Four years ago (at time of writing), I headed off on the biggest travel adventure of my life to date: a six month university exchange to Canada. This was my first ever solo trip and is the longest trip I have ever done. As such, I learnt a lot and there are heaps of things I wish I had known before I left! In this post, I’ll be sharing all my tips for travelling to Canada. PLUS! Tips for exchange students travelling to Canada, or anywhere else in the world.
If you’d like to read about what I got up to in Canada, you can find my other posts here. You can also find a couple of posts about exchange that might help you if you’re planning your own!
*DISCLAIMER* I’m not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned/linked; this article is purely based on my experience in 2016-17.
Packing for Canada
If you’re planning a trip or exchange to Canada, my number one packing tip is to be prepared for both cold and warm weather. Given the length of my trip, I did pack a mix of clothes, but I neglected to consider pyjamas for warm nights! I must admit, I didn’t think there would be any!! Well surprise, I ended up sweating through the 2 weeks of summer Canada actually experienced in 2016.
What not to pack
To be honest, I think its more important to consider what NOT to pack, especially if you’re heading to Canada on exchange. I would recommend buying any cold weather gear (unless you have it at home already) when you get there because it saves you a lot of space. You can always post stuff home at the end of your exchange/trip. I managed to get my ski coat and pants as hand-me-downs from my cousins, but for outdoor clothing I’d recommend Eddie Bauer. I got a fleece-lined hooded jacket and puffer jacket from there and they were a fantastic purchase. Since then, I have taken them to Africa, and I wear them every week to volunteering in winter. They’re excellent quality and perfect for weather that’s cold, but not freezing.
For snow boots, I DO NOT recommend you go for the cheapest option. If you read my post about Jasper National Park, you’ll know I bought cheap, kids sized boots from a store similar to Australia’s Target/Kmart and proceeded to fall on my butt 50,000 times as soon as I took them to the mountains. Let me tell you, it’s worth splashing out and getting good gear.
Trying to pack for your Canada trip or exchange but feeling a little stuck? I have a packing list available for download! All you have to do is sign up to my monthly newsletter below and you’ll get access to my free resource library. Other downloads are also available, including a packing list for Southern Africa and a monthly planner.
Flying to and around Canada
When it came to choosing how to get to Canada, I knew I was going to fly Air Canada. I wanted to fly direct Brisbane to Vancouver, not only because I was travelling with my violin and a lot of other stuff, but also because if I had flown through the United States I would have needed a B1/B2 visa. This is because the ESTA visa is only valid for 90 days and visiting Canada does not count as “leaving” the US. I was in Canada for 160 days. Also, to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered flying to Sydney for an interview to get a US visa. I suppose the benefit would be I could have visited the US as well, but I felt I had enough to explore in Canada. There’s still stuff I missed and want to go back for!
Travelling with a musical instrument
I found Air Canada to be quite a good airline. In particular, I was very impressed with the amount of luggage I was allowed to bring with me: two checked bags of 25kg each, and two carry on bags. I travelled with my violin, and usually this means I can’t bring anything else with me; I just stuff my pockets with all my other junk! But with Air Canada I could bring a backpack as well! I was also impressed with their service with regards to my instrument; the staff always went out of their way to help me find a safe space to store it on the plane. I’d definitely recommend Air Canada to any musicians out there!
Check in in advance if you can!
The one thing I would say about Air Canada is to make sure you check in online in advance if you can. When I flew to Edmonton with my Dad from Vancouver, we checked in on arrival at the airport but weren’t assigned a seat until a few minutes before boarding. Honestly, we were worried we wouldn’t get a spot on the plane at all. By sheer luck, I ended up with a window seat for our flight and got to admire the stunning view over the mountains of BC and Alberta. However, if you check in online, you will be able to choose your seat in advance.
Four tips for travelling around Canada
To be honest with you all, the rest of my tips for travelling in Canada are a bit random and don’t fit into any specific topic. They’re also pretty generic, so you could use them for any trip, really! I wanted to include them anyway, because they really stood out as things I learnt on my first solo trip.
1. Use a combination lock for hostel lockers
The dumbest thing I’ve done while travelling is lock my key AND spare key in my locker in a hostel… It was SO EMBARRASSING! I had to get the reception guy to bring a lock cutter and cut it off. Therefore, I’d highly recommend you get a combination lock for your locker. I got one for my trip to Africa and have used it at all the hostels I’ve stayed in since. If you can’t get your hands on a combination lock, at least keep your spare key somewhere you will always have it. I ended up putting mine in my phone case, because I always had my phone on me!
2. Bring music for those long drives
For the first half of my Moose Bus tour in Canada, I didn’t bring my iPod and regretted it. I chose not to bring it because I intended on chatting to my new friends! Don’t get me wrong, we talked loads, but sometimes we wanted our own space. Luckily I had a couple of days in the middle back in Vancouver where I could re-pack my bag, now including iPod.
