is switchbacks and craziness. It's dark and we're in literally this mountainous roads we've been in. I just am excited for this hour and a half to be over with. That's all. Specifically, it's called Duffy Lake Road. Just do that during the day. Don't pull a Keith and Dev. Don't forget to download podcasts, music, and your Google Maps before you get on the road because not all spots on the Trans-Canada Highway have signals or have data. We lost signal and I can't download podcasts and we're going to lose all our money. Make sure you're planning ahead of time and you don't leave it to the last minute to download all your stuff. Those were our don'ts and now it's the most important part. The do's, things you definitely should do if you take a road trip across Canada. The first one being buy a National Parks Pass. There are a certain amount of National Parks across the country. I don't know the amount at this moment. They are so worth it. Clean bathrooms, clean water, and amazing, amazing views. The best in the country. Another thing we do recommend is camping in a variety of places. So if you camp at the National Parks, then you're going to get trails, bathrooms, a nice easy campsite. That's simple. That's great. Good thing to do. If you go wild camping, it's more of an adventure. There's more privacy. You're more in touch with nature. If you stay at a Walmart parking lot, well, it's easier. It's off the Trans-Canada. The stores are open pretty late. We made it to Walmart. You're in a big city. Easy. And if you stay at a friend's house, well, you can have a shower, laundry, a bedroom maybe, or make new friends. So we can't recommend enough that you stay everywhere. The next do is be flexible. Over the last two years, aka COVID, we've learned a lot about flexibility. And it turns out a road trip is pretty much the same thing. You have to be flexible and be prepared for changes all the time. It's super smoky right now. The further north we drive, the smokier it seems to be getting. We still don't know what we're doing. We're going to try to keep driving, see if it gets better. And if it doesn't improve, we might just go to Golden today because we're both feeling it in our heads a bit. We found a spot where we're seeing blue skies for the first time in days. And mountains that we can see. Yeah, we're in the Rockies. We can see mountains. You can see where we came from is like... It's all smoky. Like you can't see the mountain on the other side. Here we got some sad news. When I get home, my dog won't be there anymore. Flexibility can be a good thing and sometimes a not so great thing, but have space for it and your trip will be that much better. Do take your time when you're driving across Canada. Kingston, where we are here, to Vancouver is roughly the same as Moscow to Lisbon in Europe. This place is huge. So if you take your time and leave some room for some events and some activities, hiking, full hiking trips, or staying an extra night somewhere, I win. You haven't won the game. You win one round. I'm probably gonna win the game. Sadly, we have to leave these beautiful people. Yeah, we've been really extending our stay. Just a little bit. You'll enjoy the trip far more than if you were to just bang it out in a week, which you could do. And last but not least, do step out of your comfort zone. This could be something different for every single person. It could be working out in a Walmart parking lot or swimming in glacier water. It's gonna be so cold. Let's go. I'm going in. That was amazing. Or going to a forest rave in the middle of nowhere. Asking people for directions, meeting new people. Hiking on a mountain all by yourself. With bears. There are so many ways that you can step out of your comfort zone, but honestly, that's what makes the trip so memorable. And it's those moments that are the ones you're gonna remember for your life. So step out of your comfort zone. While being safe, of course. Don't do anything stupid. Yes, don't do anything stupid. I hope you enjoyed our video on do's and don'ts. Across Canada, that's the end of our list and hopefully it's helpful in planning your trip across Canada. So thank you for watching. Thanks for watching.