Two excellent daily trains link New York with Canada, run by Amtrak, jointly with VIA Rail in the case of the New York-Toronto train.

The New York-Toronto train is the 'Maple Leaf' with coach class & business class.  The New York-Montreal train is the 'Adirondack', with coach class.  Both trains have comfortable air-conditioned reclining seats and a café car, and are a day well spent, highly recommended.  Both trains travel right along the Hudson River valley all the way from New York to Albany, with superb views of the river, including West Point Military Academy, Bannerman's Island and Storm King Mountain.  Try to sit on the left-hand side of the train leaving New York.  The Adirondack passes through more great scenery in the Adirondack mountains.  A wonderful ride!  You can check times and fares and book online at www.amtrak.com.

Amfleet seating as used on the New York-Toronto 'Maple Leaf'...		Amfleet cars, as used on the 'Maple Leaf'...

Seattle to Vancouver:

A daily articulated Spanish-designed 'Talgo' train links Seattle with Vancouver.  For details, see www.amtrakcascades.com  or www.amtrak.com.  You can also travel between Vancouver and Seattle via Victoria, the British Columbia provincial capital, on Vancouver Island:  There is a daily catamaran service between Seattle and Victoria (see www.victoriaclipper.com for times & fares), and regular buses link Victoria with Vancouver (see www.pacificcoach.com for times & fares).

Montréal - Ottawa - Toronto:

VIA Rail's fast modern inter-city trains link Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal.  Montréal to Toronto takes about 4 hours 40 minutes city centre to city centre, and the fare starts at around Can$85 if you book in advance.  Toronto to Ottawa takes about 4 hours 15 minutes.  You can check times, fares & book online at www.viarail.ca.

Montréal - Québec:

From Montréal to Québec, air-conditioned trains run several times daily, taking less than 3 hours.  The fare is around Can$47 if you book in advance.  Check times, fares & book online at www.viarail.ca.

Toronto - Winnipeg - Edmonton - Jasper - Vancouver

The greatest train in Canada, and one of the world's greatest train journeys, VIA Rail's "Canadian" runs 3 times a week all-year-round linking Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Jasper & Vancouver.  The journey takes 3 nights, and the train consists of the original 1955-built stainless-steel coaches from the Canadian Pacific Railway's "Canadian".  You can travel economically in 'Comfort Class' in a reclining seat, or very comfortably in 'Silver and Blue' class with a sleeping-car room, meals included.

Above:  The Skyline dome car		Above:  "The Canadian" at Jasper

You can check times and fares at www.viarail.ca.

Comfort Class (reclining seats): 

In Comfort Class, you have a comfortable reclining seat, and access to the Comfort Class 'Skyline' car with coffee shop, lounge and 'vista dome'.

Comfort Class seating.  Seats recline, and have fold-out leg-rests.		The Silver and Blue class dining-car...		'Section' sleepers, daytime mode.

Silver & Blue class (sleepers): 

In Silver and Blue sleeping-car class, you have your own sleeper, meals in the restaurant car are included in the fare, and you can use the famous 'Park' car at the rear of the train.  The 'Park' car, 18 of which were built and all named after Canadian parks, features a 'vista dome' upstairs, the bullet lounge at the rear (complimentary tea and coffee always available) and the mural lounge downstairs underneath the dome.

		The Canadian's 'Park' car: Left:  Silver & Blue class sleeping-car passengers can use the 'Park' car at the rear of the train. Below left:  The 'bullet lounge' at the back of the train. Below right:  Go up into the vista dome for superb views of the scenery all around the train.  Comfort Class seats passengers also have access to a sightseeing dome.

There are several different types of sleeper, all with hot showers at the end of the corridor:

Sections (see photo below) are the cheapest type of sleeper.  Sections consist of open-plan seats arranged in pairs facing each other.  At night, the seats pull together to form a lower berth, and an upper berth folds out from the wall.  Curtains are fitted to each bunk for privacy.  If you've seen Marilyn Monroe in 'Some Like it Hot', then you'll have seen 'sections' - the girl band travels from Chicago to Florida in a sleeping-car with sections.  Bring your own Marilyn...