3. For cheap coffee (or hot chocolate), head to Tim Hortons
I don’t drink coffee, but given that Canada is so cold (even in summer), at some point you’ll want to grab yourself a hot drink for the road. For a classic Canadian experience and to save some money, head to Timmies (Tim Hortons). I got a small hot chocolate for only TWO DOLLARS. And this is North America, so it was about Australian-medium-sized. Sure, you might get better quality hot chocolate/coffee at Starbucks, but you’ll pay twice as much.
4. Visiting in winter? Bring an old phone/camera
They say you learn a lot about yourself when you go on exchange. Yeah, well I learnt that I am a total klutz when it comes to my phone. In Vancouver, I threw it off a suspension bridge at Capilano (not the big bridge, thankfully). Then in Canmore, it fell out of my pocket while tobogganing and got buried in the snow for about half an hour. In addition to all that, I learnt that -40 degree weather really kills the battery. I had a Samsung Galaxy S3, which was pretty old already, but travelling to Canada well and truly killed it. If you’re like me and you hold on to your old phones (and you’re a klutz), it might be worth considering bringing an older model that you don’t mind ruining…
Tips for having the best possible exchange
I have already written a couple of posts about my Canada exchange. One about why you should go and the other about the less-fantastic things you might experience. But I have a few more exchange-specific tips for any of you who are planning your own exchange trip! Whether it’s to Canada or another country, I hope you find my tips helpful.
What not to pack: Household items
This is probably pretty obvious but I don’t recommend you pack household items such as sheets and plates. Except for maybe a keep cup or similar for on the road. You don’t need them in hostels and there are plenty of options for you to buy cheap household items once you get to your host city. I bought sheets, towels and some basic kitchen items (plates, mugs, etc) at Hudson’s Bay department store. Some of their stuff can be quite expensive but if you look for the sale items or clearance items you can get a good deal. It’s also good quality stuff. I bought a blanket to use while I was on exchange, and I still use it now at home in winter.
Most of the rest of my household items (such as pots and pans and the all important cupcake tray!) came from an on-campus second hand sale. It was the first year they did it but it was a fantastic idea! Anyone who had left on-campus living the previous year (well, before summer) could donate any unwanted items. Then, new students such as myself could buy them for super cheap! It was a great system and I would highly recommend you look up whether your host university has one. Unfortunately because I left mid-year, I couldn’t donate the stuff back to where I got it from. Instead, I donated it to the local op shop, so that’s always an option, too.
Making the most of your experience: join clubs and buddy programs
I am a firm believer that the people you meet on exchange will make or break the experience. I met some incredible people in Canada, and my exchange would have been completely different without them. The best way to meet people, in my opinion, is to join a club! During my exchange, I joined the outdoors club and the ski and snowboard club. I had an amazing time at their events, especially the weekend trips. It was great to meet a mix of international students and locals, as well.
I also signed up for the exchange student buddy program. I was pretty sceptical about this to be honest, but it ended up being really good. A few students were all paired with the same buddy, so we created quite a nice friendship group. We went out for dinner a few times and our buddy even hosted a Thanksgiving party. It was a super nice community and a great way to meet other international students.
Want to meet locals? Choose more obscure courses
The thing I loved the most about my exchange experience in Canada was that I met a heap of locals. In fact, I did not meet a single Australian at my host university. Admittedly, I went to the University of Alberta, which isn’t the most popular exchange university. Not compared to somewhere like the University of Edinburgh, anyway. So I was bound to meet more locals than the average exchange student.
I met a good mix of people by joining the aforementioned clubs, but I met most of my local friends through the orchestra and one of my courses. The course was a level three course and was quite niche to my degree. The class was super small and it had a group assignment and a field trip! Perfect for making friends! Of course, what courses you will do will depend on meeting the requirements for your degree, but if you can, you should squeeze in a higher level course or do something a bit more niche like join the orchestra!
Is there anything else you want to know about travelling in Canada? Let me know in the comments!
Well, that’s all the tips for Canada and exchange that I can think of for now. Leave a comment below if there’s anything else you want to know and I’ll make sure to answer! You can also get on touch on social media (linked in my menus). Overall, I absolutely loved my exchange to Canada. It’s such a beautiful country and I would recommend visiting to absolutely anyone, whether it’s for six days or six months! In addition, my exchange was the highlight of my degree. So I cannot express enough how much you should just go for it if you’re considering one!
Missed the rest of my Canada journey? Click here to see all my previous articles! And don’t forget you can check out my YouTube video to see everything I got up to! Don’t forget to subscribe if you like it.
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