Internet stick/usb

[ned111]

Good evening. I am from Australia and will be travelling to Canada for 3 months in a hired RV. First city visited will be Vancouver, then up to Alaska via Alberta & the Yukon. Will fly to Toronto and visit New Brunswick, PE,Nova Scotia.  I would like to use my laptop computer to send emails and look up web sites. Can I can purchase a Telus Internet usb/stick/dongle from a Telus shop eg in Vancouver downtown. I do not require heaps of download eg Check RV sites, information sites. If anyone can suggest a suitable plan it would be appreciated. Keep warm

[NFtoBC]

You've set  an ambitious travel plan!  

Yes, you could purchase an Internet stick, or if your phone is unlocked and comnpatible, you could get a SIM and tether your phone to your laptop.  Also, WiFi is generally available in many locations (though not provincial campgrounds) and may suffice for your needs. We make use of coffee shops, libraries, Tourism offices and private / municipal campgrounds when travelling in the USA to avoid data charges. 

There's still lots of information available in paper form at tourism offices.

A Telus Internet stick will not be a viable alternative in Alaska, due to data charges, and may not have much coverage in the Yukon. http://mobility.telus.com/en/BC/canada_travel/index.shtml

[ned111]

To NFtoBC

Thank you for the reply. It is a an ambitious plan but I have allowed 48 days to see the western side of Canada and 37 days to see the eastern side. In 2013 spent 3 months driving around the USA and had a great time. We do not spend a lot of time in the city as we love the beauty of the countryside.

My mobile phone (not a smartphone) is not locked.

I used a At&T usb stick and a TMobile Sim while in the states as my laptop lost the programme to log onto WiFi at coffee shops etc. Have had the programme re loaded and will use it in Canada.

The main reason I require the internet stick, is its difficult to drive to a WiFi spot and especially park the hired Motorhome in the city.

Thanks for the information in regards to the Yukon and Alaska and appreciate your reply

thanks from ned111

[NFtoBC]

Once out of the Lower mainland of BC, most of the towns are fairly small, and as long as you don't mind walking a block, will have many options for parking an RV. Summer tourist season does not start in earnest until July, when the kids get out of school, so traffic should not be too bad.  There are a number of business locations which provide free WiFi. It's actually easier to find in Canada than the USA. Some locations which come to mind:

McDonalds restaurants

Tim Horton's Coffee Shops

Starbucks Coffee shops (many in Safeway supermarkets)

Most tourism offices

Many Royal Canadian Legion lounges

Libraries & town offices

Cafes & pubs

These small towns will be surrounded by the scenery you are looking to view, so come on through and enjoy.

[ned111]

Hi NFto BC

Your replies have been extremely helpful and I have made note of your locations for free WiFi.

Your point of summer tourist season and school holidays is another reason we have chosen to travel at the time of year.

We have been on the the road for nearly nine years in our caravan (sold our house and property). We really try and avoid the tourist places during the tourist season and school holiday times. Just like in Canada some places in Australia especially in the Northern parts of Queensland in June/July can be over run with grey nomads (like us), tourists and school children. We usually stay in smaller town RV parks away from the crowds. We are still fairly lucky to have a lot of free camping areas for people to stay in during their travels. The only problems, especially over the last five years, that they are becoming quite crowded as with solar panels, generators, ensuite toilets and showers in most caravans, they are self sufficient. Lots of retired baby boomers and pensioners trying to save money. We free camped, stayed in RV parks and a lot of state and national parks in the USA last year. We was hoping to do that again in Canada although the colder weather will see us in more RV parks. Still if we do get some days of milder weather I have noted the provincial parks along our planned route.

I'm sure we are going to see some lovely country and looking forward to our Canada trip.

Once again a BIG thank you for all yor information

ned111

[xl]

Some thoughts....

• you don't need to go downtown.  You will find Telus stores in malls along the way like Oakridge, Richmond and other Telus resellers.
• be careful  as you approach the Yukon.... while Telus does offer coverage... it's been mentioned in the past that Yukon and BC border frequently starts roaming with another carrier as Telus's coverage is weaker.
• I assume you have a smartphone from Australia.... Australia 4G and North American 4G uses different frequencies.  Australia sued Apple when products would not offer 4G in Australia.  You might be limited to 2G with your phone.
• I can eat through a 5gig plan in an afternoon if you stream a lot of video.... yes look for public wifi at restaurants/hotels whenever possible to extended your data plan.  Sadly a lot of hotel wifi is congested at night limiting it's use.  Consider packing a repeater in hotels to boost the halllway signal into the room.
• where are going in Alaska and how long are you staying in the USA?  You might want to grab a ATT product if your stay is long.
• you can get a USB key for the laptop, but I prefer a mobile hotspot to share with the phone, tablet, and friends along the trip.
• does your hired RV driver have a emergency supplies like a satellite phone if you get into a remote location?  Work closely with the driver as they are likely to know how to keep your trip smooth.
• what month are you going?  some months means extreme winter conditions.
• are you going through Whistler?  Many of Australians spend there time there.

