Canada by motorhome: requirements, tips, rules on overnight stays and camping and the best route

Welcome to the Canada by motorhome. One of our new motorhome routes through this wonderful world, where trip after trip we continue to be surprised by all its corners.

How lucky we are to have been born on Earth!

On this occasion, this article aims to help you with the world of motorhomes and campers, within the Super guide to travel to Canada that we have developed.

Canada in a motorhome is a great destination and plan. An ideal country to explore in this way, due to its great natural attractions and scenic roads.

For our part, our last trip has been making a 21-day route through the Canadian Rockies and it is a destination and route that we recommend 1000%!

Canada in a motorhome is amazing, you will surely end up falling in love as much as we did with the second largest country in the world in a motorhome or camper.

About us

Checklist for traveling to Canada in a motorhome or camper

Have a valid passport and process the eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization, the visa

During the month before traveling remember to check that your passport is valid and then you should process the eTA, the fast electronic visa that you will find on the official website of the Government of Canada, easy to process yourself, the information is even in Spanish, but to process it it is only in English or French, which you can translate with the Google Translate web plugin if you need to.

It is a fast electronic visa for European citizens who fly to Canada as tourists and that is valid at time of travel.

Its cost is $7 and it is very easy to do it at the Official Canadian government eTA website.

 Buy a plug adapter for Canada

Before leaving, remember to take the Canada plug adapter, is the same type as the one in the United States. flat pins, calls on power outlets Type A and B voltage 120V at frequency of 60 Hz.

We have had this one for years, it has a lot in one and it works great.

Take out travel insurance

Canada is spectacular but… It is a very wild place and some are remote so before continuing to plan your route the first thing you should do is buy travel insurance, oh and if you want it including cancellation and to get your money back for the flights, remember to do it before purchasing the flights or just before the 5 days after purchasing them! Save this advice because it is important.

I leave you here a 5% off with the company that we always have travel insurance. For Canada especially take or the insurance of IATI Family or IATI StarIf you take out the standard IATI, you may be left short on coverage if you break an arm, for example, which happened to a friend and cost him €135.000!

5% discount travel insurance

Buy a mobile data card and navigate with GPS

In Canada you won't have the European roaming that we are so used to, and there roaming can cost you an arm and a leg.

In short, either you buy a card with data to have internet there or you won't be able to access the internet in Canada with your mobile phone, which I don't recommend. You'll need the internet to navigate with the GPS and for a thousand other things, so what I recommend is to do as we did and buy a couple of SIM cards for Canada that you can easily install before you go, all from Spain, and then have internet from the airport in Canada.

We bought one for each of our mobiles in Holafly with a 5% discount with this link and super good, unlimited data and the price seemed the best of what we saw, 54 euros for 20 days and it is e-sim which is super easy to download and configure with the manual that they send you with the card.

Processing the international driving license

To drive in Canada you will need the International permit that you must request from the DGT before going. I have already explained to you how to process it at the DGT DGT Electronic Headquarters website.

It's easy you go to the DGT Electronic Headquarters website and you process it electronically through the electronic registry logging in with your electronic certificate or PIN code, paying the issuing fee which is about 11 € uros approx.

Once this is done you should go from After 2 business days, pick up the international permit at the DGT headquarters that you have put in the application and bring a passport photo No appointment is necessary To pick up the international permit, they will give you the number there and you have to be patient because there is usually a queue.

Booking the motorhome at the best price: the key

Of course, if you are going to travel to Canada in a motorhome, I recommend that you, like us, book a motorhome or camper well in advance so that it costs you as little as possible.

When booking the motorhome, keep in mind that if you can travel outside of the high season, the rental costs can be almost half of what they are in the high season. If I could have, we would have traveled in April and not in August as we did, due to the price and the people we met, so keep that in mind.

We rented the motorhome with RoadsurferIt was the second time we rented with them, the first time in the United States to do the West Coast, and the truth is, in all honesty, just like in the United States, the motorhome worked perfectly, we didn't have not a single problem and the return and refund of the deposit It was super easy and without any problems. I definitely recommend the company.

TIP: If you want to do this route by Canada by motorhome Like us, we recommend renting a motorhome. Do it in Calgary or Vancouver with Road surfers, a company we would repeat with. Roadsurfer  gave us un discount of 150 $ that you as readers can also benefit from applying the DISCOUNT CODE: KUCAVANAAMERICA

Plan your route and book campgrounds

As I explain in detail below, in Canada both the Overnight stays and free camping are totally prohibited outside the designated areas. which are the campgrounds or designated recreational areas, some free or others with a very reasonable fee.

There is a large network of campgrounds and recreational areas, but surely on your trip, like us, you will want to be in the best camping areas in the middle of the main national parks, so for this reason you will We recommend planning your route and booking well in advance. since in summer the places fill up quickly.

 Below, when I explain everything about overnight stays, I will tell you where to find the campgrounds and how to reserve.

