Traveling Canada by Rail and Air
“Chugga-chugga” your way through Canada.
Imagine rolling across open country sides, scaling awe-inspiring mountains and gracefully gliding along the ocean coast. Traveling Canada by rail offers you this truly wondrous travel experience. Create long-lasting memories as you sit back and discover the spectacular natural beauty of Canada.
Let Ambassatours Gray Line help you be part of the splendour of rail travel. Book one of our VIA Rail packages and experience the comfort rail travel through Atlantic Canada, or ask us about adding a rail or air component before or after your tour experience with us.
Helpful hints for happy train touring
Welcome aboard the “world’s greatest train trip”! Most of you, like us at Ambasatours Gray Line, will have traveled more often by motor coach than by train. However, we are finding that these train trips add a wonderful new dimension to our tour business. Please take time to read this information and keep it with you for further reference.
Halifax to Toronto
Between Halifax and Toronto, if you eat in the dining-car, you should tip as you would in any restaurant, where 15% has pretty well become standard practice. Otherwise, all staff gratuities on the train will be paid for you by your tour director on each leg of the tour. This includes the porters on all trains, dining-room staff from Toronto to Jasper, and the attendants on the Rocky Mountaineer.
|
Luggage
Your tour director will suggest that you check your large suitcase and travel with hand luggage on each leg of the trip. This is a requirement of the Rocky Mountaineer between Banff and Vancouver for your night in Kamloops. Also, please note that your luggage is kept in a locked compartment on board the train and is not delivered to your hotel in Kamloops.
|
Toronto to Jasper
Upon leaving Toronto, lunch is included, as are all further meals on the train. You will be given a card showing the time of your “sittings” for meals for the next two days, these times are set by VIA Rail, not your tour director, and might not be your preference. However, we have found that people always adapt easily. The snack bar in the skyline car is open 24 hours a day. This car is several cars forward of the dining-car.
The park car is at the very rear of the train, and contains the scenic dome and two lounge areas. A continental breakfast is available here, usually at 6:30 am, or you may wait and have it in the dining-car a little later.
|
Hotel Rooms
Room assignments are done by the hotel management and is as fair and impartial as the rooms at their disposal allows. Our efforts start weeks before the tour begins when we send a list to each hotel, noting any special requests made by you. Many of you may have requested non-smoking rooms, but because of the tremendous demand for these recently, many hotels are not able to satisfy all the requests. Should you get a room that is not suitable, phone the front desk and/ or your tour director.
For any assistance in operating the TV, heating/ air-conditioning or telephone, do not hesitate to contact the front desk staff, they are there to help you.
|
Seat Rotation
On the motor coach portions of your trip, remember that Ambassatours Gray Line always operates on a seat rotation system. Your tour director will explain this to you.
|
Telephones
Phoning from a hotel room can be costly as you will usually be charged for local calls as well as for long distance, even though you use a credit card or call “collect”. To avoid extra charges, we suggest using a pay phone. If you have phone charges or any other personal charges on your room, please pay them the night before or early on the morning of departure. The tour cannot be checked out until all incidentals are paid.
|
Gratuities
Gratuities to guides, tour directors and drivers are customary. If you wish to show your appreciation, the gratuity should be on an individual basis and not in the form of a group collection. The recognized industry guidelines are $2.50 to $4.00 per day per person for the tour director and $2.50 to $4.00 per day for the driver. We recommend that this be done at the conclusion of the tour and not on a daily basis. As this tour is different from the usual coach tour and you will be having a number of different drivers, your tour director will give you some suggestions with regards to this.
|
Baggage Handling
The charge for handling one suitcase per person is included with your tour, so there is no need for you to tip the bell men. Your suitcase will be carried to your room as soon as possible after being unloaded each night.
Your luggage will be handled many times and by many different people, and will eventually show signs of wear no matter how carefully this is done. We cannot be responsible for damages to your luggage. Baggage insurance is available.
|
Your Tour Director
Should you have any questions about any phase of the tour, or if anything is unsatisfactory, please talk to your tour directory immediately. Give him/ her a chance to solve the problem – without knowing something is wrong, he/ she cannot help you. The last thing in the world your tour director wants is an unhappy customer.
|
|