Just a wee bit in addition to this, I'm wanting to fly from Glasgow - London - Toronto, spend about a week in Toronto, Fly from Toronto to Calgary,spend a couple of nights there, drive from Calgary to Vancouver and spend some time there, then drive from Vancouver down to LA, staying at places on the way there and doing some things around LA (shopping, sightseeing, maybe go to vegas) before flying home from LAX. I'm not sure how I'd go about booking flights and hotels and cars for this trip, ideally the cheapest way. Thanks again for any help that I can be offered :-)

hi Andrew
I haven't done this sort of holiday combination or even set foot in Canada but what I think you might find worthwhile is to contact a company such as Trainfinders. they will certainly tailormake an itinery for you. I haven't used them yet. Have used Travelbag for the US before and for elsewhere and found them to be great and getting what you want- even if you want a certain hotel not in their books. Tell them where you want to visit and a time scale for each and they will come up with suggestions.
Meanwhile hopefully anyone who has been on a similar holiday can give you ideas of what to do.
One good thing about these companies is that you don't have to book all your accomodation through them- if you are staying with relatives for instance.

I think first of all you need to look at some maps! Just 'take a drive up to Vancouver' You are talking about crossing a continent with some serious mountains along the way, it is not a tootle round the countryside. Also the Grand Canyon is quite a distance from the canada/USA border if you are planning to use a car. Flying on internal flights can be quite cheap but often the taxi fare from the airport to the hotel can cost more than the flight!

Have a good time but plan carefully.

I think Fiona meant Trailfinders, not Trainfinders.

luci

Your plans are doable but you certainly won't be giving yourself much time to see the places you want to visit, more just a quick view as you pass through.
After your week in Toronto I would suggest flying to Calgary. Hire a car in Calgary and drive to Vancouver, it's not as a previous poster said a drive across the continent but it is the best part of 700miles and I would think it would take at least 2-3 days if you want to stop off at a few places as it really is a beautiful part of the world and to me would be one of the highlights of your holiday. After spending a few days in Vancouver you will be into your third week. Its well over a thousand miles down to LA (not all motorway).So unless you really want to drive the whole way down I would advise flying . It's easy to drive from LA to Las Vegas it takes about four hours but there are really regular cheap flights between the two cities. In most cities there are cheap shuttle busses that drive between hotels and airports so you don't always need to take taxis. In Las Vegas you can either take a tour or drive to the Grand Canyon.
I remember the first time I went to the USA I was in my twenties and drove thousands of miles in just under a month but realised on return that I had just scratched the surface of the places I had visited and wished that I could have experienced more of the sights and sounds of those areas. So I would advise not to try and fit in too many places during your trip.
The drawbacks I see to your plans if you do a lot of driving are the sometimes large oneway drop off fees, allowing that you can drive rental vehicles between countries and the fact that you are only 22, many rental firms will not lend cars to under 23's or 25's or will charge a premium if they do. I think your holiday will be difficult to arrange on your own and I would as Fiona advises go to a company such as Trailfinders, tell them what you want and let them plan an itinerary for you.
Best of luck, I hope you have a super trip.

Most rental car companies will not rent to under 25 yrs. Email a few before you settle on driving plans.
I think Enterprise car rental might...

Thanks for all the replies. In retrospect I think I was a bit overambitious with my plans, and reading everyones comments I think it'd be better to stay in a few base places and explore the area rather than try to fit as much in as possible.

I've checked a few car rental companies and the prices seem extortionate due to my age, so perhaps it'd be a much smarter plan to just use public transport/flights to get to where I want to go.

Thinking more about staying in the like of Toronto for a week, then flying to vancouver for a week and this has now made everything wide open for me, because I could then afford to stay in another couple of places and make the trip last a full month to 5 weeks. I really need to read into everything more and price places and decide where has the best things to do as I think I was being naive thinking I could just rent a car and drive halfway across the country.

Hi andrew-glasgow
I think you are making a good decision both for finance and time reasons to fly between major destinations.
There is loads to see and do around Vancouver, there is a regular shuttle bus between Vancouver and Whistler, a year round resort really worth a visit and again you can get a bus to Victoria and other places on Vancouver Island. Try and get either the Pacific Bus or treat yourself to a float plane trip to Tofino on Vancouver Island, a lovely small resort where you can take whale watching/bear watching tour, though you can do these trips from many places in British Columbia.
A couple of good webstes to look at for info. are:
http://www.hellobc.com
http://www.vancouverisland.com
http://www.bcadventure.com also have a look at the Thornbird threads on the Lonely Planet website where you can find lots of posts from young people wanting to do similar trips.

Once you are in an American or Canadian city then you won't need a car. Their public transport is far superior and cheaper than what we have in the UK. Tours to places such as Niagara falls from Toronto and Grand Canyon from Las Vegas are easily arranged, usually the concierge at your hotel will do this for you.

Hi again everyone, decided we are going to Canada for 4 weeks in the summer. We'll be spending 8 days in Toronto, a week in Vancouver, 8 days on Vancouver island then 5 days in Toronto again. Looking to spend no more than £350/week accommodation and it's becoming a nightmare trawling through all the sites. Have found decent enough places through a combination of travelsupermarket.com and ebookers but just wondering if there's any sites that are really good for getting cheap hotels out there. Or even if it'd be worthwhile checking out self-catering places for the duration?

For Toronto I want to be as close to Downtown as possible, as with Victoria (Vancouver Island), and Vancouver.

Thanks for any help :-)

Hi Andrew

Have a look at http://www.travellerspoint.com I haven't used them myself but have seen them mentioned on various internet travel sites as a source of budget hotels. I have used http://www.booking.com in the past for discount hotels.

Judith

Thanks very much for the reply Judith. Booking.com comes up with a lot of good deals :-)

Also, would you say I should spend more time in Vancouver/Vancouver Island? Or is my suggested time adequate? Thanks again

Andrew

We normally spend our time in Toronto but this year we went to Vancouver and had a ball. Within a week you can do a lot, go to Whistler, explore the neighbourhoods on Vancouver, Relax a little. I am sure you will have a great time.

Hi Andrew

Sorry I didn't see your last post, as the previous poster said spend some time in Whistler. I would perhaps cut down the time on Vancouver Island and spend a few days in Whistler instead. It's a year round resort and attracts lots of young people.
The rest of your trip seems good. Enjoy.

Judith.