What to pack for your summer trip to Canada in a motorhome

Below, we detail our luggage for 21 days in Canada in a motorhome in summer, which we recommend you take on your trip.

Above all, think that the best To go trekking in the mountains along the Rocky Mountains, you should always wear long pants, closed shoes and socks.

Clothes per person (we will wash by hand during the route what is necessary, it is better to travel light based on experience):

• 3 complete changes of long technical summer mountain trousers + short-sleeved T-shirt
• 2 changes of shorts + short t-shirts
• 5 changes of underwear and socks
• 2 fleece or long-sleeved sweatshirt-type jackets
• 1 lightweight down jacket, one of those that fold up from Decathlon
• 1 cap
• 1 raincoat
• 1 flip flops
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 Gore-tex trekking shoes
• Toiletry bag with solid soap and bamboo toothbrush to be sustainable

 Things for the motorhome that we carry, are the result of experience and very useful:

• Small Italian coffee maker + a package of ground coffee, if you are a coffee drinker like us
• Foldable memory foam travel pillows, if you have trouble sleeping on those thin pillows from Ikea, which is what they will give you in the rental motorhome. It also works for the plane, which low-cost airlines don't provide.
• A couple of small travel blankets, for the cold people in the house and also for the plane, which the low cost airlines don't provide. In the motorhome, as at home, there are cold people and hot people, so in order not to turn on the heating when the hot people are, we have learned that by carrying a couple of blankets we can solve our broken thermostats hahaha
• Tablets for chemical toilets We know that they work and remove the smell. We have learned from other times that sometimes they give out liquids that we don't really like the smell of, so we bring our own.
• Water purification tablets for the water tank of the motorhome, so we always boil the macaroni quietly with the water from the motorhome.
• 2 extendable skewers for barbecuing and making marshmallows
• 1 multi-purpose knife
• Rags for cleaning and a scouring pad for scrubbing dishes
• 1 lighter to light the barbecues
• Mosquito repellent
• Sunscreen
• Binoculars for National Parks
• Canada plug adapter

Budget for a trip to Canada by motorhome: our expenses

As for the budget, we are going to be clear and leave you here the costs of our 21-day trip through the Canadian Rockies and national parks of the West.

What you should know is that, luckily for us, the Euro is stronger than the Canadian dollar and that is why travelling to Canada is currently very cheap. 100 Canadian dollars are currently 66 Euros in August 2024.

Here are the costs:

• Cost of the flights per person: €875 round trip with Air Canada, with a stopover in Toronto, from Barcelona.
• Daily cost of motorhome rental: €275/day (for the 4 of us travelling and in August, high season)
• Average daily cost of accommodation, campgrounds: €25/night (for the 4 of us and a motorhome). This is the average price of campsites there.
• Average daily costs for activities, food, souvenir shopping, restaurants, etc: 40 € (for the 4 of us)

In total the total cost of the trip we made per person for 21 days in Canada in a motorhome has been from $2.550. Please note that we are two adults and two children and that the price of the motorhome is divided into 4.

Canada by motorhome: driving, where to sleep and camp, rules you should know

Canada by motorhome

From Calgary We just landed at the airport and picked up our motorhome from Roadsurfer reserved rental, a company with which we already rented a year ago to tour the West Coast of the United States in a camper.

This time we decided to rent a motorhome instead of a camper, which is much more comfortable for a family like us with two children.

After the pick up our route of 18 days from Calgary was a road trip through the Canadian Rockies by motorhome that we will never forget. A route through more than 5 National Parks and other state parks that gave us the best of nature in this wonderful world.

Traveling by motorhome, as we always do, gave us the freedom and the ability to always live our trip in the most beautiful natural environments, comfortably and with our night ritual lighting diary the campfire and make the best smashmallow of the trip each day at the campground that was chosen that day.

Although yes, I will not deceive you, If you want a 10/XNUMX trip, don't improvise And do as we did, plan your route well and book the public campgrounds in the national parks well in advance so that you don't run out of space if you travel in the summer and so that your experience is as beautiful as possible.

Now I'll tell you everything you need to know to plan a great trip to Canada in a motorhome.

 Driving in Canada: Rules you should know

Driving in Canada is a joy, it is one of the countries that has one of the largest networks of Highways and scenic routes of the world. From the iconic highway Trans-Canada, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific icefields parkway, in the state of Alberta, which we enjoyed on our route through the Rockies, which goes from Banff to Jasper, with impressive views of glaciers, rugged mountains and dreamy turquoise lakes.

Discover everything you need to know about Driving in Canada In this post, with very useful tips for driving and refueling.

International driving permit

First of all, what you should know is that in Canada you will need the International permit that you must request from the DGT before going. I have already explained to you how to process it at the DGTDGT Electronic Headquarters website. She just looks up in the checklist.

Traffic rules in Canada

The traffic rules in Canada are very similar to the European ones In general, so you'll have it easy. Also, the roads are similar to those in the United States, wide and often with long straights, easy to drive. In our case, we found the roads to be great.