[ned111]

Hi xl.

Thank you for the reply and appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.  I will answer them in the same order.

• We are in Downtown Vancouver for 5 days prior to picking up our hire Motorhome. I note in Google maps that there is a Telus shop 500m from our hotel so can walk there.
• Thank you for this information in regards to the Yukon and in the north of BC. Something I hadn't considered. Thats why these forums are great. Lots of Knowledgable people.
• I havn't a smart phone as all I use is my old 6 year old unlocked LG phone is to receive and send SMS and phone calls. I used this phone in the United States with a T mobile sim card. Used a AT&T internet prepaid stick for the laptop.
• As we are on the road permanetly in a caravan, travelling around Australia (its a hard life),  we use a prepaid internet stick. For this reason the cost of streaming videos is out of the equations for us. The only hotel we will be staying in Canada is 5 nights in Vancouver and 3 in Toronto. The rest of the time will be spent staying in the Motorhome either in Provincial Parks and private RV campgrounds. Some of the RV campgrounds advertise free WiFi. Will use the free WiFi eg Library, coffee shops etc. if the opportunity arises. The reason for using a Telus internet prepaid is its hard to park a Motorhome in city free hot spots. Only require the internet to research places to stay and places to see. Although I have a detailed itienary its good to be able to have the flexibility to replan.
• We are visiting Chicken, Tok, Fairbanks, Anchorage and Seward on the western part of our Canada trip (total of 48 days) and on the Eastern side of Canada (37 days) will travel into Maine before heading back to Toronto.
• We don't have a driver except me for the trip. Fairly comfortable in driving on the right handside of the road, Spent 3 months last year doing that and only messed up once in New Mexico. Still kept going to the wrong door a couple of times and put on the wipers instead of the indicators. Do not intend to go to any remote locations of the main roads, we have enough of those in Australia also the hire company have strict rules about off formed roads.
• We arrive in Vancouver at the start of May (lot cheaper to hire the Motorhome0 and realize that the weather will still be cold but hopefully not extreme. Boy have you had it extreme this year. Brrr Still we had 12 days over 40C and 2 days over 44C. Even though we are experienced drivers, we are not use to snow and will not hesitate to stop and if need be go back to a safer area.
• Will be calling into Whistler in mid June and staying for 2 days. I know that it is popular with Aussies but as we are in Canada want to meet Canadians.

Thanks for all your information and will call into a Telus shop on our arrival

Appreciate your reply and keep warm

ned111

[xl]

Some tips...

• hotels near the airport are cheaper than staying downtown.... compare this place to where you are downtown.  It also offers an airport pickup and good transit downtown.
  http://www.expedia.ca/Vancouver-Hotels-Coast-Vancouver-Airport-Hotel.h40702.Hotel-Information
• ATT offers much better coverage than TMobile in Alaska.  If you are there for a week... you might want to check out their products.
• If you are going as far as Anchorage.... have you considered using a 7 day cruise ship either Anchorage to Vancouver or Vancouver to Anchorage, while joining your Motorhome for a ONE WAY TRIP?  You get to see locations inaccessible by vehicle.  May/June can be stormy, but it's why cruise ships are discounted compared to July/August high season.  For the cost of 2 hotel nights in Downtown Vancouver, you could be on a 7 day cruiseship inside cabin to AK with food included!
  http://cruise.expedia.ca/Cruise/en-CA/Search?ds=Alaska&drd=&dyr=999
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgXZPX8enKM&hd=1
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmOr_q2hhRU&hd=1
• keep your eyes on this link for upcoming weather in Vancouver.  They can project weather 7 weeks in advance.
  http://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v5z/month/53286?monyr=5/01/2014
• Have you considered starting your journey on the East Coast first and ending the trip on the West Coast in the summer?  The East Coast gets really hot in the summer and the West Coast has it's best weather in the summer.  Yes the motorhome may cost more, but the weather will be much dryer and you will be able to do more things.

