Via Rail - Toronto to Vancouver

Wifey and I would like to take the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver in May 2010 as part of a trip St Louis to Chicago to Buffalo to Toronto to Vancouver to Seattle to Chicago to St Louis.

My friend the Green Maned Lion said that VIA is extremely expensive and I noticed that a sleeper from Toronto to Vancouver is about twice the price of a sleeper from SEA to CHI on the EB. Hence I am asking mu friends here if there is any way that I can get the VIA Rail fare to be more reasonable

 

Wifey and I are both Seniors and wifey has several physical problems that her Physician can use to justify her requiring a traveling companion (me). I ignore my problems as long as I can

Anyone have any suggestions??

Rich,

I'm doing the Canadian in just a few weeks now. I'm taking my mom along with me, who is a Senior and we got the special Senior companion rate. I note that right now they aren't offering that rate, but it comes and goes so keep checking the website. My mom has no mobility problems so a doctors note isn't needed, just that one member of the party be a Senior, which she is. When we first started talking about this, we were looking at a double bedroom, but by the time I booked it, the doubles were all sold out. However, VIA charges the same rate for one person in a double as they do for one person in a single. So it cost us exactly the same amount of money for two singles, as it would have cost us to share a double.

She got charged the full rate, around $1,800, while my fare was just over $500. And that was Canadian too, so with the exchange rate at that time, we paid just about $1,900 US for the trip. And again, we would have paid the same amount regardless of whether we got a double bedroom or the two singles like we did.

You can also consider traveling off peak, when fares are lower. Drawback to that is shorter daylight hours and cooler temps outside.

Ps. I'm moving this out of the AGR forum, since it's not really an AGR topic.

RRrich said:

Wifey and I would like to take the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver in May 2010 as part of a trip St Louis to Chicago to Buffalo to Toronto to Vancouver to Seattle to Chicago to St Louis.
My friend the Green Maned Lion said that VIA is extremely expensive and I noticed that a sleeper from Toronto to Vancouver is about twice the price of a sleeper from SEA to CHI on the EB. Hence I am asking mu friends here if there is any way that I can get the VIA Rail fare to be more reasonable

 

Wifey and I are both Seniors and wifey has several physical problems that her Physician can use to justify her requiring a traveling companion (me). I ignore my problems as long as I can

Anyone have any suggestions??

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Did your price quote include the discount that escorts (you) travel free? (I think so)

http://www.viarail.ca/planner/en_plan_beso.html

I've never traveled on VIA, but my friends up there who use wheelchairs say it is a lot easier than on Amtrak.

RRrich said:

My friend the Green Maned Lion said that VIA is extremely expensive and I noticed that a sleeper from Toronto to Vancouver is about twice the price of a sleeper from SEA to CHI on the EB.......

Click to expand...

You can stay at the “Sheraton” and enjoy the amenities that go with it or get a cheaper basic room at the “Holiday Inn”. Frankly, my last trip on Amtrak's CZ was “Motel 6” and I was ready to bail at Denver!

VIA has eliminated the Senior/Companion fare and has a new fare structure and discounts available to all depending on particular dates and trains…….Best way to see what is available is to go to the VIA web site and play around with different dates on the link to ReserVIA.

NS VIA FAN said:

VIA has eliminated the Senior/Companion fare and has a new fare structure and discounts available to all depending on particular dates and trains…….Best way to see what is available is to go to the VIA web site and play around with different dates on the link to ReserVIA.

Click to expand...

Wow! I just got in on that deal.

Do you know if this is a permanent elimination of the program? :unsure: It used to be somewhat seasonal, and would come and go in the past.

AlanB said:

Rich,
She got charged the full rate, around $1,800, while my fare was just over $500. And that was Canadian too, so with the exchange rate at that time, we paid just about $1,900 US for the trip.

Click to expand...

So you paid $1900US for Toronto to Vancouver for two. I went to the VIA website and I got a rate of $1800CAD for two. On the other hand wifey and I can take Amtrak from STL to Vancouver for $800

I think that VIA is just too expensive for me. I can't afford to fly First Class and I can't afford VIA rail

Hi, I know this is a later post than the rest but I noticed you wont leave for half a year, hopefully you catch this. Im taking this train in about 4 weeks. The fare in Sleeper Class is only a tiny $311.00 USD. The best way to get these tickets are on Via Rails Express deals. In winter the savings are 75% the summer, its often 50% if they are up

http://www2.viarail.ca/expressdeals/

Hopefully this helps!

Happy Travels