Heather Skaife asked for advice abour hiring a campervan in Canada and where to go.
We've travelled in Western Canada/Alaska over the past 20 years.
1 Rent your vehicle in Alberta rather than British Columbia, because you don't pay any provincial sales tax there. Renting in the US can be cheaper, but there are then extra gas and mileage charges.
2 The bigger the vehicle you rent, the less places you can take it.
3 Almost all rental companies forbid you to drive off paved highways, but the best places to visit are often up small gravel roads/forest roads. The only company we know that actually encourages getting off the highway is AllDrive - depots in Calgary and Vancouver. You can pick up in Calgary and leave it in Vancouver.
4 Some rental companies are prepared to do nice deals at the end of the season - late September onwards - such as three weeks for the price of two.
5 Avoid commercially-owned/ private campgrounds - provincial park or national park campgrounds are uniformly great, always in the best places, each site is "treed off" from the next, provides a barbecue pit and bench, and they cost about C$12 a night.
Eileen Martin
Get on to the internet and do a search for keywords: canada, rental, motorhomes, or, canada rv rental, etc. When you have found something you think might be suitable, start e-mailing. When you think you want to clinch a deal, start phoning. Do not hire through an agent over here because they take a big cut.
Martin Ragg
This week's question
I will be travelling to Uruguay in November, where I'll initially be staying with a friend. I want to use the opportunity to travel around, and plan to spend a week in Buenos Aires. However, while there, I'll probably be touring alone and I don't speak any Spanish. Will I get by with English and a little Italian, or should I take a Spanish course before I go?
Patrick Baughan
If you have questions or advice, please send it to: Ask a fellow traveller, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER. Or e-mail: ask.a.fellow.traveller@theguardian.com. We will publish the answers as soon as we can. We cannot answer questions we do not publish.