[ned111]

Hi xl

Once again a big thanks for the tips.

We have already booked our hotel in Downtown (YWCA @ $75 a night). The reason for staying in Vancouver for so long is my wife suffers from bad jetlag and require a few days to get over it. Have looked at visiting a few sights while there. Very comfortable using public transport and this is how we get from the airport and also to get around Vancouver.

I have allowed six days in Anchorage and Seward and have booked a 8 hour Fjord wildlife cruise. Have kept the date flexible as would like to travel out to the fjords on a nice day and prefer a trip that hasn't got a lot of cruise boat people onboard. Not a lover of crowds, one of the reasons we didn't do the cruise option. Also spent 12 years in the Royal Australian Navy and seen enough sea to last me out. A one way trip in the hire Motorhome was out of the question as we was going to do that in the USA last year and the extra cost made it unetenable.

I hear what you are saying with doing the East Coast first and then the West coast after. This was my first choice but the cost to hire the motorhome  eg 37 days east coast  $1295 (mid season) then  48 days west coast $7152 (high season) total $8447. By doing the west coast first 48days $1440 (mid season) then east coast 37 days $5215 total $6655 a difference of $1792 and considering our dollar has gone down thats close to $2000 difference. Considering we are retired and on the pension a big difference. The saving will go some way to our next trip to Turkey, Jordon and Egypt (providing it calms down).

I have read a fair few travel blogs, who have travelled the same route and at the same time of year. This has given me an idea on the conditions we could possibly expect. I'm sure the weather on the western side will be fairly cold and will have a fair amount of snow. No doubt weather will put a spanner into my plan with some roads possibly shut to us but have left a few days as spare days. I'm sure we will see some lovely scenery. If it gets too cold will have to stay in more public RV campgrounds (run a heater) and less Provincial parks the other alternative is to cuddle up.

thanks again for all your tips, you have been extremely helpful. THANKS!!!!

[xl]

To clarify.... May/June on the West will mean more rain and stormy weather.... Not snow.  With that much rain, it can limit what you see/do.

Yes, public transportation is a great way to get around in Vancouver.

• Google Maps does a great job showing you what connections to take to get around.
• In recent years, buses can be tracked on smartphones making even easier to know when a bus will arrive at your stop.
  http://nb.translink.ca/Map/Route/005

BTW... there's not much change between the Australian dollar and Canada.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AUDCAD=X&t=5y&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=

Going back to your original question.... I recommend calling ahead to see if the Telus stores has inventory on those USB devices.  You might need to visit another nearby store.

[ned111 · Accepted solution]

Hi xl

Thanks for the reply. Will take your advice to ring the telus store to see if they can help.

No matter the weather I'm sure we are going to enjoy Canada. Will keep a check on any real bad weather during the trip and if in any doubt will stay in a RV park.

Had an experience with that last year while in the Badlands in South Dakota. It was a lovely day at the campground and we could see some dark clouds forming. The camp host came around, said there was a chance of bad weather, if so he would come through the campground sounding his horn to warn people to go to the information centre. Well within 30 minutes the storm was there driving rain and extremely strong winds. Felt sorry for the people in tents as they were swamped or blown over, they all took shelter in the toilet/shower. My wife said should we go to the information centre but the rain was so heavy I said it was too dangerous. It was all over within 30 minutes. The ironic thing about it was when I spoke to the camp host later that day. I asked how bad did it need to be before he came around to warn us. Classic reply "Couldn't see because of the rain,  it was too dangerous to drive."

Only hope our dollar stays close to the Canadian. Changed and put money on our travel card and managed $0 .945. Have just on $800 US left over from our 3 month trip in the states (saved by free camping and staying at State parks- will try  to do that in Canada but most probably the cold will mean we need to stay RV parks on the west side )

Thanks for all your help

ned111

[xl]

You probably encountered a possible tornado...  Here's some historic strong wind patterns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_tornadoes_and_tornado_outbreaks#2013

I wonder if this is the storm that affected your travels last year...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2013_North_American_storm_complex

Use this site to plan your weather during your stay...

• http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/canada/british-columbia/vancouver

Use this site to plan your weather up to 2 months in advance....

• http://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/vancouver/v5z/month/53286?monyr=4/01/2014
• http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/anchorage-ak/99501/month/346835?monyr=4/01/2014