Car
Rentals/ Driving your
own vehicle in Vancouver and BC (+ rentals in other cities):
BC Road
& Highway Reports & Conditions
You may drive in BC with a valid drivers
license from another jurisdiction. An international drivers
licence is not required. Check with your own insurer regarding
your liability in an accident. If you rent a car, it is essential
to make sure you are covered for both collision and liability.
Some credit cards cover you for this automatically. Liability
settlements in Canada are low compared to the United States. 2
million dollars in liability should be more than enough. If you
have an accident, you will have to deal with the Insurance
Corporation of British Columbia. They handle all licensing and
liability insurance in British Columbia. The other vehicle may
have collision coverage through another provider such as Canada
Direct, but all accident reports have to be handled through ICBC.
A link to their web site can be found in the table below. BC has
a reciprocal agreement with some US States should you receive a
speeding violation. If you rent a car you will likely have to
leave a charge card imprint. This is to cover the rental company
should they receive traffic violation notices in the mail. Photo
Radar was discontinued in BC in June 2001, but intersection
cameras are prevalent, so don't run red lights.
Car Rental is not particularly
cheap, but this is the best way to see the city, its environs,
and the rest of BC. Many of the best places around here are only
accessible by car. Shop around, as prices vary considerably. If
you are planning on seeing the rest of the province, make sure
you have unlimited mileage, distances are vast. Drivers in
Vancouver are NOT known for their courtesy and red light running
is rampant. Also avoid driving to Downtown between 7 AM and 9 AM,
or from Downtown between 3 PM and 6 PM, unless you enjoy traffic
jams. Turning right on a red light is legal here, unlike in many
places. If you just sit there, you will find cars behind, honking
at you. Vancouver is known as the tow-away capital of the world,
although it doesn't seem to be as bad as it used to be. Make sure
you are vigilant about where you park, especially on the main
routes between 6 AM and 9:30 AM and also 3 PM and 6 PM. If you do
get towed, good luck. Your car will have taken to one of several
lots and when you do locate it, you will have to pay a hefty
ransom. If you are renting a car in the
winter and are planning to travel into the interior, ensure it
has either snow tires or virtually new all season radials (they
become summer tires after one season of use). It is also a good
idea to carry a sleeping bag with you inside the vehicle (not in
the trunk) in case you run off the road. People have frozen to
death in a vehicle by being trapped inside it on occasion.
Fuel costs range from about
$1.10-$1.20 Canadian a litre or about $3.90-$4.10 US/gallon. Price wars are
ongoing and its not unusual to see a 10 cent a litre change
overnight. This is about 1/2 the cost of Europe and about 15% higher
than in the US. Canadian fuel is a little higher in
octane than American.
ALL FUEL IN CANADA IS UNLEADED. If you are
from the States and have an older car that requires leaded fuel,
visit a Canadian Tire Store or any other automotive store and buy
an additive. Mohawk Gas stations use a gas-alcohol mix, but this
will not harm most engines and is good for the environment. If you have excel on
your computer I maintain a chart at http://www.vancouver.hm/convertor.xls. You can use it to convert Canadian per
litre to US per gallon for different exchange rates.
If you are planning on seeing the rest of BC,
Car Rental is probably your best, although not necessarily your
cheapest option. For the budget single traveller especially, the
Moose-Run Bus above, is likely the best option. If you can share
car rental costs with 1 or 2 others, though, the rental option
becomes economic. Fuel costs in Canada are cheap, compared with
most parts of the world and a 10 day to 2 week trip around the
province will likely put you back about $200-300 ($150-$200 US)
in fuel costs. This means with 3 people, you should break even
with the Moose-Run option for a 2 week trip and have the freedom
of going where and when you want. You should not feel nervous
about driving in BC (outside of Vancouver), even if you are used
to driving on the left. Highways in the Province are well
constructed and generally un-crowded. In July and August, you will
find yourself stuck behind slow moving Campers and Trailers a
fair bit. Exercise extra caution on winding Mountain highways,
especially Highway 99 to Whistler. BC drivers are not very
courteous when it comes to overtaking. Most drivers hate to have
anyone pass them. If you are South African, where moving to the
shoulder to let someone pass is normal, you will find this
especially frustrating. In July and August, you may have to
pre-book Motels and some Hostels and Campsites (see my
accommodation section). Bush camping is not strictly legal, but
you can get away with it, especially if you pull out of sight of
the highway. (Please do not light a campfire, if you do this, you
stand a good chance of being the cause of a forest fire and it is
also illegal to have a campfire through much of the summer.) See
my "Accommodation" section for advice and details.
If you are planning to travel on Vancouver
Island as part of your Rental Car experience, you might want to
consider renting separately over there. It will cost you over
$80, return fare, to take a car back and forth on the Ferry. It
might be cheaper to rent a separate car for Vancouver Island. You
can also face long waits to get a car on the ferry in the summer
months.
The table below contains links to most of the
Car Rental Companies. The first link is a reservation service
that will hopefully find you the best deal.
Car Rental Links:
These are links to car rental services in other cities & countries. E-Mail me if you would like
yours added.
Other
Cities/Countries
