Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Costs
The cost of living in Vancouver and Victoria is similar to that of all other major Canadian
cities, but higher than in the United States. If you will be staying in hotels or motels, ac-
commodations will be your biggest expense. Gasoline is sold in liters (3.78 liters equals
one U.S. gallon) and is generally $1.30-1.50 a liter for regular unleaded.
Tipping
charges are not usually added to your bill. You are expected to add a tip of
15-20 percent to the total amount for waiters and waitresses, barbers and hairdressers, taxi
drivers,andothersuchserviceproviders.Bellhops,doormen,andportersgenerallyreceive
$1 per item of baggage.
Taxes
A 7 percent
Provincial Sales Tax
is applied to almost all purchases made within British
Columbia (basic groceries are exempt), and a 5 percent
goods and services tax (GST)
is
applied across Canada.
Before leaving home, you should contact
Tourism British Columbia
(800/435-5622,
www.hellobc.com
) and request a free information package and map. The other major
tourism agencies in the region are
Tourism Vancouver
(604/682-2222,
www.tourismvancouver.com
)
,
Tourism Victoria
(250/953-2033 or 800/663-3883,
www.tourismvictoria.com
),
Tourism Vancouver Island
(250/754-3500,
www.tourismvi.ca
)
, and
Tourism Whistler
(604/932-5922,
www.tourismwhistler.com
)
.
Postal Services
Canada Post
(
www.canadapost.ca
) issues postage stamps that must be used on all mail
posted in Canada. First-class letters and postcards sent are $0.63 within Canada, $1.10 to
the United States, and $1.85 to foreign destinations. Prices increase along with the weight
of the mailing. You can buy stamps at post offices, automatic vending machines, most
hotel lobbies, airports, Pacific Central Station (Vancouver), many retail outlets, and some
newsstands.
Telephone
The vast majority of Vancouver and Whistler telephone numbers have the
604 area code.
The area code
778
applies to new numbers, but its implementation means that you must