Act quickly. drive on the right, respect traffic signs and speed limits that are normally 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) on urban roads, 55 miles per hour (96 km/h) in rural areas and 65 miles per hour (104 km/h) on highways.

Other rules you should know are the following:

• Bringing child seats or booster seats up to 9 years or height of 145 cm.
• If the Police stops you, do not get out of the vehicle. Turn off the engine and sit patiently with your hands visible.
• You cannot pass school buses when they have their lights on., even if they are stopped.
• El emergency phone of police, fire and ambulance in Canada is the 911.
• Do not use the mobile phone while driving.
• You can always turn right yielding first, even if the traffic light is red.

Overnight stay in Canada in a motorhome: where to sleep in an RV

If we go to Official Canadian Tourism Website, are very clear in this aspect normatively:

In Canada, the only places where you can legally park overnight areon an RV, motorhome, camper or caravan, as they call recreational vehicles of any kind there, These are the official campgrounds or recreational areas (these are sometimes free or very cheap), camping grounds or campsites as we more commonly call them in Europe.

In bold, they also highlight that spending the night anywhere else, such as highway rest areas or shopping centers, except for Walmart supermarkets, is totally prohibited.

Walmarts, also acclaimed as legal free overnight places in the United States, point out that you must first ask permission at the supermarket.

In our case we have always slept in public campgrounds within the national parks, but we warn you that we did the reservations in advance because the plots for summer are sold out quickly.

To find public campgrounds, visit the page The official website of the Natural Parks Campgrounds is this one where they are all located and where you can book. You should know beforehand, however, the length of your motorhome and then you can choose the exact free plot in each campground.

In summary, plan your route, look for campgrounds to spend the night and reserve them and take them into account in your budget from 15 to 30 euros per night (Recreational areas are usually very cheap and private campgrounds the most expensive) a campground can cost you.

 Camping in Canada in a motorhome

Camping in a motorhome or camper is considered to be anything that whether it be taking out the table, chairs, awning, cooking outside, hanging clothes, etc…

Camping as well as overnight stay In Canada it is totally prohibited outside campgrounds, nor in the Walmarts any other overnight place is camping allowed.

So, as we did, camp in the magnificent public or private campgrounds of Canada.

Performing RV, motorhome, water emptying and filling services in Canada in a motorhome

In Most campgrounds, not recreation areas, you will find a dump station, a water filling and emptying station for motorhome services.

Also, in some public campgrounds and always in the Private On the same plot you will find Hook-ups, connection towers where you will have electricity and to empty and fill water on the same plot.

The best route through Canada by motorhome

After knowing everything about what it's like to travel to Canada in a motorhome or camper, it's time to start planning the route, in addition to completing the checklist I mentioned above.

The best route never exists, especially if it serves as the best route for everyone. That is why I advise you to design your own route inspired by the trips that others have made and to choose what attracts your attention the most and that, depending on the number of days you have, best suits you.

In our case, we took a route full of nature where we only visited Calgary one day, which was our arrival and return point to the airport from Barcelona.

Our route was a circular route through different National Parks, but also Provincial Parks, less crowded in the Canadian Rockies and surrounding areas.

To see it in full with all the destinations, visits and places of interest with our own experiences, I recommend you see the article I have made about our 21-day route through the Rocky Mountain National Parks in Canada.

A route that I can tell you had to be redesigned 15 days before leaving, due to a fire that completely closed Jasper National Park, the largest in the Canadian Rockies. We were not able to visit Jasper but the 5 days we were going to spend there gave us time to visit 3 more very cool and surprising Natural Parks.

Our Route through the Canadian Rockies

Our route was finally for the following Natural Parks and destinations we leave you the articles that may interest you that we have made about them:

• Day 1: Barcelona – Calgary
• Day 2 to 6: Route and what to see in Banff National Park in Canada
  • Day 2-3: Banff Village Area What to See
• • Day 4-5: Lake Louise area what to see
  • Day 6: Johnston Canyon
• Day 6: Route and what to see on the Icefields Parkway, ice fields highway
• Day 7-8: Route and what to see in Yoho National Park
• Day 8-9: Route and what to see in Canada's Glacier National Park
• Day 9-10: Route and what to see in Mount Revelstoke National Park
• Day 10: Route and what to see in Golden village
• Day 10-12: Route and what to see in Kootenay National Park
• Day 12-14: Route and what to see in Waterton Lakes National Park
• Day 14-15: Route and what to see in Glacier National Park in Montana, United States
• Day 16: Route and what to see in Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park
• Day 17-18: Route and what to see in the Valley of the Dinosaurs in Drumheller
• Day 18-19: Route and what to see in Calgary

• Day 20-21: Calgary - Return Home

And if you want to read about what to see in Jasper National Park as I prepared the route for it, I leave you our article about the route and what to see in it. Jasper National Park that I initially organized.

I hope this article has helped you and if it has, please the best way to thank us is to comment below and write to us on social media to tell us about it, remember.

Good route friends!