So I want to come to Calgary in April

[PIMking]

The fiance (wife by then) want to come to Calgary in April for the Yotes and Kings game. Partially because it will still be cold for us but not by Canadian standards then. I want and never been to Canada and would love to go in the worst way.

It works out well, 35 hour drive and 2k miles but the route will take us through South Dakota by her sister and her bday is april 4th and I have my paternal grandma lives in Joplin area and we can visit her.

So how hard will tickets be to get that time of the year? About how much will they be? Also anything cool going on in the area between the two games? If it goes the way I want I will get there April 6th and leave april 10th.

Has anyone taken pets across the boarder? how hard will it be to get across the boarder? just a Passport?

any who, I hope it works out well, fuel is going to cost me roughly $2500 round trip, another $500 for hotels, and $500 for food. Yeah it's expensive but something I've been wanting to do. Hotel will only be needed for one night on the way there, we will stay in Rapid City at her sisters house for a night both ways and a few nights in Calgary.

[nik-]

I would totally host you ... but I live in a one bedroom condo, and that might get awkward

[evman150]

How is gas going to cost that much? 4000 miles at 20 mpg is only about $600.

[MrMastodonFarm]

There will be snow, it'll snow more, get over it now.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by evman150

How is gas going to cost that much? 4000 miles at 20 mpg is only about $600.

I have no idea how hell I even thought that would be correct. I was using mapquest gas cost thing as a rough idea and didn't even realize how far off it is.

35 mpg should be roughly 125 gallons of fuel (gas here is $2.85/gal) so lets say $3.50/gal should be $437/round trip for fuel give or take 50-100 bucks

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

There will be snow, it'll snow more, get over it now.

We're suppose to have a bad winter here, we had some snow last year too!

[evman150]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I have no idea how hell I even thought that would be correct. I was using mapquest gas cost thing as a rough idea and didn't even realize how far off it is.

35 mpg should be roughly 125 gallons of fuel (gas here is $2.85/gal) so lets say $3.50/gal should be $437/round trip for fuel give or take 50-100 bucks

Yep that sounds a lot more realistic. As someone who does roadtrips, your number really stuck out to me!

Glad to hear you're not driving some massive rig and that number would actually be realistic!

[krazycanuck]

If you don't mind sitting up in the nose bleeds I would be happy to donate a couple tickets your way to one of those games. Send me a PM if interested!

[Caged Great]

Tickets for the last games should be extremely easy to come by. Last year there was only about 12K in the stands give or take.

[PIMking]

I can stay at the Homewood suites Calgary airport for $39/cad night 5 nights. too

So basically $220 for the hotel in Canada, $400 in fuel (round trip) give or take 50-100, and food wont be much, hell this can actually be done for pretty cheap. Hell last summer I spent 3k going to florida for a week.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I can stay at the Homewood suites Calgary airport for $39/cad night 5 nights. too

Personally I'd recommend staying downtown, especially if you're going to two games. Hotwire/priceline is usually a really good bet. For games/nights out I usually stay downtown (Hyatt/Delta/Palliser) for around $100/night through hotwire.

Still a bit of a price difference, but you'll also be paying for parking etc if you stay all the way out at the airport.

[BeltlineFan]

There's the Best Western on 8th street in Beltline which might be a little cheaper than the downtown hotels. Plus it's closer to 17th ave if you're interested in good dining/nightlife and still within walking distance of the dome.

There's also Hotel Elan and Hotel Arts if you suddenly want an overpriced boutique hotel.

[#-3]

Really at the beginning of April you could expect anywhere from 0 degrees F to about 75 degrees F, I would think ~60 is average. Just luck of the draw.

Tickets shouldn't be that hard to get. Especially if the Flames are already eliminated by then. The Flames don't release their single game tickets until a couple months before the game, so you could sign up for ticket master alerts on it, but Stub Hub, Kijiji, and even the Calgary Puck Buy/sell Fourm have pairs of tickets for almost every game, at varying price levels.

As for Hotel, if you want to splurge I personally would look at something in the North half of downtown. All the bars are on 17th ave South of the tracks, but downtown is a much nicer area north of the tracks.

If you want to save money, I've never stayed in a hotel in Calgary, but I would guess that some of the hotels on McLeod trail are fairly cheap compared to downtown, and within walking distance of the C-train that goes right to the Dome.

[BeltlineFan]

Originally Posted by #-3

As for Hotel, if you want to splurge I personally would look at something in the North half of downtown. All the bars are on 17th ave South of the tracks, but downtown is a much nicer area north of the tracks.

That entirely depends on where you are. There's no way you can say the Drop in Centre and Crack Mac's areas are nicer than anywhere in Beltline just as you can't say the area around the dome is nicer than Eau Claire.

[Funkhouser]

Getting across the border is easy; you need passports, your pet needs verification of vaccination/rabies shots (you can get it at your vet, just a letter).

Airbnb will get you downtown cheaper than a hotel. If you are visiting Calgary as a tourist, I would recommend staying somewhat central.

[terminator]

My first thought is, why the hell would you want to visit Calgary? Its not a tourist destination at all. But if you are set on coming down, make sure you stay central and not at the airport. I'd also nearly reccomend coming to Calgary for a game and then punting it over to Banff and then onto Vancouver......... many more things to see and do.

[chalms04]

Originally Posted by BeltlineFan

There's also Hotel Elan and Hotel Arts if you suddenly want an overpriced boutique hotel.

I've often stayed at Hotel Arts because it's been less expensive (via Expedia) than anywhere in the core.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by terminator

My first thought is, why the hell would you want to visit Calgary? Its not a tourist destination at all. But if you are set on coming down, make sure you stay central and not at the airport. I'd also nearly reccomend coming to Calgary for a game and then punting it over to Banff and then onto Vancouver......... many more things to see and do.

Except for the fact that it's one of the most popular tourist destinations for people overseas.

[Trojan97]

Check rates at hotels/motels in Motel Village in the NW. It's right along the c-train line and will be cheaper and faster than driving in or cabbing to DT for the games. I'll echo what most others have already said about avoiding the airport hotel. It's in the middle of nowhere and you will want to be more central to really enjoy the city during your limited time.

**edited to add, many of the places in motel village have been recently reno'ed but do your homework if you look here as there's a couple dumpy motels still kicking around. Nothing unsafe but just not the most modern of places.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by PIMking

any who, I hope it works out well, fuel is going to cost me roughly $2500 round trip, another $500 for hotels, and $500 for food. Yeah it's expensive but something I've been wanting to do. Hotel will only be needed for one night on the way there, we will stay in Rapid City at her sisters house for a night both ways and a few nights in Calgary.

Would it be cheaper to fly to Great Falls MT, and get to Calgary from there?