The next step up from a section is a roomette or bedroom.  If you are travelling alone, you will travel in a roomette.  This is a very compact single room, just big enough for a large seat with plenty of legroom, and a leg-rest with a toilet bowl hidden underneath.  There is a washbasin in the corner.  At night, a bed folds down from behind the seat, taking up almost all of the roomette.  Bedrooms are larger rooms for two people, with separate en suite washroom and toilet.  An upper and lower berth convert to seats for daytime use.  Bedrooms are the same price per person as a roomette.

How to buy tickets...

You can buy tickets online at www.viarail.ca, picking up the tickets at the station before departure.  Alternatively, you can make VIA Rail bookings in the UK through First Rail Ltd on 0845 644 3553.  Canadian railpasses.

The Océan has 'Comfort class' reclining seats and 'Comfort class' sleeping-cars, with restaurant car, coffee shop and lounge.  In the summer tourist season from June to October it also has 'Easterly' class sleeping-cars and a 1955-vintage stainless-steel observation dome/lounge car at the back, like the one attached to the rear of the 'Canadian'.  This observation/lounge car is reserved exclusively for Easterly class passengers, and meals in the restaurant car are included in the Easterly class fare.  In summer, all departures of the Océan use modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars (some with private toilet and shower) and reclining seat cars originally built in the UK for the abortive Channel Tunnel night trains, and now marketed by VIA Rail as 'Renaissance' cars.  In winter (Nov-April), four departures per week use Renaissance cars, the remaining two departures per week use 1955-built stainless steels seats and sleepers, similar to those used on the Toronto-Vancouver 'Canadian'.  Exact departure times may vary slightly in winter, November to April.  There is also a Montreal-Gaspé portion of this train, using 1950s stainless steel cars, attached three times a week.  See www.viarail.ca for more information, including fares and online booking.

Fares & how to buy tickets...

You can check fares for "The Océan" at www.viarail.ca.   To give you a rough idea, Montreal-Halifax costs about C$148 in coach,  C$159 in a 'section' and C$207 in a roomette or bedroom.  You can book online at www.viarail.ca, picking up the tickets at the station before departure.  Alternatively, you can make VIA Rail bookings in the UK through First Rail Ltd on 0845 644 3553.  Canadian railpasses.

Jasper - Prince Rupert:  "The Skeena"

Runs 3 times a week, an amazingly scenic service.  Dome observation car available.  see www.viarail.ca.

Winnipeg - Churchill:  "The Hudson Bay"

Runs 3 times a week, to the land where the polar bears live.  See www.viarail.ca.

Montreal - Gaspé:  "The Chaleur"

Runs 3 times a week, attached to the Ocean for part of its journey.  see www.viarail.ca.

Vancouver Island:  Victoria-Nanaimo-Courtenay "The Malahat".

Railcar service. Runs daily, 225 km,  leaving Victoria 08:00 Mon-Sat, 10:00 Sundays, returning in the afternoon.  See www.viarail.ca.

Toronto - North Bay - Cochrane & Cochrane - Moosonee

Long-distance train service due north out of Toronto, run by Ontario Northland, see www.ontc.on.ca.

Calgary - Banff - Vancouver:  The "Rocky Mountaineer"

The 'Canadian' from Toronto to Vancouver now takes the Canadian National Railways route via Edmonton and Jasper, and there is no passenger service over the more southerly (and allegedly more scenic) Canadian Pacific Railway route via Calgary and Banff.  However, a special tourist train called the 'Rocky Mountaineer' runs regularly in summer between Calgary, Banff & Vancouver.  Tourist-orientated (in other words, high...) fares are charged, usually as part of a package including meals and accommodation - the train does the full trip in daylight, stopping overnight on the way so passengers can sleep in a hotel.  The train also operates on other routes, including the Vancouver-Jasper route.  For dates of running & fares, see the Rocky Mountaineer website, www.rockymountaineer.com.

