UK visitor to BC - car rental ???

[Hilary]

Hello! I will be visiting BC this summer with my family and wondered whether my DIS friends on the Canadian board could help me.

We'll want to hire a car for the two weeks we'll be there, but don't want to take out any of the insurances usually included in the quotes from the rental companies as we already have a policy to cover those. Do you know whether I'm likely to be able to arrange this from the UK?

Any suggestions would be great!

 

[cndncruiz]

Where in BC are you going?

 

[Hilary]

Where in BC are you going?

We fly into Vancouver and have two nights there, then head over to Victoria for three nights, to Tofino for three nights, Parksville for one night, back across to Whistler for three nights and then have our last two nights back in Vancouver before we fly home (exhausted !).

I can't wait!

 

[cndncruiz]

Hi,

I don't know if you have been here before but one thing I can tell you is that it would be alot cheaper if you could walk onto the ferry, however that may not be that easy for you.

Is there a specific car rental company that you are looking at?

 

[#1MMFan]

We will be hoping to do a similar thing in November, so that we can go between Vancouver and the Fraser Valley area. Are the rural roads in Fraser Valley a nightmare. Places we'd be likely to be visiting would include Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and perhaps Hope.

What kind of travelling times should we expect between Vancouver and these places?

John

 

[Hilary]

cndncruiz - I don't think walk-on would be an option for us, despite the temptation to save some $$$s!

I don't have a preference for a particular car hire company, although I am 'used to' Dollar and know that they have accepted our alternative insurance cover in the past, so I'd probably try them first.

John - have you arranged your rental car yet?

 

[asc]

Hilary -- You should be able to pre-book a rental car no problem without having to add in the extra policies the companies offer. They may offer them to you when you arrive but you can turn them down if you have all the coverage you need already. I do not think Dollar is at the airport itself but there should be a shuttle. The airport website is www.yvr.com and from there you can check out car rentals from there and book online. The good thing is most rentals are unlimited kilometres so you will be able to take the car everywhere you need.

#1MMFan -- The most difficulty you may encounter in your drive to the Fraser Valley is rush hour traffic leaving Vancouver. Depending on when (and where in Vancouver) you are coming from, Hope is probably the furthest out at about an hour. Chilliwack is next closest and then Abbotsford (about 45 minutes?) and closest would be Mission. All paved two lane highways and bridges. Watch the speed traps.