Vancouver-Whistler by "Whistler Mountaineer"

BC Rail withdrew from passenger trains on this route, but the company that runs the Rocky Mountaineer tourist trains has taken over the route.  A daily train April-October provides a great scenic excursion from Vancouver to Whistler, journey time around 3 hours.  See www.whistlermountaineer.com.

Excellent value railpasses are available for Canada, well worth checking out if you are planning a tour.  The CanRail pass gives unlimited travel in a seat on all VIA Rail trains, including 'Comfort Class' reclining seats on "The Canadian" and "Océan".  If you want a Silver & Blue or Easterly Class sleeper you must pay the difference between the seat price and the sleeper price.  Note that even in seats on "The Canadian" and "Océan", a seat reservation will need to be made either in advance or when you get to Canada, as you cannot hop on and travel on these trains without a reservation.  There is also a North America railpass covering both Amtrak in the USA and VIA Rail in Canada for 30 days.  It costs around £397 off-peak and £560 peak.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 sails from Southampton to New York roughly once a month, taking six nights, or there are regular freight ships that carry passengers.  See the United States page for more information.  There are daily trains from New York to Toronto and Montreal, see above.

If you want to travel coast-to-coast across Canada or the United States by train, but prefer to do this as part of an all-inclusive escorted tour with fellow travellers and a guide, UK-based company Great Rail Journeys offers 5-star rail-based holidays from about £2,500 per person.  They also offer rail-based holidays to other countries.  Check the holiday details online, then call 0845 402 2068 to book or use their online booking form.  Seat61 gets some commission to help support the site if you book your holiday through this link or phone number, so please mention seat 61 when you book.

Recommended guidebooks...

Paying for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip.  You will see so much more, and know so much more about what you're looking at, if you have a decent guidebook.  For the independent traveller this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both guidebooks provide the same excellent level of practical information and historical background.

Buy Lonely Planet Canada from Amazon.co.uk 

Buy Rough Guide to Canada from Amazon.co.uk

Or buy direct from the Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide.

The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable...

It's probably the most adventurous timetable ever produced...  The famous Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable is published every two months, and has the latest train, bus and ferry times for everywhere outside Europe, including Canada and the USA.  It's essential for any serious overland traveller, and an inspiration for armchair travellers..!

It costs £13.50 from any UK high street branch of Thomas Cook, or you can buy online at www.thomascooktimetables.com (worldwide delivery).

Find a hotel anywhere in Canada...

A good guidebook like the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides will point you at some good hotels in each town or city when you get there.  Alternatively, you can pre-book hotels (budget, mid-range and upmarket) in almost any Canadian city through www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box below.  It's the best hotel search system I've seen.  This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms, Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net.  Set up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.

Personal recommendation:  The famous Royal York Hotel in Toronto is a classic, and so handy for train departures as it's across the road from the station!  It may be $260 per room, but it's well worth splashing out on if you can manage it...

Search all major hotel booking sites at once...

Powered by Hotels Combined

Get an online quote from both Direct Line & Columbus Direct...

Travel insurance is a boring subject, but it's a real necessity, so make sure you budget for it.  Make sure the cover is adequate - for example, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover, from a reliable insurer.  Remember that an annual multi-trip policy is often cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just two or three trips a year.  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy after clicking these links.

  If you're a UK resident, try Direct Line whom I've used myself on many occasions, or Columbus Direct.

      If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct Australia.

  If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Overland travel is best wherever possible, and certainly when you're exploring a country.  But occasionally there may be little practical alternative to a long-haul flight.  For independent travellers, Opodo.com is a good place to start and it's usually where I start myself.  It will book return or one-way flights (either outbound or inbound).  It's owned by Amadeus and by nine of Europe's leading airlines - Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa.  Seat61 gets some commission if you buy through these links.